Karen E. Knudsen, PhD, MBA, Director of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, talks about what she and her staff have encountered during the COVID-19 crisis and how they and their patients are coping. Filmed March 25, 2020.
In some patients with advanced ovarian cancer, the combination of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors can produce responses, but up until now, investigators have been unable to predict which patients would not benefit from the treatment and...
The Association for Clinical Oncology, ASCO's affiliated 501(c)(6) organization, is urging the White House and leaders in Congress to swiftly work together to meet the needs of patients and health-care professionals in response to the COVID-19 crisis. In a letter to the President, Vice President,...
Help patients with cancer identify, manage, and cope with side effects by giving them in-depth information from ASCO Answers. Direct, easy to understand, and in a convenient single-page format, ASCO Answers fact sheets are the ideal take-home resource for your patients. Popular titles include: ...
It is devasting for a doctor to tell a patient there is nothing that can be done to help him. For Nizar Tannir, MD, FACP, the words of a young father still ring in his ears: “I was trying to tell him that, unfortunately, despite all our efforts, I didn’t have any more treatments to offer him. And...
Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, and Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research (RTFCCR) have partnered to establish the Conquer Cancer–Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research Career Pathway Grants in Symptom Management. These grants will support research in symptom...
A new study in JCO Oncology Practice (JCO OP) highlights an effective effort to increase the use of evidence-based state smoking cessation programs among patients with cancer and survivors who use tobacco. In Michigan, state agencies and the Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium partnered to create...
ASCO applauds the Office of the Surgeon General for releasing its first report on smoking cessation in 30 years. The report provides the latest evidence-based information on the public health consequences of tobacco use and effective ways to help people quit smoking. Smoking rates in the United...
An American medical student travels to rural Uganda; there, he finds most villagers walking miles to receive health care at the nearby district hospital. Upon arrival, they spend hours waiting in line. Some patients make this trip monthly. Before entering internal medicine residency, Daniel O’Neil, ...
Cancer care for patients in rural areas is challenging—for example, in the United States, only 3% of medical oncologists practice in rural areas, and patients must travel long distances to see specialists. Patients may also have trouble managing complications from care or follow-up from treatment....
The parker institute for cancer immunotherapy (PICI) recently announced awards for six early-career researchers through the Parker Scholars, Parker Bridge Fellows, and Parker Senior Fellows programs. They are receiving a total of up to $2.75 million in funding to advance their research in profound...
Although more transgender patients are presenting to breast centers for imaging, many “report significant social stigma when seeking care,” according to a study in the Journal of Breast Imaging.1 Reported verbal abuse and other forms of harassment “can lead to transgender patients concealing their...
An analysis of breast imaging center websites and a literature search for research articles on transgender breast health found that “issues related to transgender breast imaging are not well addressed in the radiology literature or in the radiology community, even though more transgender patients...
Physicians and scientists interested in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have lost one of the community’s shining lights with the death of Clara D. Bloomfield, MD, FASCO, on March 1, 2020, at age 77 years. Dr. Bloomfield is well known for her more than 50 years of groundbreaking research in blood...
Nearly a decade ago, my mother tested positive for the BRCA1 mutation; soon after, my twin sister and I were tested for the inherited defective gene, and I learned I, too, have the BRCA1 mutation. My sister is not a carrier of the mutation. Although there is a long history of both breast and...
The history of drug addictions and epidemics in the United States dates back to the Civil War, when morphine was introduced as a pain medication for wounded soldiers. Regular off-label use of morphine quickly spread from war hospitals to the general public. It is estimated that more than 400,000...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of 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, historical...
To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2019 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on novel therapies for newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and...
The analysis of the National Cancer Database is one of a number of studies describing sociodemographic-related disparities in colorectal cancer outcomes, according to session Co-Chair John M. Carethers, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan,...
The American Urological Association (AUA) announced its support for the Veterans Prostate Cancer Treatment and Research Act, introduced on March 5 by Rep. Neal Dunn, MD (R-FL-3), and Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC-1). This bill supports the development and implementation of a Veterans Health...
At the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) 46th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Summit, held March 4–6 in Washington, DC, Randall A. Oyer, MD, was named ACCC President for 2020–2021. Dr. Oyer announced that the theme of his presidency will be “Community Oncology Can Close the ...
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) recently announced it is naming the Translational Research Lectureship Award after longtime member and former IASLC Chief Executive Officer Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD. The award, which was previously named after Adi Gazdar, MD, who...
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has named Charles Sawyers, MD, as the recipient of the 2020 Alfred G. Knudson Award in Cancer Genetics. Dr. Sawyers is Chair of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program and the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Chair at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, as ...
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) recently appointed Sergio Giralt, MD, and Miguel-Angel Perales, MD, as Deputy Division Head of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Chief of the Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service, respectively. Dr. Giralt: New Roles and Old Former Chief of...
On February 25, 2020, neratinib (Nerlynx) was approved for use in combination with capecitabine for treatment of adult patients with advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have received two or more prior anti–HER2-based regimens in the metastatic setting.1,2 Supporting Efficacy ...
As has often been written, “Cancer is the greatest equalizer.” It tends to strike its victims regardless of their financial status. In low- and middle-income countries, however, the impact of poverty on the treatment of cancer is strikingly conspicuous. It is the major catalyst for delay in seeking ...
Researchers from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recently reviewed hundreds of epidemiologic studies on the link between physical activity and both cancer risk and cancer mortality. A subsequent analysis of the findings by a panel of experts representing 17 partner organizations,...
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is dramatically affecting health-care systems. This is the first in a series of interviews The ASCO Post will conduct with oncologists, to learn what they and their cancer centers are doing to deal with the crisis. In this article, we talk with John Cole, MD, a...
People with a history of cancer have an over twofold risk of developing atrial fibrillation, the most common heart rhythm disorder, compared to the general population, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (Abstract 1216-235). In...
On March 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) issued the following statement: The FDA OCE recognizes that patients with cancer constitute a vulnerable population at risk of contracting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). While everyone’s daily lives...
In the phase III JAVELIN Gastric 100 trial, a strategy called “switch maintenance” with the immune checkpoint inhibitor avelumab after 12 weeks of first-line induction chemotherapy did not statistically improve overall survival for treatment-naive patients with HER2-negative advanced gastric or...
The survival benefit of pembrolizumab in advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction cancer with microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) tumors or a combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 10 was established in post hoc subanalysis of three KEYNOTE trials. Findings were presented at the 2020...
Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FSCT, FASCO, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of ASCO, called the 74% response rate to cisplatin/gemcitabine “remarkable.” “What’s impressive to me is the high response rate, as well as the progression-free and overall survival data—these data are...
In patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and a germline BRCA/PALB2 mutation, first-line therapy with cisplatin plus gemcitabine yielded high response rates and encouraging survival, according to Eileen M. O’Reilly, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, who presented the findings...
Routine genetic counseling and multigene testing of patients with pancreatic cancer result in the detection of mutations that are actionable, not only for patients, but also for at-risk family members. At the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, the use of a systemized, automated referral system ...
Health-related quality of life was preserved during maintenance olaparib in patients with BRCA 1/2-positive pancreatic cancer, as evidenced by a low symptom burden over time.1 POLO investigators reported their findings in posters presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Other...
Christopher M. Booth, MD, the invited discussant of the BEACON CRC quality-of-life findings, applauded the investigators for choosing overall survival and quality of life as endpoints in a trial that benefits a “vulnerable patient population with unmet needs.” Patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic...
For patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer harboring BRAF V600E mutations, the phase III BEACON CRC study showed the benefit for combining two or three targeted agents vs the standard of care.1 With further follow-up, the study has now also shown a benefit for the triplet and ...
Positive findings on the potential benefit of molecularly targeted drugs in patients with advanced colorectal cancer were presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, validating the purpose of ASCO’s Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) study.1-3 TAPUR, the first...
A. Craig Lockhart, MD, Professor of Medicine, University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, applauded the study for making patient-reported outcomes a prespecified endpoint and described the value of having this information. Dr. Lockhart was the invited discussant. “The U.S. Food and...
New findings from a prespecified analysis of the pivotal IMbrave150 trial revealed improved quality of life for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in the first-line setting. These results were reported by Peter R. Galle, MD, at the 2020...
This past January, the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium was held in San Francisco. More than 3,600 individuals attended and more than 900 abstracts and posters were presented. Among the highlights presented at the meeting and reported in the pages of The ASCO Post, several studies in...
Dr. Armitage discusses the role of CAR T-cell therapy in the management of multiple myeloma and lymphoma in a conversation with his colleagues Dr. Holstein and Dr. Lunning.
Dr. Armitage presents a case and asks Dr. Lunning to describe how he would treat this patient. The patient is a 52-year-old man who found a neck mass himself. He went to his doctor and was prescribed antibiotics. When the antibiotics failed to impact the mass, a biopsy was performed and a diagnosis ...
Dr. Armitage presents a case and asks Dr. Holstein to comment about her approach to treatment. The patient is be a 59-year-old man who had presented with symptomatic myeloma with bone pain and he was feeling unwell. He had bone lesions on images. He was anemic. This all happened 2 years ago. He was ...
Dr. Armitage presents a case and asks Dr. Lunning to describe how he would treat this patient. The patient is a 25-year-old man with a diagnosis of stage III nodular sclerosing Hodgkin lymphoma. His disease went into complete remission when the patient was treated with ABVD and he was well. One...
In this episode, Dr. Armitage presents a case and asks Dr. Holstein to comment on her approach to treatment of this individual. The patient is a 65-year-old man who was referred because of a monoclonal protein found in his blood. The patient was asymptomatic. He had a normal exam. He had an IgG...
“This is a great study. It is one of the largest series of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) scans and covers many patient scenarios, including initial staging, restaging after surgery or radiation or hormonal therapy, and re-imaging in advanced disease,” said Charles G. Drake, MD, PhD, a...
Prostate cancer experts speaking at the 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium alluded to the fact that prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron-emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scanning is more sensitive than conventional imaging for the detection of occult lesions in men ...
Recent treatment advances in metastatic melanoma resulted in reductions in population-level mortality from the disease, according to a study published by Polsky et al in the American Journal of Public Health. Methods Researchers analyzed new cases and deaths from melanoma from nine U.S....