A developer of endoscopy products based in New York and Kissing, Germany, invendo medical, announced that the company received 510(k) clearance by the FDA of the company’s new C20 colonoscopy system, including the SC20 single-use colonoscope. The invendoscope SC20 has several features that are...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Indication In January 2012, the second-generation vascular...
“Eating problems due to poor oropharyngeal functioning and persistent pain are the most prevalent problems” faced by patients 5 years after being treated for head and neck cancer, according to a study published online by the Archives of Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery.1 More than 50% of...
In the ongoing debate over how to control rising cancer care costs, it is vital to identify usage patterns of expensive new technologies. A recent study examined the relationship between Medicare reimbursement and the increasing use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT).1 The ASCO Post...
“The development of nonmelanoma skin cancers secondary to RAF inhibitor treatment has been recognized since 2005, having been seen initially with sorafenib (Nexavar),” noted Mario E. Lacouture, MD, of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Commenting on recently published studies in this setting,...
Keratoacanthomas and cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas are frequently observed in patients receiving the RAF inhibitor vemurafenib (Zelboraf) for treatment of BRAF-mutated melanoma. As discussed by Lacouture and colleagues in a recent Journal of Clinical Oncology article, these effects appear to...
The startling molecular heterogeneity of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is now obvious and helps to explain the poor outcomes observed in this patient subset. Comprehensive genomic and transcriptomic interrogation of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is elucidating the molecular...
More than 3 decades ago, the first trials of autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation as consolidation therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first remission were conducted. The initial results were inconclusive; most patients survived the procedure, but post-transplant relapse was common ...
The survival advantage conferred by adding oxaliplatin to adjuvant chemotherapy with fluorouracil (5-FU) in stage III colon cancer, as previously shown in patients in randomized controlled trials, extends to patients in the general population, including older and minority group patients and those...
Sipuleucel-T (Provenge) can generate a circulating immune response to treat men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, as per its FDA-approved indication.1 A neoadjuvant trial was performed to investigate whether earlier use of sipuleucel-T can generate an immune response in the...
Two studies highlighted in press conferences and one presented during an invited lecture at the 2012 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, held recently in San Francisco, suggest that early detection of pancreatic, esophageal, and colorectal cancers could soon improve. Enzyme Immunoassay Spots...
The recent 2012 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium featured a wealth of presentations on prostate, bladder, kidney, and other genitourinary cancers. Brief summaries of some of the oral and poster sessions are presented. Exercise and Recurrence Vigorous exercise has been shown to reduce cancer...
Nicholas B. Vogelzang, MD, moderator of the press briefing where these findings were presented, agreed that the first study supports intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) as the current standard of care. With costs of health care increasing exponentially, it is important to establish the...
Patients with prostate cancer are treated with various forms of radiotherapy and/or radical prostatectomy with little comparative data to inform treatment selection. Two studies presented at the 2012 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium attempt to address that gap. In one study of men with localized...
With the Presidential election just around the corner, the health-care debate will undoubtedly heat up. The ASCO Post spoke with Sean R. Tunis, MD, MSc, Founder and Director, Center for Medical Technology Policy, and former Chief Medical Officer for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, ...
A study presented at the 2016 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium showed that 40% of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with docetaxel following abiraterone (Zytiga) had at least a 50% reduction in prostate-specific antigen (PSA), demonstrating the activity of...
In a population-based cohort study in Ontario, Canada, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Levine et al found that use of the 21-gene recurrence score (RS) assay altered decisions regarding receipt of chemotherapy compared with use of Adjuvant! Online in patients with axillary...
An early study suggests that an experimental blood test may help guide individualized decisions on the most appropriate treatments for patients with prostate cancer. The new noninvasive “liquid biopsy” scans the entire landscape of different kinds of cancer cells in blood and analyzes...
A large observational study has found that men who take aspirin regularly may have a lower risk of dying from prostate cancer. Men who took aspirin regularly after their prostate cancer diagnosis were less likely to die from the disease. However, aspirin did not affect the overall incidence of...
Death rates from all cancers combined for men, women, and children continued to decline in the United States between 2004 and 2008, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2008. Overall cancer incidence rates among men decreased by an average of 0.6% per year...
For oocyte cryopreservation, eggs removed from a woman’s body are not fertilized with sperm to create embryos before being frozen. For this reason, oocyte cryopreservation may be a suitable option for women who do not have a partner, do not want to use donor sperm, or have religious or ethical...
Most cancer survivors prefer to have biologic offspring despite concerns about the possible effects of cancer treatment on the child, the child’s lifetime cancer risk, or their own longevity, according to an ASCO panel that developed guidelines on fertility preservation in patients with cancer.1...
“Analyses after 2 additional years of follow-up consolidated our previous finding that [prostate-specific antigen (PSA)]-based screening significantly reduced mortality from prostate cancer but did not affect all-cause mortality,” investigators from the European Randomized Study of Screening for...
Retrospective analyses of hormone receptors among patients enrolled in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) B-24 study showed that women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who received tamoxifen after standard therapy had significant...
Systematic methods for profiling tumor genomic alterations remain underdeveloped, with current clinical profiling usually being confined to identification of limited numbers of oncogene point mutations. At present, there is no systematic technique for interrogating tumor samples in situ for a...
Each year through its Special Awards Program, ASCO recognizes researchers, patient advocates, and leaders of the global oncology community who, through their work, have made significant contributions to enhancing cancer care. These recipients of ASCO’s highest, most prestigious awards collectively...
Talon Therapeutics, Inc, announced the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 7 yes, 4 no, and 2 abstain that evidence from clinical studies supports a favorable benefit-risk assessment for use of vincristine sulfate liposomes injection (Marqibo). The manufacturer is seeking an indication for the ...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Indication Erwinia chrysanthemi asparaginase (Erwinaze) was...
The recent report on “Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults” by the Surgeon General not only documents the devastating consequences of tobacco use for our nation’s youth, but also represents a clarion call for bold action at every level of government to implement proven strategies to...
The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recently recommended approval of one drug for sarcoma but rejected another. The panel voted 11 to 2 that clinical studies support a favorable benefit-risk assessment for use of pazopanib (Votrient) in treating patients with advanced soft-tissue...
Efficacy and safety of traditional anticoagulants (eg, vitamin K antagonists) are well recognized, given their long-standing use in clinical practice. However, the novel anticoagulants have several potential advantages over the vitamin K antagonists. Even so, in light of their recent introduction...
Throughout the course of medical history, we have witnessed innovations that have initially been met with skepticism but have later revolutionized our management of patients with specific disorders. The recent history of oncology drug development is full of instances where a drug that was...
Results from the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z0011 trial, which found no benefit for completion axillary nodal dissection in patients with breast cancer involving one to two positive sentinel nodes,1 have led to changes in breast cancer management, though points of...
Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have developed the Bone Scan Index (BSI), which is the first quantitative imaging response biomarker that can assess response to treatment and prognosticates for survival in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Based on Bone ...
As this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting was being planned, the NCI was developing and releasing its “Provocative Questions” project—an effort to stimulate the cancer community to ask itself 24 key questions in order to advance the treatment of cancer and provide better care. It quickly became clear to...
The National Cancer Policy Forum of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently convened a workshop on cancer informatics to examine and discuss needs and challenges facing biomedical researchers, which will in turn affect the way oncology is practiced in the future. “This is a time of huge scientific ...
The ASCO provisional clinical opinion on palliative care recently published1 was based largely on data from seven published randomized controlled trials, including a phase III lung cancer trial by Temel and colleagues, which was the trigger for the new recommendations.2 The trial’s principal...
Despite growing national focus on early detection, prevention, and new molecular-based treatments, lung cancer persistently remains the number 1 cause of cancer death for men and women in the United States. The ASCO Post spoke to lung cancer specialist Paul A. Bunn, Jr, MD, Executive Director,...
Cigarette smoking by youth and young adults has immediate adverse health consequences, including addiction, and accelerates the development of chronic diseases across the full life course. Prevention efforts must focus on both adolescents and young adults because among adults who become daily...
The fight against tobacco use among young people was accelerated recently by Surgeon General Regina M. Benjamin, MD, MBA, with the release of the Surgeon General’s Report, Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults. This report details the scope, health consequences, and influences that...
Oliver Sartor, MD, Medical Director of Tulane Cancer Center, New Orleans, said that in his opinion, RTOG 94-08 had some flaws because outdated radiotherapy doses were employed. “The utility of hormone therapy is questionable with today’s doses,” Dr. Sartor said. “Using standard radiation doses at...
The phenomenon called “chemobrain”—impaired cognitive functioning following chemotherapy—correlates with longitudinal changes in the brain’s white matter, according a recent study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1 Structural changes in the white matter, measured by magnetic resonance diffusion...
The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) mid-March Annual Meeting devoted several sessions to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Will it still be here after the Supreme Court decides its fate? If so, how much of it will survive, and how will it affect oncology practice? In...
The American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z1031 trial examined the effect of neoadjuvant aromatase inhibitor therapy on clinical response and breast-conservation rates in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor (ER)-rich stage II or III breast cancer. An update of the surgical...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Indication In January 2012, imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) was granted ...
The synergy between industry, academic research, and regulatory bodies will play an increasingly important role in ensuring the future of a robust cancer drug pipeline. To gain insight on oncologic development trends, The ASCO Post recently spoke with Jean Pierre Bizzari, MD, Head of Global...
SMAC/DIABLO (second mitochondria-derived activator of caspase/direct inhibitor of apoptosis-binding protein with low pI) is a proapoptotic mitochondrial protein that is released in response to various apoptotic stimuli. Molecular mimetics of SMAC are being investigated for use in cancer treatment,...
A recent report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) addresses elements that ASCO has stated are necessary for transforming the therapeutic development and clinical trial processes. In March, the IOM released the report “Evolution of Translational Omics: Lessons Learned and the Path Forward,” which...
The American Society of Clinical Oncology has joined the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation and eight other medical specialty societies to take a collective stand in improving patient care and addressing rising health-care costs. As part of the ABIM Foundation’s Choosing Wisely®...
Axel Grothey, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, told The ASCO Post that he finds the data “intriguing” and that the study exemplifies the value of developing molecular signatures for use in colon cancer. “It identifies patients with an excellent prognosis, who perhaps should not be...