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Showing 9351 - 9400Scalp Cooling Caps Offer Option to Prevent Hair Loss During Chemotherapy
Hair loss remains one of the most dreaded side effects of chemotherapy, particularly for women. Scalp cooling caps worn by patients during chemotherapy infusion and for brief periods of time before and after offer these patients an option to preserve 50% or more of the hair on their heads. Although ...
Robert H. Lurie Names Associate Director for Administration
Aleksandar Zafirovski, MBA, has been named Executive Administrative Director and Associate Director for Administration for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. He has served as Interim Associate Director since 2014. Mr. Zafirovski has previously been...
Staff Support Sessions in an Oncology Setting
Work-related issues such as coping skills, stress management, burnout, and compassion fatigue are among the challenges faced by clinical and other staff in cancer treatment centers. Given the emotional consequences of professional caregiving, staff support group meetings are valuable resources for...
Researcher Spotlight on Conquer Cancer Foundation International Innovation Grant Recipient Mya Thida, MBBS
In 2014, Mya Thida, MBBS, of Myanmar, was awarded one of the first-ever Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO International Innovation Grants. This grant was created to fund novel research projects that may significantly improve cancer control in low- and middle-income countries. One year later, Dr....
Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation Works to Change the Treatment Landscape of an Aggressive Form of Breast Cancer
Hayley Dinerman, Cofounder and Executive Director of the Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation, remembers how she and a group of close female friends first learned about the devastating effects of triple-negative breast cancer. It was 2005 when these new mothers, who had recently formed a...
Preparing for the ‘Silver Tsunami’ and the Impact of an Aging Population on Cancer Care
“Older adults constitute the only increasing natural resource in the entire world.” —Linda Fried, PhD, Columbia School of Public Health The good and bad news about our changing demographic world is that the population of older adults is increasing in the United States and worldwide. While it is...
In Search of ‘Just’ Prices: Questioning the High Cost of New Cancer Drugs
As the oncology community begins the slow and often difficult-to-define transition from volume to value in the delivery of cancer care, the relationship between the price and value of certain high-priced cancer drugs is getting more scrutiny. We generally correlate the efficacy of a new drug and...
Overweight Girls Face Increased Risk of Colorectal Cancer Later in Life
Girls who are overweight as young children and teens may face increased risk for colorectal cancer decades later, regardless of what they weigh as adults, suggests a new study published by Xuehong Zhang, MD, ScD, Instructor at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues in Cancer Epidemiology,...
Opioid-Reduction Strategy for Postoperative Pain After Breast Cancer Surgery
One persistent and potentially debilitating problem breast cancer patients suffer with is postoperative pain. Studies show that proper pain management is an essential component in the healing process, but undertreatment of pain symptoms remains an ongoing issue in the oncology community. Opioids,...
Analysis Shows No Link Between Aromatase Inhibitor–Related Musculoskeletal/Vasomotor Symptoms and Relapse-Free Survival
Retrospective analyses of the ATAC, TEAM, and BIG 1-98 adjuvant endocrine therapy trials in breast cancer have suggested that treatment-emergent endocrine symptoms may be associated with superior survival outcomes. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vered Stearns, MD,...
Remembering Dr. Jane Weeks’ Pioneering Work and NCCN’s Outcomes Research Initiative
Jane Carrie Weeks, MD, MSc, a prominent researcher at Dana-Farber Cancer Center, died of cancer on September 10, 2013, at the age of 61. At the time of her death, Dr. Weeks was Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public ...
20 Years of NCCN: The Best Is Yet to Come
As the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) celebrates its 20th year, The ASCO Post asked its Chief Executive Officer, Robert W. Carlson, MD, to reflect on the organization’s accomplishments, mission, and future and on the role he may have played in its success. The Early Years You became...
Noncommunicable Diseases Are the Leading Cause of Death in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
The greatest health threat to people living in low- and middle-income countries is no longer infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, which has seen a 33% decline in the global rate of new infections since 2001.1 It is the rise of noncommunicable diseases (including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and...
Heal Thy Patient … Reflections on the Human Side of Medicine
Dr. Are extended to me the opportunity to make additional comments about his article. I am the husband of the most wonderful Mrs. X he discusses. As always, Dr. Are’s comments are very kind and generous. Three Roles Based on my experience and observations, I would like to mention three roles a...
Heal Thy Patient … Reflections on the Human Side of Medicine
The first time I met Mrs. X and her husband was to discuss the surgical treatment options for pancreatic cancer. She had just been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at her local hospital and was being referred to a tertiary care center for operative management. Mrs. X and her husband were no...
PRIME II and the Omission of Radiation Therapy in Low-Risk, Elderly Patients Undergoing Breast Conservation: The Time Has Come
Despite the high prevalence of breast cancer worldwide, it is important to recognize that > 40% of all cases occur in women aged 65 years or older in both the United States and the United Kingdom.1,2 Breast cancers in older patients are more often associated with indolent features and with...
Escalation of Oncology Services at End of Life May Be Moderated by Coordinated Care
“Use of oncology-related services is increasingly scrutinized, yet precisely which services are actually rendered to patients, particularly at the end of life, is unknown,” noted an article in the Journal of Oncology Practice. To address this knowledge gap, Eijean Wu, MD, of the Los Angeles County...
Robert Coleman, MD, Begins SGO and Foundation Presidency
Robert L. Coleman, MD, Professor, Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, started his 1-year term as the 47th President of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) and 5th President of the Foundation for Gynecologic...
Bombarded With Changes in Health Care and Beyond, Gynecologic Oncologists Prepare for the Challenges Ahead
Physicians are being “bombarded” with changes in health care and beyond, Richard R. Barakat, MD, FACS, noted in his Presidential Address at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer. These changes are being precipitated by steeply rising health-care costs amid...
Researchers Discuss Pilot Study on Hallucinogenic Therapies for Cancer Anxiety
Although varying levels of existential distress are near-ubiquitous among patients with cancer, evidence-based interventions in this clinical area remain somewhat elusive. Seeking to explore novel approaches in the palliative care environment, New York University (NYU) School of Medicine principal...
Enhance Your Annual Meeting Experience With Attendee Resources
At the end of May, more than 25,000 oncology professionals from around the world will meet in Chicago for the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting. This year’s theme, “Illumination & Innovation: Transforming Data into Learning,” reflects the current state of oncology. The accelerating volume and variety of ...
Maryland Oncologists Faced With Navigating the Maze of Chemotherapy Safety Regulations
In March 2013, 60 Minutes aired a devastating piece about a Massachusetts compounding center that shipped an injectable steroid contaminated with fungus. One of the many ripple effects from this story of horrendous patient suffering was felt in Maryland, where it sparked legislative action in the...
Groups Join Together to Form Ovarian Cancer Research Team
Stand Up To Cancer , Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, Ovarian Cancer National Alliance, and National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, along with the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), announced the formation of a “Dream Team” devoted to ovarian cancer research at the AACR Annual Meeting 2015....
NCCN Posters of Interest Included Studies in Kidney, Breast, and Endometrial Cancers, Melanoma, and Cost Issues
The quality and quantity of original research presented at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Conference continue to grow since poster sessions debuted a few years ago. The ASCO Post offers summaries for just a few that caught our eye, out of more than 65 presented this year....
José Baselga, MD, PhD, Inaugurated as AACR President
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) inaugurated José Baselga, MD, PhD, as President for 2015–2016 at the AACR Annual Meeting 2015. Dr. Baselga, an internationally recognized physician-scientist whose research focuses on the clinical development of novel molecularly targeted agents...
Experts Debate: Can We Cure Metastatic Breast Cancer?
Can metastatic breast cancer ever be cured? This issue was debated at the 32nd Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference by two experts in the field: George W. Sledge, Jr, MD, Professor of Medicine at Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, California, and Clifford A. Hudis, MD, Chief of the...
ASCO Releases 2015 Report on The State of Cancer Care in America
In March, ASCO published its second annual report, The State of Cancer Care in America: 2015.1 Its findings show a mixed landscape, on the one hand, spotlighting advances in therapy and improving survival rates, but on the other, describing a cancer care system under stress from increasing demand...
Practice-Changing Study: Pembrolizumab Outperforms Ipilimumab in Advanced Melanoma
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) proved superior to ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the treatment of unresectable advanced melanoma in the global phase III KEYNOTE-006 trial. Pembrolizumab significantly improved overall survival, progression-free survival, and overall response rate compared with ipilimumab, which...
Profile: Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, Making a Difference in Both Clinical Medicine and Research
At this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting, Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, will begin her term as the Society’s 51st President. It is fitting that the meeting will be held in Chicago, the city where the first seven visionaries met over lunch in 1964 to formulate a medical organization centered on cancer...
p53 Takes Center Stage
BOOKMARKTitle: p53: The Gene That Cracked the Cancer CodeAuthor: Sue ArmstrongPublisher: Bloomsbury PublishingPublication date: November 20, 2014Price: $19.98; hardcover, 288 pages Completed in April 2003, the Human Genome Project was one of the greatest feats of scientific exploration, an inward ...
Therapy for Hepatitis C Virus Infection in Patients With Cancer May Prevent Liver Disease Progression
“Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a neglected disease in patients with cancer,” Harrys A. Torres, MD, and colleagues from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston noted in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. To rectify that situation, the researchers...
Just Engaging in ‘Some’ Leisure Time Physical Activity Reduces Overall and Cancer-Specific Mortality
There’s good news for those who recognize the benefits of exercise but feel they have neither the time nor energy for frequent workouts: A recent study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine1 has found that just performing “some” leisure time physical activity, even below the recommended minimum level, ...
Article on Rare Cancer Generates Enthusiastic Response
The article “Shining a Spotlight on Epithelioid Hemangioendothelioma,” written by Jane Gutkovich and published in the April 10, 2015, issue of The ASCO Post, generated an enthusiastic response from the patient and advocate community of individuals with this rare cancer. Here, we are pleased to...
The Paradox of Positive Thinking
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the “Art of Oncology” as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
Learning to Communicate Science More Effectively
Alan Alda’s passion and appreciation for science extend nearly as far back to his early life as his love of acting. The son of actor Robert Alda, Mr. Alda began his acting career at the age of 16. Although he has appeared in such widely acclaimed films as The Seduction of Joe Tynan, Crimes and...
Living With a Rare Cancer—My Dr. Seuss World
No one ever expects to hear the words “you have cancer,” but over the course of the day, over 5,000 people in the United States are given that news.1 I first heard those words in the summer of 2007 and have been living with cancer ever since. At the time of my diagnosis, I knew this would forever...
A Less Is More View of Medicine
BOOKMARKTitle: Less Medicine, More Health: 7 Assumptions That Drive Too Much Medical CareAuthor: H. Gilbert Welch, MDPublisher: Beacon PressPublication date: March 3, 2015Price: $24.95; hardcover, 241 pages He’s the best physician that knows the worthlessness of most medicines. —Benjamin Franklin...
Building a Better Federal Oncology Workforce
The process of delivering novel treatments for patients with cancer involves a multifaceted and long-term interaction between three distinct entities: clinical researchers, who conduct the trials which test treatments; drug developers, including the pharmaceutical industry, which takes cancer drugs ...
Taking the Trauma Out of Cancer Care for Children and Adolescents
Getting a cancer diagnosis and going through treatment are difficult for patients of any age, but the experience can be especially traumatizing for the nearly 16,000 infants, children, and adolescents diagnosed each year with cancer,1 especially during the early days of treatment. Young cancer...
ASCO, ACCC Respond to Repeal of Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate Formula
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) responded to the approval of H.R.2, a Medicare-reform bill to end the program’s sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula. ASCO’s Statement ASCO President Peter Paul Yu, MD, FACP, FASCO, praised the ...
In Search of Meaning: A Personal Journey
A famous Talmudic question asks: “What is truer than the truth?” The answer: “The story.” This is the story of my personal journey in search of meaning and the development of an approach to care for patients with advanced cancer, which I came to call “meaning-centered psychotherapy.” In terms of...
Mario R. Capecchi, PhD, Recognized With AACR Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research Award
Mario R. Capecchi, PhD, was honored for his tremendous scientific contributions, which have had a profound impact on the understanding of cancer, with the 12th annual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research at the AACR Annual Meeting 2015....
Guidelines for the Treatment of Older Cancer Patients: Task Forces of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology
Geriatrics for the Oncologist is guest edited by Stuart Lichtman, MD, FACP, FASCO, and developed in collaboration with the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG). Visit SIOG.org for more on geriatric oncology. The Task Forces of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) are ...
Potential Power of Meaning-Centered Group Psychotherapy in Patients With Advanced Cancer
The recent publication of the results of our National Cancer Institute (NCI) RO1-funded randomized controlled trial of meaning-centered group psychotherapy for advanced cancer patients in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,1 and the accompanying summary published in this issue of The ASCO Post,...
Welcome to Multikinase Inhibitors in Radioiodine-Refractory Thyroid Cancer
In the past 2 decades, the incidence of thyroid cancer has risen steeply, with rates now growing by 5.5% annually.1 In 2014, 62,980 new cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed in the United States. The good news is that, overall, the prognosis of thyroid cancer remains excellent; 97.8% of patients...
Optimizing Treatment for Small, Lymph Node–Negative, HER2-Overexpressing Breast Cancers
Large, randomized phase III clinical trials showed that the addition of HER2-targeted therapy to chemotherapy for patients with early-stage, HER2-overexpressing breast cancers substantially decreased the risk of recurrence and improved survival. The chemotherapy given in these trials varied, but it ...
ASCO Announces New Class of Participants in Quality Training Program
ASCO has announced the second class of oncology practices for its Quality Training Program. Twelve practices across the United States will participate in this 6-month comprehensive course, which will guide them through quality improvement activities using proven innovative learning techniques....
ASCO’s Train the Trainer Program Extends the Reach of Multidisciplinary Cancer Management Education
Multidisciplinary Cancer Management Courses (MCMCs) offered by ASCO International, in collaboration with other organizations, seek to improve cancer care globally through the promotion of interdisciplinary cancer management. Attendees of select MCMCs have the option to attend a 1- to 2-day training ...
Taking the Next Step in a Storied Career
On March 31, 2015, Harold Varmus, MD, left his position as Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to join the faculty of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York as its Lewis Thomas University Professor of Medicine. Dr. Varmus was also named Senior Associate Core Member of the New York...
MAINSAIL Trial: Worse Outcomes With Addition of Lenalidomide to Docetaxel-Prednisone in Prostate Cancer
The combination of docetaxel plus prednisone has been a standard therapy in advanced prostate cancer since 2004.1 Since then, there have been multiple randomized phase III trials comparing this standard of care with additional drug therapy. None has demonstrated improvement in outcome. Lenalidomide ...
