EVIDENCE CONTINUES to mount for the benefits of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition in ovarian cancer. Rucaparib (Rubraca) maintenance therapy after response to platinum-containing therapy significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer compared ...
INVITED DISCUSSANT Paul Baas, MD, PhD, of The Netherlands Cancer Institute, called the MAPS2 trial an “excellent example of how studies in mesothelioma should be run.” As Dr. Baas pointed out, both arms performed well as second- and third-line treatment, with median progression-free survival with ...
IN PATIENTS with malignant pleural mesothelioma, combination immunotherapy with two checkpoint inhibitors in the second or third line of treatment extended survival to at least 15 months in the MAPS2 trial,1 sponsored by the Intergroupe Francophone de Cancérologie Thoracique (IFCT) and reported at ...
“IN 2008, I presented the IPASS results. FLAURA has beaten me to the ground. The results exceeded expectations, and FLAURA is undoubtedly a positive study,” stated formal discussant Professor Tony Mok, MD, FASCO, Chair of Department of Clinical Oncology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “It is ...
FORMAL DISCUSSANT, Manuela Schmidinger, MD, of the Medical University of Austria, Vienna, commented on the CheckMate 214 findings. “We have just seen a change in the paradigm in the treatment of metastatic renal cell cancer.” “More than a decade ago, VEGF [vascular endothelial growth factor]...
A CHANGE IN PARADIGM may be on the horizon for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. According to the results of CheckMate 214, the combination of ipilimumab (Yervoy) plus nivolumab (Opdivo) outperformed the standard of care—sunitinib (Sutent)—for first-line treatment, with improved...
PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT advance in the treatment of newly diagnosed primary melanoma has been the incorporation of sentinel lymph node biopsy as part of initial surgical management. The routine use of sentinel lymph node biopsy, often termed “sentinel lymphadenectomy,” in appropriately...
NICHOLAS TURNER, MD, of The Royal Marsden and the Institute of Cancer Research in the UK, called the findings of MONARCH 3 “practice-changing.” The cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors have answered the need for agents that target the biology of estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer, ...
EARLY IN our careers, few of us imagined that a vaccine could one day prevent cancer. Now, there is a vaccine that keeps the risks from human papillomavirus (HPV) at bay, and yet universal adoption of the HPV vaccine has been incomplete. As a result of misinformation about the vaccine—and its...
Historically, randomized controlled trials have served as the state-of-the-art method for determining the efficacy and safety of new, innovative treatment regimens for patients with cancer and other diseases. It is imperative that such trials are carefully designed to ensure that they are...
Earlier this year, at the Alexandria Center for Life Science, former Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden, PhD, launched the Biden Cancer Initiative, their new venture to continue the fight to make progress in cancer prevention, detection, treatment, and care. The Biden Cancer Initiative will...
A higher-dose, shorter form of radiation is safe, effective, and no more damaging to the breast tissue or skin of breast cancer patients under age 50 than it is in older patients. This is the finding of a study led by researchers from Perlmutter Cancer Center at New York University (NYU)...
On September 22, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) approved nivolumab (Opdivo) for the treatment of unresectable advanced or recurrent gastric cancer which has progressed after chemotherapy. This approval was based on the phase III ...
A systematic review and meta-analysis has found no association between vasectomy and high-grade, advanced, or fatal prostate cancer but a weak association with any prostate cancer. These findings were reported in JAMA Oncology by Bimal Bhindi et al. R. Jeffrey Karnes, MD, of the Mayo Clinic,...
A higher-dose, shorter form of radiation is safe, effective, and no more damaging to the breast tissue or skin of women with breast cancer under age 50 than it is in older patients, according to findings led by researchers from Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health, and presented at the...
My father, who was a physician, taught me at an early age to pay attention to any changes in my body. His advice has stood me in good stead for more than 83 years and probably saved my life more than once. In 1984, just before I turned 50, something was bothering me about my right breast. I could...
Although checkpoint inhibitor–based immunotherapy has revolutionized treatment for a variety of cancers, the majority of patients with cancer do not respond to the therapy, and a subset of patients may even experience hyperprogression. Many patients also experience some degree of...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. On May 9, 2017, avelumab (Bavencio) was granted...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. On May 1, 2017, durvalumab (Imfinzi) was granted...
ASCO released a landmark strategic plan to guide future efforts for increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the oncology workforce. The ultimate goal is to develop a workforce that provides high-quality cancer care to racial and ethnic populations who experience persistent disparities in access...
Although significant progress has been made in cancer incidence and mortality in the United States over the past 2 decades—the death rate fell 23% between 1991 and 20121—not everyone is benefiting equally. According to the American Cancer Society, blacks have the highest death rate and shortest...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. On June 22, 2017, the combination of rituximab (Rituxan)...
The ASCO Post issue of June 25, 2017, did an excellent job of summarizing the results and controversy generated by the initial results of the APHINITY trial, reported at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting and published simultaneously online in The New England Journal of Medicine.1 With a median follow-up ...
At the 2017 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, Dan Sherman, MA, LPC, discussed potential solutions to the persistent challenge of financial toxicity in the oncology setting. Mr. Sherman is a clinical financial consultant and Founder and President of The Navectis Group, Caledonia, Michigan. Rather than...
The ASCO Post introduces this new department, Living a Full Life, in which we will share insightful narratives of oncology professionals highlighting personal aspects of these clinicians’ lives separate from the world of oncology. We also intend to open a dialogue about the challenges that today’s...
KAH POH (MELISSA) LOH, MBBCh BAO Institution: Fellow, University of Rochester Medical CenterMember since: 2013ASCO activities: Trainee Council Hematology and oncology fellowship training requires at least 3 years to complete. For fellows who wish to single board in either hematology or oncology, a ...
On July 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the indication for ipilimumab (Yervoy) injection for intravenous use now to include the treatment of unresectable or metastatic melanoma in pediatric patients 12 years of age and older. Ipilimumab was evaluated in 2 trials of...
A study using linked Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare data has shown a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality and a nonsignificantly increased risk of breast cancer–specific mortality in elderly breast cancer patients with preexisting severe mental...
A new survey finds breast cancer patients’ actual radiation therapy experiences largely exceeded their expectations. The survey, which addressed the fears and misconceptions regarding radiation therapy for breast cancer, found that more than three-fourths of the breast cancer patients...
In a new phase III trial report from the National Clinical Trial Network group, NRG Oncology, recurrence-free and overall survival rates for women with stage I–II high-risk endometrial cancer were not superior following adjuvant vaginal cuff brachytherapy plus chemotherapy when compared with...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved abemaciclib (Verzenio) to treat adult patients who have hormone receptor–positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer that has progressed after endocrine therapy. Abemaciclib is...
A new study finds that immune response in prostate cancer may be able to forecast how patients will respond to radiation therapy, as well as their likelihood of disease recurrence and survival outcomes. The analysis of more than 9,000 prostate tumors also found evidence that programmed cell death...
A new study involving patients with stage IV cancer has found that treatment with radiation therapy and immunotherapy can slow tumor growth by stimulating the body’s immune system to attack the cancer. In the phase II trial, patients with end-stage cancer that had metastasized to the lungs or ...
Psychological distress has long been associated with negative health outcomes for patients with cancer, though specific reasons remain unclear. A new study has found that roughly half of all patients who reported having severe distress, which the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN)...
Findings from a new multicenter, international clinical trial confirm the effectiveness of high-dose brachytherapy, or internal radiation therapy, for managing locally advanced cervical cancer. Tumor control was significantly better following four fractions of 7 Gy each than following two 9-Gy...
A series of medical mishaps has led me to a diagnosis of stage IV carcinoid neuroendocrine cancer and a shortened lifespan. This never should have happened. For months in early 2015, I was plagued with all the signs of a serious illness, including chronic stomach, bowel, and digestive issues;...
A comparative analysis of outcomes with two different trastuzumab (Herceptin)-based adjuvant regimens in older women with early HER2-positive breast cancer found little difference in safety and efficacy between treatments. The study was reported by Katherine E. Reeder-Hayes, MD, MBA, of the...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) will recognize Marshall A. Lichtman, MD, of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, with the 2017 Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology. Dr. Lichtman will be honored for his notable service to the field of...
The statistics on physician suicide are stark: Physicians are more than twice as likely to take their own lives as nonphysicians, and more than 400 physicians commit suicide each year in the United States. Moreover, young physicians at the early part of their training are reported to be...
Investigators at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) have announced the opening of enrollment for a unique precision medicine clinical trial. NCI-COG Pediatric Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (Pediatric MATCH) is a nationwide trial to explore whether...
MANY health-care experts disagree about when screening mammography is appropriate and for whom. That’s what Women Informed to Screen Depending on Measures of Risk (WISDOM) seeks to remedy. The University of California (UC) Health study aims to uncover whether annual mammograms really are the best...
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has awarded $100,000 in grants to five community health centers across the country to reduce colon cancer disparities in American Indian and Alaska Native populations through the Community Health Advocates implementing Nationwide Grants for Empowerment and Equity...
A pair of recent studies show a troubling trend: Despite a 20% decrease in cancer mortality rates nationwide over the past 2 decades,1 Americans living in rural regions of the United States are more likely to die of cancer than persons living in metropolitan areas of the country. An analysis of...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies commonly used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, present information on...
A cancer diagnosis presents emotional and psychological challenges for patients and caregivers, and prostate cancer has some unique challenges, in part because management is not writ in stone. At several points along the trajectory of illness, men with prostate cancer face decisions that can be...
The pan-Canadian Oncology Drug Review (pCODR) has provided a positive clinical recommendation for the reimbursement of olaparib (Lynparza), a first-of-its-kind treatment for BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer. Lynparza is an oral, potent inhibitor of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) available as a...
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this special feature on the worldwide cancer burden. Each installment focuses on a country from one of the six regions of the world, as defined by the World Health Organization (ie, Africa, the Americas, South-East Asia, Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, and...
At the time this article was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dr. Danaher was practicing at Monash -University, -Melbourne, Australia; Drs. Brand and Mack, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston; Dr. Pickard, at the Imperial College -Healthcare NHS Trust, London; and Dr. Berry,...
According to researchers from the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, being in a high-income bracket may lead to overdiagnosis of cancer and the subsequent harms associated with unnecessary medical treatments. To shed light on this interesting finding and its broader...
Two scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) received the 2017 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for their significant research leading to the development of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. The award is the country’s most prestigious biomedical research prize and was...