Susan G. Komen recently named Jane Visvader, PhD; George Lindeman, MBBS, PhD; and Matthew J. Ellis, BSc, MB, BChir, PhD, FRCP, as this year’s recipients of the Brinker Awards for Scientific Distinction. The 2019 Brinker Award winners will deliver keynote lectures at the upcoming 2019 San Antonio ...
A $5 million gift from the Edward P. Evans Foundation will create the Edward P. Evans Center for Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The gift will help Dana-Farber in transformative collaborative research aimed at treating, preventing, and ultimately curing MDS....
On September 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a drug safety communication warning that palbociclib, ribociclib, and abemaciclib—used to treat some patients with advanced breast cancer—may cause rare but severe inflammation of the lungs. The agency approved new warnings about...
On September 24, 2019, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) hosted its 23rd Annual Cancer Leadership Awards Reception. The event honored individuals who have been champions of cancer research and steadfast advocates for patients: Anna Barker, MA, PhD, Professor and Director, Transformative...
Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute (FCS) welcomes Zanetta Lamar, MD, to the statewide practice. She is practicing medical oncology and hematology in the Naples Goodlette office. After earning her medical degree with honors from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Dr. -Lamar...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recognized the recipients of its 2019 Gold Medal awards and other high-profile honors at the 2019ASTRO Annual Meeting in Chicago. Gold Medalists Walter J. Curran Jr, MD; Silvia C. Formenti, MD, FASTRO; and Thomas R. Mackie, PhD, were awarded the...
The chairman emeritus of The Estée Lauder Companies has made a $5 million gift to the University of Arizona Cancer Center. The gift from Leonard A. Lauder supports the clinical and translational research of David S. Alberts, MD, an expert in the field of ovarian cancer research and treatment. Dr....
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to trastuzumab deruxtecan for the treatment of HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer; granted Fast Track designation for bemcentinib for elderly patients with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML); granted Breakthrough...
Nothing prepared me for a diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in the fall of 2016. I had none of the typical symptoms of the cancer, such as night sweats, enlarged lymph nodes, or fatigue. In fact, my energy level was as high as ever, as I traveled around the country for business,...
Tony Hunter, PhD, a British-American biologist who is a Professor of Biology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has received a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Outstanding Investigator Award, which supports accomplished leaders in cancer research. He will receive more than $7,500,000...
On October 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved niraparib (Zejula) for patients with advanced ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer treated with three or more prior chemotherapy regimens and whose cancer is associated with homologous recombination...
Susan G. Komen recently unveiled the Susan G. Komen Center for Public Policy, which is part of the organization’s growing efforts to fight for the interests of those impacted by breast cancer among state and federal policymakers. Through the Center, Komen will educate and mobilize breast cancer...
A new study published by Zhao et al in JNCI Cancer Spectrum has linked health insurance literacy with medical financial hardship as well as nonmedical financial sacrifices among adult cancer survivors in the United States. The study’s authors say the study indicated that health insurance literacy...
The American Cancer Society and Melanoma Research Alliance have selected two new promising projects in a second round of funding under a partnership between the two organizations. The first grants funded through the partnership, in 2018, focused on advancing research to reduce side effects...
Linda L. Hogan died on August 30, 2019, following a 25-year history of living with breast cancer and a more recent diagnosis of advanced lung cancer. She was born on November 29, 1946, in Farmington, Maine, and was the only child of Eleanor Sidell (Hogan) Stevens of Madison/Waterville, Maine, and...
A recent study1 finding significantly longer progression-free survival and reduced risk for treatment-related toxicities among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer being treated with chemotherapy can have immediate application, albeit with some caveats related to the observational nature of...
Patients who were being treated with chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer and who reported engaging in physical activity had a significantly longer progression-free survival and reduced risk for treatment-related adverse events than did those reporting less physical activity, according to...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
City of Hope has opened a first-in-human clinical trial for patients with recurrent glioblastoma. The trial is the first to combine City of Hope’s chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells that target the IL13Rα2 antigen common on brain tumor cells in combination with nivolumab and ipilimumab. To...
African American and Hispanic patients with multiple myeloma generally start treatment with novel therapy significantly later than white patients, according to a study published by Ailawadhi et al in Blood Advances. The study found that, on average, it took about 3 months for white patients to...
On October 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for aprepitant (Cinvanti) injectable emulsion for intravenous (IV) use. The sNDA requested FDA approval to expand the recommended dosage to include the 130-mg single-dose regimen for...
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has announced the promotion of staff member Thaer Khoury, MD, to Chief of Breast Pathology within the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, at the Center’s campus in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Khoury has served on staff at Roswell Park since 2006,...
NYU Langone Health has become one of 23 institutions selected for inclusion in the American Association for Thoracic Surgery’s Thoracic Surgery Oncology Group (TSOG). A North American thoracic surgery clinical trials network, TSOG aims to improve the understanding of thoracic oncologic diseases and ...
The National Institutes of Health(NIH) has recently announced the names of two recipients of the 2019 Director’s Pioneer Awards whose research focuses on cell biology: Jennifer H. Elisseeff, PhD, is focusing onregenerative immunotherapies, and Valentina Greco, PhD, is studying the role of stem...
The American College of Clinical Pharmacology (ACCP) presented Peter Wiernik, MD, with the Nathaniel T. Kwit Memorial Distinguished Service Award at the ACCP’s Annual Meeting in September. Dr. Wiernik is Director of the Cancer Research Foundation of New York. The Nathaniel T. Kwit Memorial...
A new study has found that oncology massage therapy can provide symptomatic relief for a common and difficult-to-treat side effect of cancer treatment. Patients with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy experienced a sustained reduction in lower-extremity pain up to 6 weeks after completion...
On October 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for romiplostim (Nplate) to include new data in its U.S. prescribing information showing sustained platelet responses in adults with immune thrombocytopenia. The updated...
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.” –Robert Frost One of the first patients I encountered after residency was a 26-year-old woman with a single brain metastasis from melanoma. For anonymity, let’s call her Anna. Anna had just...
Nationally regarded melanoma researcher Mary J.C. Hendrix, PhD, was born in La Jolla, California, a seaside community surrounded by ocean bluffs and beaches within the city of San Diego. She was reared in a Navy family that moved from the West Coast to the East Coast during her childhood,...
A new model works to determine which genetic mutations may respond best to treatment with immunotherapy. Richman et al published the data on the model’s development in Cell Systems, and the algorithm, antigen.garnish, is already available online as an open source technology to serve as a resource. ...
Tailored exercise may help to minimize cardiotoxicity in patients with cancer, according to a report published by D’Ascenzi et al in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. Cardiovascular diseases are common side effects in patients with cancer. This is the result of cardiotoxicity, whereby...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation to a therapy for steroid-refractory acute graft-vs-host disease and granted Orphan Drug designation to a therapy for peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Fast Track Designation for T-Guard in Steroid-Refractory Acute...
Using virtual, cloud-based, interconnected computing techniques applied to 51,000 variables, researchers reduced the time needed to assess a patient’s tumor profile and suitability for clinical trials from 14 to 4 days. This method also increased the number of cases that could be assessed compared...
National lung cancer screening guidelines are inadequate to diagnose patients who contract lung cancer from occupational exposure, including first responders, according to a study reported by Vershalee Shukla, MD, at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer’s (IASLC) North America ...
A study published by Williams et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found that direct costs for patients with metastatic breast cancer increased when their treatment differed from recommendations found in the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology® (NCCN...
Over half of patients treated with the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib developed new or worsened high blood pressure within 6 months of starting the medication, according to a study published by Dickerson et al in Blood. The analysis is also the first to tie ibrutinib-related...
Researchers have identified a gene pattern that may help predict which patients with breast cancer will have early or late disease recurrence following radiation therapy. The ability to predict the timing of recurrence could change—and improve—treatment strategies and determine the length of...
Somatic mutations of DNA damage repair genes like ATM and BRCA1 or BRCA2 may result in poor disease prognosis and chemotherapy resistance. However, a study by Lee et al presented at ASCO Breakthrough: A Global Summit for Oncology Innovators (Abstract 130) investigated the possibility that these...
GUEST EDITOR Integrative Oncology is guest edited by Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine and Chief of Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the...
The Prevent Cancer Foundation recently honored Andrew C. von Eschenbach, MD, with the James L. Mulshine, MD, Leadership Award for his work leading the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), the first large-scale clinical trial for low-dose computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening. The award...
SUSAN G. KOMEN recently announced $26 million in funding for new research projects that focus on metastatic breast cancer, new treatments, and disparities in breast cancer outcomes. This year’s grant slate focuses on key areas that will help the organization achieve its bold goal to reduce the...
Let’s face it, men don’t go to the doctor as often as we should. At least that has been my experience. I felt compelled to finally make an appointment with my primary care physician after I began working as a research assistant at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai in 2014, as it felt...
I read with great interest and appreciation the Law and Ethics in Oncology column, “Should You Become an Expert Witness in a Legal Proceeding? Here Are the Pros and Cons,” by Thaddeus Pope, JD, PhD (August 25, 2019, issue of The ASCO Post). I am an oncologist and have been an expert witness in a...
Most Latinx people who are LGBTQI+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex) reported being reluctant to share their gender identity and/or sexual orientation with a health-care provider, and a majority have never received cancer information tailored for their community, according...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
Vassiliki Papadimitrakopoulou, MD, has been appointed Clinical Development Leader of Pfizer Oncology. Dr. Papadimitrakopoulou will be based in New York City. Recognized around the world for her expertise in personalized genomics-driven cancer therapies, immunotherapies, translational research, and ...
Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes nearly all cervical cancers and is attributed to some cancers of the vagina, vulva, penis, anus, and oropharynx. Although most HPV infections are asymptomatic and usually resolve within 1 to 2 years, persistent infections can lead to precancer and cancer. According ...
Columbia University awarded the 2019 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize to three scientists: Lewis C. Cantley, PhD, of Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York; David M. Sabatini, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and ...
RESEARCHERS FROM Fox Chase Cancer Center have discovered a link between higher patient volume at cancer facilities and improved survival in two studies of patients with advanced cancer.1,2 These data underscore the ability of a higher-volume facility to provide patients with more experience and...
City of Hope recently announced that several of its researchers and faculty have been named as the recipients of several awards and grants. These accolades recognize individuals for their work in their respective fields of human genetics education, genomic research, and leptomeningeal disease....