Jemal et al described findings indicating a continued decline in the incidence of localized/regional-stage prostate cancer at 2 years after the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation against routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening in men aged ≥ 50 years in 2011, in a letter ...
In a post hoc analysis of the German phase III FIRE-3 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Stintzing et al found that first-line FOLFIRI (fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan) plus cetuximab (Erbitux) was associated with improved overall survival vs FOLFIRI plus bevacizumab (Avastin) in an...
A randomized clinical trial found that introducing palliative care shortly after a diagnosis of certain metastatic cancers greatly increases a patient’s coping abilities, as well as overall quality of life. Researchers also found that early integration of palliative care results in an...
Approximately 20% of patients with follicular lymphoma will relapse within 2 years of diagnosis. Although the optimal management of these patients has not been established, clinicians may be guided by data from recent clinical trials, according to Nathan H. Fowler, MD, Associate Professor and...
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) identified 14 genes regulating genome integrity that were consistently overexpressed in a wide variety of cancers. They then created a scoring system based upon the degree of gene overexpression. For...
In a retrospective multicohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Hearn et al found that the inherited HSD3B1 (1245C) allele was significantly associated with resistance to androgen-deprivation therapy and poorer outcome in men with prostate cancer. HSD3B1 (1245A>C) has been linked to...
In a pooled analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Meignan et al found that higher baseline total metabolic tumor volume measured by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron-emission tomography–computed tomography (FDG PET-CT) was associated with poorer outcome in patients...
In the phase III CASTOR trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Palumbo et al found that adding the anti-CD38 antibody daratumumab (Darzalex) to bortezomib (Velcade) and dexamethasone markedly improved progression-free survival among patients with relapsed or relapsed and refractory...
A novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) method that detects low levels of zinc ion can help distinguish healthy prostate tissue from cancer, The University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center radiologists have determined. The findings were published by Clavijo Jordan et al in the Proceedings ...
In a phase III trial (MINDACT) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Cardoso et al found that adjuvant chemotherapy may be avoidable in women with early-stage breast cancer who are at high clinical risk but low genomic risk as determined by the 70-gene signature assay (MammaPrint)....
Radiation for prostate cancer typically requires 40 to 45 daily treatments, given over 8 to 9 weeks. Long fractionation schemes are chosen for most cancers, because they allow for tumor killing while reducing the potential for injury to normal tissue. However, the radiobiology of prostate cancer...
In a phase III noninferiority trial (NRG Oncology RTOG 0415) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, W. Robert Lee, MD, MS, Med, of Duke University Medical Center, and colleagues found that hypofractionated radiotherapy was not inferior to conventional radiotherapy in disease-free survival...
Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) may have unraveled the metastatic mechanism of melanoma. According to a paper published by Dror et al in Nature Cell Biology, scientists discovered that before spreading to other organs, a melanoma tumor sends out tiny vesicles containing molecules of...
Patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) positive for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor T790M resistance mutation on a plasma assay had similar outcomes with the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor osimertinib (Tagrisso) as did those who were positive ...
Lucio Crinò, MD, of the University Medical School of Perugia, Italy, and colleagues found that ceritinib (Zykadia) was active overall and in central nervous system (CNS) metastases in patients with ALK-rearranged advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) previously treated with crizotinib...
Moffitt Cancer Center researchers recently received two National Cancer Institute (NCI) grants to further research in two areas of study: bone metastasis in prostate cancer and imaging biomarkers for early cancers. Moffitt Cancer Center researchers David Basanta, PhD, and Conor Lynch, PhD, have ...
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO funds the brightest minds in clinical and translational cancer research through its Grants and Awards Program. Since its inception in 1984, the Grants and Awards program has awarded more than $100 million through more than 1,500 grants and awards to at least 65 ...
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO (CCF) presented more than $6.1 million in grants and awards to nearly 250 promising oncology researchers at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting. The Conquer Cancer Foundation and ASCO congratulate the recipients on their contributions to the field of oncology and...
In the July 25 issue of The ASCO Post, the Letter to the Editor titled “Revisiting Ovarian Ablation in Early Breast Cancer: A Mismatch Between Global Values and Clinical Practice Guidelines,” by Richard R. Love, MD, appeared without a complete reference list. The ASCO Post apologizes to Dr. Love...
The information contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies focused on chronic lymphocytic leukemia. These studies are investigating multiple combination chemotherapies; regimens for relapsed and/or refractory disease; the role of inhibitors;...
Scientific Name: Matricaria recutita, Chamomilla recutita, Matricaria chamomilla Common Names: Hungarian chamomile, wild chamomile Overview An aromatic annual herb prevalent in Europe, North Africa, and Northwest Asia, chamomile has been used as a medicinal plant for several centuries. It has been ...
BookmarkTitle: Breast Cancer Surgery and Reconstruction: What’s Right for YouAuthor: Patricia Anstett, with photography by Kathleen GalliganPublisher: Rowman & LittlefieldPublication date: June 2, 2016Price: $35.00; hardcover, 224 pages Over the past 2 decades, we have seen tremendous...
With the increasing population of older adults with cancer, there has been a commensurate need for more readily available and widely accessible educational and clinical resources in geriatric oncology. As part of the Cancer and Aging Research Group and ASCO’s Geriatric Oncology Special Interest...
After the Vietnam War, close to a million refugees, known as “boat people,” fled Vietnam, hazarding the open ocean on dangerously overloaded vessels. The term “boat people” is often used generically to refer to all the Vietnamese (about 2 million) who left their country by any means between 1975...
In a phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Hagop M. Kantarjian, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues found that treatment with the antibody-drug conjugate inotuzumab ozogamicin resulted in a greater complete remission rate and improved ...
A new study published online by JAMA Oncology examined the prevalence and significance of estrogen receptor mutations in patients with metastatic breast cancer.1 The activation of the estrogen receptor is a feature of most breast cancers in which estrogen receptor expression is detected. An...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) by N. Lynn Henry, MD, PhD, of University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, and colleagues,1 ASCO has endorsed Cancer Care Ontario guideline recommendations on the role of patient and disease factors in decisions on adjuvant...
The children of Indianapolis philanthropists Sidney and Lois Eskenazi have made a $2 million gift to the Indiana University School of Medicine to be used to recruit a highly accomplished researcher focused on discovering new ways to treat, diagnose, and prevent cancer. The gift, to honor their...
New research links specific inherited genetic alterations to an increased risk for uveal melanoma, a rare form of melanoma that arises from pigment cells that determine eye color. These findings were published by Ferguson et al in Scientific Reports. Previous clinical data suggests uveal melanoma...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has selected four early career scientists to receive a total of $275,000 in research awards, including one winner of the ASTRO Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award and three recipients of ASTRO Resident/Fellows in Radiation Oncology...
Double-hit lymphomas are a challenging subset of high-grade B-cell lymphomas, previously characterized histologically as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma or B-cell lymphoma unclassifiable with intermediate features between diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and Burkitt lymphoma. Expert guidance in their...
After several dose-finding phase I and II studies in a variety of B-cell malignancies, the potential clinical role of the newer anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody obinutuzumab (Gazyva) remained unclear. These early trials tested low and high doses as well as weekly and every-3-week schedules of...
In the phase III GADOLIN trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Laurie H. Sehn, MD, Chair, British Columbia Cancer Agency Lymphoma Tumor Group, and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, and colleagues, found that adding the anti-CD20 antibody obinutuzumab...
The combination of more precise diagnostic tools and advances in surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy in the treatment of cancer has led to unprecedented numbers of cancer survivors in the United States—more than 15.5 million, according to the latest figures from the...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network awarded nine grants to outstanding scientists who will undertake novel research in the field of pancreatic cancer. “By recruiting the brightest scientists with the most novel ideas, we continue to build a ...
“We are in an era of unprecedented scientific opportunities in cancer research,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), Executive Officer, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), as she introduced the Congressional briefing, “Seizing Today’s Opportunities to Accelerate Cancer Research.” “Thanks ...
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute scientists have shown that unexpectedly, esophageal cancer cells do not divide faster than their normal neighbors. Unlike normal cells, however, the tumor cells produce slightly more dividing daughter cells than nondividing cells, forming a tumor. The study,...
ASCO has published an adaptation of the 2015 Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) clinical practice guideline on adjuvant chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer.1 There were several areas of controversy that the guideline attempts to address. Should Anthracyclines Be Standard of Care? The guideline...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Neelima Denduluri, MD, and colleagues, ASCO has adapted a Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) clinical practice guideline on selection of optimal adjuvant chemotherapy for HER2-negative and adjuvant targeted therapy for HER2-positive breast cancer.1 The...
According to Susan M. O’Brien, MD, an expert in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), novel agents and new data on patient subsets have led to a new upfront treatment algorithm for this malignancy. Speaking at the 2016 Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference in Koloa, Hawaii, Dr. O’Brien...
In patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the antibody-drug conjugate inotuzumab ozogamicin produced significantly more complete remissions and was a better bridge to transplant than treatment by physician’s choice, according to the final results of a phase III trial...
The chemotherapy drug etoposide may have adverse effects on the developing ovaries of female fetuses, according to a preclinical study of mouse cells published by Stefansdottir et al in BMC Cancer. Norah Spears, DPhil, the corresponding study author and Professor of Reproductive Physiology at the...
A study published by Henderson et al in PLOS ONE has shown that a combined assessment of multiple types of protein biomarkers in the blood offers an important advancement for detecting early breast cancer. The study, conducted by Provista Diagnostics, compared the ability of serum...
Immune response measured in tumor biopsies during the course of early treatment predicts which melanoma patients will benefit from specific immune checkpoint blockade drugs, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Chen et al reported their findings in...
Prostate cancer and lung cancer have been the number 1 and 2 cancers among men. Stomach cancer, the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, has been on a steady decline among Koreans and Japanese. Black men had the highest overall rates of cancer. Thyroid cancer has been on the rise, and...
In an international, single-arm phase IIIB trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Saad et al found benefit with the addition of abiraterone (Zytiga) or enzalutamide (Xtandi) to radium-223 (Xofigo) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. This early-access program was...
For patients with the most common type of noninvasive breast cancer, routine testing for estrogen and progesterone receptors in tissue taken at the first needle biopsy is both unnecessary and wasteful, according to results of a study led by Johns Hopkins pathologists. The results for people with...
A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team has identified an additional mechanism for resistance to targeted treatment for BRAF-mutant melanoma. Their findings, published by Shen et al in Nature Medicine, report that inactivating mutations in two genes responsible for regulating key...
In a phase III noninferiority trial (NRG Oncology RTOG 0415) reported by Lee et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, W. Robert Lee, MD, MS, Med, of Duke University Medical Center, and colleagues found that hypofractionated radiotherapy was not inferior to conventional hypofractionated...
Men with testicular cancer who were uninsured or on Medicaid had a higher risk of death from what is normally a curable disease than insured patients, a new study found. The findings, published by Markt et al in Cancer, add to growing evidence that differences in health insurance status can affect...