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Showing 6301 - 6350Novel Mechlorethamine Gel Considered Safe and Effective for Treatment of Mycosis Fungoides
A novel mechlorethamine, 0.02%, gel produced comparable or higher response rates (depending on the measurement used) than did mechlorethamine, 0.02%, compounded ointment, in a randomized controlled, multicenter study among 260 patients with stage IA to IIA mycosis fungoides, the most common form of ...
The Nuts and Bolts of Getting into an Oncology Fellowship
Oncology continues to be one of the most sought-after specialties. Because of a shortage of oncologists and the accelerating pace of developments in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, oncology has become an increasingly competitive field. Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education...
Explaining Research to Patients
Everyone understands the need for medical research, especially regarding cancer. However, only a minority of the public understand what is actually involved in taking part in a clinical trial. As professionals, we are responsible for designing relevant studies, for their conduct and analysis, and...
Risk Reduction for Patients with Multiple Primary Cancers
The number of patients with multiple primary cancers is increasing so that second malignant neoplasms now represent approximately 16%, or 1 in 6 cancers reported to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program. While some second malignant neoplasms are treatment-related, others...
Delivering Affordable Cancer Care: Is It Possible and What Will It Entail?
Many experts agree that at 18% of gross domestic product, health care (to paraphrase Shakespeare) is eating the country out of house and home. “The average cost of treating the most common cancers has increased, and as more expensive targeted therapies and other new technologies become the...
Options Shifting for First-line Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma
Trials with pazopanib (Votrient) have “provided significant efficacy, toxicity, and tolerability data for pazopanib to be established as a first-line standard of care” for renal cell carcinoma,” Tim Eisen, PhD, of the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, stated at the 11th International Kidney...
Stereotactic Radiosurgery May Offer Therapeutic Option for Patients with Primary Renal Cancer, Early Study Indicates
Stereotactic radiosurgery may hold potential as a therapeutic option for patients with localized primary renal cancer who are considered poor surgical candidates and who do not have a prior history of pelvic or abdominal radiation, according to data from a safety and toxicity study recently...
Albumin-bound Paclitaxel in First-line Treatment of Advanced NSCLC
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Indication On October 11, 2012, paclitaxel protein-bound particles...
Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer Predicted by Disease, Age, and Insurance Type, but Not by Race
Breast cancer mortality has been found to be higher among black and Hispanic women than among white women, with the differences in outcome being attributed in part to more advanced disease stage and greater frequency of unfavorable tumor biology among black and Hispanic women. Studies to date have...
Novel Agents for Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer Impressive in Early Trials
Several sessions at the 2012 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Vienna focused on novel targeted therapies in various stages of development. Summarized here are data on two promising drugs for breast cancer and two for prostate cancer. E-3810 in Breast Cancer Two experimental...
Integrative Medicine Showing Benefits in Cancer Management
Donald I. Abrams, MD, Chief of Hematology-Oncology at San Francisco General Hospital and Integrative Oncologist at the University of California, San Francisco, Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, has been investigating and incorporating integrative medicine approaches in his clinical treatment...
Regorafenib, Multikinase Inhibitor, for Previously Treated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Indication On September 27, 2012, regorafenib (Stivarga) was...
Contralateral Breast Cancer Risk Is Highly Overestimated
Breast cancer is highly unlikely to develop in the contralateral breast of women treated for primary breast cancer, yet many women continue to fear it and undergo prophylactic mastectomies. “Regardless, the perceived risk of developing and dying from a contralateral breast cancer is highly...
Trastuzumab Emtansine Improves Survival vs Capecitabine plus Lapatinib in Second-line HER2-positive Breast Cancer
Trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) is an antibody-drug conjugate composed of trastuzumab bound to the cytotoxic microtubule inhibitor emtansine (DM1, derivative of maytansine) by a stable linker. Trastuzumab targets the conjugate to HER2 receptors, and the linker releases the cytotoxic agent when the...
No Survival Benefit for Oxaliplatin Added to Adjuvant Therapy in Stage II or Elderly Patients with Colon Cancer
Oxaliplatin plus fluorouracil (5-FU)/leucovorin or capecitabine (Xeloda) is a standard of care in adjuvant therapy for stage III colorectal cancer. There is ongoing debate about whether any adjuvant therapy is of benefit in patients with stage II disease, and it is not routinely recommended in this ...
SIDEBAR: Mammography Study Stokes Overdiagnosis Debate
Overdiagnosis and the harms associated with unnecessary procedures is becoming a vibrant subject in today’s health-care dialogue, with serious implications for providers and patients alike. A new study from the Norwegian Screening Program concluded that 15% to 25% of breast cancers identified on...
Beyond Molecular Monitoring: Cytogenetic Testing and Mutational Analysis in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
Cytogenetic analysis remains an important component of patient monitoring until a complete cytogenetic response is achieved. In addition, the ability of conventional cytogenetics to identify additional chromosomal abnormalities not detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization is noteworthy. Jorge ...
CE Activity Instructions
*Corresponding author, MediCom Worldwide, Inc, 101 Washington Street, Morrisville, PA 19067, e-mail: gtombler@medicaled.com Activity Release Date: November 15, 2012Period of Validity: November 15, 2013 Program Overview This activity presents highlights from a satellite symposium held in...
Promoting a More Balanced Approach to Cancer Prevention and Treatment
Margaret I. Cuomo, MD, is a board-certified radiologist who served for many years as an attending physician in diagnostic radiology at North Shore University Hospital, Manhasset, New York. Dr. Cuomo is the daughter of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo and sister to Governor Andrew Cuomo. She is...
MSKCC’s Decision Not to Purchase New Cancer Drug Sparks Editorial and Unprecedented Actions
“At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, we recently made a decision that should have been a no-brainer: we are not going to give a phenomenally expensive new cancer drug to our patients.” That was the opening sentence of a New York Times op-ed piece written by three physicians from Memorial...
I Am Not a Victim
Six years ago, at age 62, I was feeling in great shape. The year before, I had taken over custody of my 2- and 3-year-old great-grandchildren and decided to change the course of my career from motivational speaker to motivational coach to be home more often with the kids. It was during one of our...
Study Explores Use of Radiotherapy in Last 30 Days of Life
While few patients receive radiation for cancer treatment in the last 30 days of life, almost 1 in 5 patients who do spend more than 10 of those days in treatment and more than half spend more than 5 days, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1 The investigators used...
Health-care Crisis Reconsidered
As an oncologist in private practice, I usually read with great interest the many articles in The ASCO Post on issues regarding the politics of oncology practice. These articles deal with the major topics of the day, ranging from the high cost of oncologic care to shortages of generic drugs, to...
The ‘True’ History of the Discovery of Prostate-specific Antigen
I am frequently asked about the “true” history of prostate-specific antigen (PSA). As PSA has become more important, a controversy about its discovery has increased. I lived through much of this history and have known many of the “players.” Here are the relevant facts, as I believe them to be ...
American Cancer Society Honors Waun Ki Hong, MD, for Outstanding Clinical Research
Distinguished physician, scientist, mentor, and leader Waun Ki Hong, MD, recently accepted the American Cancer Society 2012 Medal of Honor Award in recognition of his novel, high-impact clinical research that has extended the frontiers of cancer treatment and prevention. Dr. Hong is Vice Provost...
The Practice of More than One Art
The positive healing effects of music can be traced as far back as ancient Greece and the belief that Apollo was God of medicine and music. In his book De Anima, Aristotle wrote that flute music could purify the soul. By the end of the 19th century, researchers were showing a correlation between...
American Society of Hematology Launches ASH Foundation
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) has announced the creation of the ASH Foundation dedicated to curing blood diseases. The new foundation will complement and build on the work of the Society by harnessing the generosity of donors to expand the reach of successful ASH programs and develop new ...
Expert Point of View: Robert Jones, MD
“The data speak for themselves,” stated Robert Jones, MD, of the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Center, Glasgow, UK, during discussion of the MAINSAIL trial at the 2012 ESMO Congress. The study raises some important questions, he continued: What are the implications for designing future trials?...
Expert Point of View: George Demetri, MD
Invited discussant of the abstract, George Demetri, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, noted that metastatic soft-tissue sarcomas present with variable clinical behaviors but are nearly always incurable with any approach. “Therefore, our intent is to palliate...
Prevention and Treatment of Multikinase Inhibitor–induced Hand-Foot Syndrome
Multikinase inhibitors (sorafenib [Nexavar], sunitinib [Sutent], pazopanib [Votrient], axitinib [Inlyta], regorafenib [Stivarga]) block various proteins including vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) and platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR). They have been approved by...
Early Quality of Life Better with Proton-beam Therapy, but Late Effects Similar to Other Treatment Modalities for Prostate Cancer
Differing patterns of patient-reported quality of life for three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiation therapy, and proton-beam therapy were reported in a nonrandomized comparison of three modern cohorts of patients with prostate cancer. The study was presented at...
SIDEBAR: How Other Countries Are Controlling Oncology Costs
The refrain is familiar: The United States spends more on health care than any other industrialized country, but the investment does not correspond to superior care. A recent study by The Commonwealth Fund, a health-care policy research foundation, shows just how stark the contrast is. Instructive ...
The Ethics of Rationing Cancer Care
Should cost be a consideration when deciding on treatment for patients with cancer, and if so, what kind of ethical dilemma does that pose for oncologists? With U.S. spending on oncology drugs expected to climb more than 20% annually over the next decade—reaching $173 billion by 2020, according to...
Research of Three Conquer Cancer Foundation Grantees Featured among Top Cancer Advances of the Year
Every year, the Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology funds research grants that provide critical start-up funding for young physician-scientists, with the goal of enabling them to develop successful careers in cancer research so that they can bring new treatments...
Significant Reduction in Cancer Risk Seen with Daily Multivitamin Use in Middle-aged and Older Men
Large-scale trials over the past several years have shown a general lack of effect of single vitamins or small numbers of vitamins given at high doses in preventing cancer. However, as recently reported in JAMA by Gaziano and colleagues, the Physicians’ Health Study II has found a modest but...
Revised Everolimus Dosing and New Safety/Efficacy Data for Approval in Subependymal Giant Cell Astrocytoma
On August 29, 2012, everolimus in a tablet for oral suspension form (Afinitor Disperz) was given accelerated approval for the treatment of pediatric and adult patients with tuberous sclerosis complex who have subependymal giant cell astrocytoma (SEGA) that requires therapeutic intervention but...
SIDEBAR: REPORT ADVERSE EVENTS
Health-care professionals should report all serious adverse events suspected to be associated with the use of any medicine or device to FDA’s MedWatch Reporting System by completing a form online at http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/report.htm, by faxing (1-800-FDA-0178), by mailing the postage-paid...
Liposomal Vincristine for Adult Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Indication In August 2012, vinCRIStine sulfate LIPOSOME injection...
Surgical Resection for Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases: Who, When, How?
Many patients with colorectal liver metastases can undergo surgical resection with curative intent. Who are these patients and how are they best managed? In an interview with The ASCO Post, Steven A. Curley, MD, Professor of Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center,...
What Combinations Should Be Tested?
If the therapy combinations tested in the BeST trial don’t deserve to move on to phase III trials, what other combinations do show enough promise against renal cell carcinoma to merit being tested in phase III trials? “None at the present time,” maintained Bernard Escudier, MD, of the Institut...
Medical and Behavioral Variables Have More Impact on Physical Functioning Than Finasteride Treatment
Taking finasteride over a 7-year period as part of the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) “did not affect any of the three primary health-related quality-of-life domains—physical function, mental health, or vitality—either positively or negatively,” according to a study published in the...
Statin Use Associated with Reduced Cancer-related Mortality in Danish Study
Cancer-related mortality among patients in the Danish population receiving a diagnosis of cancer at age ≥ 40 years between 1995 and 2007 was significantly reduced in those who were receiving statin therapy at the time of diagnosis, according to an analysis reported by Nielsen and colleagues in The...
Gene-expression Profiles of Triple-negative Breast Cancers Differ between African American and Native African Women
Triple-negative breast cancers in African-American women and native African women have differing gene-expression profiles that may have implications for treatment, according to the first study to directly compare tumor gene expression between these populations. Results were reported at the Fifth...
Screening for Ovarian Cancer: A Gynecologic Oncologist’s Perspective
The recent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Reaffirmation Recommendation Statement concluded that in the population of asymptomatic women without known genetic mutations that increase risk for ovarian cancer, clinicians should not screen for ovarian cancer using transvaginal ultrasound...
SIDEBAR: Expect Questions from Patients
A study finding that a diet high in total carbohydrates can increase the risk of cancer recurrence and mortality doesn’t mean that patients need to totally avoid carbohydrates, any more than previous findings about increased risk from a Western pattern diet means patients can’t eat any red meat....
Green Tea
The use of dietary supplements by cancer patients has risen significantly over the past 2 decades despite insufficient evidence of safety and effectiveness. Finding reliable sources of information about dietary supplements can be daunting. Patients typically rely on family, friends, and the...
ASCO CEO Discusses the Society’s Initiatives
Created in 1964,a the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has become the world’s preeminent professional cancer organization, with more than 30,000 members in the United States and abroad, unified by its founders’ “common concern for the patient with cancer.” The ASCO Post recently spoke...
I’m Not the Same Person I Was before Cancer
It’s not clear to me—and my doctors can’t say with any certainty—whether taking birth control pills for many years had anything to do with my getting breast cancer 3 years ago, at age 44. But the cancer growing in my left breast was diagnosed as stage I, estrogen receptor–positive. Although I never ...
The Rise of the Vintage Readers Book Club
Providing care beyond medical treatment, the multidisciplinary field of psychosocial oncology addresses the psychological, social, and emotional health of the patient with cancer. On an occasional basis, The ASCO Post will explore the realm of psychosocial oncology with a column guest edited by...
NCI Director Assesses Barriers to Faster Progress in Cancer Research
At a National Press Club media event in Washington, DC, on September 25, 2012, National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director Harold E. Varmus, MD, addressed a group of 75 reporters and officials. His discussion focused on impediments—biologic, economic, institutional, and cultural—to faster cancer...
