In July, George J. Bosl, MD, FASCO, MACP, became Memorial Sloan Kettering’s (MSK) first ombudsperson, working closely with staff to provide confidential, independent guidance on complex and evolving issues, particularly related to conflicts of interest. The role of ombudsperson is a result of the...
Hundreds of oncologists are working “side gigs” as expert witnesses in a wide range of medicolegal settings. With increasing conflict related to liability and insurance coverage, the demand continues to grow for objective physicians who are not involved in a specific case, have no personal...
The staff of The ASCO Post were sad to learn of the passing of Michael D. Becker on July 9, 2019. When Michael was diagnosed with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer in 2015, he made the decision to go public with his diagnosis to raise awareness of the importance of having...
In April 2019, a 3-year-old boy, Noah McAdams, missed the third round of chemotherapy for his acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His parents wanted instead to focus on alternative remedies of cannabidiol oil, alkaline water, mushroom tea, and herbal extracts. The sheriff was summoned; Noah’s parents...
The Hippocratic Oath calls on physicians to “use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment,” but not all versions of the oath call on us to prevent disease. Here we urge our colleagues to acknowledge that additional mandate and renew their commitment to preventing what could ...
The Oncology Center of Excellence of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced a new pilot program to assist oncology health-care professionals in requesting access to unapproved therapies for patients with cancer. A new call center designated Project Facilitate will be a...
As you probably already know, physicians do not make the best patients. When I began experiencing the early signs of Hodgkin lymphoma, in 2007, including a persistent cough, unusual fatigue, and pruritus, I self-diagnosed allergic rhinitis and began treatment with intranasal corticosteroids....
First responders such as paramedics and firefighters may be exposed to hazardous occupational environmental exposures, but linking these exposures to conditions such as cancers is difficult due to the latency period of disease, magnitude of potential exposure, and potential interactions of...
Two studies that explored types of discrimination and gender bias in health-care organizations were presented at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting. Discrimination Experienced by Fellows An abstract that reviewed discrimination and inclusion among hematology and oncology trainees was presented by...
As I write this, I think I’m making sense but am not 100% sure. My brain is a little scrambled after nearly 4 years of treatment for grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, but I think the essence of my humor and humanity is still intact. When I experienced my first partial seizure while riding my...
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) announced its commitment to communities across Long Island with the dedication of MSK Nassau, an outpatient cancer treatment facility centrally located in Nassau County, New York. MSK’s newest location, and its third on Long Island, opened for patient...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has recognized Cornelis J.M. Melief, MD, PhD, with the seventh AACR–Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology. Dr. Melief is Emeritus Professor at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, as well as...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence announced a new pilot program to assist oncology health-care professionals in requesting access to unapproved therapies for patients with cancer. A new call center designated Project Facilitate will be a single point...
Internationally renowned breast cancer specialist Daniel A. Vorobiof, MD, was born in Santa Fe, Argentina, a province in the northeastern region of the country that is prone to catastrophic flooding. Asked about any early influences in his desire to pursue a career in medicine, Dr. Vorobiof...
Caryn Lerman, PhD, has been appointed Director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, also serving as Professor of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences. Prior to this appointment, Dr. Lerman was the John H. Glick Professor for Cancer Research and Vice Dean for Strategic Initiatives in...
Population screening programs and the advent of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination have made cervical cancer largely a preventable disease. Despite these advances, cervical cancer remains a leading cause of cancer death for women in low- and middle-income countries. A recent study identified...
It has been well documented that noncommunicable diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, now pose the greatest health threat to people living in low- and middle-income countries, surpassing infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS as the leading cause of death and disability.1...
Results from a study published by Cykert et al in The Journal of the National Medical Association show that a pragmatic system-based intervention within cancer treatment centers can nearly eliminate existing disparities in treatment and outcomes for black patients with early-stage...
This past year, I have traveled thousands of miles across the United States meeting with ASCO members and their patients, focusing on members who care for patients in particularly challenging settings. While I am not surprised by the extraordinary work our members are doing in every region of the...
For more than 3 decades, Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO, has dedicated his medical career to researching the development of chemotherapies for breast cancer, including ado-trastuzumab emtansine, everolimus, and gemcitabine. In addition, he is credited with changing the standard of...
Comprehensive postoperative mastectomy home recovery programs significantly increased same-day patient discharge with no decrease in quality of care, according to two new studies presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS). “Research demonstrates the...
Ali McBride, PharmD, MS, BCOP, was named 2019–2020 President of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) during its 45th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit on March 22, 2019. Dr. McBride is the Clinical Coordinator of Hematology/Oncology at The University of Arizona...
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) recently announced that Mark E. Thompson, MD, has been appointed to the newly created staff position of Medical Director for Public Policy. Dr. Thompson will chair the COA Government Affairs and Policy Committee, a standing committee that guides official...
Two nonprofit organizations serving the lung cancer community—the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) and Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA)—have announced they are joining forces as the GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer. With more than 3 decades of combined expertise, a...
YOU CANNOT write about caring; you must practice it. None of us went to medical school thinking we would be an oncologist or a neurosurgeon or a stem cell biologist. But we did have vague aspirations of wanting to help others: to be involved in other lives. It was an altruistic avocation; how...
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced recently that New England Cancer Specialists is the newest member of the Dana-Farber Cancer Care Collaborative. Participation in the Collaborative reflects a demonstrated commitment to excellence by meeting a wide array of standards and best practices....
In 2015, ASCO and the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) introduced value frameworks that utilize algorithmic scales to evaluate the clinical benefit of cancer therapies and provide an objective assessment of outcomes and treatment toxicities experienced by patients.1,2 Although the two...
Treatment with conformal radiation therapy immediately following surgery in children with ependymoma may greatly improve survival. The findings were published by Merchant et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. “Historically, children under the age of 3 with ependymoma have a worse...
MICHIANA HEMATOLOGY Oncology has announced that Robin Zon, MD, FACP, FASCO, has been elected President by its shareholders. In her new role as President, Dr. Zon will oversee and maintain leadership of the practice. Dr. Zon is a member of ASCO and was awarded Fellow status; with ASCO, she served...
Leadership from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued the following statement yesterday: As the NIH Director stated in September, sexual harassment is about power. The goal of the perpetrator, most commonly but not exclusively a man, is to objectify, exclude, demoralize,...
IN 2017, ASCO issued its recommendations for addressing the oncology care needs of sexual and gender minority cancer survivors and the unique challenges they face.1 There are myriad reasons for cancer disparities in this population compared to heterosexual cisgender cancer survivors, including...
THERE IS little doubt that the U.S. health-care system is under assault from many directions.1 It is clear that the costs of health management are no longer sustainable, and the United States has one of the highest per capita health costs among the 36 member nations of the Organisation for...
THE PRINCIPALS and staff of Harborside, publisher of The ASCO Post, congratulate Harborside Medical Education (HSME) for staff recognition by the Alliance for Continuing Education (CE) in the Health Professions (the Alliance). Two senior staff were honored during the awards ceremony preceding the...
Discussions of benefits and harms from screening of high-risk populations for lung cancer have missed the point. The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) showed an early and statistically significant major benefit in all-cause mortality from computed tomography (CT) screening.1 Those referred for...
World Cancer Day 2019—February 4—highlights the need for urgent action to increase early-stage cancer detection, screening, and diagnosis to significantly improve patients’ chances of survival. Taking place with the theme of “I Am and I Will,” World Cancer...
At a time of unprecedented advances in the science of cancer, growing complexity in cancer treatments, and ongoing health policy fluctuation, the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) 9th annual Trending Now in Cancer Care survey reveals how cancer programs across the country are ...
Forty-six medical advocacy organization and professional societies have called on President Donald Trump, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to end the government shutdown and, in...
John Mendelsohn, MD, President Emeritus of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, died of glioblastoma on January 7, 2019, at his home in Houston at age 82. He was an internationally acclaimed leader in the field of medicine and scientist whose research helped pioneer a new type of...
Waun Ki Hong, MD, FACP, FASCO, led numerous clinical trials showing that cisplatin-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy could effectively treat patients with cancer of the larynx while sparing their voice box. This seminal work also served as a model for organ-preservation strategies in many other...
Ever since President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law on March 23, 2010, the nondiscrimination provision of the law, Section 1557, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health ...
THE INTERNATIONAL Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) has announced Dave Mesko, MBA, as its new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mesko replaces Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, who left IASLC after his 5-year term ended on October 31, 2018. Mr. Mesko will be primarily responsible for the overall ...
ANIL K. RUSTGI, MD, has been named Director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Pending approval of the university’s trustees, Dr. Rustgi will serve as Professor of...
In 2016, ASCO published an update to its Clinical Practice Guideline, “Integration of Palliative Care Into Standard Oncology Care,” which provides evidence-based recommendations for symptom management, clarification of treatment goals, support of coping and distress management, and coordination of...
Nicholas J. Petrelli, MD, FACS, Bank of America Endowed Medical Director of the Christiana Care Health System’s Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute in Newark, Delaware, recently received the Annual Commendation for Excellence from Christiana Care’s Medical-Dental Staff. An expert ...
ASCO and Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) applaud the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) recent revision of its clinical trial protocol template to broaden eligibility criteria for cancer clinical trials. The protocol template was expanded to help increase the opportunity for ...
The University of Pittsburg Medical Center (UPMC) recently announced the opening of a new radiotherapy center in Villa Maria, Italy, which will become part of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center network when it opens to patients later this year. The new center, named the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at...
In December, The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School will launch an innovative cancer care model called the CaLM (cancer life re-imagined) Clinic as part of its new cancer center, the Livestrong Cancer Institutes. The goal of the Livestrong Cancer Institutes and the CaLM Clinic is to...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) has moved into new headquarters to Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. The new location will allow for greater hosting capacity for meetings, guests, and a growing staff. “International surveys repeatedly show that oncologists...
A health-care system is evaluated by various metrics: one is how it cares for its most vulnerable patients. The United States spends far more on health care than any nation in the world, yet access to high-quality oncology services remains elusive to certain minority populations—none more so than...
The text and photographs on this page are excerpted from a four-volume series of books titled Oncology: Tumors & Treatment, A Photographic History, by Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS, and Elizabeth A. Burns. The photo below is from the volume titled “The Antiseptic Era: 1876–1900.” The photograph...