July 25, 2017 (View All Issues)
Maintaining Predictable Increases in NIH Funding for Cancer Research
CONGRESS RECENTLY passed its fiscal year (FY) 2017 spending bill, which contains an additional $2 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This marks the first time in more than a dozen years that Congress funded back-to-back increases for the NIH, demonstrating the bipartisan...
Drug Combinations Prove Effective Against Melanoma Brain Metastases
STUDIES PRESENTED at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting have shown that for melanoma that metastasizes to the brain, the combined use of checkpoint inhibitors and targeted agents can be effective.
In COMBI-MB, 58% of patients responded intracranially to the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib (Tafinlar) plus the ...
Pivotal CAR T-Cell Data Reported in Relapsed/Refractory B-Cell ALL
UPDATED RESULTS from the ELIANA clinical trial of CTL019 (tisagenlecleucel)—an investigational chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy—found that remission rates are maintained at 6 months in relapsed/refractory pediatric and young adult patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia....
Radiation Therapy for Spinal Cord Compression: One Treatment Is Sufficient
SPINAL CORD COMPRESSION associated with metastatic cancer can be effectively treated with a single dose of radiotherapy, according to the results of a phase III British study that showed multiple radiotherapy doses to be no better than one treatment.1
Up to 10% of all patients with...
Tumor ‘Sidedness’ in Colon Cancer: Studies Look for Explanations
TUMOR “SIDEDNESS” in colon cancer has become a topic of great interest, after right-sided tumors were shown to have a worse prognosis than left-sided ones and biologics were found to differ in efficacy based on side. At the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting, studies explored why this might be...
Combination Strategies for Jump-Starting the Immune Response
CHECKPOINT INHIBITORS have dramatically changed the landscape of the treatment of melanoma, lung, bladder, and other cancers. Researchers are focusing on exploring ways to extend the use of checkpoint inhibitors to other disease states and to combine them with novel agents and improve outcomes.
...
Study Supports Omission of Lymphadenectomy in Node-Negative Advanced Ovarian Cancer
SYSTEMATIC LYMPHADENECTOMY in patients with advanced ovarian cancer and complete resection offered no improvement in progression-free or overall survival in the Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup’s LION trial, reported at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting by Philipp Harter, MD, PhD, of the German...
Checkpoint Inhibitors May Prove to Be Effective in Mesothelioma
CHECKPOINT INHIBITION was effective against malignant pleural mesothelioma in the MAPS-2 study of the French Cooperative Thoracic Intergroup. At the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting, researchers reported a disease control rate of up to 50% when patients were treated with immunotherapy after relapse in a...
Are Wearable Physical Activity Monitors Coming of Age in Oncology?
COMMERCIALLY AVAILABLE wearable physical activity monitors have been making their way into clinical research in recent years; however, most studies on these devices have been related to non-cancer conditions including obesity, depression, and physical activity. Their application in the...
Breast Cancer and Brain Metastases: Whole-Brain Radiotherapy May Not Be the Answer
FOR PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER who have metastases to the central nervous system (CNS), clinicians should think twice before administering whole-brain radiotherapy, according to Kimberly Blackwell, MD, Professor of Medicine and Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Duke...
Digital Tomosynthesis vs Mammography in Unmasking Breast Cancer
DIGITAL TOMOSYNTHESIS is rapidly replacing full-field digital mammography, because “it allows a more efficient diagnostic workflow and leads to a more confident interpretation,” according to Elizabeth A. Morris, MD, FACR, Chief of the Breast Imaging Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer...
NCCN Panelists Relay ‘What’s Hot’ in Their Fields
AT THE NATIONAL Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 22nd Annual Conference, experts from several fields met with journalists to highlight “what’s hot” in their specialties. The ASCO Post captured that conversation.
Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Guidelines
NCCN HAS LAUNCHED new NCCN Clinical...
Pembrolizumab Improves Overall Survival vs Chemotherapy in Second-Line Therapy for Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma
IN THE PHASE III KEYNOTE-045 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Joaquim Bellmunt, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues found that pembrolizumab (Keytruda) significantly improved overall survival vs investigator choice of chemotherapy as...
Pembrolizumab in Second-Line Therapy for Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma
THE TREATMENT OF metastatic urothelial carcinoma experienced a long period of stagnation until the recognition that targeting the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) pathway could yield deep and durable responses.1-3 Cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy has been the reference standard for...
Pembrolizumab Is Active in Platinum- and Cetuximab-Refractory Head and Neck Cancer
IN THE PHASE II KEYNOTE-055 trial, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was found to produce durable responses in patients with platinum- and cetuximab (Erbitux)-refractory head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.1 Results of the trial were reported by Joshua Bauml, MD, of the University of...
Pembrolizumab and Cetuximab-Treated Head and Neck Cancer: Activity Confirmed But No Surprises
WITH THE RECENT efficacy findings, improvements in survival, and resultant U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitors across multiple solid tumor indications, the publication of yet another positive trial adds to the...
Solange Peters, MD, PhD, Elected 2020–2021 ESMO President
THE EUROPEAN SOCIETY for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has announced that the President of the Society for the 2020–2021 term will be Solange Peters, MD, PhD, Head of the Medical Oncology Service and Chair of Thoracic Oncology, Oncology Department at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in...
Khurshid Guru, MD, Named Chair of Urology at Roswell Park
KHURSHID GURU, MD, an acclaimed robotic surgeon, has been named Chair of the Department of Urology at Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Dr. Guru, who was recruited to Roswell Park in 2005 to direct the Institute’s robotic surgery program, will lead a team of more than 50 faculty members, clinicians, ...
Mike Heller, PhD, Joins OHSU Knight Cancer Institute
THE OREGON Health & Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute announced that bioengineering and technology expert Mike Heller, PhD, will join the Institute’s Cancer Early Detection Advanced Research Center (CEDAR) to lead its technology efforts. A leader with more than 53 issued...
2017 ASTRO Gold Medalists Named
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR RADIATION ONCOLOGY (ASTRO) has announced the 2017 ASTRO Gold Medalists. Søren M. Bentzen, DSc, PhD; Louis B. Harrison, MD, FASTRO; and Michael L. Steinberg, MD, FASTRO, have been awarded the annual honor given to ASTRO members who have made outstanding lifetime...
The Art of Networking: Advice for the Oncologist-in-Training
It was Friday night of the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago. I planned to meet a friend, another 2nd-year heme-onc fellow, at a “free drink thing,” as she called it. I sheepishly entered the hotel bar, made a nametag at the insistence of the greeter, and started edging my way through the...
ASCO-AACI’s Best Practices in Cancer Clinical Trials Initiative: Streamlining Adverse Events Reporting and Research Community Forum Activities
Research sites and investigators face an ever-increasing number of challenges in the conduct and management of cancer clinical trials. Many of these challenges stem from the multitude of requirements for clinical trials that sponsors and regulatory and administrative agencies have set.
In...
Register Now for QOPI® QCDR for 2017 CMS MIPS Reporting: One Patient, One Measure, No Penalty
ASCO is pleased to announce that its Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) Qualified Clinical Data Registry (QCDR) is available now for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) reporting. By using the QOPI® QCDR for MIPS reporting,...
Key Leadership in Place in Trump Administration
IN JUNE 2017, President Trump installed the final member of his cancer care leadership team, Norman “Ned” Sharpless, MD, who will serve as the Director of the National Cancer Institute. Director Sharpless is an accomplished researcher with experience leading a wide range of clinical and...
Proposed 2018 QPP Rule Adds Flexibility, but Questions on Medicare Part B Drugs Provision Remain
THE CENTERS for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its proposed rule outlining changes to the Quality Payment Program (QPP) for 2018. ASCO is encouraged by the flexibility added to QPP in the proposal, which includes an extended transition period through the end of 2018 for both the...
Caregivers Have an Essential Role in Cancer Care. Help Them Be Prepared.
CANCER.NET offers caregiving tools and resources designed specifically for caregivers who are supporting someone with cancer. ASCO Answers Guide to Caregiving includes advice for talking with family and the health-care team, trackers for symptoms and medications, and more. Order this guide for...
FDA Takes Action Against 14 Companies for Selling Illegal Cancer Treatments
On April 25, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted warning letters addressed to 14 U.S.-based companies illegally selling more than 65 products that fraudulently claim to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure cancer. The products are marketed and sold without FDA approval, most...
The Immune System: Deciphering Recent Advances
Over the past decade, there has been renewed interest in developing immunologic therapies in cancer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several new biologic agents that target a patient’s immune system, some of which have produced profound clinical responses. However, the...
No Survival Benefit When Pravastatin Is Added to Standard Chemotherapy in Small Cell Lung Cancer
In a UK phase III study (LUNGSTAR) reported in the Journal of Clinical -Oncology, Michael J. Seckl, MD, PhD, of Imperial College London, and colleagues found that adding pravastatin to first-line standard chemotherapy did not improve overall survival in patients with small cell lung cancer...
Adding Pravastatin to Chemotherapy in Small Cell Lung Cancer
Following early reports associating favorable outcomes in cancer patients with the use of statins,1,2 further observational studies in this area have provided mixed findings.3 As recently reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, Seckl and colleagues ...
Advance Care Planning: Ensuring Patients’ End-of-Life Wishes Are Honored
When Amy Berman, BSN, LHD (aged 58), stood in front of the mirror to perform a routine breast self-exam and saw redness and dimpling on her right breast, she feared they were the telltale signs of inflammatory breast cancer. “I have never self-diagnosed myself before, but I had recently read an...
A Social Media Guide by a Doctor for Doctors
Today’s brave new world of digital technology has both enhanced and compromised the day-to-day operational efficiency of ultrabusy oncologists who are struggling to balance patient care with the rapid evolution of technology. Like all scientific advances, health-care technology is a...
Huntsman Unveils New Primary Children’s and Families’ Cancer Research Center
On June 21, 2017, the Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah announced the official opening of its Primary Children’s and Families’ Cancer Research Center, a world-class facility dedicated to advancing research in cancer. Jon M. Huntsman also announced a commitment from the...
Living With Cancer Survivorship Guilt
Although I was officially diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1997, the first sign of the cancer was evident 2 years earlier, when a single lesion (a plasmacytoma) was found in a bone in my lower back. The bone was replaced with two thin stainless steel rods, and after a course of radiation therapy, ...
Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Poor Performance Status Patients With Pancreatic Cancer
There are few data to guide the management of nonmetastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in patients who are elderly or have a poor performance status. Although most such patients are offered supportive care or gemcitabine alone, the addition of stereotactic body radiotherapy may improve...
A Frank Memoir About Doctors, Patients, and the Health-Care System
“In 1981, 2 days after my older brother Matthew was born, my father sawed off the tip of his index finger.” So begins No Apparent Distress: A Doctor’s Coming of Age on the Front Lines of American Medicine, a memoir by Rachel Pearson, MD, who is currently a resident at Seattle Children’s...
Shiitake Mushroom: Insufficient Evidence to Support It Boosts Immune System
In the June 25 issue of The ASCO Post, the Integrative Oncology column by Ting Bao, MD, DABMA, MS, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, focused on how to counsel a patient about shiitake mushroom. They concluded: “We advised our patient that it is safe to take shiitake mushroom to boost her immune system.”...
Music Therapy: Relevance in Oncology
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies commonly used by patients with cancer. In this installment, authors Karen Popkin, LCAT, MT-BC, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, present the...
Avelumab in Refractory Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma
The programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)–inhibitor avelumab (Bavencio) has shown activity in patients with refractory metastatic urothelial cancer, according to findings in a phase Ib study reported by Andrea B. Apolo, MD, of the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, Center for Cancer Research,...
Prophylactic Cranial Irradiation vs Observation in Extensive-Disease Small Cell Lung Cancer
A Japanese phase III trial has shown no survival benefit of prophylactic cranial irradiation vs observation in patients with extensive-disease small cell lung cancer who had any response to platinum-based doublet chemotherapy and no brain metastases at baseline. These findings were reported in The...
Educating Young People on Sun-Safe Behaviors and Reducing the Risk of Melanoma
“If minors don’t tan, then they may never become adult tanners,” Jeffrey E. Gershenwald, MD, said in explaining the emphasis on teaching sun safety behaviors to young children as part of the Melanoma Moon Shot Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. Dr. Gershenwald is ...
Edus H. Warren, MD, PhD, Named Leader of Fred Hutch Global Oncology Program
Immunotherapy researcher and oncologist Edus H. Warren, MD, PhD, has been selected to lead the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch) program in Global Oncology in its effort to transform cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa, China, and other regions by providing greater access to the...
