August 15, 2013 (View All Issues)
Maintenance Treatment Delays Progression in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
For patients with unresectable metastatic colorectal cancer, maintenance treatment with capecitabine (Xeloda) and bevacizumab (Avastin) significantly delayed disease progression and improved overall survival in the phase III CAIRO3 study by the Dutch Colorectal Cancer Group. Miriam Koopman, MD,...
Oncologists Speak Out Against the High Cost of Cancer Drugs
That the United States spends twice as much on health care than other industrialized countries—about $2.8 trillion in 2012—without reaping appreciably better outcomes1 is not news. The topic has been dissected on the front pages of leading newspapers for years and was the subject of the entire...
Molecular Tests and Precision Medicine: Not So Fast Now!
The era of the application of genomic, proteomic, and a host of other “omic” analyses to guide decision-making in the therapeutic selection of drugs and biologics is now a key part of cancer care. Medical practice is working to keep up with the scientific advances, evaluate them, and add a variety...
GeparSixto Study Finds Benefit for Neoadjuvant Carboplatin in Triple-negative Breast Cancer
In patients with triple-negative breast cancer, the addition of carboplatin significantly improved the rate of pathologic complete response after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in a study by the German Breast Group (GBG)/Gynecologic Oncology Working Group–Breast (AGO-B) reported at the 2013 ASCO Annual...
Weekly Carboplatin/Paclitaxel Improves Quality of Life, Toxicity vs Every-3-week Regimen in Advanced Ovarian Cancer
Patients with advanced ovarian cancer have similar survival outcomes thus far with a weekly regimen of carboplatin/paclitaxel vs the standard every-3-week regimen, but the weekly regimen is much better tolerated with improved quality of life, according to final results of the Multicenter Italian...
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Interval Debulking May Be Appropriate for Some Patients With Poor Performance Status Advanced Ovarian Cancer
Patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer—especially patients with poor performance status—appear to derive benefits from neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery vs primary surgery followed by chemotherapy, according to results of the Medical Research Council (MRC) CHORUS trial. In ...
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommends CT Screening for Lung Cancer in High-risk Individuals
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently posted its final evidence report and draft recommendation statement on screening for lung cancer.
The Task Force is providing an opportunity for public comment on this draft recommendation statement until August 26. All public comments will be...
Acquired Resistance to Crizotinib from ROS1 G2032R Mutation
The ALK inhibitor crizotinib (Xalkori) has also shown activity in lung cancers with ROS1 translocations. As recently reported by Mark M. Awad, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues in The New England Journal of Medicine, a mutation conferring resistance to crizotinib...
Tecemotide Vaccine Warrants Further Study in Unresectable Stage III Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
Results of the START trial suggest that maintenance therapy with the investigational immunotherapy tecemotide (formerly known as L-BLP25) may have a role in the treatment of patients with unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although there was no significant overall survival...
B-cell Receptor Signaling Inhibitors Moving Forward in Lymphoma
Though still in early-phase studies, novel B-cell receptor signaling inhibitors look very promising for the treatment of lymphoma, according to reports from the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting.
Idelalisib in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
In non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), idelalisib looked impressive as both a...
FDA Invites Public Input on Menthol in Cigarettes
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking additional information to help the agency make informed decisions about menthol in cigarettes.
Despite decades of work to reduce tobacco use in the United States, it continues to be the...
CDC Report Shows Stagnated HPV Vaccination Rate for Girls
For the first time since the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine became available for adolescent girls in 2006, the vaccination rate for teenagers has stalled, according to data published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The data...
High Rate of Durable Remissions with Ibrutinib in Patients with Relapsed Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Durable remissions are uncommon with current treatments for relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Bruton’s tyrosine kinase is an essential component of B cell–receptor signaling that mediates interactions with the tumor microenvironment and promotes survival and proliferation of CLL cells....
Ibrutinib Produces High Response Rate in Patients with Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma
Ibrutinib is a first-in-class oral covalent inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase, a mediator of the B cell-receptor signaling pathway implicated in the pathogenesis of B-cell cancers. As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Michael L. Wang, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson...
PET/CT Superior to Bone Marrow Biopsy for Diagnosis, Prognosis in Lymphoma
A more precise method for determining bone marrow involvement in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma has been identified by researchers in a study published recently in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.1 Imaging with 18F–fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography/computed tomography...
New Guidelines Issued in the Treatment of Multiple Myeloma-Related Bone Disease
The International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) has developed clinical practice recommendations for the management of multiple myeloma-related bone disease based on published study data through August 2012. Consensus of the interdisciplinary panel of clinical experts on the plasma cell cancer was...
Crizotinib Improves Progression-free Survival vs Pemetrexed or Docetaxel in Advanced ALK-positive NSCLC
In a phase III trial reported by Alice T. Shaw, MD, PhD, a thoracic oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, and colleagues in The New England Journal of Medicine, crizotinib (Xalkori) improved progression-free survival compared with standard chemotherapy in previously treated patients ...
Where Are We With ALK Inhibition in Lung Cancer?
The prospective phase III PROFILE 1007 study compared the ALK inhibitor crizotinib (Xalkori) to chemotherapy in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with ALK gene–rearranged tumors refractory to previous chemotherapy. The study showed a clear superiority for crizotinib in terms ...
Low-dose CT Screening for Lung Cancer: Details of First Round of Screening in National Lung Screening Trial
The National Lung Screening Trial found that 3 years of annual screening with low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) reduced lung cancer mortality compared with chest radiography in older persons who were heavy smokers.1 The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial also...
Evolving Issues in Low-dose CT Lung Cancer Screening
Over a decade has passed since the start of the National Lung Cancer Screening Trial and more than 2 years since the first report indicating that this randomized study had demonstrated a significant reduction in lung cancer mortality with low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening.1 That favorable ...
Diane E. Meier, MD: From Early Lessons in Critical Thinking to 'Palliative Care Everywhere'
Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.
—Helen Keller, Optimism, 1903
Shortly past 8:00 AM on July 1977, Diane E. Meier, MD, FACP, began the first day of her medical internship. Within minutes she would experience another first: the death of a patient...
Oncofetal Protein SALL4 Is a Marker of Aggressive Hepatocellular Carcinoma and a Potential Therapeutic Target
Hepatocellular carcinomas with characteristics of embryonic stem cell and progenitor cell gene expression are associated with particularly poor prognosis. SALL4 is an oncofetal protein that is expressed in the human fetal liver and normally silenced in the adult liver, but re-expressed in a...
Targeted Suppression of a Reactivated Developmental Pathway in Hepatocellular Cancer
This issue of The ASCO Post summarizes the results of an important study recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine by Yong and colleagues. As outlined, investigators from the National University of Singapore Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine have identified re-expression of SALL4 as a ...
ASCO Studies Support Limited Use of 'Routine' Imaging
The overuse of imaging in oncology workup and surveillance is a timely concern, as health-care dollars shrink and the risk for second malignancies becomes clearer. At this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting, several studies showed that although many routine imaging studies may be unnecessary, physicians...
New Campaign Addresses Rise in Young-onset Colon Cancer
The Colon Cancer Alliance has partnered with Bowel Cancer UK and the Colon Cancer Prevention Project to launch the international Never Too Young awareness campaign, addressing the rise in young-onset (younger than 50 years) colon cancer diagnoses and mortality rates.
This global collaboration...
Afatinib as First-line Treatment for Metastatic NSCLC with EGFR Exon 19 Deletions or Exon 21 (L858R) Substitution Mutations
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs.
Indication
On July 12, 2013, afatinib (Gilotrif) was approved for ...
LUX-Lung 3: Afatinib Prolongs Progression-free Survival vs Cisplatin/Pemetrexed in Advanced Lung Adenocarcinoma
Afatinib (Gilotrif) is an oral selective ErbB family inhibitor that irreversibly blocks signaling from EGFR/ErbB1, HER2/ErbB2, and ErbB4 and has exhibited broad-spectrum activity against EGFR mutations in preclinical studies. A phase II study of afatinib in EGFR-mutation positive lung...
Further Support for Front-line Targeted EGFR Therapy
LUX-Lung 3 is the sixth, and largest, prospective, randomized trial to evaluate targeted EGFR inhibition vs front-line platinum doublet chemotherapy for patients with EGFR mutations. LUX-Lung 3 distinguishes itself from the previous trials (see Table 1) by using afatinib (Gilotrif), a...
Age Not Linked to Recurrence in Observation or Trastuzumab Groups with HER2-positive Breast Cancer
Available data suggest that younger age is an independent risk factor for disease recurrence and death in women with breast cancer. However, there has not been adequate study of the interaction of age with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status or anti-HER2 treatment. In an analysis ...
Is Age Truly Relative in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer?
Breast cancer arising in younger women has increasingly become the subject of intense study, and often debate, over the past decade. Retrospective studies have illustrated that breast cancer in young women is more commonly an aggressive subtype (ie, triple-negative/basal-like, HER2-enriched),...
AACR Cautions Diminished NIH Funding Jeopardizes Ability to Eradicate Cancer Health Disparities
Recently the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) hosted a congressional briefing to highlight the significance of federally funded biomedical research in improving our understanding of cancer health disparities and developing targeted interventions to eliminate them.
Disproportionate...
Whole-exome Sequencing of NCI-60 Cell Line Panel Provides Genomic Resource for Cancer Biology and Pharmacology
The NCI-60 cell lines, which represent cancers of the lung, colon, brain, ovary, breast, prostate, and kidney, as well as leukemia and melanoma, are the most frequently studied human tumor cell lines in cancer research and have generated the most extensive cancer pharmacology database worldwide. As ...
Program Aims to Overcome Barriers to Early Cancer Care in Colombia
According to a report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s GLOBOCAN project, one woman dies every minute from breast cancer and one woman dies every 2 minutes from cervical cancer.1 The majority of these deaths occur in developing countries, where access to health care is limited ...
American Association for Cancer Research Foundation Appoints New Executive Director
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) recently announced the appointment of Mitchell R. Stoller as Executive Director of the AACR Foundation for the Prevention and Cure of Cancer. In his role, Mr. Stoller will lead strategy and work closely with the AACR Foundation Board of Trustees...
Michael J. Stamos, MD, Elected ASCRS President, Terry C. Hicks, MD, Chosen President-Elect
Michael J. Stamos, MD, Orange, California, was elected President of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ASCRS) at the Society’s Annual Meeting in Phoenix, succeeding Alan G. Thorson, MD, Omaha. Dr. Stamos is the John E. Connolly Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the ...
Infertility in Men Raises Their Risk for Cancer
A cohort study of 2,238 men who were evaluated for infertility at a clinic in Texas from 1989 to 2009 found that those men who had azoospermia, a condition in which no measurable sperm is present, had a 2.2-fold higher cancer risk compared with those who were nonazoospermic. The study was published ...
TV Celebrity Valerie Harper Joins Lung Cancer Foundation in Raising Awareness
Actress and lung cancer advocate Valerie Harper and her husband Tony Cacciotti joined other lung cancer advocates and supporters recently at the Lung Cancer Foundation of America’s “Day at the Races” at the Del Mar Race Track in Del Mar, California. Ms. Harper is currently fighting lung cancer that ...
A Look Ahead: The Next Decade in Pediatric Oncology
The past 10 years have seen dramatic advances in cancer care, especially in better screening methods and earlier detection, genomic sequencing, and more effective therapies, which have led to increased survival rates in both childhood and adult cancers. According to the National Cancer Institute...
Study Evaluates Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms in Young Adults with Cancer
Researchers at the University of Michigan recently reported that young adults with cancer should try to stay occupied with school, work, and other usual activities during the year after their cancer diagnosis to become less vulnerable to post-traumatic stress symptoms. The study was recently...
Conquer Cancer Foundation Grant Recipient 'Pays It Forward' Through Philanthropic Support, Volunteer Service
Dr. Dawn Hershman, Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center and leader of the Breast Cancer Program at Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, is committed to doing what she can to develop, encourage, and support the next generation of oncology...
ASCO's Guideline on Drugs to Lower Breast Cancer Risk
Direct your patients to www.cancer.net/whattoknow so they can learn about ASCO’s recent guideline on drugs to risk of breast cancer for women who have a high risk of developing the disease, including what the recommendations mean for patients and a list of questions to ask the doctor. In addition,...
Policy Update Aims to Advance Tobacco Cessation and Control Worldwide
In response to scientific advances and the evolving regulatory and policy environment, ASCO recently released an update to its 2003 policy statement on tobacco cessation and control. The statement reviews advancements that have been made since 2003 and outlines a refined set of recommendations...
30 Years of Identifying High-Quality Research with Breakthrough Potential
Today, cancer research happens on many compelling fronts. At the Conquer Cancer Foundation, our focus is on clinical and translational research—that is, prudently and swiftly translating research findings to enhance the care of patients with cancer in hospitals, clinics, physicians’ offices, and...
First-line Carboplatin/Pemetrexed Improves Survival vs Pemetrexed Alone in Advanced Lung Cancer
A significant proportion of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have poor performance status, and optimal clinical management of these patients has not been established. In an attempt to help define optimal chemotherapy in such patients, Mauro Zukin, MD, of Instituto Nacional...
Docetaxel Superior to Erlotinib in Second-line Treatment of Advanced Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer with Wild-type EGFR
There is ongoing debate about the efficacy of erlotinib (Tarceva) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have wild-type EGFR. In the TAILOR trial, reported in Lancet Oncology by Garassino and colleagues,1 erlotinib was compared with standard docetaxel as...
Link between Red Meat Consumption and Mortality Clarified in Patients with Nonmetastatic Colorectal Cancer
Evidence shows that diets high in red and processed meat are associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Marjorie L. McCullough, ScD, Strategic Director of Nutritional Epidemiology, and colleagues from the Epidemiology Research...
Intercalated Chemotherapy/Erlotinib Improves Progression-free Survival in Advanced NSCLC
EGFR mutation status may not be known at the time treatment is started in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Further, some data suggest that the efficacy of concurrent treatment with an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor and chemotherapy is reduced because the G1 cell-cycle...
Significant Improvement in Overall Survival Seen with Pemetrexed Maintenance after Pemetrexed/Cisplatin Induction in Patients with Advanced NSCLC
In the phase III PARAMOUNT trial, pemetrexed (Alimta) continuation maintenance therapy significantly reduced the risk of disease progression by 38% compared with placebo after pemetrexed/cisplatin induction in patients with advanced nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Final overall...
Focus on the West Virginia Oncology Society
Now in its fifth year, the West Virginia Oncology Society (WVOS) is already having a major impact on cancer care in the state. In 2010, a joint initiative to develop a statewide cancer clinical trials network was launched by WVOS and the West Virginia University Cancer Center. With funding support...
The Sunshine Act Calls for Greater Transparency in Industry-Doctor Relationships
Signed into law on March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act represents the most significant overhaul of the U.S. health-care system since the passage of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. Because of the law’s sheer scope, parts of it still remain obfuscated by its 2,400 or so...
Adolescents, Young Adults with Cancer Often Challenged By Unmet Needs Following Treatment
About 70,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs) between the ages of 15 and 39 are diagnosed with cancer each year, and in the past 30 years, there has been little or no improvement in survival in this population. In addition to the disease itself, they face many other challenges: reentry into...
Professional Societies Endorse 2015 Standard for Cancer Center Accreditation by Commission on Cancer
In 2015, the American College of Surgeons (ACoS) Commission on Cancer (CoC) will require cancer centers to implement screening programs for psychosocial distress as a new criterion for accreditation. The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) recently announced recommendations to support a...
David Penson, MD, MPH, Receives $2 Million Research Award to Study Prostate Cancer
David Penson, MD, MPH, Professor of Urologic Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, has received a $2 million research award from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to study localized prostate cancer. Dr. Penson is also Director of the Vanderbilt Center for Surgical ...
Acupuncture May Reduce Arm Lymphedema in Patients with Breast Cancer
Integrative Oncology is guest edited by Barrie R. Cassileth, MS, PhD, Chief of the Integrative Medicine Service and Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York.
The Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center...
Western Science Catching Up with Traditional Chinese Medicine
Since the National Institutes of Health Consensus Statement in 1997 concluded that the evidence to date suggests acupuncture is effective in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting,1 numerous additional indications for its use in relieving symptoms related to cancer or its...
Living and Working with Cancer
The most recent figures from the National Cancer Institute put the number of cancer survivors in the United States at nearly 14 million—by 2022, that number is expected to top 18 million. And for the vast majority of those survivors—more than 80%—returning to work after treatment is a top priority...
NIH Commits $24 Million Annually for Big Data Centers of Excellence
The National Institutes of Health will fund up to $24 million per year for 4 years to establish six to eight investigator-initiated Big Data to Knowledge Centers of Excellence. The centers will improve the ability of the research community to use increasingly large and complex datasets through the...
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center Announces New Leadership Appointment
Michael A. Carducci, MD, Professor of Oncology and Urology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore was recently selected as Associate Director for Clinical Research. In this role, Dr. Carducci will facilitate clinical research activities as well as oversee...
10th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology Will Explore Translational Science Topics
This October for 3 full days (October 20–22) in Vancouver, Canada, oncologists, scientists, and other oncology health professionals will gather for the Society for Integrative Oncology Annual Meeting. This year’s conference theme is Translational Science in Integrative Oncology: From Bedside, to...
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Appoints New Administrative Officer
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society recently announced the appointment of Rosemarie Loffredo as its new Chief Administrative Officer and Chief Financial Officer.
In this newly created role, Ms. Loffredo will help ensure the Society achieves the goals of its long-range strategic plan. She will...
FDA Issues Warning on Rare but Serious Skin Reactions with Acetaminophen
The FDA recently issued a warning that acetaminophen has been associated with a risk of rare but serious skin reactions. These skin reactions, known as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis, can be fatal.
Serious Adverse Reactions
...
Richard I. Fisher, MD, Named President and CEO of Fox Chase Cancer Center
Richard I. Fisher, MD, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Dr. Fisher will also hold the title of Cancer Center Director of Fox Chase, serving as the Principal Investigator on the Cancer Center Support Grant from the National Cancer...
Cedars-Sinai Medical Physicist Honored by American Association of Physicists in Medicine
Benedick Fraass, PhD, FAAPM, FASTRO, FACR, has received the William D. Coolidge Award from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine for his distinguished career achievements in medical physics, including his pioneering work in radiation oncology.
“The William D. Coolidge Award credits ...
Oncology Meetings
August
Hematology and Medical Oncology Best Practices
August 15-22 • Arlington, Virginia
For more information: www.gwumc.edu/cehp/hemoncbestpractices/
Best of ASCO® Los Angeles
August 16-17 • Los Angeles, California
For more information: boa.asco.org
ISEH – Society for Hematology and Stem Cells 42nd ...
Dr. Joseph Bertino's Breakthrough Work in Methotrexate Resistance Led to Understanding Why Cancer Drugs Work or Fail
Looking over his 5 decades in clinical oncology and research, Joseph R. Bertino, MD, says his greatest professional satisfaction comes from seeing his former students and oncology fellows go on to achieve great success in their own medical and research careers. It is a fitting sentiment since Dr....
Cedars-Sinai Names Award Recipient in Gifted Scholars Program
Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, California, recently named Christine R. Carico the 2013 recipient of the Medical Center’s Pauletta and Denzel Washington Family Gifted Scholars Program in Neuroscience award. Ms. Carico will spend the next year researching brain disorders like the one that took the life ...
Tomosynthesis Plus Digital Mammography Reduces Breast Cancer Screening Recall Rate Compared to Mammography Alone
The addition of tomosynthesis to standard digital mammography resulted in a 30% reduction in overall recall rates among women being screened for breast cancer, according to a new study published online in Radiology.1 The results demonstrate that digital tomosynthesis is an effective tool in...
'Alarming Difference' in Survival Outcomes for Young White Men with Melanoma
An “alarming difference” in survival outcomes between young, non-Hispanic white males and females with primary invasive melanoma “highlights the urgent need for both behavioral interventions to promote early detection strategies in young men and further investigation of the biological basis for the ...
Nazarbayev University Selects Pittsburgh School of Medicine as Strategic Partner to Establish Medical School in Kazakhstan
The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has been chosen to guide the Republic of Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev University as it establishes its own medical school, which aims to educate physician-scientists to become the nation’s next leaders in health care, medical education and biomedical...
Making the Science of Cancer Understandable to a Broad Audience
An educator and scientist for over 30 years, David Sadava, PhD, became interested in the science of cancer while on sabbatical from Claremont Colleges, where he was teaching courses in molecular biology and biotechnology, and went to the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, California, to study...
Pig Diagnosed With Lymphoma and Treated at Cornell University Hospital for Animals
Doctors at Cornell University Hospital for Animals in Ithaca, New York, reported what they believe may be the first case of a pig being treated for lymphoma. The animal was described as a 730-pound black-and-white Hampshire pig that was diagnosed with presumptive B-cell lymphoma.
The 4-year-old...
I Overcame Cervical Cancer but Not Its Long-term Effects
In 1979, when I was just 35 years old, I started experiencing abnormal vaginal bleeding and lower back pain. When a Pap test came back normal, the gynecologist I saw said not to worry about anything, that I was fine. But I wasn’t fine. My symptoms quickly escalated, and I sought the opinion of...
Women with Primary Breast Cancer Diagnosed During Pregnancy Have Overall Survival Similar to Nonpregnant Patients
Results from an international collaborative study showed that women with primary breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy had overall survival similar to nonpregnant patients. Reporting their findings in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the authors concluded: “This information is important when...
Cisplatin plus Cetuximab vs Cisplatin Alone in Patients with Metastatic Triple-negative Breast Cancer
Adding cetuximab (Erbitux) to cisplatin doubled the overall response rate and appeared to prolong progression-free and overall survival in a randomized phase II study among patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. Although the trial did not meet its primary endpoint of overall...
For Women ≥ 70 Years with Early Breast Cancer, Adding Radiotherapy to Lumpectomy and Tamoxifen Does Not Increase Survival
Long-term follow-up of Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) trial 9343 confirmed and extended 5-year results that in women age ≥ 70 years with clinical stage I, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer treated with lumpectomy followed by tamoxifen, “irradiation adds no significant benefit in...
Androgen Deprivation Therapy Associated with Increased Risk of Acute Kidney Injury
The use of androgen deprivation therapy was significantly associated with an increased risk of acute kidney injury among men with newly diagnosed nonmetastatic prostate cancer, according to a study published in JAMA. The study was motivated by the increasing use of androgen deprivation therapy in...
Anti-PD-1 Antibody Lambrolizumab Produces Durable Responses with Low Toxicity in Patients with Advanced Melanoma
Lambrolizumab produced a high rate of sustained tumor regression when tested among 135 patients with advanced melanoma in a multi-institutional, international, phase I expansion study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. At a median follow-up of 11 months, responses were durable in the...
Ridaforolimus Delayed Tumor Progression in Patients with Previously Treated Metastatic Sarcoma
“Ridaforolimus delayed tumor progression to a small statistically significant degree in patients with metastatic sarcoma who experienced benefit with prior chemotherapy,” according to results of an international phase III trial. The large randomized placebo-controlled phase III trial evaluated the...
ATRA and Arsenic Trioxide May Be Even Better Than ATRA and Chemotherapy in Treating Low-to-Intermediate Risk Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia
All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) plus arsenic trioxide bested the already high remission rates achieved by ATRA with chemotherapy, the standard of care for acute promyelocytic leukemia, in a phase III multicenter trial among patients with low-to-intermediate risk acute promyelocytic leukemia....
Support Group Offers Resources for Patients with Oral/Head and Neck Cancer
I am the Outreach Administrator/Newsletter Editor at Support for People with Oral and Head and Neck Cancer (SPOHNC). SPOHNC is a national nonprofit organization involved in the development of support programs. As such, it can have an enormous positive impact on meeting the psychosocial needs of...
Seeking Clarity on the PSA Story
My feature interview in the August 15, 2012, issue of The ASCO Post, entitled “Rethinking the Role of PSA Screening in Public Health”1 drew swift reaction from well-known figures in the prostate cancer field. The subsequent Letters to the Editor, three in all, constituted a two-pronged attack. They ...
Déjà Vu Redux: Lessons from the SWOG-8516 Study in Aggressive Lymphomas
Joseph M. Connors, MD, authored a commentary in the June 25 issue of The ASCO Post inspired by a recent New England Journal of Medicine publication on dose-adjusted EPOCH-R chemotherapy (etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and rituximab) for primary mediastinal B-cell ...
