The following list presents those articles published in 2014 that were observed most often by visitors to ASCOPost.com, as measured by the number of views.a To view the full version of the articles listed below, visit ASCOPost.com and enter the URL provided below each entry.
January 15, 2014, Volume 5, Issue 1
First-line treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma using the Rd regimen (continuous lenalidomide [Revlimid] plus low-dose dexamethasone) was superior to standard triplet treatment with MPT (melphalan, prednisone, and thalidomide [Thalomid]) for 72 weeks, according to the initial results of the FIRST (Front-Line Investigation of Revlimid/Dexamethasone vs Standard Thalidomide) trial presented at the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in New Orleans.
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June 10, 2014, Volume 5, Issue 9
In men with prostate cancer and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-only recurrence after curative surgery or radiation, delaying androgen deprivation therapy for at least 2 years or until clinical progression (ie, new symptoms, metastasis by imaging techniques or short PSA doubling time) did not appear to impact survival or prostate cancer–specific survival compared with immediate initiation of androgen deprivation therapy within 3 months of PSA-only recurrence. These results of a large, population-based study, developed jointly by the Harvard School of Public Health and University of California, San Francisco, are suggestive and can be included in discussions with patients, but they are by no means definitive, say experts. The study was presented at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting.
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3. FDA Programs to Expedite Drug and Biologic Product Development
February 15, 2014, Volume 5, Issue 3
With the advent of the Breakthrough Therapy designation, there are now four FDA programs to expedite the development of promising new agents: Fast Track, Breakthrough Therapy, Priority Review, and Accelerated Approval. These programs complement one another and serve a common goal: to speed the approval of effective treatments for serious conditions. In this article, FDA reviewers Drs. Kluetz and Donoghue address questions relating to the role of expedited programs for the development of cancer therapies.
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4. The Future of Biomedical Research
March 1, 2014, Volume 5, Issue 4
In January, Congress approved a $1 trillion appropriations bill for the rest of fiscal year 2014. While the new bill includes $29.9 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—$1 billion above FY2013 levels after sequestration—including $4.9 billion for the National Cancer Institute (NCI), it does not restore NIH funding to presequestration spending levels. In addition, the budget leaves the NIH with about 10% less purchasing power in current dollars compared to FY2007.
In a wide-ranging interview with The ASCO Post, Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, Director of the National Institutes of Health, addressed the impact that budget stagnation is having on biomedical research and on the careers of young investigators, his optimism for the future, and the outlook for improvements in global health care.
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5. A New Era in the Management of Advanced HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
June 25, 2014, Volume 5, Issue 10
Approximately 20% of all breast cancers are human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive. Prior to the era of HER2-targeted therapy, HER2-positive breast cancer was characterized by a poor prognosis. The development of the first HER2-targeted therapy, trastuzumab (Herceptin) led to dramatically improved outcomes for this population in both the early-stage and metastatic settings.
In recent years, outcomes for women with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer have improved further with the development and approval of three additional HER2-targeted therapies—lapatinib (Tykerb), pertuzumab (Perjeta), and ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla).
With the addition of these agents to the therapeutic armamentarium, metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer is no longer characterized by a rapid disease course but rather by median survival rates in excess of 3 years.
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6. NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: 2014 Updates
May 15, 2014, Volume 5, Issue 8
At the 19th Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), held in Hollywood, Florida, NCCN Panel members presented updates for several tumor types, briefly summarized in this article.
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7. ‘Double-Hit’ Lymphomas a Challenge for the Oncologist
April 15, 2014, Volume 5, Issue 6
“Double-hit” lymphomas remain challenging tumors, and the best means of treatment remains somewhat elusive, according to studies presented at the 2013 ASH Annual Meeting in New Orleans, and experts who commented on these findings at the 2014 Highlights of ASH in North America meeting in Miami.
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March 1, 2014, Volume 5, Issue 4
Encouraging results of the large phase III PREVAIL trial represent another positive milestone for men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Enzalutamide (Xtandi) improved overall survival by 29% and reduced the risk of radiographic progression of disease by 81% in men who had not received chemotherapy.
An interim analysis of the trial data in 2013 was so favorable that the Independent Data Monitoring Committee halted the trial prematurely and offered all placebo recipients enzalutamide. Complete trial results were reported at the 2014 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco.
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9. Addition of Neoadjuvant Carboplatin in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Supported by SABCS Studies
February 1, 2014, Volume 5, Issue 2
The achievement of a pathologic complete response in patients with triple-negative breast cancer was boosted by the addition of carboplatin to a standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimen, and by the addition of veliparib, an investigational oral PARP inhibitor, plus carboplatin to a standard chemotherapy regimen, in studies presented at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.
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10. Maintenance Therapy in Multiple Myeloma
May 1, 2014, Volume 5, Issue 7
S. Vincent Rajukumar, MD, reported that in 2012, three randomized placebo-controlled trials reported a significant prolongation of progression-free survival with lenalidomide (Revlimid) as maintenance therapy for multiple myeloma. Two of these trials tested lenalidomide maintenance after stem cell transplantation, and one investigated maintenance following conventional melphalan-based therapy. One of the three trials, a post-transplant study conducted in the United States, found an improvement in overall survival, while in the others no survival benefit was seen. All three trials showed a significant increase in the incidence of second cancers.
Following the publication of these trials, there has been some controversy on the implications of these findings. Some experts have endorsed routine maintenance, at least in the post-transplant setting, while others have argued that additional data are needed before such therapy might be recommended. Frequent updates of these study results at subsequent meetings have not clarified the issues, but rather, have given rise to new misconceptions.
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a Last Updated: Tuesday, December 2, 2014
