Here is a brief look at the study findings and clinical implications of several recent and important clinical trials in neoplastic hematology. Attention is focused on myelodysplastic syndromes, multiple myeloma, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Myelodysplastic Syndromes Clinical Trial:...
Cancer researcher Dafna Bar-Sagi, PhD, has made fundamental contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms that drive the disease. In recognition of her accomplishments, she has been named a recipient of the Outstanding Investigator Award, an honor presented by the National Cancer Institute...
More than 100 participants are now enrolled on study drug in ASCO’s Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) Study. The trial launched in March 2016 at 37 sites, and in November, it welcomed its newest participating clinical sites: Cancer Treatment Centers of America,...
While it is well established that obesity is closely linked to endometrial cancer risk, most past findings have only looked at risk in relation to one measure of body size at a time. In a new study led by the Cancer Prevention Institute of California, published by Horn-Ross et al in Cancer Causes...
The first evidence-based consensus statement on cancer immunotherapy for the treatment of patients with the most common type of kidney cancer, renal cell carcinoma, has been published by the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer by Rini et al. The...
Faltas et al identified factors in the clonal evolution of chemotherapy-resistant urothelial carcinoma, according to a study reported in Nature Genetics. Findings included wide intrapatient mutational heterogeneity and enrichment for clonal mutations involving L1 cell–adhesion molecule...
After nearly 2 decades of unsuccessful attempts, researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have created the first mouse model for the most common form of infant leukemia. Their discovery, reported by Lin et al in Cancer Cell, could...
Researchers have discovered that a marker found on aggressive prostate cancer cells could also be used as a way to guide treatments to the cancer, according to new research presented by Luxton et al at the 2016 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool, United...
Blocking a molecule may bypass bowel cancer's defense against the drug cetuximab, according to new research presented by Weir et al at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool, United Kingdom. Cetuximab is used to treat advanced bowel cancer, and just under half ...
As part of its mission to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of cancer care so that patients can live better lives, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) has announced the launch of Just Bag It: The NCCN Campaign for Safe Vincristine...
In a study of population-based data reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hawkins et al found that adult cancer survivors receive medication for anxiety and depression at twice the rate of that in adults without cancer. The study involved data from the National Health Interview Survey for...
Molecular biologist Christine Mayr, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Sloan Kettering Institute is among this year’s 12 recipients of the prestigious National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Pioneer Award. Established in 2004, the annual award recognizes and supports individual...
José R. Conejo-Garcia, MD, PhD, has joined Moffitt Cancer Center as Coleader of the Immunology Program and Chair of the Department of Immunology. The Immunology Program is focused on defining the regulation role of immune checkpoint molecules in tumor immune surveillance and in identifying new...
I’ve always had fibrocystic breasts and was steadfast in performing monthly breast self-exams, so I could become familiar with the terrain of my breasts and spot any subtle changes. So, in November 2002, when I felt something in my left breast that seemed different from my usual lumps, I made a...
In a pooled analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Michel Meignan, MD, PhD, of the Université Paris-Est Créteil, and colleagues found that higher baseline total metabolic tumor volume measured by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron-emission tomography–computed tomography (FDG...
“Whether or not individual professionals support the clinical use of herbal cannabis, all clinicians will encounter patients who elect to use it and therefore need to be prepared to advise them on cannabis-related clinical issues despite limited evidence to guide care,” according to a recently...
With reports about new marijuana dispensaries sprouting up as more states approve the legal use of medical marijuana, and patients and family members questioning how to get it, medical marijuana is a “topic you can’t escape,” noted Judith A. Paice, PhD, RN.1 Dr. Paice is Director of the Cancer...
The smartest guys in the room were never from the big energy companies, and they’re not running hedge funds on Wall Street or building the next Facebook. For me, the smartest guys in the room are the selfless men and women who’ve transformed cancer from what was all too often a death sentence to...
During the 1890s, aseptic principles were extended only to the operative area of the patient, not the surgeon, although some surgeons did advocate the use of special white or colored uniforms, and hand washing had already been established. In 1895, just 7 years after Arpad Gerster, MD, published...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) will recognize Thalia Papayannopoulou, MD, of the University of Washington, Seattle, with the 2016 Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology. Dr. Papayannopoulou will be honored for her innovative contributions to cutting-edge areas of ...
On October 19, 2016, the platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFR-α)-blocking antibody olaratumab (Lartruvo) was granted accelerated approval in combination with doxorubicin for the treatment of soft-tissue sarcoma not amenable to curative treatment with radiotherapy or surgery and...
Let’s Win is an online community for persons with pancreatic cancer (www.letswinpc.org), but it is far more than a typical support group. Let’s Win propels interested users toward cutting-edge research, based on its founders’ commitment that no patient with pancreatic cancer should settle on the...
Vitamin D deficiency may be associated with an increased risk of developing bladder cancer, according to a systematic review of seven studies presented at the Society for Endocrinology Annual Conference in Brighton, United Kingdom. Though further clinical studies are needed to confirm the findings, ...
I have served as a patient advocate in many different ways since I was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2000. For many years, my advocacy was focused on issues related to breast cancer. Since 2012, I have also been engaged in identifying and meeting the needs of the rapidly growing...
The Perlmutter Cancer Center at New York University (NYU) Langone Medical Center has named clinician-scientist Kwok-Kin Wong, MD, PhD, as its new Chief of Hematology and Medical Oncology. His recruitment promises to transform the medical center’s research and clinical programs in lung cancer and...
What are the factors that add up to the best outcomes for patients who have surgery to treat cancer? Looking for a better way to measure quality of care and share best practices in surgical oncology, a team from Roswell Park Cancer Institute developed a quality assessment tool and validated it in a ...
I still remember the day I met Kensie. It was Valentine’s Day. I had sneaked out of the hospital to get my wife a Valentine’s Day card, taking my place among scores of other husbands and boyfriends in front of the rapidly emptying rack of cards. As I started browsing, my beeper sounded. It was the ...
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a common side effect of cancer treatment—the incidence is reported to be as high as 70% in the first month of chemotherapy1—and can cause significant disability in patients. The extent of the neurotoxicity incurred by patients varies depending on the...
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have recommended that 11- to 12-year-olds receive 2 doses of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine at least 6 months apart rather than the previously recommended 3 doses to protect against cancers caused by HPV infections. Teens and young adults who ...
Nonrhabdomyosarcoma soft-tissue sarcomas account for about 5% of all childhood malignancies and are also diagnosed in adolescents and young adults, as well as in older adults, and can require different approaches to treatment based on a patient’s age and stage of disease. These sarcomas comprise...
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, will work together to create novel molecular probes for noninvasive imaging in cancer research, drug development, and patient care. The two leading...
As cancer therapies improve and the population as a whole increases, there are rising numbers of elderly patients with cancer. More than half of patients newly diagnosed with cancer are aged 65 years or older.1 In January 2012, it was estimated that more than 8 million cancer survivors were over...
Encourage your patients to use social media for details on the newest resources available on Cancer.Net. It is easier than ever for patients to get the latest cancer information on their computer or mobile device by subscribing to the Cancer.Net Blog at www.cancer.net/blog or on Cancer.Net’s...
The ASCO Research Community Forum held its 2016 Annual Meeting from September 25–26, at ASCO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. Nearly 100 physician investigators and research staff from all types of research sites across the United States attended the meeting. Each year, the ASCO Research...
ASCO Connection: Why do you want to serve as ASCO President? Monica Bertagnolli: Serving as ASCO President is a tremendous personal honor for anyone in the field of oncology. Much more importantly, it is an opportunity to make a meaningful difference by providing a strong voice in the health-care ...
On October 18, 2016, the anti–PD-L1 (programmed cell death ligand 1) antibody atezolizumab (Tecentriq) was approved for the treatment of metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progressing during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy.1,2 Patients with epidermal growth factor receptor ...
CancerLinQ LLC, a wholly owned nonprofit of ASCO, announced on October 20, 2016, that more than 1 million patient records are now in the CancerLinQ™ platform. In addition, 70 practices have signed agreements to participate in CancerLinQ, representing more than 1,500 oncologists. “We are excited to...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its first biosimilar drug, filgrastim-sndz (Zarxio), in 2015, allowing it to compete with the granulocyte colony-stimulating factor filgrastim (Neupogen) to treat neutropenia in chemotherapy patients. So far, filgrastim-sndz is the only...
Olivier Michielin, MS, MD, PhD, Head of Personalized Analytical Oncology and the Melanoma Clinic at Lausanne University Hospital in Switzerland, said the study was well designed, well conducted, and addressed an important clinical question “at the time of its inception.” But he agreed with Dr....
Invited discussant Celeste Lebbé, MD, of the Hospital Saint Louis in Paris, noted that the study met its primary endpoints and produced “very impressive data”; however, “major toxicity” was a concern. She said that in this small study of 18 patients (10 for efficacy), several lessons were learned: ...
As neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy for stage III melanoma patients with palpable disease, the combination of ipilimumab (Yervoy) plus nivolumab (Opdivo) was shown to be a promising, though also toxic, combination in a phase Ib study reported at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) ...
Tagging gold nanoparticles with a small dose of radiation has helped researchers trace the precious metal as it delivers a drug right into the heart of cancer cells, according to new laboratory research presented by Bavelaar et al at the 2016 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer...
In a spirited debate, abounding with citations of clinical trials and other evidence, but not without humor and mutual respect, E. Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH, and Armando E. Giuliano, MD, reviewed the data and their clinical experience managing ductal carcinoma in situ and reached opposite...
Pancreatic cancer has been notably unresponsive to immunotherapeutic approaches, but a Stand Up 2 Cancer Dream Team believes their research can change that. Team co-leader Elizabeth Jaffee, MD, Deputy Director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, ...
Around one in six women (17%) diagnosed with breast cancer go to their doctor with a symptom other than a lump—the most commonly reported breast cancer symptom—according to new research presented by Koo et al at the 2016 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in...
The successes observed with various immune oncologic treatment approaches have largely bypassed pancreatic cancer, but this may be about to change, based on emerging insights into how and why these tumors evade attacks by T cells. At the 2nd International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference, two...
The injectable oncolytic immunotherapy talimogene laherparepvec (also known as T-VEC, Imlygic) may become a valuable component of combination immunotherapy approaches in melanoma, a strategy believed to help overcome resistance of tumors to single-agent immunotherapies. “[Talimogene laherparepvec] ...
Standard treatment for advanced head and neck cancer—including chemotherapy and radiation—causes painful side effects that impair quality of life, as well as the ability to socialize and engage in daily life activities. A new study of patients with platinum-refractory recurrent, metastatic head...
About 10% of children with low-grade gliomas have the BRAF V600E mutation, and preliminary studies suggest that the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib (Tafinlar) may play an important role in treating this group of patients. A phase I/II trial presented at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology...
In a Lancet Oncology article, Yang et al examined clinical, policy, safety, and regulatory considerations for generic oncology drugs focusing on the United States, Canada, European Union (EU), Japan, China, and India. Available data do not identify safety concerns in the United States, Canada, EU,...