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Showing 7101 - 7150New Data on ALK Inhibitors and CAR T-Cell Therapies
The 2018 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting was abuzz with more than 22,000 attendees from around the world who came to Chicago to hear the latest in basic science and clinical trial results. Here we present summaries of a few of the highlights from the AACR meeting...
First Selective RET Inhibitor Shows Efficacy in Multiple Cancers
A first-in-human study provides proof of concept that a novel oral agent targeted to RET genetic alterations is safe and active in RET-driven cancers. The agent, called BLU-667, achieved durable disease control in patients with lung and thyroid cancers harboring the RET oncogene, according to the...
The Pharmacist’s Role in Educating the Health-Care Team About Adverse Effects of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Named by ASCO as Advance of the Year for both 2016 and 2017,1 and with more than 10 U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved indications—and more on the way—it’s safe to say the era of cancer immunotherapy is upon us. To prepare, physicians must understand not only which patients will benefit,...
Curbing Financial Toxicity: What Might Work, and What Won’t Work
To stem the rising tide of financial toxicity in cancer care, creative physician reimbursement strategies, by themselves, will not work, according to a thought leader in the field who advocated for elimination of the federal mandate against price negotiation, curbing the power of monopolies, and...
Early Research May Unlock How Pancreatic Cancer Metastasizes to the Liver
Douglas Fearon, MD, Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and colleagues may have discovered how pancreatic cancer metastasizes to the liver following surgery, as reported by Pommier et al in Science. “This discovery is significant because for patients who undergo pancreatic cancer...
NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®): 2018 Guidelines Updates
In 1996, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) published its first set of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) covering 8 tumor types. Guidelines are now published for more than 60 tumor types and topics. Some of the key updates were presented at NCCN’s 23rd...
Endocrine Therapy: An Important Treatment Limited by Major Challenges
“Endocrine therapy remains the most effective and least toxic treatment for breast cancer, but we have many problems to solve. And there will have to be many different solutions,” according to George W. Sledge, MD, FASCO, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Oncology at Stanford...
Upfront Use of Nelarabine Plus Chemotherapy Improves Disease-Free Survival in T-Cell Malignancies
Upfront use of nelarabine plus standard Children’s Oncology Group–augmented Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (aBFM) chemotherapy boosted survival rates in children and young adults with newly diagnosed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-LL), according to the...
Serving as ASCO President Is One of the Best Jobs in the World
The opportunity to serve as ASCO President is the greatest honor of my professional career. It has been a pleasure and a highly rewarding experience to interact with our members and members of ASCO’s Board, executive leadership, and professional staff during my tenure. The year has allowed me to...
ASCO’s Incoming President Sets Her Goals for the Next Year
With all the advances in oncology care over the past decade, the most important contribution to high-quality care remains the personal connection between oncologist and patient, said Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, FASCO, ASCO President-Elect, who will take the reins as ASCO’s 55th President...
Expert Point of View: William M. Sikov, MD and Sunil Verma, MD
The ASCO Post obtained comments about the Persephone trial results from two breast cancer experts. William M. Sikov, MD, is Associate Director of Clinical Research at the Program in Women’s Oncology at Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and Associate Professor of Medicine and of...
For Adjuvant Trastuzumab, 6 Months Is Noninferior to 12 Months
The noninferiority phase III Persephone trial could shake up the standard of care for adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin), showing that patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer derived as much benefit from 6 months of trastuzumab as 12 months, according to research from the United Kingdom ...
ASCO and ABIM Announce Collaboration on Maintenance of Certification Pathway
ASCO and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) have announced that they are working to co-create a pathway to provide doctors with a flexible way to maintain board certification. Beginning in 2020, oncologists will be able to choose from two different assessment pathways. They may take an ...
Rivaroxaban May Reduce Risk of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients With Cancer
Patients with cancer have an increased risk of developing blood clots, with roughly one in five experiencing venous thromboembolism (VTE)—either deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE). Although there are many causes and risk factors for VTE, patients with cancer are...
Risk of Interval Invasive Second Breast Cancers
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lee et al determined risk levels for interval invasive second breast cancers after negative surveillance mammography and identified factors associated with higher risk. Study Details The study involved 65,084 surveillance mammograms...
FDA Approves First Epoetin Alfa Biosimilar for the Treatment of Anemia
On May 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved epoetin alfa-epbx (Retacrit) as a biosimilar to epoetin alfa (Epogen/Procrit) for the treatment of anemia caused by chronic kidney disease, chemotherapy, or use of zidovudine in patients with HIV infection. Epoetin alfa-epbx is also...
2018 ASCO: Mobile and Sensor Technology May Lead to Reduced Symptom Severity in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer
A randomized clinical trial evaluating the use of mobile and sensor technology to remotely monitor symptoms in patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancer found that use of this technology reduced severe symptoms related to cancer and its treatment compared with usual care....
2018 ASCO: Shortening Adjuvant Trastuzumab to 6 Months in Patients With HER2-Positive Early Breast Cancer Is Effective and Reduces Cardiac Toxicities
Persephone, a large phase III randomized noninferiority study conducted in the United Kingdom comparing 6 months to 12 months of trastuzumab (Herceptin) in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer has found 6 months of trastuzumab to be noninferior to 12 months of the therapy. In addition,...
2018 ASCO: More Choices for Treating Insomnia in Cancer Survivors: Acupuncture and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
A Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)-supported randomized clinical trial of cancer survivors showed that 8 weeks of either acupuncture or cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) decreased the severity of insomnia among cancer survivors, though improvements were greatest...
2018 ASCO: Upfront, Comprehensive Genetic Testing in Advanced Lung Cancer Is Cost-Effective
An economic model comparing different types of genetic testing in metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) found that using next-generation sequencing to test for all known lung cancer–related gene changes at the time of diagnosis was more cost-effective and faster than testing one ...
Researchers Identify Most Accurate Risk-Prediction Models for Lung Cancer Screening in Ever-Smokers
Recent lung cancer screening guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network(®) permit the use of risk models to refer ever-smokers for screening. However, different models select different screening populations and the performance of each model in selecting ever-smokers is...
Intravesical Instillation of Gemcitabine Postsurgery May Aid in Preventing Bladder Cancer Recurrence
Flushing the bladder with a common chemotherapy drug immediately after surgery significantly reduces the chances of bladder cancer returning, according to a study by Messing et al published in JAMA and led by SWOG. First author Edward M. Messing, MD, is Professor of Urology and...
Thriving at Your First ASCO Annual Meeting
The ASCO Annual Meeting is the world’s largest multidisciplinary oncology conference, attracting over 30,000 attendees each year. Countless advances are unveiled in Chicago year after year. The sense of excitement generated by knowing that clinical practice may change for the bettering of our...
State-Level Cancer Policy Priorities, Advocacy Discussed in Statehouses and on ASCO in Action Podcast
WITH THE MAJORITY of state legislatures currently in session, ASCO and state societies across the country continue to work together to ensure lawmakers understand how legislation impacts the cancer care delivery system. For example, in Rhode Island and Washington, ASCO worked with the Rhode Island ...
ASCO Hosts Inaugural State of Cancer Care in America Event to Examine Issues in Precision Medicine
Precision medicine is changing cancer care in profound ways. It is expected that the number of patients who benefit from precision medicine will continue to increase in the coming years, as treatments become more effective and research yields more insights on patient populations who are most likely ...
New Laws Reduce Costs of Oral Cancer Drugs, but Not for All
The rising cost of anticancer drugs not only adds fiscal pressure to our overburdened health-care system, but also increases the stress on patients with cancer and their families. High out-of-pocket spending may cause significant financial toxicity, even for patients with good health insurance...
Afatinib in Previously Untreated Metastatic NSCLC With Nonresistant EGFR Mutations
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. On January 12, 2018, afatinib (Gilotrif) was approved...
Now More Than Ever, the Oncology Pharmacist Can Play a Variety of Roles on the Health-Care Team
Susannah E. Koontz, PharmD, BCOP, FHOPA, is a consultant for clinical pharmacy services, research, and education in the areas of pediatric hematology/oncology, stem cell transplantation, and cellular therapy. She has held positions at the Children’s Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas MD...
Planning for Potential Adverse Effects of Oral Chemotherapy
THE USE OF oral chemotherapy drugs is becoming more and more prevalent—for many types and stages of cancer, during different treatment phases, and for varying lengths of time. So it’s vital that physicians, nurses, and advanced practitioners understand all the potential adverse events of these...
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy and Management of Regional Lymph Nodes in Melanoma: ASCO/SSO Clinical Practice Guideline Update
AS REPORTED IN the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Sandra L. Wong, MD, of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and colleagues, ASCO and the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) have issued an update to the ASCO/SSO clinical practice guideline on sentinel lymph node biopsy and management of regional...
Obesity in Cancer Survivors: Identifying Teachable Moments
OBESITY IS associated with poor survival in patients with cancer, but when research is translated into survivorship care, obese and overweight patients can experience better outcomes, according to Karen Basen-Engquist, PhD, MPH, Professor of Behavioral Science and Director of the Center for Energy...
Patient Attitude May Play a Part in Fears About Gynecologic Cancer Recurrence
CONCERNS ABOUT how recurrence of gynecologic cancer can affect a person’s life, and not simply fear of recurrence alone, play an important role in patient distress and functional impairment, according to a presentation at the 2018 American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) Annual Conference in...
Follow-up Too Short in Ovarian Cancer, Too Long in Other Gynecologic Malignancies
A STANDARDIZED 5-year period of surveillance by a gynecologic oncologist was found to be inadequate for some gynecologic cancers and excessive for others, according to research presented by Robert Dood, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, at the 2018 Society of...
Microenvironment Heterogeneity May Contribute to Lack of Immunotherapy Success in High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer
INTER- AND INTRAPATIENT heterogeneity of the tumor microenvironment may explain the limited success of checkpoint blockade thus far observed in patients with advanced high-grade serous ovarian cancer, according to Paulina Cybulska, MD, MSc, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York....
Circulating Tumor DNA May Guide Treatment Intensity in Advanced HPV-Associated Head and Neck Cancers
A MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL analysis of circulating tumor DNA extracted from the plasma of patients has shown that human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) DNA is detectable in the majority of cases of favorable-risk HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and may be a clinically useful...
Can Some Patients With Early Breast Cancer Avoid Surgery?
RESEARCHERS AT The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center are testing the possibility of safely eliminating surgery in patients with breast cancer who are “exceptional responders” to neoadjuvant therapy, according to Henry M. Kuerer, MD, PhD, a breast cancer surgeon who described this...
NCCN Debuts Three New Sets of Guidelines
THE NATIONAL Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) debuted three sets of completely new guidelines for treating patients with uveal melanoma, for treating patients who have cancer and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and for managing immune-related toxicities. Cancer in People Living With...
Expert Point of View: Antoni Ribas, MD
FOUR RANDOMIZED trials have shown improvements in recurrence-free survival in patients with high-risk melanoma with the administration of adjuvant therapy over the past 3 years, noted formal discussant of the EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial, Antoni Ribas, MD, Director of the Tumor Immunology Program...
Minimal Residual Disease in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Mutation Matters
A RECENT article in The New England Journal of Medicine explored the nuances of minimal/measurable residual disease testing after induction treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML)1 and David P. Steensma, MD, and Benjamin L. Ebert, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical...
Evolving Standards and Quality Metrics Ensure High-Quality Cancer Programs
Dr. Shulman is Deputy Director, Clinical Services, and Director of the Center for Global Cancer Medicine, Abramson Cancer Center; and Professor of Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. IN 2008, WHEN ALLEN LICHTER, MD, FASCO, then Chief Executive Officer of ASCO,...
Expert Point of View: Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD
FORMAL DISCUSSANT of the KEYNOTE-189 trial, Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Chief of Medical Oncology at Smilow Cancer Hospital, Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, heartily endorsed the new triplet combination of pembrolizumab, pemetrexed, and a platinum in advanced nonsquamous non– small cell lung cancer...
Pembrolizumab Plus Standard Chemotherapy Improves Survival in Newly Diagnosed Metastatic Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
ADDING THE IMMUNE checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to standard chemotherapy with pemetrexed (Alimta) and a platinum as first-line therapy was superior to chemotherapy alone in the KEYNOTE-189 trial.1 Induction and maintenance therapies with the new triplet therapy improved overall...
Activity of T Cells From Patients With Metastatic Melanoma Resistant to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment
In a study reported in Annals of Oncology, Andersen et al found that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes isolated from metastatic melanoma lesions in patients with disease progression after checkpoint inhibitor therapy remain functional. Moreover, they concluded these tumor-infiltrating...
Early-Phase Trial of Carboxyamidotriazole Orotate and Temozolomide in Glioblastoma
In a phase Ib trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Omuro et al found evidence of activity of carboxyamidotriazole orotate plus temozolomide in patients with recurrent anaplastic gliomas or glioblastoma and previously untreated glioblastoma. Carboxyamidotriazole orotate is an...
Parenting Concerns Affect Emotional Well-Being in Mothers With Advanced Cancer
Parenting concerns contributed significantly to the psychological distress of mothers with late-stage cancer, according to a study by University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers published by Park et al in the journal Cancer. Cancer is the leading cause of...
FDA Approves Daratumumab in Combination With VMP for Newly Diagnosed Patients With Multiple Myeloma Who Are Transplant-Ineligible
On May 7, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved daratumumab (Darzalex) in combination with bortezomib (Velcade), a proteasome inhibitor; melphalan, an alkylating agent; and prednisone—VMP—for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are...
ASBrS 2018: Breast Cancer Genetic Testing Guidelines Exclude Almost Half of High-Risk Patients
Current restrictive genetic testing guidelines exclude many patients who harbor high-risk breast cancer mutations, according to two new studies presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) 19th Annual Meeting (Abstracts 402910, 404340). One study found that whether or not patients...
ASBrS 2018: Regular Mammograms May Mean Earlier Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Less Aggressive Treatment
Women with breast cancer who underwent regular mammographic screening were diagnosed with earlier-stage disease and treated with significantly less aggressive therapies than those who delayed or never underwent screening, according to new research presented at the American Society of Breast...
Targeting Chemotherapy With Genetic Testing in Advanced Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Researchers have found that women with advanced triple-negative breast cancer with a BRCA mutation were twice as likely to benefit from carboplatin as docetaxel—the current standard of care for these patients. These findings were published by Tutt et al in Nature Medicine. The trial is set...
HPV-Related Cancers Like Mine Are Avoidable, So Why Aren’t More Kids Being Vaccinated?
The latest news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about vaccination rates in the United States for human papillomavirus (HPV) is disappointing. It shows that in 2016, just 43.4% of adolescents (49.5% of females and 37.5% of males) were up-to-date with the recommended 3-dose HPV...
