Extended follow-up in the Scandinavian Prostate Cancer Group Study Number 4 (SPCG4), reported recently in The New England Journal of Medicine,1 found that men with early-stage prostate cancer, particularly those under 65 years old, who were treated with radical prostatectomy had increased survival...
For decades, dedicated members of the oncology community have fought to increase the nation’s focus on lung cancer prevention and treatment. Although smoking cessation initiatives have reduced cigarette consumption, lung cancer 5-year survival has remained stagnant at 15%, lagging far below most...
Although cancer survival rates among pediatric and older adult patients continue to rise, survival rates for adolescents and young adults (AYAs), defined by the National Cancer Institute as those between the ages of 15 and 39, have remained stagnant for decades. In breast cancer especially, AYAs...
Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), CEO of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), welcomed about 150 congressional staffers to a March briefing in Washington, DC, with a plea for increased federal funding. “Extraordinary progress is being made in cancer research today, as evidenced by the...
According to data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, rates for new cases of thyroid cancer in the United States have been rising on average 6.4% each year over the past 10 years, and death rates have been rising on average 0.9% each year over the same period. The...
Last fall, Kirsten K. Ness, PhD, published her study1 on the prevalence of frailty as a sign of accelerated aging in adult survivors of childhood cancer, and the results are startling. Among the 1,922 participants in the study, the prevalence of prefrailty was 31.5% among women and 12.9% among men; ...
The recent study by Nam et al in The Lancet Oncology—reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—provides a fresh perspective on complications other than incontinence or erectile dysfunction that commonly arise after primary treatment of localized prostate cancer.1 The authors conducted a...
Men with newly diagnosed localized prostate cancer face a decision between prostatectomy and radiotherapy, treatments deemed similarly effective but with well-established trade-offs in terms of treatment-related morbidity. Numerous clinical trials and other prospective studies, from both academic...
Studies of complications of surgery or radiotherapy for prostate cancer generally focus on incontinence and erectile dysfunction. In a population-based cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Robert Nam, MD, MSc, FRCS(C), Professor of Surgery, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of...
Colorectal cancer is a common malignancy that will impact 1.4 million individuals globally each year.1 Approximately 70% to 75% of patients will present with locally advanced disease. For patients with stage III colon cancer, adjuvant chemotherapy is commonly offered, whereas chemotherapy for those ...
In the FACS trial, reported in JAMA, John N. Primrose, MD, FRCS, of University of Southampton, England, and colleagues compared outcomes with intensive follow-up with carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) measurement, computed tomography (CT), both, or minimum follow-up after curative surgery for primary...
Currently, one of the most challenging problems in oncology is to accurately predict whether neoplastic lesions detected by screening tests will progress. The focus on developing ever-more sensitive cancer screening tests has produced the clinical dilemma of overdiagnosis. Overdiagnosis occurs when ...
The recent report from the Canadian National Breast Screening Study (CNBSS)—published in BMJ and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—concluded that annual mammography in women aged 40 to 59 does not result in a reduction in mortality from breast cancer beyond that of physical examination alone...
"Double-hit” lymphomas remain challenging tumors, and the best means of treatment remains somewhat elusive, according to studies presented at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, and experts who commented on these findings. “We still don’t have a standard of...
Physicians at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, are studying the safety and effectiveness of prostate artery embolization in men with enlarged prostate glands and urinary obstruction. According to the National Institutes of Health,...
On March 11, ASCO released its first-ever comprehensive assessment of the daunting challenges facing America’s ability to continue to deliver high-quality care to all patients with cancer. ASCO President Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, introduced the assessment at a Congressional news briefing in...
Although breast-conserving therapy has been a standard practice for more than 20 years, controversy still exists over what constitutes the appropriate margin of normal breast tissue around a tumor that minimizes local recurrence while maintaining a good cosmetic outcome. Surveys of surgeons1 and...
The Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) formed a multidisciplinary expert panel in 2013 to examine the relationship between surgical margin width and ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence and develop guidelines on margins for breast-conserving...
In a phase II study, the 34 evaluable patients with peripheral T-cell lymphomas who received brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) had an overall response rate of 41%, including an overall response rate of 54% among the 13 patients with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. The median progression-free...
Detailed quality-of-life data from the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group (NCIC CTG) Mammary Prevention 3 (MAP.3) trial showed that exemestane given for the prevention of breast cancer “has limited negative impact on menopause-specific and health-related [quality of life] in...
Single-agent chemotherapy is standard in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. In the open-label phase III AURELIA trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Eric Pujade-Lauraine, MD, PhD, of Université Paris Descartes, and colleagues found that the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to...
Bariatric surgery for weight loss appears to protect obese women from developing uterine cancer, according to a large retrospective study presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer, held March 22–25 in Tampa, Florida. The study found that obese women who ...
Prophylactic surgery to remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes is advised for women who carry BRCA mutations to reduce the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. This procedure, referred to as risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy, typically does not require a hysterectomy. However, a new study presented ...
Women with gynecologic cancers who are treated at hospitals that frequently manage these conditions appear to live significantly longer than those who receive their care at lower-volume centers, according to a large study presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ofatumumab (Arzerra) injection in combination with chlorambucil (Leukeran) for the treatment of previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), for whom fludarabine-based therapy is considered inappropriate. The...
Sentinel node status is “the most powerful predictor” of melanoma-specific survival in patients with thin melanoma, according to a presentation at the 2014 Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Cancer Symposium in Phoenix.1 As a result, sentinel lymph node biopsy should be considered in patients with...
Inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 are getting attention as a novel approach for the treatment of breast cancer. At the 2014 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, two presentations focused on these new agents. One was a phase II study of Pfizer’s compound...
First-line treatment with the combination of palbociclib plus letrozole extended progression-free survival by approximately 50% in patients with metastatic estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, according to final results of the PALOMA-1 trial, a randomized phase II study...
“Adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer is gerontogenic,” accelerating the pace of physiologic aging, according to an analysis of blood and clinical data from 33 women with stage I to III breast cancer. “We have shown that cytotoxic chemotherapy potently induces the expression of markers of...
A retrospective analysis of patients with prostate cancer receiving primary treatment with either stereotactic body radiation therapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy found that those receiving stereotactic body radiotherapy had greater rates of genitourinary toxicity during 2-year...
When Jane Cooke Wright, MD, met with six other oncologists at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago on April 9, 1964, to discuss the creation of American Society of Clinical Oncology, the first medical society dedicated to bringing patient-oriented issues to clinical oncology, the Civil Rights Act...
On April 9, 1964, seven physicians—Jane Cooke Wright, MD, FASCO; Arnoldus Goudsmit, MD, PhD; Fred J. Ansfield, MD, FASCO; Harry F. Bisel, MD, FASCO; Herman H. Freckman, MD, FASCO; Robert W. Talley, MD, FASCO; and William Wilson, MD, FASCO—met for lunch at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. They...
One of the pleasures during my year as President was the ability to bring personal and professional passions and a sense of what really matters into focus for the work of our membership. My Presidential theme, Building Bridges to Conquer Cancer, reflected my particular interest in outreach to...
Clinical research is vital for the development and improvement of methods designed to prevent and treat cancer. The majority of clinical trials take place in the developed world through sponsored pharmaceutical research companies.1 The corresponding lack of research in developing countries results...
On April 21, 2014, ramucirumab (Cyramza) was approved for use as a single agent in the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma with disease progression on or after prior treatment with fluoropyrimidine- or platinum-containing...
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. On April 17, 2014, ofatumumab (Arzerra) received regular approval...
The number of cancer survivors has been steadily increasing in recent years. According to the Ministry of Health National Cancer Registry, in 2010 there were 254,000 cancer survivors in Israel (3.3% of the population) compared with 15,700 (0.4% of the population, P < .005) in 1975.1 Forty years...
An analysis of the first generation of childhood cancer survivors, who are now aging into their fourth and fifth decades, shows further increases in the survivors’ morbidity and mortality risks. “By age 50 years, more than half of survivors have experienced a severe, disabling, or life-threatening...
In a study reported in JAMA Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery,1 Davies and Welch found that the incidence of thyroid cancer has nearly tripled since 1975. However, the increase appears to represent an “epidemic of diagnosis” and to almost exclusively represent increased diagnosis of papillary...
The neurosurgeon is often the gateway provider when patients present with what on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appears to be a new glioblastoma. Because histology-based diagnosis is a prerequisite for initiating standard therapy with radiation and chemotherapy, the first question that the...
Many nonpharmacologic therapies increase both physical and emotional strength during cancer treatment as well as throughout survivorship. These therapies include the mind-body practices of meditation, self-hypnosis, guided imagery, and breath awareness, touch therapies including massage and...
More than 2 decades ago, Deane L. Wolcott, MD, helped develop comprehensive patient-centered psycho-oncology care in cancer centers across the country. Today, many aspects of that patient-centered care, including psychiatric, dietary, pain management, cancer rehabilitation medicine, survivorship,...
Most recent advances in the management of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are in the area of genetics, according to Steven Gore, MD, of Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven. “New genomics research is leading to a better understanding of MDS heterogeneity and disease biology, and may...
In 2012, just 1 year after taking the reins as President of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Ronald A. DePinho, MD, announced his plans to launch the Moon Shots Program, the most ambitious endeavor undertaken by the cancer center to dramatically accelerate the pace of reducing...
In a pilot study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Deborah Schrag, MD, MPH, and colleagues from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, assessed outcomes with neoadjuvant FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin)/bevacizumab (Avastin) with selective use of...
I have spent my career working with urologists. Over a long period of time, I have concluded that they are fine and interesting people who work hard, live well, support interesting hobbies, generally take good care of their families, and are very enjoyable company at parties. The recent discussion...
The long-term benefits of radical prostatectomy vs watchful waiting in men with localized prostate cancer has remained a debated issue. As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Anna Bill-Axelson, MD, of Uppsala University Hospital, and colleagues, additional long-term follow-up in the...
In a phase III trial (LUME-Lung 1) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Reck et al assessed the addition of nintedanib to docetaxel in second-line treatment of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).1 The combination significantly improved progression-free survival in all patients and improved overall...
INSIDE THE BLACK BOX is an occasional column providing insight into the FDA and its policies and procedures. In this installment, National Toxicology Program scientists Kembra L. Howdeshell, PhD, and Michael D. Shelby, PhD, discuss a recently completed monograph that reviews the published data on...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to volasertib for acute myeloid leukemia. Volasertib is currently being evaluated in a phase III clinical trial for the treatment of patients aged 65 or older, with previously untreated AML, who are ineligible for...