Some patients with advanced lung cancer benefit from immunotherapy, even after the disease has progressed as evaluated by standard criteria, according to research presented by Artal-Cortes et al at the 2017 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC, Abstract 96PD). The findings pave the way for certain ...
Osimertinib (Tagrisso) improved cancer-related symptoms in patients with advanced lung cancer, according to an analysis of patient-reported outcomes from the AURA3 phase III clinical trial presented by Lee et al at the 2017 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC, Abstract 85O). “With my...
According to a study reported by Hamada et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, postdiagnosis aspirin use was associated with improved survival vs nonuse among patients with colorectal cancer who have lower, but not higher, tumor levels of CD274 (programmed cell death 1 ligand 1; PD-L1). Study...
In a phase III trial (NRG Oncology/Gynecologic Oncology Group GOG-0213 trial) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Coleman et al found evidence of an overall survival advantage with the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to paclitaxel-carboplatin in recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. The...
In a separate interview, George Ansstas, MD, a medical neuro-oncologist at Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University, St. Louis, discussed his experience in treating patients with tumor-treating fields. He has treated about 35 patients with glioblastoma in the first-line setting and 20 with...
Men may need more frequent lung cancer screening than women, according to research to be presented by Koo et al at the 2017 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC). The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (CT) in adults...
Higher costs for complex cancer surgery may be an indicator of worse—rather than better—quality of care, according to new research by experts at Rice University and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Their findings are published by Ho et al in Surgery, and provide...
Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that surgery could more than double life expectancy for many patients with late-stage kidney cancer, giving them anywhere from 2 to almost 10 years more than they would have without the surgery. A paper published by Zaid et al in The Journal of Urology found...
A randomized trial, reported by Maly et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, has shown that having an individualized survivorship care plan in place was associated with increased physician implementation of recommended breast cancer survivorship care among low-income, predominantly Latina breast ...
Patients with lung cancer treated with programmed cell death protein 1/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) checkpoint inhibitors may be at increased risk of adverse events after receiving the seasonal influenza vaccination, according to the first study measuring this effect. The results, to ...
In newly updated clinical guidelines from the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO), researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, along with an interdisciplinary team of colleagues at The University of Texas MD Anderson...
The latest in a series of studies led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that addition of a widely available, noninvasive imaging test called 99mTc-sestamibi SPECT/CT (single-photon emission computed tomography plus computed tomography) to conventional CT or magnetic resonance imaging...
Oncology community professionals are concerned about the ability of their patients to access cancer screening and treatment under the proposed American Health Care Act (AHCA), according to a survey conducted March 23–24, 2017, at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 22nd ...
A pathologic complete response to presurgical therapy occurs in between 40% and 50% of patients with HER2-positive and triple-negative breast cancer, raising the question of the need for surgery for all patients after neoadjuvant chemotherapy indicates a pathologic complete response in...
As reported by Chandran et al in The Lancet Oncology, a single-center study has shown that adoptive transfer of autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes produces tumor responses in metastatic uveal melanoma. Study Details The study involved 21 consecutive patients treated at the Surgery Branch...
In the largest-known study on bone metastases in thyroid cancer, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center found that patients with follicular and medullary thyroid cancer had the highest rate of cancer-related bone lesions and fractures and an increased risk of death....
The 21-gene recurrence score assay, Oncotype DX, determines a score that estimates the likelihood of distant recurrence of disease in women with early-stage estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer; this score is used to assess the benefit of adjuvant chemotherapy. Testing with this assay is...
Research from epidemiologists at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, published by Minlikeeva et al in Cancer Causes & Control, suggests that hypertension and diabetes and the use of medications to treat these comorbidities may have an effect on survival outcomes in women with ovarian cancer. Study...
The advent of successful monoclonal antibody therapy in the treatment of relapsed/refractory myeloma has dramatically improved the prognosis of patients for whom currently approved novel therapies have failed. In 2015, the approval of the combination of elotuzumab (Empliciti) with lenalidomide...
Long-term follow-up of treatment with ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in patients with previously untreated and treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic leukemia (SLL) has shown high response rates that are durable. At 5 years, 89% of patients with treatment-naive and relapsed or...
Alexandra Levine, MD, MACP, is Professor in the Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope, Duarte, California, and has been on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic from the beginning—before the disease even had a name. Dr. Levine spoke with The ASCO Post about ...
The NCCN Foundation® has named Gena Cook, Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of Navigating Cancer, as Chair of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) Foundation Board of Directors. Ms. Cook, who was elected to the Board in 2010, succeeds Ellen O. Tauscher, former U.S....
The combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab (Avastin) appears to be promising in the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, according to results of a phase II trial presented at the 2017 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.1 Despite the failure of the...
Read more in the Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP). Visit ASCOPubs.org/journal/jop Patients with stage I lung cancer are achieving excellent local tumor control, thanks to an evolution in radiotherapy and surgical approaches. Jeffrey A. Bogart, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of...
The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) has selected David M. Sabatini, MD, PhD, to receive its 5th annual Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences for discovery of the mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) cellular pathway as a key regulator of growth and metabolism in response to...
ASCO has announced that Alexander Chin, MD, MBA, and Joanna C. Yang, MD, have been selected for the 2017–2018 ASCO Health Policy Fellowship program, now entering its second year. The fellowship, aimed at early career oncologists, provides the skills necessary to monitor and shape the regulatory and ...
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common leukemia in adults. Each year, about 20,000 Americans will be diagnosed with AML, and roughly 10,000 people in this country will die of the disease. AML progresses quickly, and unless treatment begins soon and is effective , the prognosis is grim....
Orthopedic surgeon Kristy L. Weber, MD, became the second Vice President of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Board of Directors at the organization’s 2017 Annual Meeting. Her new role is the first position in a 4-year term of volunteer service that includes Dr. Weber serving as...
Prostate cancer has lagged behind breast cancer in the identification of predictive and prognostic biomarkers, but the field is catching up. Researchers have identified a molecular signature that can distinguish aggressive prostate cancer that is androgen-indifferent and will have a better response ...
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has announced the election of Joanne Berger-Sweeney, PhD, MPH, President of Trinity College, to its Board of Trustees. “We are pleased to welcome Dr. Berger-Sweeney to the board of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Her leadership at premier academic institutions in the...
Not all cancer research will result in a positive outcome for patients, but all research does provide information that continues to advance the treatment of cancer care. Recent clinical trials, including one funded in part by the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) of ASCO, show that most prostate...
The Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) of ASCO recently announced the recipients of its 2017 International Innovation Grant. The 1-year grant of up to $20,000, given directly to each awardee’s nonprofit organization or government agency, funds research projects aimed at improving cancer care in low-...
Three clinical trials of the immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) have shown that it is active against a rare subtype of skin cancer, mucosal melanoma. The findings were presented by Butler et al at the 2017 European Cancer Congress (ECCO).1 Mucosal melanoma has often been excluded from...
The onset of diabetes, or a rapid deterioration in existing diabetes that requires more aggressive treatment, could be a sign of early, hidden pancreatic cancer, according to research presented by Autier et al at the 2017 European Cancer Congress (Abstract 540).1 Study Design and Key Findings...
ASCO and the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) proudly announce the winners of ASCO’s Special Awards, the Society’s highest honors, and the CCF Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award. The recipients of these awards include researchers, patient advocates, and global oncology leaders who have worked ...
At this year’s ASCO Quality Care Symposium, Neeraj K. Arora, PhD, Associate Director at the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, opened his presentation by stressing that integrating the patient’s voice and experience into the clinical setting produces better health outcomes.1 Dr. Arora,...
A Web-based decision aid that allows women with early breast cancer to easily compare surgical treatment options helps them make more informed decisions, suggests a randomized trial reported at the 2017 Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Annual Cancer Symposium.1 “Having knowledge of surgical...
At this year’s ASCO Quality Care Symposium, Blase N. Polite, MD, MPP, Associate Professor of Medicine at The University of Chicago Medical Center, examined his practice’s experience with the Oncology Care Model, a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services test payment and delivery program...
A machine learning model that uses a set or ensemble of algorithms has good accuracy for predicting colorectal cancer recurrence, investigators reported during a plenary session at the 2017 Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Annual Cancer Symposium.1 Persistent key questions in managing early...
“The status quo for HPV [human papillomavirus]-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma is not sufficient.… Our treatment is effective, but the toxicity associated with it is not tolerable.” And HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer “is a cancer of relatively younger patients,” said Nishant...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) presented an AACR Distinguished Public Service Award to W.E. “Ed” Bosarge, Jr, PhD, in honor of his generous, unstinting contributions to cancer research, innovative medical and environmental science, and the AACR. Dr. Bosarge is known for his...
Mark S. Soberman, MD, MBA, FACS, was elected as the 2017–2018 President of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) during its 43rd Annual Meeting on March 31, 2017, in Washington, DC. Dr. Soberman brings a wealth of experience in thoracic surgery, thoracic oncology, and value-based...
Twenty-five of the nation’s leading medical groups issued this statement on April 17: As the world's leading organizations representing clinicians, laboratory researchers, and physician-scientists committed to improving patient care, we support the March for Science and its nonpartisan call...
There is a new yin-yang of management in genitourinary oncology, with the balance of opposing power focused among cancer cells, kinase inhibition, and lymphocyte function, representing a shift in the fashions of treatment somewhat away from chemotherapy. This linear progress has been complicated...
High attrition but positive trends such as increased “benefit finding” were observed with a Web-based intervention designed to address the psychosocial burden on informal caregivers, according to Allison J. Applebaum, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center...
This past November, ASCO announced the launch of CancerLinQ Discovery™, a big data learning platform physicians and researchers can use to analyze highly curated, de-identified, real-world cancer care data sets to broaden their clinical knowledge about specific cancers and eventually improve...
The combination of trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus lapatinib (Tykerb) achieved positive results in patients with heavily pretreated, HER2-positive metastatic colorectal cancer, according to the final results of the phase II HERACLES-A trial. This two-pronged, HER2-directed approach achieved clinical...
A new analysis of patients who have undergone treatment for prostate cancer shows a connection between androgen-deprivation therapy and dementia, according to researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Previous studies from Penn have shown men who undergo...
Despite highly aggressive therapy that includes maximal tumor resection, high-dose radiation, and temozolomide chemotherapy, the prognosis for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma is dismal, with a median survival of less than 15 months, prompting researchers to study novel approaches to...
Findings offered by a University of Kansas (KU) researcher at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in early April suggest a possible therapeutic intervention for “chemobrain,” the cognitive impairment that plagues up to a third of cancer patients following chemotherapy. ...