The Don Shula Foundation is donating $1.5 million to Moffitt Cancer Center to establish The Don Shula Breast Cancer Research Fund (The Shula Fund). Scientists at Moffitt will use The Shula Fund to support cutting-edge research projects that will generate new treatment and prevention strategies for...
The Florida Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO) was founded in 1977, just 13 years after the founding of ASCO. Today, the Society has had such an impact on the practices of medical, radiation, surgical, gynecologic, and pediatric oncologists throughout the state, membership has risen to over...
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has announced that V. Craig Jordan, PhD, will join the institution in October 2014 as a Professor in Breast Medical Oncology and Molecular and Cellular Oncology. Dr. Jordan will focus on the new biology of estrogen-induced cell death with the goal...
In a statement released earlier this month, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) applauded the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for issuing its final guidance on “In Vitro Companion Diagnostic Devices” and proposing its “Framework for Regulatory Oversight of Laboratory...
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...
Providence Health & Services has announced that Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, will serve as the health-care system’s new Global Director for Cancer Services and Bioinformatics. In this role, Dr. Soon-Shiong will work closely with oncology clinicians and researchers across the five-state Providence...
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recently presented to Congress a scientific framework that lays out important steps needed to make advances in small cell lung cancer. The report, entitled “Scientific Framework for Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC)” was mandated by the Recalcitrant Cancer Research...
Incorporating patient-reported outcomes into the palliative care clinical setting can improve patients’ symptom management, quality of life, and overall communication with their oncologists, according to Ethan Basch, MD. Dr. Basch is Director of the Cancer Outcomes Research Program and Associate...
The International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) will be celebrating its 30th anniversary at the 16th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology and Psychosocial Academy being held in Lisbon, Portugal from October 20-24, 2014. The Congress will feature a plenary session with nine past presidents, whose...
David sits at his desk, tapping angrily. He’s tired of his abusive, ignorant boss, the VP for regional sales. The man’s sales targets are absurdly high, he’s impossible to reach on the phone, his “motivational” speeches evoke the stress of Glengarry Glen Ross, and even his fake all-light-brown hair ...
Title: The Silver Lining: A Supportive & Insightful Guide to Breast CancerEditors: Hollye Jacobs, RN, MS, MSWPublishing Platform: CreateSpace Publication information: Simon & Schuster, published March 2014. Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Indiebound, and other local bookstores....
Advances in cancer treatment have led to increasing numbers of long-term survivors, bringing greater attention to the needs of this growing population. Female cancer patients often experience difficult adjustments related to sexual health and intimacy. To better understand the complexity of this...
While the first written record of cancer dates back to ancient Egypt, the history of modern oncology is fairly short, dating back only slightly more than half a century. Clinical trials in the early days of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the emerging cooperative groups were led by a...
The University of Texas System named MD Anderson scientist Lynda Chin, MD, as a recipient of the System’s Chancellor’s Health Fellowship. Dr. Chin, Chair of the Department of Genomic Medicine, was recognized for development of a patient-centric oncology care delivery system initiated in late 2012....
Michael Bookman, MD, of the University of Arizona Cancer Center will join Arizona Oncology, a practice in The US Oncology Network, and serve as Medical Director of the US Oncology Research Gynecology Research Program. In his new role, effective October 6, 2014, Dr. Bookman will use his extensive...
Activating the immune system for therapeutic benefit in cancer patients has long been a goal in the scientific community. After decades of disappointment, this intriguing approach has come to the forefront of cancer research, showing promising results in several malignancies. To keep abreast of...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has named Angelita Habr-Gama, MD, PhD, as the 2014 Honorary Member, the Society’s highest honor. Dr. Habr-Gama is Professor of Surgery at the University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine and Staff Surgeon of Coloproctological Surgery at Hospital...
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...
Active surveillance is well established as an appropriate management option for men with low-risk prostate cancer and particularly for those over 65 years of age. Its legitimacy is now enshrined within National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, in the American Society for Radiation Oncology...
All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” —Galileo Galilei There are several “truths” in breast oncology that have been discovered over the years, become widely understood, and changed the way we practice. Prospective randomized studies have...
Elevated circulating tumor cells are associated with poor prognosis in metastatic breast cancer. In a phase III trial (Southwest Oncology Group [SWOG] S0500) reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jeffrey B. Smerage, MD, PhD, Clinical Associate Professor in Medical Oncology at the University of...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) as a pathway for oncologists to meet the agency’s quality reporting requirements. Starting in the fall of 2014, oncology practices registered with QOPI will have the opportunity to...
Gary H. Lyman, MD, MPH, FASCO, is Co-Director of the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research, a Full Member of the Divisions of Public Health Sciences and Clinical Research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Professor of Medicine, Public Health, and Pharmacy at the...
One of the most important cancer survivorship issues is the transition from oncologist to the primary care setting. With a growing population of cancer survivors, patients need to feel secure about their primary care provider having the tools to address their special needs. To shed light on this...
The Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ) has recognized Veena Shankaran, MD, a Medical Oncologist and Health Economist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, as one of 40 individuals under age 40 who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership within their field. Dr. Shankaran will accept the...
Over the past several decades, the role of postchemotherapy surgery for advanced testicular cancer has evolved with regard to patient selection, surgical planning, lymph node dissection, and surgical technique. To add clarity to this complex clinical setting, The ASCO Post recently spoke with...
The androgen receptor axis is a validated target for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer. Several perturbations in this pathway are postulated to lead to androgen-independent growth, including androgen receptor mutation and amplification as well as the autocrine production of...
Recent developments in supportive care for children with cancer can be broken down into three categories: doing the simple things well, applying evidence-based medicine to daily practice, and extending the benefits to everyone, according to Scott C. Howard, MD, of St. Jude Children’s Research...
Triple-negative breast cancer is now recognized as a very complex subtype for which one treatment will not be applicable to all, according to Mohammad Jahanzeb, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Miami and Director of the UM Sylvester Deerfield Campus, who gave an update on...
Having attended ASCO Annual Meetings for almost 40 years, I believe that this year’s 50th anniversary celebration was one of the best ever. In many of the presentations and discussions, I experienced a sense of reality about the true state of cancer management that in previous years has sometimes...
Two different abstracts explored the potential for MET as a therapeutic target in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with different results. A phase III study found that onartuzumab, an antibody that targets the MET receptor, combined with erlotinib (Tarceva) was not as...
The potential of individualizing systemic treatment based on BRCA1/2 status has not yet been realized. BRCA1/2 germline status currently does not factor into systemic therapy decisions,” said Melinda L. Telli, MD, of Standard University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, who discussed the...
The workforce numbers show a disturbing trend. According to a recent study by ASCO, by 2025, overall demand for oncology services is projected to grow by 40%, but physician supply is predicted to increase by only 25%, generating a shortage of 2,258 oncologists providing full-time equivalent...
Many concerns were raised and dire speculations predicted during the further implementation of the Affordable Care Act this year. So far, the trickling news is good: An estimated total of 20 million people gained coverage under the new law as of May 1,1 about 6 million enrolled in the law’s...
In “Stories on the History of Cancer,” available on ASCO’s Cancer.Progress.Net, past ASCO presidents and other oncology luminaries discuss the founding of ASCO, the early days of cancer treatment, and the notable changes that have occurred since then—both in the care of people with cancer and in...
The 1964 Surgeon General’s Report on Smoking and Health started a culture change in the way Americans viewed tobacco and their health, and has saved countless million of lives. But the 1964 Report remained scientifically ambiguous on certain vital issues, such as the effect smoking had on the...
“Prolonged TV viewing and time spent in other sedentary pursuits is associated with increased risks of certain types of cancer,” concluded a meta-analysis of data from 43 observational studies including more than 4 million people and 68,936 cancer cases. A positive association with overall...
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...
Postmenopausal women who in the past 4 years had undertaken regular physical activity equivalent to at least 4 hours of walking per week had a lower risk for invasive breast cancer compared with women who exercised less during those 4 years, according to data published recently in Cancer...
A recent study reporting the absolute 20-year survival benefit from contralateral prophylactic mastectomy was less than 1% for women with stage I and II breast cancer without BRCA mutations runs counter to common perceptions about the risk of contralateral breast cancer among these women and the...
For women with stage I and II breast cancer without BRCA mutations, the absolute 20-year survival benefit from contralateral prophylactic mastectomy was less than 1%, regardless of age, estrogen receptor status, and cancer stage, according to a decision analysis study using a Markov model to...
In 1986, I was pregnant with my third child and excited to be interviewing for a job on the assembly line at a General Motors plant near my home in Brodhead, Wisconsin. Hiring requirements included a physical examination and a chest x-ray, which was done by my obstetrician to avoid any radiation...
Seattle Children’s has announced that Mark Del Beccaro, MD, has been appointed as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) effective October 1, 2014. Dr. Del Beccaro, who currently serves as Vice President of Medical Affairs, will replace David Fisher, MD, who is retiring. “Mark has...
Mr. John Mulvihill, Chair of the Board of Trustees of University Health Network (UHN), Canada, and Chair of the Board’s Selection Committee for the President and CEO, recently announced that Peter Pisters, MD, will serve as UHN’s next President and CEO, beginning January 1, 2015. Dr. Pisters is...
Two grants totaling more than $300,000 will support studies on genomic literacy among Africans as it relates to research conducted in Africa by African investigators. The 3-year grants are part of the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) program, funded by the National Institutes of...
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 ...
Thomas P. Sellers, MPA, has been a tireless advocate for patients’ rights for more than 20 years. A 15-year prostate cancer survivor and only child, Mr. Sellers said it was his mother’s death from lung cancer when she was 51, followed by the death of his father from glioblastoma multiforme that led ...
Title: Lighter as We Go: Virtues, Character Strengths, and AgingAuthors: Mindy Greenstein, PhD, and Jimmie Holland, MDPublisher: Oxford University Press Publication date: September 2014Price: $27.95; Hardcover, 320 pages Death is the universal experience shared by Earth’s 7 billion or so...
Significant weight loss, cachexia, and being bedbound signal that a cancer patient is dying. However, identifying the specific signs that give physicians the ability to predict death is not well described in the literature. To better understand why predicting death is an important part of the care...