Ryan Phillips, MD, PhD, of Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, discusses phase II findings suggesting that treatment with stereotactic ablative radiation significantly decreased the risk of disease progression at 6 months and increased progression-free survival (Abstract LBA3).
Justin Barnes, MS, of the St. Louis University School of Medicine, discusses his findings on the risk of suicide, which is higher in patients with cancer than in other adults but can be reduced by health policy interventions, including components of the Affordable Care Act (Abstract LBA9).
Steven H. Lin, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses phase II findings that showed proton beam therapy improved total toxicity burden score with no difference in progression-free survival when compared with intensity-modulated radiation treatment (Abstract LBA2).
Two recent studies showed varying degrees of the effectiveness of mammography in different populations. In a report published in Radiology, Gao et al showed that in men at high risk for breast cancer, screening mammography may be able to increase the rate of detection of early-stage disease....
During the past decade, scientists began to test whether the addition of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) to treatment with sorafenib could increase survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Scientists from Taiwan and Japan performed the first large, national-level,...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies sometimes used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Ting Bao, MD, DABMA, MS, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, focus on flaxseed because...
UPMC Hillman Cancer Center at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) East was granted a full 3-year accreditation by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons. The accreditation follows an extensive onsite survey and is awarded to institutions that demonstrate a...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) named Steven R. Patierno, PhD, as the recipient of the 2019 AACR Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities. Dr. Patierno presented his award lecture at the 12th AACR Conference on The Science of Cancer Health...
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has revealed the 2019 winners of its annual awards. The four distinguished clinicians and scientists will be presented during the ESMO 2019 Congress in Barcelona: Eric Van Cutsem, MD, PhD; Angelo Di Leo, MD, PhD; Cristiana Sessa, MD; and Charles...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has selected 26 members to receive the ASTRO Fellow (FASTRO) designation. The 2019 class of Fellows were recognized during ASTRO’s 61st Annual Meeting in Chicago. The ASTRO Fellows program recognizes individuals who have made significant...
Two early-career scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center—Alexandra Corella and Sander Frank, PhD—have received grants to further their prostate cancer research. Ms. Corella, a graduate research assistant, won a $25,000, 1-year fellowship from the Ford Foundation Fellowship Programs,...
Daniel E. Spratt, MD, of the University of Michigan, discusses phase III study findings showing that 2 years of antiandrogen therapy increased cardiac and neurologic toxicities, as well as mortality from causes other than prostate cancer, in men with low levels of prostate-specific antigen after...
Andreas Rimner, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses study findings showing that, for patients with stage III non–small cell lung cancer, durvalumab reduced the rate of and time to disease progression vs placebo and also reduced the number of new distant lesions (Abstract LBA6).
Earlier this month, The Lasker Foundation announced the recipients of its 2019 Lasker Awards for clinical and basic research and public service. Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award H. Michael Shepard, PhD,formerly of Genentech, Dennis J. Slamon, MD, PhD, of the University of California,...
OCE Insights is a periodic column developed for The ASCO Post by members of the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this first installment, Vishal Bhatnagar, MD, Acting Associate Director of Patient Outcomes; Bellinda King-Kallimanis, PhD, Senior...
At a press conference at McGill University, Stand Up To Cancer Canada (SU2C Canada), the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) announced the launch of the SU2C Canada Metastatic Breast Cancer Dream Team to pursue the development of a new drug...
Two topics that hematologists are currently grappling with were addressed at the 2019 Debates and Didactics Conference in Sea Island, Georgia, sponsored by Emory University Winship Cancer Institute, by Editor-in-Chief of The ASCO Post, James O. Armitage, MD, FASCO.1 They focus on the emerging role ...
Today, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2019, which highlights how research largely supported by federal investments in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is spurring improvements in public health and innovations across the spectrum...
On September 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved apalutamide (Erleada) for patients with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer. Apalutamide was initially approved by the FDA in 2018 for patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. TITAN Trial...
Andreas Rimner, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, presented an update of the landmark PACIFIC trial at the 61st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) (Abstract LBA-6). In earlier reports from the randomized phase III trial, Antonia et al had evaluated...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced Project Orbis, an initiative of the FDA Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE). Project Orbis provides a framework for concurrent submission and review of oncology drugs among its international partners. Under this project, the FDA, the...
In the POLO trial, which is discussed in this issue of The ASCO Post, Golan and colleagues evaluated the potential benefit of maintenance olaparib after disease stability or response to a minimum of 4 months of platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and a...
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...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to tepotinib for metastatic non–small cell lung cancer harboring MET exon 14 skipping alterations, and Orphan Drug designations to novel chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies in both multiple myeloma ...
Video-assisted thoracic surgery was associated with lower in-hospital complications and a shorter length of stay compared with open surgery among British patients who were diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer, according to research presented by Lim et al at the International Association for the...
Patients with RET fusion–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) comprise up to 2% of all NSCLC cases, but there are no targeted therapies currently approved for patients with this form of lung cancer. Selpercatinib (also known as LOXO-292) is an oral and highly selective investigational drug...
First-line pembrolizumab monotherapy provides durable long-term overall survival benefit compared to chemotherapy in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to data from the KEYNOTE-024 trial presented by Martin Reck, MD, PhD, at the International Association for the...
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) used the platform of the 2019 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) to call attention to the importance of tobacco cessation after cancer diagnosis and urged all physicians to screen patients with cancer for tobacco use and...
Patients with stage IV squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with high programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression treated with atezolizumab and chemotherapy experienced longer overall survival rates than those treated with chemotherapy alone. The data from the IMpower131 trial were...
Researchers from Milan reported that using a blood microRNA assay accompanied by low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening is safe and effective in screening patients for lung cancer. The results were shared at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2019 World...
A combination of the EarlyCDT-Lung Test followed by computed tomography (CT) imaging in Scottish patients at risk for lung cancer resulted in a significant decrease in late-stage diagnosis of lung cancer and may decrease lung cancer–specific mortality, according to research presented at...
Michael Kenneth Keng, MD, of the University of Virginia, gives a status update on this international program, and discusses future initiatives which include coaching mentorship and publishing articles on quality care (Abstract 7).
Cary P. Gross, MD, of Yale School of Medicine, discusses the challenges of implementing pathways and guiding patient decision-making on treatment.
Joseph O. Jacobson, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and this year’s recipient of the award for excellence in quality cancer care, discusses the need for quality improvement (QI) to encompass systems of care, the role of QI in preventing suffering, how poor quality affects patient safety, and...
Nadine Housri, MD, of the Yale School of Medicine, talks about a new paradigm in sharing knowledge from tumor board discussions at NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers, with community oncologists on themednet.org. Currently, thoracic, breast, and GI cancers are included, with plans to expand ...
Matthew B. Schabath, PhD, of H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, discusses the disparities in cancer care among members of the LGBTQ community and the need to collect more data in order to close that gap.
Angela M. Stover, PhD, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discusses ASCO’s initiative to develop patient-based performance measures for assessing and managing symptoms. The measures have made substantial differences in reducing nausea, constipation, and insomnia (Abstract 173).
Lauren M. Hamel, PhD, of Wayne State University/Karmanos Cancer Institute, discusses her findings on the ways in which nonverbal behavior between doctors and patients of the same or different races can affect their relationship, quality of communication, and ultimately, perhaps outcomes as well...
Mallika Sharma, MPH, of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses her findings that, by doing away with the many prior authorization denials based on administrative errors, providers may offer higher-value care by eliminating unnecessary anxiety among patients, administrative burdens, and increased...
Grace C. Hillyer, EdD, MPH, of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, discusses the many barriers to enrolling patients in clinical trials, most notably different attitudes toward and perceptions about research studies among clinicians vs patients. Her findings point to the need for...
Elena Martinez, PhD, MPH, of Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego, discusses the challenges of ensuring diversity in precision oncology and potential solutions to address the challenges.
The emergence of online technologies over the past few decades has fundamentally changed the way society communicates and shares information. This sea change has also had profound influence on the practice of medicine, from real-time information-sharing among colleagues, to having instant access...
Ryan Huey, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses his findings that showed the large financial burden on lower-income patients enrolled in phase I trials (Abstract 8).
Cristina Merkhofer, MD, MHS, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discusses study results showing that for patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer at her institution, enrolling in a therapeutic drug clinical trial was associated with a 47% lower risk of death, compared with not...
Bernardo H. L. Goulart, MD, of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses his findings that high out-of-pocket costs for oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors may lower survival rates, shorten the duration of therapy, and reduce the number of prescriptions for patients with metastatic EGFR- or ALK-positive...
Researchers reported that a prospective trial comparing two screening methods for patients at risk of developing lung cancer found that a model used by Canadian, Australian, and European public health organizations detected more cancers than the screening model used by the United States Preventive...
One-third of those who responded to a survey reported they are unaware of evidence-based guidelines that support the use of molecular testing in lung cancer, according to results from the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) Global Survey on Molecular Testing in Lung...
On September 10, The Lasker Foundation announced the winners of its 2019 Lasker Awards: Max D. Cooper, MD, of Emory University, and Jacques Miller, AC, FRS, FAA, of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, will receive the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award; H. Michael...
The addition of durvalumab to chemotherapy improved overall survival in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), according to research presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2019 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) (Abstract PL02.11)....
Pooled data on two clinical trials demonstrated patients with previously treated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with nivolumab had a greater than fivefold increase in 5-year overall survival rate compared to treatment with the chemotherapy docetaxel. Scott Gettinger, MD, of Yale...