Although quality of life has been an implicit medical outcome since the time of Hippocrates, integrating the explicit effort to assess the effects of cancer treatment on the patient’s quality—and not quantity—of life was spearheaded by dedicated pioneers. One such trailblazer is Patricia A. Ganz,...
There are few, if any, more difficult clinical challenges than pancreatic cancer, a disease that continues to confound the oncology community’s quest for cure. Yet, incremental progress and unflagging optimism drive the way forward, thanks to the researchers and clinicians who have dedicated their...
Dannielle Engle, PhD, of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, and Avery D. Posey, PhD, of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, were announced at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2021 as the inaugural recipients of the Lustgarten...
Most cancer memoirs have a similar thread: life suddenly interrupted by arguably the three most dreaded words in the English language, “You have cancer.” Readers anticipate the high-drama uncertainty leading to diagnosis, treatment, and hopefully survivorship, with multiple human storylines woven...
The COVID-19 pandemic remains a global health issue, putting unprecedented stress on health-care systems, with important implications for cancer care. Although at this stage the data are fairly limited, we know that patients with cancer are far more vulnerable to worse outcomes, including a greater ...
I have had two life-threatening cancers over the past 3 decades and can say without equivocation that there is never a good time to get cancer. My first cancer diagnosis happened in 1992, just weeks after I had accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer of Hughes Electronics. The job meant a...
The U.S. right-to-die movement took root in the mid-1970s, when Derek Humphry helped his wife, who was dying of breast cancer, take her own life. Five years later, Mr. Humphry founded the Hemlock Society, the first right-to-die organization in the United States,1 and set off a firestorm of...
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION for Cancer Research (AACR) has recognized Nima Sharifi, MD, with the 2021 AACR–Waun Ki Hong Award for Outstanding Achievement in Translational and Clinical Cancer Research. Dr. Sharifi is Director of the Center for Genitourinary Malignancies Research at Lerner Research...
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION for Cancer Research (AACR) recognized Ton Schumacher, PhD, FAACR, with the 2021 AACR-CRI Lloyd J. Old Award in Cancer Immunology during the virtual AACR Annual Meeting 2021 in April. The award recognizes an active scientist whose outstanding and innovative research has made ...
Researchers, patient advocates, and global oncology leaders who have worked to reshape cancer care around the world are among the recipients of ASCO’s Special Awards—the Society’s highest honors—and the Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Awards from Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation. “The...
For this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with Deborah Watkins Bruner, RN, PhD, FAAN, noted for her work in patient-reported outcomes, symptom management, and comparative effectiveness of radiotherapy modalities. Her current research is focused on...
While the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is higher among patients who have human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), it’s even higher among patients who have HIV and detectable hepatitis B, according to research published by Kim et al in Hepatology. Among patients with HIV and hepatitis B,...
Although most patients with terminal cancer, 87%, have end-of-life conversations with clinicians about their goals and preferences for care, on average, these discussions happen just 1 month before death and most often occur in acute care settings with clinicians who are not their treating...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) presented Douglas R. Lowy, MD, FAACR, with the 2021 AACR–Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research during the virtual AACR Annual Meeting 2021. Dr. Lowy is Chief of the Laboratory of Cellular Oncology,...
The Society ofSurgical Oncology (SSO) recently announced its 2021–2022 elected Executive Council Officers, including its new President, Douglas S. Tyler, MD, MSHCT, FSSO. Dr. Tyler currently holds the John Woods Harris Distinguished Chair in Surgery at The University of Texas Medical Branch in...
Internationally renowned for his pioneering research in combining high-dose radiation therapy and chemotherapy in the treatment of locally advanced head and neck cancer to improve patient survival, ASCO’s President-Elect Everett E. Vokes, MD, FASCO, is dedicating his tenure as President to...
A research team has identified a receptor in cells that could play a role in preventing permanent hearing loss in childhood cancer survivors treated with the drug cisplatin. The researchers believe that by inhibiting the receptor, they may be able to better control otoxicity, according to findings...
Invited discussant Federico Cappuzzo, MD, Director of Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute Regina Elena in Rome, said the study reported by Peters et al is “important” and “provocative,” but he raised some concerns. “From this study, we cannot answer from a scientific point of view...
Drug-related interstitial lung disease occurred in less than 16% of patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer following treatment with trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) at the approved dose of 5.4 mg/kg. In addition, the majority of these cases were classified as grade 1 or 2,...
In a typical year, the new participants in ASCO and Conquer Cancer’s International Development and Education Awards (IDEA) and International Development and Education Awards–Palliative Care (IDEA-PC) program would arrive at the McCormick Place Convention Center just ahead of the ASCO Annual...
Taofeek K. Owonikoko, MD, PhD, will join the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UMPC) Hillman Cancer Center and Department of Medicine as Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology. A physician-scientist board-certified in medical oncology, hematology, and internal medicine, Dr. Owonikoko...
The Robert Larner, MD, College of Medicine at The University of Vermont (UVM), in collaboration with the UVM Health Network and the UVM Medical Center, has announced that Randall F. Holcombe, MD, MBA, has been appointed Director of the UVM Cancer Center and Chief of the Division of Hematology and...
Kieron Dunleavy, MD, was appointed Director of Hematology at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University, in Washington, DC. He is now also Chief of the Lymphoma Program at Georgetown University. Dr. Dunleavy joined Lombardi/Georgetown earlier this year. He is former Professor...
City of Hope has announced the renaming of its diabetes research center as the Arthur Riggs Diabetes & Metabolism Research Institute, in honor of its long-time director and research pioneer. Arthur Riggs, PhD, is known for scientific achievements that include developing the technology leading...
By way of her family lineage, Aparna Parikh, MD, seemed destined for a career in medicine. “Both of my parents are physicians, as well as my maternal grandfather. I have two other siblings, all of whom are in the medical field. Medicine has always been part of my life since childhood. My parents...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is recognizing geneticist Frederick W. Alt, PhD, with the 18th AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research. Dr. Alt is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, Director of the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine at Boston ...
In 2020, the 8th Annual Beirut Breast Cancer Conference (BBCC) was our last in-person meeting. The first cases of COVID-19 started in Lebanon around the end of February 2020, and the pandemic continues into its second year, with waves of rising cases following superspreader events and other likely...
John Marshall, MD, of the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University, and his wife, Liza Marshall, a breast cancer survivor, talk about the impact of her diagnosis, how it changed their view of cancer care and the way clinicians communicate, and why their memoir has an important message.
This week, The ASCO Post sat down with Dr. John Marshall, of the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University, and his wife, Liza Marshall, a former lawyer, active advocate for patients with cancer, and a breast cancer survivor. The Marshalls are the coauthors of a new book entitled Off Our...
The first study to use x-rays and computed tomography (CT) to detect evidence of cancer among the skeletal remains of a preindustrial population suggests that between 9% to 14% of adults in medieval Britain had the disease at the time of their death. These findings were published by Mitchell et al...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will present Distinguished Public Service Awards to three individuals whose extraordinary work has exemplified the AACR’s mission to prevent and cure all cancers through research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy, advocacy,...
The top two barriers to accessing complementary and integrative therapies, according to a survey of 576 patients with cancer and caregivers, were cost, cited by 56%, and a lack of knowledge about the therapies, cited by 52.1%. “Other barriers included a lack of time (29.2%), location of the...
Everything about my breast cancer diagnosis, from my presentation to diagnosis, was strange. In the spring of 2006, I was performing my monthly breast self-exam when I felt a hard lump in the upper left quadrant of my left breast. Having lost a good friend to breast cancer 4 years earlier, I was...
Randomized clinical trials are highly regulated initiatives that must comply with multiple requirements while maintaining high epistemic standards, a balance that becomes increasingly difficult as the research questions surrounding immunotherapy and targeted agents become more complex. To shed...
For this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with Griffin P. Rodgers, MD, MACP, Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Rodgers, a physician-scientist,...
Leading cardiothoracic surgeon and researcher Brendon Stiles, MD, has been appointed Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery & Surgical Oncology in the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Stiles will also...
Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) announced the appointment of Neeraj Agarwal, MD, physician-scientist at HCI and Professor of Internal Medicine at the U of U, as Senior Director of Clinical Research Innovation. In this role, Dr. Agarwal will oversee critical...
Aaron T. Gerds, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Deputy Director for Clinical Research at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute and Medical Director of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Clinical Research Office, found the MANIFEST-2 findings to be highly noteworthy. He cited a...
Immune checkpoint inhibitors have transformed treatment for many advanced cancers, but short-term clinical trials and small observational studies have linked the medications with various side effects, most commonly involving the skin. A more comprehensive, population-level analysis now provides a...
Two new studies published in the journal Blood suggest that the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may have reduced efficacy in individuals with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and multiple myeloma. According to researchers, these studies could help inform the ideal time for vaccination of these...
Separate studies presented at the 2021 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium provide supportive evidence for belzutifan (formerly MK-6482) as an active treatment for metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). One study showed single-agent activity for this novel approach in an early-phase trial,...
Brian Bolwell, MD, FACP, has been appointed to the newly created role of Chair, Physician Leadership and Development within the Mandel Global Leadership and Learning Institute at Cleveland Clinic. His new position is effective May 1, 2021. Dr. Bolwell has served as Chair of Cleveland Clinic...
The swastikas on his knuckles kept stealing my attention. I tried not to stare but every time he gestured to emphasize his words my gaze snapped back there. That awful symbol, multiplied across all 10 digits, refused to be ignored. The blue lines were blurred and misshapen, probably jail tats. I...
An experienced executive has rejoined the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center team, announced Roswell Park President and Chief Executive Officer Candace S. Johnson, PhD. Jeff Walker, MBA, has been recruited back to Western New York to fill the new role of Executive Vice President of Operations ...
Cancer researcher Andrew Ewald, PhD, has been appointed Director of the Department of Cell Biology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He will take over the position from Peter Devreotes, PhD, who will remain on the faculty at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Ewald joined the medical school...
The European Society for Medical Oncology and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer recently presented the Heine H. Hansen Award 2021 to Johan Vansteenkiste, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at the Catholic University of Leuven and Head of Clinic in the Respiratory Oncology Unit...
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute has appointed cancer researcher Ze’ev Ronai, PhD, as Director of its National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Center. Established in 1976, the Cancer Center is one of only seven NCI-designated Basic Laboratory Cancer Centers in the...
City of Hope recently announced the appointment of Terence M. Williams, MD, PhD, as Professor and Chair of its Department of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Williams takes the helm of one of the largest and most experienced radiation oncology services in the country, with more than 15 locations and 42...
Fox Chase Cancer Center recently welcomed Cihangir Duy, PhD, MS, who has joined the Cancer Signaling and Epigenetics Program as Assistant Professor. Before coming to Fox Chase, Dr. Duy was Instructor in Cell and Developmental Biology at Weill Cornell Medicine Graduate School of Medical Sciences in...
Benjamin Ebert, MD, PhD, Chair of Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, George P. Canellos, MD, and Jean S. Canellos Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Institute Member of Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, has been awarded the Sjöberg Prize, an annual international...