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Showing 8151 - 8200Adi Gazdar, MD, Cell Line Pioneer and Groundbreaking Pathologist, Dies
The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASCL) announced the death of Adi Gazdar, MD, of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, on December 29, 2018. Dr. Gazdar, a leader in lung cancer pathology, was a cell line pioneer and a groundbreaking pathologist....
Remnants of Cancer Remain, but Demons Are Now Gone
In the summer of 2002, I was a physically active 17-year-old boy on the cusp of adulthood. I was about to enter my senior year in high school, and like other teens my age, I was excited about college and the promise of the undreamed-of opportunities that lay ahead. At first, the lethargy I was...
American Association for the Advancement of Science Honors 2018 Elected Fellows
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has bestowed upon 416 of its members the lifetime honor of being an elected Fellow in recognition of their achievements in advancing science, some of whom are involved in oncology. The Fellows will be recognized at the 2019 AAAS Annual...
27% Drop in Overall U.S. Cancer Mortality Rate From 1991 to 2016
A steady 25-year decline has resulted in a 27% drop in the overall cancer death rate in the United States between 1991 and 2016. The data come from “Cancer Statistics, 2019,” the American Cancer Society’s annual report on cancer rates and trends. The report was published by Siegel et al in CA: A...
2019 GI Cancers Symposium: Durvalumab, Tremelimumab, and Best Supportive Care vs Best Supportive Care Alone in Advanced, Refractory Colorectal Cancer
The phase II CCTG CO.26 trial evaluated whether the combination of durvalumab, a programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor, and tremelimumab, an anti–cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) antibody, plus best supportive care improved survival vs best supportive care ...
2019 GI Cancers Symposium: Pembrolizumab in Second-Line Therapy for Advanced Esophageal Cancer
Pembrolizumab significantly improved overall survival in the second-line setting of advanced esophageal cancer in patients whose tumors tested positive for programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) with a combined positive score (CPS) of 10 or greater. This was compared to investigator’s choice...
FDA Approves Cabozantinib in Previously Treated Hepatocellular Carcinoma
On January 14, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx) tablets for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have been previously treated with sorafenib. The FDA’s approval of this oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor was based on the results of the phase III...
2019 GI Cancers Symposium: Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy vs Upfront Surgery in Resectable Pancreatic Cancer
A phase II/III trial presented by Unno et al at the 2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (Abstract 189) sought to compare neoadjuvant chemotherapy (using gemcitabine and the oral fluoropyrimidine combination of tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil [S-1]) to upfront surgery in patients with histologic ...
Findings From ASCO’s Second National Cancer Opinion Survey
Despite a recent study showing that patients with cancer who chose alternative therapies over conventional cancer treatment have a higher risk of death, nearly 4 in 10 Americans believe cancer can be cured by alternative remedies alone, according to the results of ASCO’s 2018 National Cancer...
Clinical Trial Commences on Personalized Vaccine in Kidney Cancer
Researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston are testing a first-of-its-kind personalized cancer vaccine combined with an immunotherapy drug, with the aim of improving outcomes for patients with kidney cancer who are at high risk of recurrence after surgery. A two-pronged approach to...
2019 GI Cancers Symposium: Nivolumab vs Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab in Resectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Anti–programmed cell death protein 1 and anti–cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated protein 4 antibodies have shown activity in hepatocellular carcinoma. Based on these earlier findings, researchers sought to examine the safety, efficacy, and tolerability of perioperative treatment...
New Regulations Require Better Communication With Patients Who Have Disabilities and Limited English Proficiency
Ever since President Barack Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law on March 23, 2010, the nondiscrimination provision of the law, Section 1557, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health ...
2019 GI Cancers Symposium: Safety, Efficacy of Trifluridine/Tipiracil in Metastatic Gastric Cancer With or Without Gastrectomy
In a poster session earlier today David Ilson, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues reported on a preplanned subgroup analysis of the double-blind phase III TAGS study looking at the safety and efficacy of the oral agent trifluridine/tipiracil (FTP/TPI) in heavily...
2019 GI Cancers Symposium: Addition of Andecaliximab to mFOLFOX6 in Treatment-Naive Advanced Gastric or GEJ Adenocarcinoma
A phase I/Ib study found that the addition of andecaliximab, a monoclonal antibody that inhibits matrix metalloproteinase 9, to modified fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (mFOLFOX6) showed activity in gastric and or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) carcinoma. Based on these...
Study Finds World Trade Center Responders May Be at Increased Risk for Head and Neck Cancers
A study by Graber et al in the International Journal of Cancer has found a significant increase in head and neck cancers among workers and volunteers who responded to the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC), pointing to newly emerging risks that require ongoing monitoring ...
Common Markers of Tumor Hypoxia Found Across Cancer Types
Unlike healthy tissues, tumors thrive in low-oxygen environments, often acquiring the ability to resist treatment and spread to other sites in the body. Despite being a well-known cause of therapy resistance and metastasis, the impact of hypoxia on tumor cells is poorly understood. Researchers have ...
Germline DNA Repair Mutations and Outcomes in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
A subset of patients with aggressive prostate cancer are carriers of germline BRCA2 mutations, which are also linked to hereditary breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and pancreatic cancer. Study findings also showed family members of patients with prostate cancer who carry BRCA2 and DNA-repair...
VISTA Checkpoint Implicated in Pancreatic Cancer Immunotherapy Resistance
Researchers have identified a new potential immunotherapy target in pancreatic cancer, which so far has been notoriously resistant to treatment with immune checkpoint blockade drugs effective against a variety of other cancers. A research team from The University of Texas MD Anderson ...
Comorbidities and Cancer Clinical Trial Enrollment
Patients diagnosed with cancer who also have other illnesses or conditions, such as hypertension, asthma, or a prior cancer, are less likely to talk with their health-care provider about a cancer clinical trial, are less likely to be offered to join a clinical trial, and are ultimately less likely...
FDA Approves Cabozantinib for Previously Treated Hepatocellular Carcinoma
On January 14, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx) tablets for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have been previously treated with sorafenib. The FDA’s approval of cabozantinib was based on results from the phase III CELESTIAL trial....
Al Identifies Features of Tumor Cells in High-Risk Ovarian Cancer
Scientists have developed a new test that scans the shapes of tumor cells to select women with especially aggressive ovarian cancer. A team at The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, created an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that looks for clusters of cells within tumors with misshapen...
Role of Donor Race in Liver Transplant Outcomes in African American Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Among African American adults undergoing liver transplant to treat hepatocellular carcinoma, patients whose organ donor was also African American lived significantly longer than those with a racially unmatched donor, report authors of a new study using national data. Their findings were published...
FDA Pipeline: Designations for Treatments of Graft-vs-Host-Disease, Colorectal Cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, and More
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued the following new designations and clearances: Fast Track Designation for Itolizumab for the Treatment of Acute Graft-vs-Host Disease The FDA granted Fast Track designation to itolizumab for the treatment of acute graft-vs-host ...
BRCA Exchange: Resource Aggregates Data on BRCA Variants
A global resource that includes data on thousands of inherited variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes is available to the public. The BRCA Exchange was created through the BRCA Challenge, a long-term demonstration project initiated by the Global Alliance for Genomics and...
Patient Navigation Program Reduces Time to Treatment in Patients With Cancer
Global Cancer Institute recently announced the results of its Patient Navigation Program in Mexico City. The average time to referral before the program’s inception was 5 months, but the implementation of patient navigators reduced that average to 7 days. These findings were published by ...
Study Finds Elevated Risk of MDS and AML After Chemotherapy for Most Solid Tumors
Findings from a new study by researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) show that patients treated with chemotherapy for most solid tumors from 2000 to 2014 experienced an increased risk of therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome/acute myeloid leukemia (MDS/AML). The study, which used U.S. ...
27% Drop in Overall U.S. Cancer Mortality Rate From 1991 to 2016
A steady 25-year decline has resulted in a 27% drop in the overall cancer death rate in the United States between 1991 and 2016. The data come from “Cancer Statistics, 2019,” the American Cancer Society’s annual report on cancer rates and trends. The report was published in CA: A...
Higher Incidence of Brain and CNS Tumors Among People Living in Appalachia
A recent study published by Ostrom et al in the Journal of Neuro-Oncology showed that compared to the rest of the United States, the Appalachian region has a 5% higher incidence of malignant primary brain tumors and other central nervous system (CNS) tumors, a higher mortality rate due to ...
Association Between Sun Exposure and BMI in the Development of Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer
Exposure to the sun, whether cumulative or intermittent, is a known risk factor for the development of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC). Past studies have found that greater body mass index (BMI) actually lessens the risk of women developing NMSCs. With this in mind, researchers sought to determine...
Gleason 6 Score May Underestimate Prostate Cancer Mortality Risk in Black Men
Black men diagnosed with prostate cancer classified as low risk may actually have a more aggressive form of the disease that is more likely to be fatal than in nonblack men placed in the same prognostic category, according to results from a new study published as a research letter by Mahal et al in ...
2018 Young-Onset Colorectal Cancer Survey Report Covers Disease Stage at Diagnosis and More
Nearly three-quarters of patients with young-onset colorectal cancer are diagnosed with an advanced stage of the disease, a significantly higher percentage than has been reported for their more mature peers, according to a report from the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. The findings of...
Quality of Life and Patient- and Clinician-Reported Cumulative Toxicity
New research has found that quality of life for people with cancer is reduced by an accumulation of low-level toxicities just as much as it is from high-level adverse events. Additionally, patient-reported outcomes were more likely to reflect the impact on a patient’s physical well-being than ...
Negative Colonoscopy and Long-Term Risk of Colorectal Cancer
Ten years after a negative colonoscopy, patients who were rescreened for colorectal cancer had a lower risk of being diagnosed with and were less likely to die from colorectal cancer compared with those who did not undergo colorectal cancer screening, according to a study published by Lee et al...
New Study Examines Orphan Drug Exclusivity and Pricing
A new report commissioned by the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) and published by the IQVIA Institute demonstrates that the 7-year market exclusivity granted to drugs designated under the Orphan Drug Act of 1983 for rare diseases is working as intended. In nearly every case, orphan...
Facing Death: Having the Difficult Conversation With Your Patients
Michael Becker, a former CEO for two biotechnology companies, discusses his terminal head and neck cancer diagnosis and his message for oncologists: be proactive and, at the appropriate time, talk with your patients about death and dying. For more information about Michael Becker’s blog and his HPV ...
FDA Expands Indication for Dasatinib to Pediatric Patients With Ph+ ALL in Combination With Chemotherapy
On January 2, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the indication for dasatinib (Sprycel) tablets to include the treatment of pediatric patients 1 year of age and older with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in...
Association Between Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Cancer Risk
New research published by Song et al in Arthritis Research & Therapy evaluated the link between lupus and cancer risk, supporting the data from earlier studies. The newer study indicates an association between systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and increased risk for several cancers (blood,...
Study Assesses Impact of Digital Mammography on Breast Cancer Detection and Recall Rates
The shift from film to digital mammography increased the detection of breast cancer overall in the United Kingdom—without increasing the recall rate—according to a study published by Blanks et al in Radiology. “Image quality with digital mammography is improved over that of...
Pilot Study of Intratumoral G100 in Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Multiple recent reports have addressed the activity of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors, such as pembrolizumab and avelumab, in Merkel cell carcinoma. However, approximately half of all patients who receive these agents do not maintain a persistent response. In an...
High Long-Term Risk of Solid Cancers in Survivors of Childhood Hodgkin Lymphoma
A new study may bolster existing evidence that survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma face an elevated risk of developing various types of solid tumors many years later. The study showed that certain subgroups of patients have an especially high risk. Published by Holmqvist et al in the journal...
FDA Approves Ravulizumab-cwvz for Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria
On December 21, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ravulizumab-cwvz (Ultomiris) for adult patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). PNH is a rare bone marrow failure disorder that manifests with hemolytic anemia, thrombosis, and peripheral blood cytopenias....
FDA Approves Tagraxofusp-ezrs for Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm
On December 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tagraxofusp-erzs (Elzonris) infusion for the treatment of blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) in adults and in pediatric patients aged 2 years and older. “Prior to [this] approval, there had been no...
Louis M. Weiner, MD, Named National Academy of Inventors Fellow
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF INVENTORS (NAI) has named Louis M. Weiner, MD, Director of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, to its 2018 class of fellows. According to the National Academy of Inventors, election to NAI Fellow status is the “highest professional distinction accorded to...
IASLC Announces Dave Mesko, MBA, as New Chief Executive
THE INTERNATIONAL Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) has announced Dave Mesko, MBA, as its new Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Mesko replaces Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, who left IASLC after his 5-year term ended on October 31, 2018. Mr. Mesko will be primarily responsible for the overall ...
I Welcome Being the Face of Multiple Myeloma
Thirteen years ago, at age 34, I was healthy and enjoying life. I went to the gym almost daily, and when I wasn’t at the gym, I was shooting hoops with my friends. During a gym workout while on a family vacation, I suddenly felt excruciating pain in my left shoulder and thought I must have strained ...
ASCO Remembers Charles A. Coltman, Jr, MD, FASCO, Cooperative Trial Pioneer and ASCO Past President
ASCO AND THE ONCOLOGY COMMUNITY mourn the loss of ASCO Past President and former SWOG leader Charles A. Coltman, Jr, MD, FASCO, President Emeritus, Cancer Therapy & Research Center, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Dr. Coltman died on November 28 at the age of 88....
For Maria Papaleontiou, MD, Research Holds the Key to Improving Care of Patients With Thyroid Cancer
Maria Papaleontiou, MD, whose research interests focus on the complex issues surrounding the management of thyroid cancer and thyroid disease in general, was born on Cyprus, a small island nestled in the azure waters of the Mediterranean Sea. She recently spoke with The ASCO Post about her life and ...
Anil K. Rustgi, MD, Named Director of Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
ANIL K. RUSTGI, MD, has been named Director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Pending approval of the university’s trustees, Dr. Rustgi will serve as Professor of...
Stories of the Scientists Behind Immunotherapy
As the field of immunotherapy accelerates, so does the literature reporting on the path ahead. One of the newer books on the topic is A Cure Within: Scientists Unleashing the Immune System to Kill Cancer. It has a top-notch pedigree: the author, Neil Canavan, is a seasoned journalist with more than ...
Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Brentuximab Vedotin in Front-Line Treatment of Peripheral T-Cell Lymphomas
THE FDA recently granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) for previously untreated systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma or other CD30-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCL), including angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma and PTCL not otherwise specified, in ...
