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Showing 6601 - 6650When Illness and Culture Collide
“‘Sickness’ is what is happening to the patient. Listen to him. Disease is what is happening to science and to populations.” —Lawrence Weed, MD, 1978 America’s massive health-care system is highly complex, with its own unique language, methods, technologies, and scientific approaches, developed and ...
Electronic ‘Datarrhea’ and Wellness
THE INTRODUCTION of the electronic health record (EHR) was supposed to lead us to a utopian world for health-care delivery in America. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law on March 23, 2010, promoted its implementation by providing financial incentives.1 The Centers for...
A Career Path Shaped by Unlimited Possibilities for Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO
In this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, interviewed Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO, ASCO’s Chief Executive Officer. Prior to his current position, Dr. Hudis served in a variety of roles at ASCO, including President during ASCO’s 50th anniversary...
California Researchers Receive $4.5 Million to Develop Immunotherapies in Head and Neck Cancer
RESEARCHERS AT LA JOLLA INSTITUTE for Immunology and University of California (UC), San Diego, have been awarded $4.5 million as part of the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer Moonshot initiative. The funding will support research to develop new and improved immunotherapeutic options for patients...
The Abscopal Effect: A Reemerging Field of Interest
For the past 50 years or more, oncologists have designed their treatment plans around the three pillars: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. Now, with a series of recent successes, immunotherapy is rapidly reemerging as the fourth pillar in the oncologic armamentarium. Despite major advancements...
2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Award Winners Announced
THE SAN ANTONIO Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will honor three researchers for their work in breast cancer at the upcoming 2018 SABCS in December. They are Ian Smith, MD, FRCP, FRCPE, who will receive the SABCS William L. McGuire Memorial...
ASCO President-Elect Candidates Identify Key Issues Facing the Field of Oncology
Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, of the University of Michigan, and Carolyn D. Runowicz, MD, FASCO, of Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, were selected by the ASCO Nominating Committee as candidates for President-Elect. Why do you want to serve as ASCO...
Your Voice Matters: Vote in the ASCO Election by December 3
Each year, we call upon the ASCO members to place their votes to select our Society’s future leaders. This year, we are asking that you not only vote for the open leadership positions, but also for a proposed bylaw change. ASCO’s mission is more urgent than ever in today’s landscape of fast-moving ...
Cemiplimab-rwlc for Metastatic or Locally Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma
On September 28, 2018, cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo) was approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma or locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma who are not candidates for curative surgery or curative radiation.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval...
Patients With Cancer in Rural America Remain Underserved
Despite growing national awareness of health-care inequities, the plight of rural Americans diagnosed with cancer has persistently remained inadequate. Speaking with The ASCO Post, Jan Probst, PhD, Professor at the Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, noted, “We...
Parenteral Opioid Shortage Threatens Appropriate Pain Care for Patients With Cancer
In response to the opioid-overdose epidemic, several measures have been put in place, such as the reclassification of hydrocodone as a Schedule II opioid and new requirements for physician review of prescription drug–monitoring program databases in most states. Moreover, the Surgeon General and...
Inflammation, DNA Damage, and Cancer
The link between inflammation and cancer is a field of growing interest in the oncology community. Biologists have theorized that simultaneous DNA damage and cell division during inflammation could lead to cancer. To shed light on this important issue, The ASCO Post recently spoke with Jennifer...
Dacomitinib for Metastatic EGFR-Mutant NSCLC
On September 27, 2018, dacomitinib (Vizimpro) received approval for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletion or exon 21 L858R substitution mutations, as detected by a test approved by the...
Undertreatment of High-Risk Prostate Cancer in Latino Men
New research by Lichtensztajn et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network examined disparities in care for Latino men with prostate cancer. A team of researchers from UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, Stanford Cancer Institute, and...
Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD, Works to Unmask Cancer’s Achilles Heel
Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD, knew from the start of his medical career that if treatments for cancer were to become curative, research in new therapies would have to move away from the mainstay one-size-fits-all approach of systemic chemotherapy to an innovative, personalized strategy that...
ASTRO/ASCO/AUA Guideline for Early-Stage Prostate Cancer Supports Use of Hypofractionated Radiotherapy
Three prominent medical organizations have issued a new clinical guideline for physicians treating men with early-stage prostate cancer using external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT). Developed by a panel of experts from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), ASCO, and the American...
Atlantic Health System Announces Collaboration to Further Patient Access to Innovative Cancer Therapies
The Atlantic Health System, an integrated health-care delivery system, recently announced a partnership with the Translational Genomics Research Institute, an affiliate of City of Hope, and Origin Commercial Ventures to create a new platform to deliver economically viable immunotherapies and other...
Building Improved and Sustainable Health-Care Systems Through Telemedicine
Telemedicine—the remote diagnosis and treatment of patients via telecommunications technology—has changed the way oncology care is delivered in rural parts of the world. Patients in rural areas are now able to connect remotely with their physicians without having to deal with the time, expense, and ...
Modern Clinical Trials: Engaging Stakeholders at the Front Lines of Care
Randomized clinical trials have been providing high-quality evidence for decades, but there are limitations to the traditional design. At the 2018 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, George J. Chang, MD, MS, FACS, FASCRS, discussed the need to modernize clinical trials, so they continue to provide...
Expert Point of View: Sandro Pignata, MD
The study’s invited discussant, Sandro Pignata, MD, of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori di Napoli in Italy, called the data from AGO OVAR 2.21 “very strong.” He added: “We now have robust evidence from a trial of more than 600 patients, in which previous bevacizumab (Avastin) was allowed, that...
Study Identifies Suitable Partner for Bevacizumab in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
For patients with recurrent ovarian cancer who receive platinum-based retreatment, the more suitable partner for bevacizumab (Avastin) may be carboplatin plus pegylated liposomal doxorubicin, rather than carboplatin and gemcitabine, according to the results of a phase III ENGOT/GCIG Intergroup...
Neoadjuvant Therapy With Reduced-Dose Immunotherapy for Stage III Melanoma
In patients with stage III melanoma, a reduced-dose neoadjuvant immunotherapy combination was well tolerated and led to high pathologic response rates, in the phase II OpACIN-neo trial presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2018 Congress.1 “Neoadjuvant ipilimumab (Yervoy) at...
Expert Point of View: Daniel Heinrich, MD, and Silke Gillessen, MD
Formal discussant of the ERA 223 trial, Daniel Heinrich, MD, of Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway, reminded listeners at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2018 Congress that radium-223 was developed in Norway. “When the ALSYMPCA results came out, we were celebrating....
Expert Point of View: Viktor Grünwald, MD, PhD
Formal discussant Viktor Grünwald, MD, PhD, of the Hannover Medical School, Germany, agreed that the results of JAVELIN Renal 101 were impressive, but he was more cautious about accepting avelumab (Bavencio)/axitinib (Inlyta) as a new standard of care without longer follow-up and quality-of-life...
Phase III Study Supports Use of Cisplatin Over Cetuximab in HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Cancer
In the United States and European countries, many oncologists are using cetuximab (Erbitux)/radiotherapy instead of cisplatin/radiotherapy in the treatment of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer, based on the belief that cetuximab is equally effective with less toxicity than...
Expert Point of View: Jean-Pascal Machiels, MD, PhD, and Tanguy Seiwert, MD
Invited discussant Jean-Pascal Machiels, MD, PhD, Head of the Department of Medical Oncology at the Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc, UCLouvain, Brussels, called the study “very important,” especially for showing that in patients with high expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1),...
Expert Point of View: Julien Taieb, MD, PhD
The invited discussant for the CheckMate-142 findings was Julien Taieb, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at Paris Descartes University in France. Dr. Taieb called the findings “impressive” but said longer follow-up is needed, especially since median outcomes have not yet been reached. After a...
First-Line Immunotherapy Shows Benefit in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Subset
In previously untreated patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and tumors demonstrating microsatellite instability–high (MSI-high) or mismatch repair deficiency (dMMR), immunotherapy with nivolumab (Opdivo) and low-dose ipilimumab (Yervoy) produced a durable clinical benefit in the...
Ivy Brain Tumor Center to Study Treatments for Brain Malignancies
The Ben and Catherine Ivy Foundation, in partnership with the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, has awarded a $50 million grant to establish a new translational science program focusing on early-phase, pharmacodynamic- and pharmacokinetic-driven clinical trials for aggressive brain tumors. ...
Expert Point of View: George Coukos, MD, PhD
George Coukos, MD, PhD, Director of the Department of Oncology at the University Hospitals of Canton Vaud and Director of the Lausanne branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, was the invited discussant of the NICHE study at the European...
Adverse Mental Health Outcomes in Breast Cancer Survivors
In a systematic review of the literature reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Carreira et al found that most evidence strongly supports increased risk of anxiety, depression, neurocognitive dysfunction, and other forms of psychological issues in survivors of breast...
Radiotherapy Reduces Risk of Recurrence by More Than 70% in Some Patients With Ductal Carcinoma in Situ
Radiation therapy after breast-conserving surgery reduced the already-low risk of recurrence by more than 70% in patients with defined “good-risk” breast cancer, according to a long-term clinical trial report presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology...
Dealing With the Challenges Presented by the Parenteral Opioid Shortage
The opioid drug problem in the United States is a crisis, with unprecedented numbers of overdose deaths. The reaction to this has resulted in new federal laws and regulations aimed at restricting overuse and overprescribing of opioids. However, these well-intentioned actions, along with other...
Lung Cancer Screening: Proven Effective but Still Fighting for Acceptance
In 2010, the long-awaited findings from the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) revealed that participants who received low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) scans had a 15% to 20% lower risk of dying of lung cancer than participants who received standard chest x-rays. In response, the U.S....
NCRI 2018: HiLo Trial: Rate of Thyroid Cancer Recurrence After Adjuvant Lower-Dose Radiation
Patients with thyroid cancer whose disease is at low risk of returning can be treated safely with a smaller amount of radiation following surgery, according to results from the HiLo trial presented by Wadsley et al at the 2018 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference (Abstract...
NCRI 2018: COMPARE Study: Side Effects and Quality of Life Associated With Prostate Cancer Care
Men who have been newly diagnosed with prostate cancer say they would trade some improvement in their odds of survival for improvements in side effects and quality of life, according to research presented by Ahmed et al at the 2018 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference...
NCRI 2018: Mortality in Men With Malignant Melanoma
The rate of men dying from malignant melanoma has risen in populations around the world, whereas in some countries, mortality rates for the disease are steady or falling for women, according to research presented by Yang et al at the 2018 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference...
Financial Toxicity Experienced by Adults With Cancer
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Knight et al found that 26% of patients with cancer acknowledged ‘financial toxicity’—treatment-related financial harm—with respect to cancer care, and that this toxicity was associated with consequences such as...
ME STRONG Joins With ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation to Support Research for Men’s Cancers and Neuroblastoma
ME STRONG, a nonprofit public charity in Deland, Florida, is one of the newest supporters of Conquer Cancer. Linda Ryan, ME STRONG co-founder and 16-year cancer survivor, understands the importance of research: it saved her life decades ago, and she’s relying on experimental treatment as she...
ASCO in the Community: Listening and Learning From Our Patients in Appalachia
2018–2019 ASCO President Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, FASCO, is putting the words of her presidential theme— “caring for every patient, learning from every patient” —into action. During her term, she and other ASCO leaders will be traveling to local communities around the United States to...
Study Identifies Significant Risk Factors for Chemotherapy-Induced Febrile Neutropenia
New research by Family et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network identifies risk factors for chemotherapy-induced febrile neutropenia, a dangerously low white blood cell count that increases the risk of serious infection and fever. The study was led...
New Report Demonstrates Cost of Blood Cancer Care
The costs to treat blood cancer are higher than costs for other cancers, and the costs incurred by a patient diagnosed with a blood cancer do not return to precancer levels, according to a Milliman study commissioned by The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). The study—The...
Transcription Factors TP63 and SOX2 in Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progression
Squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) are malignancies arising from squamous epithelium of various organs, such as esophagus, head and neck, lung, and skin. Previous studies demonstrated that two master transcription factors, TP63 and SOX2, effect genomic activation in SCCs. Now, researchers from...
2018 Palliative Care: Can an AI-Based App Help Manage Cancer-Related Pain?
A study of 112 patients with metastatic solid tumors found that the use of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based smartphone app reduced both the severity of patients’ reported pain and hospital admissions. After an 8-week period, patients who used the AI-powered app to monitor and address...
2018 Palliative Care: Immunotherapy-Related Adverse Events May Be More Common Than Initially Reported
An analysis of nearly 2,800 patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received the immune checkpoint inhibitors nivolumab (Opdivo), pembrolizumab (Keytruda), or atezolizumab (Tecentriq) found that adverse events may be more common than reported in the initial trials that led...
Developing Patient-Centered Palliative Care From Diagnosis to End of Life
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...
Tackling Financial Toxicity: One Institution’s Roadmap Forward
ALTHOUGH FINANCIAL toxicity has become an important issue in the oncology community, evidence suggests the subject is rarely addressed by oncologists, exacerbating its grave effects on patients with cancer and their families.1 “But I don’t think it’s because health-care providers don’t want to...
Venetoclax for CLL or SLL With or Without 17p Deletion After Prior Therapy
On June 8, 2018, venetoclax (Venclexta) was granted regular approval for treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), with or without 17p deletion, who have received at least one prior therapy.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data APPROVAL WAS BASED on ...
Do Incident Learning Systems Prevent Medical Errors?
ACCORDING TO a study by Johns Hopkins, medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States.1 Lakshmi Santanam, PhD, tackled such sobering data at the 2018 ASCO Quality Care Symposium. “Incident learning systems are not just about medical errors or data; it’s kind of a first...
Challenges and Successes of Adopting an Oncology Care Model
IN ORDER TO rein in the untenable rise in costs while delivering high-value cancer care, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation developed a new payment system—the Oncology Care Model. At the 2018 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, Cardinale B. Smith, MD, PhD, shed light on the system’s...
