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Showing 5951 - 6000Vice President Joe Biden Addresses Attendees at ASCO 2016 Annual Meeting
Vice President Joe Biden offered remarks on the White House’s National Cancer Moonshot Initiative on Monday, June 6, to attendees at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago. Essential Elements “The Moonshot Initiative can be a vehicle for major new progress against cancer, and ASCO’s Annual...
Comparing Treatments by Efficacy, Toxicity, and Cost
Last year, five organizations introduced new methods to compare cancer treatments. For more on ASCO’s Value Framework, see page 120. The NCCN Evidence Blocks™ use a simple graphic to show experts’ ratings of systemic therapies in five areas: efficacy, safety, quality and quantity of evidence,...
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Hires Steve Stadum as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has announced the hiring of Steve Stadum as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Stadum, currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute, will join Fred Hutchinson as ...
ASCO Urges Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to Withdraw Medicare Part B Demo in Formal Comments
ASCO President Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, issued this statement on May 10. “In comments1 submitted yesterday to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), ASCO underscored the urgent need to advance a more fair and responsible payment system for oncology than what is proposed in...
The ENDEAVOR Trial: A Case Study in the Interpretation of Modern Cancer Trials
It can be easy to miss the forest for the trees in the interpretation of clinical trials. In particular, trials for the treatment of cancer are exceedingly complex, with long lists of inclusion and exclusion criteria, designs with hidden biases, drugs with unpronounceable names (if not cumbersome...
Extending ASCO’s Influence Globally to Improve Patient Care
On June 27, 2016, Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO, will begin his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of ASCO, succeeding Allen S. Lichter, MD, FASCO, who presided over the Society and the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO since 2006. Dr. Hudis’ dedication to ASCO dates back more than 25 years...
ASCO 2016: Significant Cost Differences Found Among Breast Cancer Chemotherapy Regimens
Costs associated with different breast cancer chemotherapy regimens can vary significantly, regardless of effectiveness, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Understanding cost differences should help guide informed discussions between patients and...
Jonathan E. Rosenberg, MD, and Toni K. Choueiri, MD, on Bladder Cancer: Mutation Burden and Atezolizumab
Jonathan E. Rosenberg, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Toni K. Choueiri, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discuss mutation burden—its role in response to treatment with PD-L1 immunotherapy and its impact on progression-free survival and overall survival, as well as the...
Investigational Drug Abemaciclib Shows Promising Activity Against Several Cancer Types in Early Study
An experimental CDK inhibitor, abemaciclib, yielded encouraging and durable results against several different types of cancers, including breast cancer, lung cancer, glioblastoma, and melanoma, according to a report published by Patnaik et al in Cancer Discovery. The results of the trial supported ...
ASCO 2016: CancerLinQ Extends Its Reach, Announces New Partnerships
ASCO announced that a total of 58 practices in 39 states and the District of Columbia have joined CancerLinQ, ASCO’s big data initiative to rapidly improve the quality of care for people with cancer. CancerLinQ is already up and running in a number of practices and drawing on approximately...
ASCO 2016: Many Younger Cancer Patients Receive Aggressive End-of-Life Care Despite ASCO’s Choosing Wisely Campaign
An analysis of health claims data from 2007–2014 on more than 28,000 patients under the age of 65 found that a large proportion of patients with advanced solid tumors received at least one form of aggressive care within the last 30 days of life. The study was presented by Chen et al at...
Maria Clemence Schwaederle, PharmD, on Precision Medicine: Its Impact in Refractory Malignancies
Maria Clemence Schwaederle, PharmD, of the University of California, San Diego, discusses an analysis of 13,203 patients in phase I clinical trials, which showed that a personalized strategy led to improved response rate and progression-free survival (Abstract 11520).
ASCO 2016: Biosimilar Shows Comparable Efficacy and Safety to Trastuzumab in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer
A biosimilar trastuzumab antibody (MYL-1401O) is comparable in efficacy and safety to trastuzumab (Herceptin) in women with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer, according to a randomized phase III study. The response rates were comparable among women who received trastuzumab and among...
Statement from FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, MD, on the Release of the Final Individual Patient Expanded Access Form
“Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized its efforts to streamline the process used by physicians to request expanded access, often called ‘compassionate use,’ to investigational drugs and biologics for their patients. As a physician, I understand the...
ASCO Value Framework Update: A Statement by Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO
ASCO today published an updated framework for assessing the relative value of cancer therapies that have been compared in clinical trials. The framework, published by Schnipper et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, defines value as a combination of clinical benefit, side effects, and...
QOPI-Certified Practices Eligible to Receive Discount on Medical Malpractice Rates
ASCO and its wholly owned subsidiary, Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) Certification Program, LLC (QCP), announced May 25 that The Doctors Company, the nation's largest physician-owned medical malpractice insurer, will recognize QOPI® Certification in its rate structure....
DDW 2016: Racial Disparities Found in Liver Cancer Survival Rates
Black patients diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common liver cancer, had a 33% increased risk of death compared to non-Hispanic whites. They also were far less likely to receive lifesaving liver transplants, according to a new study presented by Jones et al at Digestive Disease...
DDW 2016: Endoscopist’s Knowledge of Positive Cologuard Test Improves Colonoscopy Performance
An endoscopist's knowledge of a positive Cologuard test improves colonoscopy performance, according to a poster presentation by Johnson et al at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2016 (Abstract Su1044). Cologuard is an at-home, stool-DNA colorectal cancer screening test that has been approved by the...
New ASCO Cervical Cancer Guidelines Address Global Resource Disparities
On May 25, ASCO issued its first clinical practice guideline on invasive cervical cancer. This resource-stratified guideline is the first of its kind from ASCO, offering treatment recommendations tailored to resource availability. Access to cervical cancer care varies between regions of the...
Colleagues Tip Their Hats to Allen S. Lichter, MD, FASCO
After serving as ASCO’s CEO for 10 years, Allen S. Lichter, MD, FASCO, is stepping down. Dr. Lichter, who has been an ASCO member since 1980, has served the Society in numerous capacities. Along with his distinguished career at ASCO, Dr. Lichter is a nationally recognized radiation oncologist,...
Surgical Oncologist Suzanne L. Topalian, MD, Shines at the Forefront of Groundbreaking Research in Cancer Immunotherapy
Nationally recognized surgical oncologist and researcher Suzanne L. Topalian, MD, had an early interest in the arts as well as science and decided to major in English upon entering Wellesley College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. “I wanted to keep all my options open, so I also enrolled in a pre-med...
In Memoriam
The ASCO Post remembers the following specialists in oncology who passed away in 2015–2016. Please write to editor@ASCOPost.com to recognize and pay tribute to others in a future issue. Mark R. Green, MD January 3, 1945–February 23, 2015 “Few people have impacted cancer clinical research in the...
Physician-Researcher Carolyn Jean Presley, MD, Envisions Enhancing Geriatric Oncology
Carolyn Jean Presley, MD, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation clinical scholar in medical oncology at the Yale Cancer Center, was born in Duluth, Minnesota, which hugs the north shore of Lake Superior, making it one of the nation’s coldest cities during its long winters. She grew up the middle child...
Lisa A. Newman, MD, MPH, FACS, FASCO, Balances Her Passions of Surgical Breast Oncology and Breast Cancer Disparity Research, Both Home and Abroad
Lisa A. Newman, MD, MPH, FACS, FASCO, Director of the Henry Ford Health System’s Breast Oncology Program, was born in New York, New York and, according to her, was blessed to have had parents who lived the African American version of the “American Dream.” Dr. Newman’s father was the son of...
A Pioneer in Lung Cancer Research, James L. Mulshine, MD, Champions Early Population-Based Lung Cancer Screening
A neighborhood doctor who told a good story was an unwitting mentor to internationally regarded lung cancer expert James L. Mulshine, MD. Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Dr. Mulshine relocated with his family to West Hartford, Connecticut, when he was a year old, and except for a brief hiatus on...
International Authority on Radiation Effects, Robert Peter Gale, MD, PhD, Has Pushed Scientific Boundaries in Search of Answers
It is widely reported that the first use of sargramostim (Leukine) in humans (granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor; GM-CSF) was to treat victims of the Goiânia, Brazil, radiation accident in 1987. However, recently declassified documents show that sargramostim was first used a year...
Celebrating ASCO 2016 Awards Recipients
Peter Paul Yu, MD, FACP, FASCO, Immediate Past President of ASCO and Chair of the Special Awards Selection Committee, announced the recipients of this year’s special awards. “The exceptional accomplishments of each of our awardees reflect their exemplary dedication to furthering cancer research and ...
With an Illustrious Career in Breast Oncology, Daniel F. Hayes, MD, FASCO, Follows in the Footsteps of Giants as ASCO President-Elect
ASCO President-Elect Daniel F. Hayes, MD, FASCO, was born in Shelbyville, Indiana, a small city in the center of the state. “My dream was to become a high school basketball and track and field coach; my older brother wanted to be a doctor, and his ambitions also began in first grade,” revealed Dr....
Allen S. Lichter, MD, FASCO, Reflects on His Career Path and His Tenure as ASCO CEO, and Predicts a Bright Future for Radiation Oncology
Choosing a career path is one of life’s most challenging decisions, but for Allen S. Lichter, MD, FASCO, deciding to become a doctor was inherently natural. He was born with a great mentor and role model: his father. “I was born and raised in Detroit. My father was a general practitioner in...
Monitoring Survivors of Childhood Cancers for Late Effects of Treatment
This past January, ASCO held its inaugural Cancer Survivorship Symposium, which brought together the fields of medical oncology and primary care to address the critical need for coordinated care for cancer survivors. Among the presenters at the symposium was Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH, who gave the...
Occupational Therapy for Adults With Cancer: An Unmet Need
Adults with cancer are at high risk for functional limitations that would negatively affect their quality of life. Occupational therapy offers a range of supportive services, with the specific goal of helping these patients engage in life as independently as possible. To provide a better...
A Perilous Time for Refugees With Cancer
The numbers are difficult to fathom. According to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in 2015, over 60 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced as a result of conflict, persecution, generalized violence, or human rights violations.1 Over 9 million of those ...
A Toolkit for Dealing With the Trauma of a Prostate Cancer Diagnosis
This year, an estimated 180,890 men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer; about 21,120 men die of the disease each year. On top of these sobering statistics, from screening to diagnosis and treatment, prostate cancer is fraught with controversy, creating untoward anxiety...
A Physician’s Guide to Pain and Symptom Management in Cancer Patients
Despite growing awareness and the existence of guidelines, undertreatment of cancer pain remains a persistent dilemma in the oncology community. Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that more than 33% of patients suffering from invasive cancer do not receive...
Leading Surgical Oncology Societies Call for Global Curriculum to Address Variations, Inadequacies in Training
The lack of an adequately trained workforce of surgical oncologists can be a major detriment in efforts to address the rising global cancer burden, according to two leading international surgical oncology societies. In two jointly published reports,1,2 the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) and the ...
ASCO Past-President Anticipates a New Position With an Ongoing Goal of Advancing the Field of Oncology
After an extensive national search, Hartford HealthCare has appointed ASCO Past-President Peter Paul Yu, MD, FACP, FASCO, as the first Physician-in-Chief of the Hartford HealthCare Cancer Institute. As Physician-in-Chief, Dr. Yu will be responsible for working closely and collaboratively with...
Eribulin in Liposarcoma: A Closer Look at the Comparative Data
Sarcoma therapy is a challenge for oncologists. Soft-tissue sarcomas encompass more than 50 different histologies, resulting in limited familiarity of management for many treating physicians. In addition, there have been few available effective therapies. The phase III trial of eribulin (Halavan) ...
Increased Physical Activity Associated With Lower Risk of 13 Types of Cancer
A new study of the relationship between physical activity and cancer has shown that greater levels of leisure-time physical activity were associated with a lower risk of developing 13 different types of cancer. The risk of developing seven cancer types was 20%, or more, lower among the...
Atezolizumab in Previously Treated Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma
The recent study by Rosenberg et al in The Lancet—summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post—is a very important paper in the field of bladder cancer therapy.1 It is the first phase II trial in metastatic transitional cell carcinoma that demonstrates the single-agent activity of the...
Al B. Benson III, MD, Elected President of the National Patient Advocate Foundation Executive Board
Al B. Benson III, MD, Associate Director for Cooperative Groups at the Lurie Cancer Center, has been elected President of the National Patient Advocate Foundation’s (NPAF) Executive Board. An oncologist and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Feinberg School of...
Lifang Hou, MD, PhD, Named Director of Global Health at the Lurie Cancer Center
Lifang Hou, MD, PhD, has been appointed Director of Global Health for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. Dr. Hou brings her extensive experience in identifying risk factors and molecular biomarkers predictive of cancer risk and mortality, her interest in...
ODAC Advises the FDA to Wait for Phase III Results for Rociletinib in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) met April 12 to consider a New Drug Application by Clovis Oncology for rociletinib, an investigational therapy for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients...
FDA Maintains Ongoing Efforts to Expedite Drug Approvals
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is continuing its efforts to expedite oncology-hematology drug approvals. As of May 15, 2016, FDA has approved the following agents since January of this year. Lenvatinib (Lenvima), in combination with everolimus (Afinitor), for the treatment of advanced ...
FDA Grants Selumetinib Orphan Drug Designation for Adjuvant Treatment of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer
Earlier this month, AstraZeneca announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug designation for the investigational MEK1/2 inhibitor selumetinib for adjuvant treatment of patients with stage III or IV differentiated thyroid cancer. Selumetinib inhibits the MEK...
William J. Gradishar, MD, FACP, Named Deputy Director for Lurie Cancer Center Clinical Network
William J. Gradishar, MD, FACP, has been appointed Deputy Director for the Clinical Network of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center Network of Northwestern University. In this new role, Dr. Gradishar will oversee the coordination of clinical cancer services within Lurie Cancer Center’s...
AACR Inducts 2016 Class of Fellows of the AACR Academy
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has announced its 11 newly elected Fellows of the AACR Academy. The AACR Academy serves to recognize and honor distinguished scientists whose major scientific contributions have propelled significant innovation and progress against cancer. All...
The 10-Year Club
The following essay by Maurie Markman, MD, is adapted from The Big Casino: America’s Best Cancer Doctors Share Their Most Powerful Stories, which was coedited by Stan Winokur, MD, and Vincent Coppola and published in May 2014. The book is available on Amazon.com and thebigcasino.org. What’s...
Fitness: Can Exercise Lengthen Survival in Patients With Cancer?
Integrative Oncology is guest edited by Barrie R. Cassileth, MS, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. Regular physical activity has long been associated with decreased risk of disease, including many types of cancer. Such benefits may translate into increased life expectancy...
Ushering in a New Era in Personalized Medicine
When Waun Ki Hong, MD, and his pregnant wife, Mihwa, made the journey from Korea to Manhattan in 1970, he had just $451 in his wallet, and the only job he could get was as an intern in Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, a community hospital in the Bronx. The work was grueling—24-hour shifts every 2...
$3 Million NCI Grant Awarded to Study Links Between Liver Cancer and HIV
Vincent Lo Re, MD, MSCE, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Amy Justice, MD, PhD, Professor of General Medicine and Public Health at Yale School of Public Health, have been ...
