A brain-boosting protein plays an important role in how well people respond to chemotherapy, researchers reported at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress in Singapore. A study (Abstract 497O_PR) found that patients with cancer suffering from depression have decreased amounts of brain-derived neurotrophic...
The first data on rare sarcomas in Asian patients were presented in three studies at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress in Singapore. Just half of patients with advanced angiosarcoma received chemotherapy, although it improved overall survival. CIC-rearranged sarcomas were associated with a much worse...
Asian patients with head and neck cancer live longer with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) immunotherapy than the overall population, according to a subanalysis of the KEYNOTE-012 trial presented at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress in Singapore. “Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is the seventh most...
Around 20% of patients with breast cancer in Sweden do not complete endocrine therapy, according to research that will be reported at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress (Abstract 62O_PR), to be held December 16–19 in Singapore.The study in over 5,500 women found that younger patients and those who...
Integrating palliative care into the treatment of patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for cancers like leukemia and lymphoma can improve their quality of life, relieve symptoms associated with the procedure, and reduce depression and anxiety, not only during the 3- to 4-week ...
Patients in Chandigarh, India, waited an average of 4 months before seeking a cancer diagnosis, according to a recent study. Some patients waited less than a week before seeing a doctor—while others waited 3 years. The researchers will report their findings at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress ...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Hellman et al, the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) showed promising activity as first-line treatment in patients in the non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cohort of the phase I CheckMate 012 study. Study Details In the...
In part 1 of the phase II ARIEL2 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Swisher et al found that the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib was associated with prolonged progression-free survival among patients with relapsed platinum-sensitive high-grade ovarian carcinoma who had...
The artificial-intelligence platform Watson for Oncology (WFO) achieved a high degree of concordance with the recommendations of a panel of oncologists in a double-blinded validation study, according to results presented at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held December 6 to 10...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chakravarthy et al found that human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven tumors accounted for 4.1% of nonoropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck. HPV-positive tumors were associated with poorer survival and reduced...
Cardiovascular toxicities associated with cancer treatments are not new. What is new, and what has prompted recent articles in The New England Journal of Medicine,1,2 is the explosion of cancer therapies, which has dramatically changed the natural course of many cancers but can lead to cardiac,...
Among women enrolled in the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study I (IBIS-I), those who had certain symptoms of menopause—nausea/vomiting and headaches—were significantly less likely to be adherent to the assigned medication 4.5 years after starting the treatment, according to...
“I am greatly saddened by the death of former Congressman Melvin R. Laird, who, over the course of his distinguished career in public service, played a key role in advancing biomedical research and the mission of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Our thoughts are with his family and the...
Although my diagnosis of stage IIIB melanoma 5 years ago came as a shock, in hindsight, it shouldn’t have been so surprising. I had noticed a small freckle-like lesion on my upper left thigh that had become itchy and occasionally bled, but it didn’t fit the ABCDE (Asymmetry, Border irregularity,...
Presurgical treatment with the investigational therapeutic abemaciclib, either alone or in combination with the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole, reduced levels of Ki67, a marker of cell proliferation, in hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer cells, compared with anastrozole...
A few years ago, I had the good fortune to join a research team that intended to create a device to help dying children express their wants and needs despite communication challenges. The brain tumor team at SickKids [also known as The Hospital for Sick Children] had cared for several children...
Adding an aromatase inhibitor to presurgical treatment with docetaxel, carboplatin, trastuzumab (Herceptin), and pertuzumab (Perjeta) did not significantly increase or decrease the percentage of patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-positive breast cancer who had a pathologic...
In recognition of wide-ranging contributions to the fields of cancer prevention; patient care; and basic, translational, and clinical research, seven faculty members from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of...
Among the most widely attended sessions at the 2016 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium in September was the keynote lecture, “Wit, Hex, Vin, Life, Death: Using Wit as a Teaching Tool,” given by Margaret Edson, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning play Wit. Wit tells the story of an accomplished ...
In 2015, Janet Riddle, MD, and her colleagues published an article1 outlining 12 key themes for delineating how fellowship programs in medical education should be developed (See “12 Tips for Developing Successful Fellowship Programs for Medical Educators,” below.) The ASCO Post talked with Dr....
Launching a new cancer journal is a risky and arduous endeavor, especially for a specialty publication in resource-challenged countries in the developing world. To succeed, a specialty journal must publish articles from established clinical researchers that quickly garner funding and captivate its...
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has announced it has committed $40.3 million in new research investments to advance the most promising blood cancer science at leading academic and medical centers around the world, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; Weill Cornell Medicine; Memorial...
From Nancy E. Davidson, MD, President of the AACR and Executive Director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/University of Washington Cancer Consortium, and Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), Chief Executive Officer of the AACR On behalf of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR),...
William Sellers, MD, a widely respected cancer researcher with extensive experience in cancer genomics and therapeutic discovery, is returning to the Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School (HMS) as a...
ASCO recently released its Criteria for High-Quality Clinical Pathways in Oncology, a set of 15 interrelated criteria that provide an overarching framework for assessing pathway programs in the United States. ASCO developed the criteria to guide stakeholders in assessing the quality, utility, and...
We have an incredible opportunity for you to make an amazing impact at the Conquer Cancer Foundation! An anonymous donor is offering a Matching Gift Challenge, which will double the value of every gift we receive by December 31—dollar for dollar—up to $64,000! This amount is enough to fund one of...
Blood has covered experimental and clinical hematologic research as the flagship journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). Launched officially on November 29, 2016, the open-access online journal Blood Advances will fill a niche that complements and expands on topics covered in Blood...
The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) are calling on policymakers and leaders throughout the world to provide robust and sustained funding for cancer research. The two organizations say there has been a...
Despite the routine use of HER2 blockade in early HER2-positive breast cancer, clinicians can always benefit from a refresher on key treatment considerations. Clinical pearls and controversial issues were the topic of a presentation at the 14th Annual School of Breast Oncology at Emory University, ...
David Tuveson, MD, PhD, will succeed Bruce Stillman, AO, FAA, FRS, as Director of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center. Dr. Tuveson is the Roy J. Zuckerberg Professor of Cancer Research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the Head of the Lustgarten Foundation Pancreatic Cancer Research...
Progression-free survival was more than doubled for patients with metastatic hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer resistant to aromatase inhibitor therapy by adding everolimus (Afinitor) to treatment with the endocrine therapeutic fulvestrant (Faslodex), according to data...
Genomic sequencing of estrogen receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer that had become resistant to therapies revealed multiple genomic and molecular alterations that were not present in the primary tumor samples, with implications for choice of next therapy, clinical trial eligibility,...
City of Hope’s Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, has received an accolade that recognizes his decades-long dedication to treating patients with lung cancer and researching new therapies. Dr. Salgia received the 2016 Asclepius Award from...
Elizabeth M. Swisher, MD, Medical Director of the Breast and Ovarian Cancer Prevention Program at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, enjoys developing long-term patient relationships and helping patients who are confronted with cancer and terminal issues. She is particularly interested in the...
Although we’ve seen substantial progress in cancer treatment, screening, diagnosis, and prevention over the past decades, certain underserved populations have not reaped the benefits of many of these advances. Turning research into actionable programs in this area was highlighted by a presentation ...
In an interview with The ASCO Post, Steven Piantadosi, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, expressed enthusiasm for the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network (ORIEN) network of data-sharing. “With...
Oncologists may be accustomed to looking for commonalities in patients, but highly personalized therapies are now being developed based on mutational analysis of tumors. According to data presented at the Cedars-Sinai annual symposium on New Therapeutics in Oncology: The Road to Personalized...
African Americans are more than twice as likely as their white counterparts to be diagnosed with multiple myeloma, and twice as likely to die from this form of cancer. Research presented at the 9th American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference on the Science of Cancer Health...
City of Hope and Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) have announced an alliance to make precision medicine a reality for patients. This alliance enables both institutes to complement each other in their common areas of research and patient care, with City of Hope providing a...
In November, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center celebrated its 75th anniversary with a week-long series of events that raised nearly $15 million to support its efforts in patient care and in the investigation and treatment of cancer. Housed on 16 million square feet in the city of...
One immune checkpoint inhibitor has now moved to the front of the line for treating advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Based on pivotal studies presented at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) became a first-line option, and it is...
It is gratifying to see the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) does listen to public comments regarding new proposals. Since CMS opened the comment period for its Quality Payment Program, which repeals the Sustainable Growth Rate Formula and was proposed to implement the Medicare...
Despite an elevated risk of toxicity from chemotherapy, children with Down syndrome and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) did not experience higher rates of relapse or treatment-related mortality compared with other children treated on Dana-Farber Cancer Institute ALL Consortium Protocols,...
It may be possible to safely prevent one of the most common—and costly to treat—infections contracted by hospitalized patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation for the treatment of blood cancers, according to a study from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of...
A new McGill University study published by Syrowatka et al in JNCCN – Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found that most patients with breast cancer aged 65 and older use psychotropic and opioid medications during active treatment, often in the first year of...
Having a child with cancer led to income reductions for parents and job discontinuation among mothers in a recent study, even after adjusting for prediagnosis sociodemographic factors. Published by Norberg et al in Cancer, the findings indicate that childhood cancer affects parents' income and...
Proactive outreach to cirrhosis patients in a safety net health system successfully doubled their screening rates for liver cancer, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers found in a study published by Singal et al in Gastroenterology. Cirrhosis patients are at high risk to develop liver...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted ponatinib (Iclusig) full approval for the treatment of adult patients with chronic-phase, accelerated-phase, or blast-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or Philadelphia chromosome–positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) for whom no ...
ASCO today released Criteria for High-Quality Clinical Pathways in Oncology, a set of 15 inter-related criteria that provide an overarching framework for assessing pathway programs in the United States. ASCO developed the criteria to guide stakeholders in assessing the quality, utility, and...
Andrew W. Gurman, MD, President of the American Medical Association (AMA), issued the following statement on November 21: “The nation’s slide toward health insurance monopolies will be contested in federal court today as the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a bipartisan group of...