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Showing 8751 - 8800ASCO 2017: ALEX Study: Alectinib Halts Lung Cancer Growth More Than a Year Longer Than Crizotinib
Findings from a phase III clinical trial point to a more effective initial treatment for patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Compared to the current standard of care, crizotinib (Xalkori), the newer ALK inhibitor alectinib (Alecensa) halted cancer growth for a...
ASCO 2017: The APHINITY Trial: Adding a Second HER2 Blocker May Lower Chance of Invasive Breast Cancer for Some Women
A phase III clinical trial of 4,805 women with HER2-positive breast cancer suggests the addition of a second HER2-targeted medicine, pertuzumab (Perjeta), to standard-of-care trastuzumab (Herceptin) after surgery may improve outcomes, although the benefit is modest. The study was presented by von...
ASCO 2017: The IDEA Collaboration: Global Study Sets New Risk-Based Standard to Personalize Chemotherapy for Colon Cancer After Surgery
After surgery for lymph node–positive colon cancer (stage III), some patients may need only half of the long-standing standard course of chemotherapy. In an analysis of 6 clinical trials with over 12,800 patients, 3 months of chemotherapy was nearly as effective as 6 months in patients with...
ASCO 2017: Web-Based System for Self-Reporting Symptoms Helps Patients Live Longer
A randomized clinical trial of 766 patients shows that a simple intervention—a Web-based tool that enables patients to report their symptoms in real time, triggering alerts to clinicians—can have major benefits, including longer survival. Patients with metastatic cancer who used the...
ASCO 2017: OlympiAD Trial: Olaparib Slows Growth of BRCA-Related Metastatic Breast Cancer
Findings from a phase III clinical trial of about 300 women may introduce poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors as a new type of treatment for breast cancer. Compared to standard chemotherapy, the oral targeted medicine olaparib (Lynparza) reduced the chance of progression of advanced,...
ASCO 2017: Larotrectinib Shows Durable Efficacy Across Diverse Pediatric and Adult Cancers
Scientists may have developed the first targeted, oral, tumor-type agnostic therapy—an agent that works comparably well across many kinds of cancer, regardless of patient age. In clinical trials of adults and children with 17 different types of advanced cancer, larotrectinib treatment...
ASCO 2017: ProfiLER Trial: Routine Genomic Testing Feasible, but Only a Subset of Patients May Benefit
Genomic testing of tumor samples can enable personalized treatment selection, where targeted treatments are matched to genetic changes in the tumor. Although a growing number of patients with advanced cancers receive some genomic testing, comprehensive genomic testing is not yet routine care. A...
ASCO 2017: New High-Intensity Genomic Sequencing Approach Detects Circulating Tumor DNA at a High Rate
In a study of 124 patients with advanced breast, lung, and prostate cancers, a new high-intensity genomic sequencing approach detected circulating tumor DNA at a high rate. In 89% of patients, at least one genetic change detected in the tumor was also detected in the blood. Overall, 627 (73%)...
ASCO 2017: Pregnancy After Breast Cancer Does Not Increase Chance of Recurrence
Findings from a retrospective study of 1,200 women provide reassurance to breast cancer survivors who are contemplating pregnancy. In the study, women who became pregnant after an early breast cancer diagnosis, including those with estrogen receptor–positive tumors, did not have a higher...
ASCO 2017: STAMPEDE Trial: Adding Abiraterone to Standard Treatment Improves Survival in Advanced Prostate Cancer
The STAMPEDE clinical trial of nearly 2,000 men shows that adding abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) to a standard initial treatment regimen for high-risk, advanced prostate cancer lowers the relative risk of death by 37%. The 3-year survival rate was 76% with standard therapy alone vs 83% with standard...
ASCO 2017: Remote Therapy Program Improves Quality of Life, Lowers Distress After Cancer Diagnosis
Most patients experience significant distress after they are diagnosed with cancer. This distress not only erodes quality of life, but can also negatively affect the course of the disease and the patient’s ability to tolerate treatment. Yet few patients with cancer receive psychological...
ASCO 2017: Single-Dose Radiotherapy as Effective as Multiple Fractions in Relieving Symptoms of Spinal Cord Compression
Spinal cord compression is a common complication in people with metastatic cancer and is a major detriment to quality of life. Radiation treatment is widely used to relieve pain and other symptoms, but there is no standard recommended schedule, and approaches currently vary. Findings from a phase...
ASCO 2017: Low Testosterone Level After Testicular Cancer Is Common, Linked to Chronic Health Problems
In a large study, 38% of 491 testicular cancer survivors had low testosterone levels. Compared with survivors with normal testosterone levels, survivors with low testosterone levels were more likely to have a range of chronic health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes, erectile...
ASCO 2017: Conquer Fear Intervention Lowers Young Breast Cancer Survivors’ Fear of Cancer Recurrence
About 50% of all cancer survivors and 70% of young breast cancer survivors report a moderate to high fear of recurrence. The fear can be so distressing that it negatively affects medical follow-up behavior, mood, relationships, work, goal setting, and quality of life. Yet interventions to alleviate ...
ASCO 2017: Steady Decrease in Severe Health Problems for Childhood Cancer Survivors
Treatments for childhood cancer are often intense and carry the risk of lifelong health problems for survivors. An analysis of 23,600 childhood cancer survivors in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS), funded by the National Institutes of Health, found that the rate of severe health problems...
ASCO 2017: CALM Intervention Relieves Distress in Patients With Advanced Cancer
Advanced cancer triggers enormous distress and brings challenges that can seem overwhelming. Yet most cancer centers lack systematic approaches to help patients and families manage the practical and emotional toll of advanced cancer. Findings from a randomized clinical trial of 305 patients with...
ASCO Announces CancerLinQ Partnerships With the FDA and the NCI
CancerLinQ®, ASCO’s big data initiative to rapidly improve the quality of cancer care, is partnering with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study the real-world use of newly approved cancer treatments and speed and strengthen the...
ATS 2017: Among All Cancers, Lung Cancer Appears to Put Patients at Greatest Suicide Risk
A lung cancer diagnosis appears to put patients at the greatest risk of suicide when compared to the most common types of non-skin cancers, according to new research presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference (Abstract 8321). Researchers analyzed 3,640,229 patients in ...
Image-Guided Biopsies Accurately Identify Patients With Breast Cancer Who Achieve Pathologic Complete Response Following Neoadjuvant Therapy
In a clinical feasibility trial conducted at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, image-guided biopsies identified select breast cancer patients who achieved pathologic complete response after neoadjuvant systemic therapy consisting of chemotherapy and/or targeted therapy. Should the...
After Nearly 4 Decades of Research, W.K. Alfred Yung, MD, Sees a New Era Ahead for Advances in Brain Tumors
After he was not accepted into the University of Hong Kong, plan B for W.K. Alfred Yung, MD, was to leave his country and immigrate to the United States to attend the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis—a move he considers more exile than choice. Born on April 8, 1948, in Hong Kong, Dr. Yung...
Leader in International Clinical Trials, Robert L. Comis, MD, FASCO, Dies at 71
Robert L. Comis, MD, FASCO, Co-Chair of the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, succumbed to a sudden illness at his home and died on May 10, 2017, at the age of 71. A giant in national and international clinical research since 1977, Dr. Comis is known as a champion of patient access to cancer...
For Eric P. Winer, MD, Empathy and a Sense of Purpose Lead to a Career in Oncology
Eric Paul Winer, MD, was born in Boston in 1956, a year when gasoline was 22 cents a gallon and IBM released the world’s first computer with a hard drive. His grandfather on his mother’s side had hemophilia and died 5 years before Dr. Winer was born. Although there was a 50% chance that Dr. Winer...
SU2C Awards Innovative Research Grants in Immuno-oncology to 10 Early-Career Scientists
Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C) has announced the award of $7.5 million in Innovative Research Grants focused on immuno-oncology to 10 early-career scientists, in a program funded by a grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS), an SU2C Visionary Supporter. These awards were announced at the 2017...
At the Forefront of Cancer Genetics, Bert Vogelstein, MD, Calls for Focus on Early Detection and Prevention
Bert Vogelstein, MD, was born on June 2, 1949, at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, the same renowned institution where he would later make his mark in the field of cancer genetics. As a young teen, he was an enthusiast and independent consumer of books, one of which helped shape...
Eliezer Robinson, MD, Traveled a Long, Hard Road and Became an International Leader in Oncology
Eliezer Robinson, MD, was born in Vienna, Austria, on June 17, 1931. At that time, Vienna, a bustling and prosperous city, was an important center of Jewish culture and education. Jews made up a large portion of the city’s professional class of doctors, lawyers, bankers, and artists. Dr. Robinson...
Susan G. Komen Names Eight Advisors to Guide Breast Cancer Research Program
Susan G. Komen announced new advisory roles for eight leaders in breast cancer who will guide the organization’s education and advocacy work, public health efforts, and help direct Komen’s $920 million research program. On April 1, Jennifer A. Pietenpol, PhD, of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center,...
Radiation Oncologist Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASCO, FASTRO, Enjoys Balancing Administrative and Clinical Roles
Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASCO, FASTRO, grew up in Washington, DC, and moved with her family to Philadelphia while in high school. She still considers the fast-paced DC–Philadelphia corridor her home, but her passion for a career in medicine, in part, took seed in a small town located in North...
Special Awards and Lectures Presented During 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting
Recipients of ASCO’s Notable Awards and Lectures are individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to the research and treatment of patients with cancer. These individuals were honored during several special sessions held during ASCO’s 53rd Annual Meeting, where more than 30,000 physicians, ...
Pioneer in Geriatric Oncology, Hyman Muss, MD, Continues to Improve Care for Older Patients
Hyman Muss, MD, a pioneer in geriatric oncology, considers himself “a real Brooklyn boy.” His father was a dentist, and his uncle was a general practitioner. “They both practiced out of a small brownstone house in Brownsville-Crown Heights. It was sort of reminiscent of the famous movie The Last...
Distinguished Pediatric Oncologist Anna T. Meadows, MD, Led the Way for Studies in Childhood Cancer Survivors
Anna T. Meadows, MD, an internationally distinguished pediatric oncologist who led paradigm-changing survivorship research and clinical care of children with cancer, had an unusual introduction to the United States. “My mother was traveling abroad on vacation and got married in Poland. Although...
Waun Ki Hong, MD, FACP, Helped Change the Standard of Care in Laryngeal Cancer, Now Focuses on Chemoprevention and Precision Medicine
Waun Ki Hong, MD, FACP, one of the nation’s leading experts in head and neck and lung cancers, was born in South Korea and grew up in a tiny village outside the nation’s capital of Seoul. Number six of seven siblings, Dr. Hong described his early life in the cozy village as blissful, until the...
Clinical Researcher George P. Canellos, MD, Closely Involved With Two of the Most Influential Treatments in Cancer Care
George P. Canellos, MD, President of ASCO from 1993 to 1994, was born in Boston on November 1, 1934. “I came from a business family and never wanted to do business at all. As long back as I can remember, I always found medicine attractive—not only because you could help people, but you could also...
Daniel Von Hoff, MD, FACP, Receives Gold Medal From Columbia University
Daniel Von Hoff, MD, FACP—Distinguished Professor, Physician-in-Chief, and Director of Molecular Medicine at the Translational Genomics Research Institute—received a gold medal for excellence in clinical medicine from his alma mater, Columbia University. Columbia University College of Physicians...
Nobel Laureate David Baltimore, PhD, Plays Integral Role in Linking Cell Biology and Cancer Genetics
David Baltimore, PhD, whose work profoundly influenced international science, was born on March 7, 1938, in Queens, New York, to Gertrude and Richard Baltimore. While he was in second grade, the family moved to Great Neck, New York, a middle-class suburb with top-notch public schools. “My father...
Renowned Hematologist Mojtaba Akhtari, MD, Reflects on a New Era in Treating Blood Cancers
The nationally recognized hematologist-oncologist Mojtaba Akhtari, MD, was born and reared in Tehran, Iran. “In my early years, I had a couple of cousins who were medical students. When I visited them in their homes, I was fascinated with the images in their medical text books. I would flip the...
ASCO President, Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, Participates in Key Research With EGFR Mutation in Lung Cancer
Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, 2017–2018 ASCO President, was born in St. Peter, Minnesota, and grew up on a rural dairy farm. “Neither of my parents had college degrees, but working on a dairy farm with them gave me a solid work ethic. I was working outside on the farm before I was 10 years old. In...
Precision Medicine and My Own Activism Are Keeping Me Alive
In 2009, I was living my dream. My work as a business development manager for a technology company was thriving; I had a satisfying social life; I was active in sports, especially hiking and biking; and I was involved in social justice causes as a volunteer at San Quentin State Prison, helping...
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Congressman Kevin Yoder Pledge Continued Support to Conquer Cancer
In a nearly hour-long address to more than 4,500 attendees at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) on April 3, former Vice President Joe Biden lambasted President Trump’s proposed $5.8 billion budget cut to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and...
OPTIMIZE-2 Trial Offers Reassuring Data on Deescalation of Bisphosphonate Therapy for Breast Cancer–Related Bone Metastases
Bisphosphonates were first synthesized more than a century ago, with their initial usage restricted to a range of industrial processes until their potential clinical relevance was appreciated in the late 1960s.1 Then, following development for the treatment of osteoporosis and Paget’s disease of...
Weight Management and Physical Activity in Cancer Care: From Research to Real World
Is there enough evidence to support the incorporation of weight management and physical activity interventions into an oncology practice? And if so, what is the best way to do it? The answer to the first question was a resounding yes from oncologists, patient advocates, dietitians, public health...
Tackling the Obesity and Cancer Epidemic
Research is still lacking to support a link between obesity and an increased risk of developing all types of cancer. Nevertheless, a review1 of more than 1,000 epidemiologic studies by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a division of the World Health Organization, examining...
Osimertinib in Metastatic EGFR T790M–Mutant NSCLC After EGFR Inhibitor Therapy
On March 30, 2017, osimertinib (Tagrisso) was granted regular approval for the treatment of patients with metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M–mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as detected by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved test, who have progressed...
James Allison, PhD, Named One of TIME ’s 100 Most Influential People in 2017
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Chair of Immunology, James Allison, PhD—whose pivotal insight to attack cancer by treating the immune system instead of the tumor revived cancer immunotherapy—has been named to the 2017 TIME 100 Most Influential People. His approach launched a...
Unique Challenges Facing Young Women With Breast Cancer
According to the American Cancer Society, over 252,700 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in 2017, and about 40,610 women will die of their disease. Between 7% and 10% of those new cases will be diagnosed in women younger than age 40, accounting for more than 40% of all cancer...
Palbociclib Combined With Aromatase Inhibitor in Hormone Receptor–Positive, HER2-Negative Advanced Breast Cancer
On March 31, 2017, palbociclib (Ibrance) was granted regular approval for treatment of hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer in combination with an aromatase inhibitor as initial endocrine-based therapy in postmenopausal women.1,2 Palbociclib received...
Six NY Scientists Win Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research
The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance announced the six winners of the 4th annual Pershing Square Sohn Prize for Young Investigators in Cancer Research, awarded annually to promising early-career, New York City–area scientists. Recipients receive $200,000 in funding per year for up...
Niraparib in Recurrent Epithelial Ovarian, Fallopian Tube, or Primary Peritoneal Cancer
On March 27, 2017, the oral poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor niraparib (Zejula) was approved for maintenance treatment of patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy.1,2...
Setting His Presidential Course on Making Precision Medicine a Reality for More Patients
Ensuring that all patients with cancer have access to the potential benefits of precision medicine regardless of where they are treated has been a primary goal of Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, since the concept was first introduced following completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. Dr....
ESTRO 2017: Study Suggests Role for Radiotherapy in Extending Survival in Patients With Early-Stage Pancreatic Cancer
Radiotherapy at a high enough dose may increase survival in early-stage pancreatic cancer, according to research presented at the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) 36 Conference.1 Previous research has suggested that radiotherapy may be of little help in this setting. The...
ASCO’s New Strategic Plan for Increasing Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Oncology Workforce
The hematology/oncology workforce continues to struggle with adequate representation of racial and ethnic minorities. To promote the development of an oncology workforce that reflects the demographics of the population it serves, ASCO has introduced its Strategic Plan for Increasing Racial &...
