The tumor microenvironment contains a complex network of cytokines that contribute to the nature of intratumoral immune reactions. In a study reported in Science Translational Medicine, Mlecnik and colleagues assessed chromosomal gains and losses and expression of 59 cytokines and receptors and...
New therapeutic approaches to blocking inhibitory pathways of the immune system have raised hopes that such treatments might thwart development of metastases. In a study in Nature, Paolino and colleagues have shown that genetic deletion of the E3 ubiquitin ligase Cbl-b (casitas B-lineage...
Although it is known that nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-δ/β (PPAR-d) is upregulated in colorectal cancer, the role of PPAR-d in tumorigenesis remains uncertain. In a study reported in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Zuo and colleagues developed a mouse model...
My year as President of ASCO was one of momentous change, not just for ASCO, but for health care and for cancer biology as well. The theme of my Presidency was Patients, Pathways, and Progress. “Pathways” referred to the molecular pathways that are becoming increasingly important in the targeted...
It is a tribute to the advances in supportive care that peripheral neuropathy, along with fatigue, has become the most vexing management challenge in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. The successes of modern antiemetic regimens and white blood cell growth factor support have radically altered ...
Dr. Janet L. Rowley’s groundbreaking research in the translocation of genetic material bucked scientific convention and heralded a new understanding that cancer is indeed a genetic disease. Her research was largely responsible for the discoveries that led to the development of the targeted cancer...
Many of the advances that have bettered mankind are attributed to those who were driven by a primary passion. Geoffrey P. Herzig, MD, lived the better part of his life with a primary passion: conducting research to increase the cure rate of leukemia and lymphoma patients. His friend and colleague,...
Donald L. Morton, MD, transformed the management of melanoma and breast cancer by introducing the sentinel node biopsy, giving surgeons an accurate roadmap for treatment, and sparing generations of cancer patients from the morbidity associated with unnecessary surgery. Throughout his distinguished...
Peter Jacobs, MD, PhD, regarded as the father of hematology in his native country of South Africa, began each day at 3 AM in the gym. During his workout, Dr. Jacobs would routinely call the nursing staff for updates on patients in his ward. Before sunup, Dr. Jacobs was on his way to the hospital....
The island nation of Curaçao is nestled in the southern Caribbean Sea off the Venezuelan coast. Curaçao was first settled by the Arawaks, an Amerindian people that inhabited the island for hundreds of years before the arrival of Europeans. Amid one wave of settlers from Portugal and Spain that...
In 2005, Richard Pazdur, MD, was named the FDA’s Director of the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products. By any measure, being arbiter of the nation’s oncology drug pipeline is a daunting prospect, but Dr. Pazdur sees it as an opportunity to encourage his talented staff to work for the greater ...
Nationally regarded radiation oncologist and lymphoma expert Richard Hoppe, MD, was reared in Seaford, a small town hugging the South Shore of Long Island, New York. “I grew up in the early part of Long Island’s suburban sprawl, and my childhood was a fairly typical experience for that time,”...
World-renowned breast cancer researcher, Nancy E. Davidson, MD, was born in Denver, Colorado, the daughter of two geologists. “My mother was a geologist beginning in the 1940s, a time when women really didn’t pursue that kind of career. So, I was reared in a very scientifically oriented...
The road leading to a career in medicine is often a stepwise journey of multiple decision points and influences. However, sometimes the decision to become a doctor is hardwired from birth. Such was the case with 2014-2015 ASCO President Peter P. Yu, MD. Since his days in nursery school, Dr. Yu...
Chronic inflammation is implicated in the development of colorectal cancer, and the plasma inflammatory biomarker macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1, GDF15) may have a direct role in tumorigenesis. As reported in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mehta and colleagues found that...
As reported in Clinical Cancer Research, Nakaoku and colleagues identified oncogene fusions that function as driver mutations in KRAS wild-type invasive mucinous adenocarcinoma of the lung. Whole-transcriptome sequencing of 32 invasive mucinous adenocarcinomas, including 27 without KRAS mutations,...
Dysfunctional redox regulation in cancer results in production of reactive oxygen species, damaging DNA and free deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates (dNTPs). The MTH1 protein, which is nonessential in normal cells, sanitizes oxidized dNTP pools, preventing incorporation of damaged bases during DNA...
The V600E mutation in BRAF kinase is associated with oncogenesis in melanoma and other cancers. BRAF V600E phosphorylates and activates MEK1 and MEK2 kinases, which phosphorylate and activate ERK1 and ERK2 kinases, resulting in activation of the MAPK pathway. The addition of a BRAF V600E inhibitor...
Some evidence suggests that dual targeting of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and placental growth factor (which binds to VEGFR-1) might provide more effective antiangiogenic therapy. In a study reported in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics, Chiron and colleagues compared the antitumor...
One of the most reported studies emanating from the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting involves the use of the luteinizing hormone–releasing hormone (LHRH) agonist goserelin (Zoladex) to reduce the risk of ovarian failure among women being treated with chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer, and to...
Rebecca A. Gardner, MD is an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington and Attending Physician at Seattle Children’s Hospital. She received a 2013 Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Career Development Award (CDA) for her project “Autologous T cells genetically modified to express a CD19...
Sherene Loi, MD PhD, Head of the Translational Breast Cancer Genomics Lab at the Peter McCallum Cancer Centre, Victoria, Australia, commented on the N9831 study presentation and referred to her group’s own work on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes. These investigators have shown a positive association ...
Anticancer immunity may be enhanced by harnessing the ability of dendritic cells to initiate T-cell immunity through efficient uptake and presentation of endocytosed material. In preclinical models, delivery of tumor-associated antigens to dendritic cells using receptor-specific monoclonal...
The antitumor activities of cytolytic T lymphocytes and natural killer cells are being increasingly investigated and exploited in cancer immunotherapy. One mechanism by which these cells recognize tumor cells is by engagement of NKG2D, an activating receptor on cytolytic T lymphocytes and natural...
Chronic inflammation is implicated in the development of colorectal cancer, and the plasma inflammatory biomarker macrophage inhibitory cytokine-1 (MIC-1, GDF15) may have a direct role in tumorigenesis. As reported in Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Mehta and colleagues found that...
Dysfunctional redox regulation in cancer results in production of reactive oxygen species, damaging DNA and free deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates (dNTPs). The MTH1 protein, which is nonessential in normal cells, sanitizes oxidized dNTP pools, preventing incorporation of damaged bases during DNA...
Patrick G. Johnston, MD, PhD, FMedSci, Professor of Oncology and President and Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast, grew up in Derry, a city in Northern Ireland. Derry is distinct in being Ireland’s only remaining fully intact walled city, considered one of the finest examples of a walled ...
Despite promising new agents and therapeutic approaches, 5-year lung cancer survival rates have lagged far behind those of most other malignancies. To shed light on some of the important issues facing lung cancer experts, The ASCO Post recently spoke with internationally recognized lung cancer...
The requirements for sound evidence of a drug’s therapeutic benefit have translated laboratory experience to human testing. In the laboratory, experimental animals give their lives to lethal testing of drugs and scientific analysis. LD50, the terminology denoting an anticipated 50% death rate of...
Centrosomes, the primary microtubule organizing centers within cells, are commonly amplified in tumors, but the role of centrosome amplification in tumorigenesis is unclear. Centrosome amplification is not favored in nontransformed cells, with extra centrosomes being spontaneously lost in the...
In a study reported in Clinical Cancer Research, Li and colleagues found that overexpression of Id1 protein resulted in insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-2 production, which, in turn, resulted in esophageal cancer cell proliferation, survival, and invasion via autocrine activation of AKT....
Detecting circulating plasma tumor DNA in patients with early-stage cancer has the potential to influence selection of adjuvant systemic therapy. In a study reported in Clinical Cancer Research, Beaver and colleagues found that plasma tumor DNA could be detected both before and after surgery in...
In a study reported in Clinical Cancer Research, Bartlett and colleagues found that melanoma metastases exhibit site-specific antigen heterogeneity that correlates with T-cell infiltration. A total of 3,086 metastatic tumors involving various anatomic sites were assessed for a panel of melanocyte...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Cao and colleagues identified mutations in insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway genes that were significantly associated with mortality in prostate cancer. Analysis of 530 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 26 IGF...
Although oncolytic herpes simplex virus (HSV) has been found to be safe in clinical trials in malignant glioblastoma multiforme, its efficacy is limited by insufficient viral spread after tumor resection. In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Duebgen and colleagues...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Aydin and colleagues found that mutation in and inactivation of FBXW7 and accumulation of NOTCH1, a substrate of FBXW7, were associated with melanoma tumorigenesis. FBXW7 was found to be mutated in 8% of 103 melanoma patients, and ...
In a study reported in Science Translational Medicine, Taniguchi and colleagues found that inhibition of prolyl hydroxylase by genetic knockout or inhibition of all prolyl hydroxylase domain isoforms by the small-molecule dimethyloxallyl glycine (DMOG) resulted in promotion of protection against...
Genome instability and DNA damage in cancer can be induced by mutations in genes involved in pre-mRNA splicing and biogenesis and export of messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP). Instability can be mediated by R-loops formed by DNA-RNA hybrids and displaced single-stranded DNA. The TREX-2 complex is...
In a study reported in Science Translational Medicine, Perova and colleagues found that pre–B-cell receptor–independent spleen tyrosine kinase signaling was necessary for leukemic B-cell survival and proliferation in a mouse model. Investigation of samples from pediatric and adult B-cell acute...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently took important steps to ensure that certain tests used by health-care professionals to help diagnose and treat patients provide accurate, consistent, and reliable results. First, the FDA is issuing a final guidance on the development, review, and ...
I've witnessed incredible courage and zest for life among so many patients from so many walks of life—individuals committed to helping others in spite of their own adversity. Forty years ago, when survival for patients with multiple myeloma was a matter of months, I knew that every person I sat...
Advances in molecular testing mean that highly specific information can be detailed about the molecular characteristics of a patient’s tumor, as well as indications of potential responsiveness to targeted therapy. But getting those detailed results from the pathologists can be a challenge to many...
Recommendations from the United States Preventive Services Task Force and randomized trials have drawn attention to overtreatment of localized, low-risk prostate cancer. PSA screening and changing consensus on PSA testing practices are among the many factors that contribute to the overdiagnosis and ...
Aspirin use reduces the risk of colorectal cancer at least in part via inhibition of prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2, COX-2) pathways. Hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase 15-(nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide; 15-PGDH, HPGD) is a metabolic antagonist of PTGS2 and is downregulated in...
In a study reported in Cell, Kitambi and colleagues screened patient-derived glioblastoma cells to identify targetable cellular processes gained by these cells that are not necessarily involved in malignancy. They found that a quinine derivative (NSC13316) selectively compromised viability of...
Akt plays important roles in cell proliferation, survival, and metabolism. Akt hyperactivation contributes to tumorigenesis and is associated with poor prognosis and resistance to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. It is known that activation of Akt results from phosphorylation at S473 and T308, but it ...
Immunotherapy with dendritic cells in combination with cytotoxic chemotherapy may eliminate minimal disease burden by generating cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). Improving the cytosolic bioavailability of tumor-specific antigens to improve access to HLA class I molecules would result in better...
Progression to castration-resistant prostate cancer after androgen ablation therapy is primarily due to deregulated androgen receptor signaling. Treatment with agents that target such signaling, such as abiraterone (Zytiga) and enzalutamide (Xtandi), has been successful. However, durable response...
Tony Hunter, PhD, FRS, has been awarded the 2014 Royal Medal for Biological Sciences by the Royal Society, an international fellowship of scientists based in the United Kingdom. The award recognizes Dr. Hunter, Director of Salk Institute Cancer Center in San Diego, for his contributions to the...
Over the past 40 years, largely because of universal Pap screening, cervical cancer deaths have been drastically reduced in the United States and other wealthy industrialized countries. However, cervical cancer is still a leading cause of cancer death among women in resource-challenged areas of the ...