Although age is the major risk factor for developing cancer, geriatric oncology is still a relatively new discipline within the oncology community. To gain insight into this evolving component of cancer care, The ASCO Post recently spoke with a leader in the field, Stuart M. Lichtman, MD, of the...

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In the late 1980s, researchers led by Alfred L. Goldberg, PhD, first isolated the large protein complexes now called 26S proteasomes, which are the sites where most cellular proteins are degraded back to amino acids. Protein degradation by the proteasome pathway is critical in regulating many pr...

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With 1.22 billion people, India is the second most populous country in the world. Experts project that cancer incidence in India will increase by more than two-thirds over the next 20 years, to approximately 1.7 million new cases per year. Due to a range of economic and social issues, most of Ind...

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Four decades ago, Kanti R. Rai, MD, was determined to figure out why some of his patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) died within 2 years after their diagnosis, while others lived for 20 or even 30 years. At the time, Dr. Rai was a young scientist doing research in leukemia at Brookh...

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The synergy between industry, academic research, and regulatory bodies will play an increasingly important role in ensuring the future of a robust cancer drug pipeline. To gain insight on oncologic development trends, The ASCO Post recently spoke with Jean Pierre Bizzari, MD, Head of Global Clini...

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For over 30 years, Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, Kraft Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center and LeBow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, has focused his translational research on B-ce...

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The events surrounding the labeling of bevacizumab (Avastin) have been well covered since last November when the FDA withdrew the drug’s accelerated approval as a treatment for metastatic breast cancer. However, the controversy initiated a debate over the value of endpoints in clinical trials in ...

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Results from the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z0011 trial, which found no benefit for completion axillary nodal dissection in patients with breast cancer involving one to two positive sentinel nodes,1 have led to changes in breast cancer management, though points of discus...

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Despite growing national focus on early detection, prevention, and new molecular-based treatments, lung cancer persistently remains the number 1 cause of cancer death for men and women in the United States. The ASCO Post spoke to lung cancer specialist Paul A. Bunn, Jr, MD, Executive Director, In...

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ASCO has released a provisional clinical opinion (PCO) addressing the integration of palliative care services into standard oncology care.1 The ASCO Post recently spoke with one of the PCO’s lead authors, Thomas J. Smith, MD, Director of Palliative Care for Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Johns Ho...

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American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) President and ASCO member Judy Garber, MD, MPH, recently spoke with The ASCO Post about the findings of AACR’s landmark Cancer Progress Report,1 In addition, she offered her perspective on the current and future state of cancer research. Project Ori...

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With the Presidential election just around the corner, the health-care debate will undoubtedly heat up. The ASCO Post spoke with Sean R. Tunis, MD, MSc, Founder and Director, Center for Medical Technology Policy, and former Chief Medical Officer for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Service...

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It is well documented that the rigors of delivering cancer care can unintentionally supersede valuable doctor-patient communication. Before he died in 1995, Kenneth B. Schwartz, a patient with cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital, recognized this phenomenon and founded the Kenneth B. Schwartz...

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According to nationally regarded cardiologist and geneticist Eric Topol, MD, Chief Academic Officer of Scripps Health, the next frontier of the digital revolution can create exponentially better health care. Dr. Topol, who is also Director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute and Profes...

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Mortality rates for breast cancer have declined steadily in the United States since 1990, resulting in an improvement in survival. Multiple factors have contributed to this positive trend, one of which is the combination of earlier detection and more sophisticated surgical techniques. The ASCO Po...

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In an effort to understand lung cancer risk factors and develop prevention strategies for the disease, Christina S. Baik, MD, MPH, thoracic oncologist and staff scientist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, has examined epidemiologic trends in lung can...

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Over the past several decades, advances in chemotherapy and surgery have begun to translate into improved survival in gynecologic malignancies. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Ginger Gardner, MD, a surgical oncologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, who specializes in the management...

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Leading up to FDA’s resolution to revoke the breast cancer indication for bevacizumab (Avastin), the debate over the drug’s clinical value was imbued with contentious ideologic overtones, which culminated in a 2-day public hearing that exposed deep divisions not only in the scientific community, ...

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On September 1, 2011, Ronald A. DePinho, MD, became only the fourth President in the 70-year history of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Dr. DePinho spent the previous 14 years as head of Dana-Farber’s Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science. In a recent interview...

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The potentially devastating long-term consequences on cognitive function in patients with brain cancer following cranial irradiation led Charles L. Limoli, PhD, Professor of Radiation Oncology, University of California, Irvine, to study neural stem cell transplantation and how the procedure may p...

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Policy analysts searching for a better understanding of health-care models often compare the cancer delivery systems of Canada and the United States. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Joseph M. Connors, MD, Clinical Professor and Director of the BC Cancer Agency’s Centre for Lymphoid Cancer, Vanc...

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Seminal research in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer has been led by Edith A. Perez, MD, the Serene M. and Frances C. Durling Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida. The ASCO Post asked Dr. Perez to share her approach to HER2-directed therapy. Testing Consider...

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Last September, Ezekiel J. Emanuel, MD, PhD, a leading scholar in bioethics and health-care policy, was named the Diane v.S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor and Vice Provost for Global Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. His appointment will be shared betwe...

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St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, the country's first and only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children, recently appointed internationally regarded pediatric brain tumor researcher, Richard J. Gilbertson, MD, PhD, as its new Cancer Center Directo...

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The randomized controlled clinical trial has long been the gold standard for new cancer drugs to demonstrate worthiness of FDA approval; however, many experts contend that that our method of bringing drugs to the market is plagued by undue costs, long delays, and overregulation. According t...

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In this installment of Oncology Worldwide, internationally regarded lymphoma expert and cancer survivor,Kensei Tobinai, MD, Chief, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, sheds light on the Japanese oncology experience. Medical Education What was the medical school experience in Japan ...

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Over the past 15 years, practice guidelines have become an accepted tool to help physicians optimize patient care by offering informed assessment of the benefits and potential harms associated with various care options. However, a plethora of new guidelines have entered the market, many of which ...

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In the contentious debate over rising health-care spending, the cancer care policies of the British National Health Service (NHS) are often cited by U.S. policymakers as an example of how health-care rationing denies patients life-prolonging treatments based on costs. The ASCO Post recently spoke...

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Although incidence data vary widely, breast cancer–related lymphedema may affect as many  as 54% of the 2.3 million survivors of breast cancer in the United States. The condition is often disabling and can result in both long-term devastating physical consequences for survivors, including the los...

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Over the past 2 decades, significant therapeutic advances have led to greater survival rates and quality of life for patients with cancer. During the same period there has been a transformation in the way oncology services are both perceived and delivered. In a recent conversation with The ASCO P...

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For our ongoing series on the rising costs of cancer care, The ASCO Post spoke with Lee N. Newcomer, MD, Senior Vice President of Oncology for UnitedHealthcare. Dr. Newcomer is responsible for improving cost-effective cancer care at the nation’s largest health insurer. He shed light on areas of c...

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Barrie R. Cassileth, PhD, Chief, Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York, recently spoke with The ASCO Post about her quest to stamp out the illegitimate use of alternative medicine in cancer care and the results from her latest research. A resea...

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Researching the effects of cancer on patients’ quality of life and championing the development and implementation of survivorship care plans have been at the forefront of the 20-year-long career of Patricia A. Ganz, MD, Director of the Division of Prevention and Control Research at UCLA’s Jonsson...

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Each year in the United States, approximately 70,000 people between the ages of 15 and 40 are diagnosed with cancer. And while getting a cancer diagnosis at any age can be devastating, for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) grappling with sexuality, body image, peer pressure, dating, marriage, f...

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All parties in today’s spirited health-care debate agree on two things: Transitioning from a paper-based system to electronic health records (EHRs) is inevitable, and the road ahead will be bumpy. The landmark 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) laid the groundwork with massive nat...

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For over 25 years, Sister Elaine Goodell, PBVM, DMA, BCC, has brought spiritual comfort to thousands of patients with cancer at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. As staff chaplain, Sister Elaine ministers to patients of all faiths as well as nonbelievers, to help ease their fear...

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The research efforts of Rafat Abonour, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Associate Dean for Clinical Research at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, and a physician/researcher at the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center, focus ...

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The origin and journey of metastatic cancer cells is a perplexing process, often portending a dire prognosis for patients. The concept of tumor self-metastasis, or self-seeding, originated at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, based on work led by Joan Massagué, PhD, head of the Metastasis R...

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A recently released policy statement by ASCO makes clear that individualized therapy is a best practice throughout the full course of treatment, encompassing the diverse needs of patients diagnosed with advanced cancer. ASCO CEO Allen S. Lichter, MD, spoke with The ASCO Postabout the Society’s 15...

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James F. Holland, MD, Distinguished Professor of Neoplastic Diseases, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, has been at the forefront of cancer research for more than half a century. In a recent interview with The ASCO Post, Dr. Holland looked back at his research at NCI and explained why our...

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Steven J. Cohen, MD, was drawn to the field of gastrointestinal (GI) cancers because of their complexity and his desire to find more effective therapies for his patients. After completing his fellowship at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia in 2002, Dr. Cohen joined the staff there and today...

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The Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010 launched a national debate about how to curtail the unsustainable rise in health-care spending without impairing our delivery system. However, the national conversation about how to best allocate our precious health-care resources has been gathering steam for...

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Sheri L. Spunt, MD, Associate Member in the Department of Oncology's Solid Tumor and Cancer Survivorship Divisions at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, has dedicated her career to the study of childhood soft-tissue sarcomas and the late effects of treatment on pediatric patients ...

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Anthony L. Zietman, MD, Professor of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, recently spoke with The ASCO Post about a growing trend in health care that rewards the application of technology ahead of evidence. In addition, Dr. Zietman, President of the American...

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Last November, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer (Scribner) by Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, PhD, hit the bookstores and immediately made it onto The New York Times best-seller list, later garnering additional acclaim when it was named one of the Top Ten Books of 2010 by the Times a...

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Sandra M. Swain, MD, will take office as President-Elect of ASCO at its 47th Annual Meeting. Dr. Swain is the Medical Director of the Washington Cancer Institute, Washington, DC, and Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University. She previously served as the Deputy Director of the Medicine Bran...

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Earlier detection, better diagnostic tools, and more effective treatments are resulting in long-term cancer survivorship, with 62% of adults and 77% of pediatric cancer patients now living more than 5 years beyond their initial diagnosis. What's more, for many people cancer can be treated as a c...

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Since the early 1990s, David Frank, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School in Boston, has focused his research on the regulation of signaling pathways that control gene expression a...

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The majority of breast cancer survivors report some alteration-often profound-in sexual drive or pleasure. Less is known about the optimal treatment approach to restore sexual health to these women. In fact, sexual health concerns are rarely even addressed, in either the primary care or oncology...

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Oncologists and other cancer professionals in the United States may not have heard of this cancer organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, but a Canadian oncologist is now President-Elect of the Union for International Cancer Control (www.uicc.org) and wants her American colleagues to take not...

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Stem cell transplantation has long played a key role in the management-and cure-of various forms of leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. With the advent of novel agents, including rituximab (Rituxan) in the treatment of some types of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and bortezomib (Velcade) and lenalid...

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Lung cancer expert Paul A. Bunn, Jr, MD, Dudley Professor at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, Colorado, spoke at the American Association of Cancer Researchers' symposium "Molecular Diagnostics in Cancer Therapeutic Development: Challenges and New Horizons," which was held recen...

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At the 2010 ASCO Annual Meeting's Reimbursement Forum, Joseph S. Bailes, MD, of Texas Oncology, Austin, described the 2010 changes to Medicare reimbursements and made some predictions regarding future reimbursement issues. Prompt Pay Discounts What is happening with regard to "prompt pay" disc...

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The past decade has seen a surge in the development of novel therapies to treat hematologic malignancies, including some of the most aggressive types of lymphoma, such as mantle cell lymphoma and T-cell lymphoma, as well as other incurable blood cancers like multiple myeloma and myelodysplastic ...

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As one of the original founders of ASCO, can you describe your vision and goals for formalizing a society for clinical oncologists in 1964? Jane Cooke Wright, MD: When Dr. Goudsmit invited the founding members of ASCO to meet for the very first time, he did so with the recognition that we neede...

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Dr. Wright was a pioneer in 20th century medicine, overcoming obstacles placed on her by society as a woman and as an African-American, but most of all she was a pioneer in chemotherapy, taking those first small steps into the unknown, and paving the way for the giant steps to come. On April 9,...

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This month, John E. Niederhuber, MD, will step down as Director of the National Cancer Institute. For the past 5 years (1 year as NCI's Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Director for Translational and Clinical Studies and 4 years as NCI's Director), Dr. Niederhuber has spearheaded nine initiati...

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After a year of contentious debate-and decades of unsuccessful attempts-a comprehensive health-care reform bill was signed into law in March. Although some aspects of the law, including coverage of 32 million uninsured Americans, will be phased in over the next 4 years, some provisions in the la...

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