There are few data to guide the management of nonmetastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in patients who are elderly or have a poor performance status. Although most such patients are offered supportive care or gemcitabine alone, the addition of stereotactic body radiotherapy may improve...
Although I was officially diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1997, the first sign of the cancer was evident 2 years earlier, when a single lesion (a plasmacytoma) was found in a bone in my lower back. The bone was replaced with two thin stainless steel rods, and after a course of radiation therapy, ...
Today’s brave new world of digital technology has both enhanced and compromised the day-to-day operational efficiency of ultrabusy oncologists who are struggling to balance patient care with the rapid evolution of technology. Like all scientific advances, health-care technology is a double-edged...
When Amy Berman, BSN, LHD (aged 58), stood in front of the mirror to perform a routine breast self-exam and saw redness and dimpling on her right breast, she feared they were the telltale signs of inflammatory breast cancer. “I have never self-diagnosed myself before, but I had recently read an...
Following early reports associating favorable outcomes in cancer patients with the use of statins,1,2 further observational studies in this area have provided mixed findings.3 As recently reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, Seckl and colleagues ...
In a UK phase III study (LUNGSTAR) reported in the Journal of Clinical -Oncology, Michael J. Seckl, MD, PhD, of Imperial College London, and colleagues found that adding pravastatin to first-line standard chemotherapy did not improve overall survival in patients with small cell lung cancer...
Moffitt Cancer Center researchers conducted a first-of-its-kind study comparing the long-term benefits of radiation therapy in women with breast cancer in the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings. Their study, published by Poleszczuk et al in Breast Cancer Research, found that patients who have...
Over the past decade, there has been renewed interest in developing immunologic therapies in cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several new biologic agents that target a patient’s immune system, some of which have produced profound clinical responses. However, the...
In a Children’s Oncology Group (COG) study (AALL06N1) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hardy et al found that age < 10 years at diagnosis was associated with poorer neurocognitive function in patients with high-risk B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia regardless of...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved neratinib (Nerlynx) for the extended adjuvant treatment of adult patients with early-stage HER2-overexpressed/amplified breast cancer, to follow adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin)-based therapy. ExteNET Trial Approval was based on the ExteNET...
The Danish phase III DBCG 07-READ trial has shown no difference in disease-free survival with adjuvant docetaxel/cyclophosphamide vs epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, and docetaxel in patients with early TOP2A-normal breast cancer. These trial results were reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology...
Despite decreases in cancer death rates nationwide, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows slower reduction in cancer death rates in rural America (a decrease of 1.0% per year) compared with urban America (a decrease of 1.6% per year), according to data...
On July 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for blinatumomab (Blincyto) to include overall survival data from the phase III TOWER study. The approval converts blinatumomab's accelerated approval to a full approval. The sBLA...
New recommendations on the use of the MammaPrint genomic test issued on July 10 will help guide decisions on adjuvant systemic therapy for women with early breast cancer. The recommendations update the ASCO 2016 clinical practice guideline on the use of biomarkers in these patients. The...
Postponing lymph node biopsy more than 30 days after melanoma diagnosis does not adversely impact long-term clinical outcomes, according to findings published by Nelson et al in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. Today, management of high-risk melanomas starts with surgical removal...
ON JUNE 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride, known as ALA HCl (Gleolan), as an optical imaging agent indicated in patients with gliomas (suspected World Health Organization [WHO] grades III or IV) for preoperative imaging, as an adjunct for the...
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO is currently accepting applications for the 2018 Young Investigator Award (YIA) and Career Development Award (CDA). Young Investigator Award (YIA) A 1-year grant totaling $50,000, the YIA provides research funding to promising physicians to support the...
AN EFFECTIVE antitumor immune response relies on cytotoxic T cells that are activated and able to target the malignant clone. As T cells become activated, they upregulate suppressive receptors including programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1). Upregulation of inhibitory signals is important to...
In 2017, ASCO and the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO are proud to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the International Development and Education Award (IDEA). The IDEA program supports the professional development of early-career oncologists in low- and middle-income countries around the world....
AS REPORTED in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Robert Chen, MD, of City of Hope National Medical Center, and colleagues, the phase II KEYNOTE-087 trial has shown that the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is highly active in patients with relapsed/...
Second cancers in children and adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are far deadlier than they are in older adults and may partially account for the relatively poor outcomes of cancer patients between the ages of 15 and 39 overall, a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis...
Largely based on studies demonstrating that letrozole can suppress plasma estradiol levels to a greater extent than anastrozole,1 the adjuvant activity of these endocrine agents were compared in 4,136 patients with node-positive breast cancer in the FACE trial. As reviewed in this issue of The ASCO ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ian E. Smith, MD, of The Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research, and colleagues, final results of the phase III FACE trial showed no difference in disease-free or overall survival for adjuvant letrozole vs anastrozole in...
HERE ARE SEVERAL ABSTRACTS selected from the proceedings of the 2016 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, highlighting clinical trials on autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for various hematologic malignancies. Additional selected...
INCREASING NUMBERS of patients are being treated with checkpoint inhibitors, and about one-quarter to one-third will develop immune-related adverse events. One question on the minds of oncologists is can these patients be safely re-treated once their adverse events resolve? One of the first...
THE COMBINATION of checkpoint inhibitors and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) inhibitors is attractive in renal cell carcinoma, said formal discussant of this trial, Hans Hammers, MD, PhD, of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “Twenty-one percent of patients...
THE COMBINATION of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) plus bevacizumab (Avastin) showed promising results as first-line treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, according to a phase II trial called IMmotion 150. Based on these results, the phase III IMmotion 151 trial is comparing...
As reported in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology by Meyer et al, the UK phase III TACE 2 trial has shown no progression-free survival benefit with the addition of sorafenib (Nexavar) to transarterial chemoembolization in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. The trial was...
Overall cancer death rates continue to decrease in men, women, and children for all major racial and ethnic groups, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975–2014, published by Jemal et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.1 The report finds...
Cancer pain in children poses certain unique challenges. Over the past decade, insightful research into pediatric cancer pain has focused on pain management that incorporates nonopioid therapies into standard care. To shed light on this important issue, The ASCO Post spoke with Christine T....
Chinese investigators reported that 100% of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma responded to autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, and 14 of 19 (74%) who were followed for a median of 4 months achieved a stringent complete response and have not recurred.1...
Biosimilars are biologic products similar to the parent (branded) molecule in structure and function—such as erythropoietin and filgrastim (Neupogen).1 To truly bend the cost curve, we want to see a dramatic economic savings achieved as oncology biosimilars for rituximab (Rituxan), trastuzumab...
Although several treatment options are available for patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) remains the only curative therapy.1 The risks of complications and death from transplantation can be substantial. Determining which patients may...
Leisha A. Emens, MD, PhD, of the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Johns Hopkins University, commented on the promise of anti–programmed cell death protein 1/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) agents in triple-negative breast cancer. She noted that “an emerging theme...
In the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer, checkpoint inhibition is making inroads in both early- and late-stage disease, and the line of treatment and expression of the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) could be important in determining outcomes, according to studies reported at the...
The World Health Assembly (WHA)—the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO)—adopted a long-expected cancer resolution at its 2017 meeting, the body’s first resolution on cancer in 12 years and the first to emphasize, among other issues, the accessibility and affordability of...
In oncology, sometimes we forget about the small, everyday things that can significantly impact a patient’s life. When patients are explained the side effects of chemotherapy and chemotherapy-induced alopecia, most women will cry or become visibly upset. When a woman loses her hair, it represents...
An interim analysis of the SCALP trial, reported in JAMA by Julie Nangia, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine, and colleagues, showed that use of a scalp-cooling device significantly reduced hair loss in women receiving chemotherapy for stage I or II breast cancer compared with no scalp cooling.1 The ...
Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN) has announced the launch of a 3-year research study that will investigate the link between new-onset diabetes and pancreatic cancer. The main goal of the study is to detect the often lethal cancer at a curable stage. The study was developed by a team of...
GUEST EDITOR Addressing the evolving needs of cancer survivors at various stages of their illness and care, Palliative Care in Oncology is guest edited by Jamie H. Von Roenn, MD. Dr. Von Roenn is ASCO’s Vice President of Education, Science, and Professional Development. Because cultural origins...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Dr. Andrew Zelenetz and colleagues and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, an international phase III trial in 416 patients with refractory or recurrent chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) addressed the benefit of adding the first-in-class phosphoinositide...
Preliminary results from patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma enrolled in a phase I study of the investigational anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody BGB-A317 in advanced solid tumors were presented by Yen et al at the ESMO 19th World Congress on Gastrointestinal...
In a prospective cohort study reported in JAMA, Kuchenbaecker et al derived estimates of cumulative risks for breast, ovarian, and contralateral breast cancers among women carrying BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations. Study Details The study involved data from 6,036 BRCA1 and 3,820 BRCA2 carriers recruited...
On June 26, at the Alexandria Center for Life Science, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden launched the Biden Cancer Initiative, their new venture to continue the fight to make progress in cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and care. Initiative Overview The Biden Cancer Initiative...
Data from two phase I/II clinical trials evaluating ixazomib (Ninlaro) in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma was presented at the 2017 European Hematology Association (EHA) Annual Meeting (Abstracts S408, S780). Both studies evaluated ixazomib plus lenalidomide (Revlimid) and...
Updated results from the ELIANA clinical trial demonstrated CTL019 (tisagenlecleucel) remission rates are maintained at 6 months in relapsed/refractory pediatric and young adult patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). These data from this pivotal trial of CTL019 show that 83% (52...
Check out some of the newest Cancer.Net patient-friendly videos produced by ASCO. These videos give people with cancer and their families and friends an additional option for receiving oncologist-approved information. New topics include an introduction to prostate cancer, early-stage breast...
In most cases, oncology doctors and nurses only assess their patients’ symptoms during regular checkups. Between visits, patients typically report symptoms only if there is a more severe problem. A study, funded in part by the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) of ASCO, suggests increased...
As the economics and management of health care change, it has become essential for the clinician to evolve as well in order to navigate these changing waters. Whether you are a medical student, a senior oncologist, or an advanced practice provider, the necessity is the same: understanding the...
Several breast cancer experts weighed in on the findings of the APHINITY trial. At an ASCO press briefing, Harold Burstein, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and breast cancer specialist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, pointed out that investigators estimated a ...