December 10, 2015 (View All Issues)
November Yields Record Number of FDA Approvals for New Oncology Drugs and Drug Indications
In 2014, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 9 new drugs and biologics in the treatment of cancer and added 10 notable new indications or formulations to existing drug labels, marking a year of significant progress in improving the quality of cancer care in the United States. So...
Filial Gaze at Our Noble Profession
As we stood outside patient X’s room going over the vitals, from a distance, I saw the father of the patient by the side of her bed. I saw him standing there and looking down at his child conveying what I guess were words of reassurance and reinforcing the pillars of strength needed for her...
ASCO Guideline on the Use of Biomarkers in Treatment Decisions in Metastatic Breast Cancer: Shedding Light on an Often Mysterious Art
As summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post (see "ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline: Use of Biomarkers to Guide Systemic Therapy for Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer"), Van Poznak and colleagues recently presented an ASCO clinical practice guideline on the use of biomarkers for decisions...
Combining Molecular-Driven Approach and Immunotherapy to Improve Treatment for Patients With Inflammatory Breast Cancer
We have a responsibility to develop better treatment for inflammatory breast cancer,”
Massimo Cristofanilli, MD, FACP, told participants at the 17th Annual Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium in Chicago. As recently appointed Associate Director of Translational Research and Precision Medicine at the ...
Olanzapine Significantly Reduces Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting
The addition of olanzapine to standard antiemetics significantly reduced chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting in patients receiving highly emetogenic chemotherapy, according to Rudolph M. Navari, MD, PhD, and colleagues.
“As far as I know, this is the first trial that looked at no nausea as...
Anamorelin Improves Cachexia Symptoms in Patients With Advanced Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
The investigational agent anamorelin significantly increased lean body mass, body weight, total body mass, and fat mass in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and cachexia, according to Jennifer S. Temel, MD, who presented the results of two phase III studies at the 2015...
Cancer Care Through Nonpharmacologic Symptom Management
Nonpharmacologic approaches to managing pain have a fairly robust base of science and research supporting their use but are not as widely accepted and understood as drug therapy in the realm of cancer care. In a breakout session at the 2015 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium in Boston, experts...
U-M Cancer Center Names Bhramar Mukherjee, PhD, Associate Director for Population Science Research
The University of Michigan (U-M) Comprehensive Cancer Center has appointed Bhramar Mukherjee, PhD, as Associate Director for Population Science Research.
Dr. Mukherjee is John D. Kalbfleisch Collegiate Professor of Biostatistics and Professor of Epidemiology at the U-M School of Public Health. She ...
Tumor Profiling of Breast Tumors in Older Patients Reveals Differences From Those of Younger Patients
Using multiplatform profiling, researchers have identified potentially targetable biomarker aberrations in a large cohort of geriatric breast tumors.1 According to the study, presented at the 2015 Breast Cancer Symposium, these data may help researchers to design clinical trials focusing on...
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Appears to Have No Effect on Short-Term Outcomes in Breast Cancer Surgery
Patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy within 30 days prior to breast cancer surgery did not appear to be at increased risk for overall postoperative complications, according to a study presented at the 2015 Breast Cancer Symposium.1
“Although on unadjusted analysis there were more...
Ovarian Cancer: Current Treatment and Patient Management
Tough initial treatment decisions have “long-lasting ramifications and affect the entire treatment paradigm” for women with ovarian cancer, according to Bradley J. Monk, MD, FACS, FACOG, of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, Phoenix. In a true collaborative presentation at the Annual JADPRO...
2015 Review of Newly Approved Oncologic Therapies
Over the past year or so, a host of new agents were approved for the treatment of patients with various types of cancer (see related article on page 1). Patrick Medina, PharmD, of the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy, Oklahoma City, and
Monique Giordana, PharmD, BCOP, of Regions...
FDA Approves Elotuzumab in Combination With Lenalidomide and Dexamethasone for Multiple Myeloma
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted approval for elotuzumab (Empliciti) in combination with two other therapies to treat patients with multiple myeloma who have received one to three prior medications.
“We are continuing to learn about the ways the immune system interacts with...
Mind-Body Therapies Were the Focus at the 12th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology
Among the highlights at the 12th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) was a 1-day joint meeting on acupuncture, oncology, and fascia cosponsored by SIO, the Society for Acupuncture Research, the Fascia Research Society, and the Osher Center for Integrative...
The Best of SIO
The following five abstracts were chosen as the best studies presented at the 12th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) because of their quality and the impact they will have on the field of integrative medicine, according to Suzanna Zick, ND, MPH, Immediate Past...
Clinical Trial Design in Older Patients
Geriatrics for the Oncologist is guest edited by Stuart Lichtman, MD, FACP, FASCO, and developed in collaboration with the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG). Visit SIOG.org for more on geriatric oncology.
Increasing age is directly associated with an increasing risk of cancer,...
BRAF Inhibition Successful in Relapsed/Refractory Hairy Cell Leukemia
In two phase II studies reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Enrico Tiacci, MD, of the University of Perugia, Italy, and colleagues found that the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (Zelboraf) produced responses in nearly all patients with BRAF V600E–positive hairy cell leukemia that relapsed...
Nivolumab Receives Two FDA Approvals in November
Nivolumab (Opdivo) is a monoclonal antibody that binds to the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) receptor and blocks its interaction with its ligands PD-L1 and PD-L2, releasing PD-1 pathway–mediated inhibition of the immune response. Late last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)...
Molecularly Targeted Therapy Brings New Hope to Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Hairy Cell Leukemia
The treatment of hairy cell leukemia is one of the great success stories in hematologic malignancies, with patients now having a survival that is only slightly inferior to an age-matched normal population. Purine analogs, such as cladribine, are the mainstay of first-line therapy, with...
Improved Progression-Free Survival With Trabectedin vs Dacarbazine After Chemotherapy Failure in Liposarcoma or Leiomyosarcoma
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, George D. Demetri, MD, of Harvard Medical School and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and colleagues found that treatment with trabectedin (Yondelis) significantly improved progression-free survival vs dacarbazine in patients...
Trabectedin in Liposarcoma/Leiomyosarcoma: The Drug Is Approved, Now the Real Drug Development Begins!
Led by George Demetri, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, expert medical oncology investigators from leading academic sarcoma centers and Janssen Pharmaceuticals employees performed a phase III trial in order to provide evidence for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of...
Cobimetinib in BRAF-Mutant Unresectable or Metastatic Melanoma in Combination With Vemurafenib
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
On November 10, 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...
NCCN Names Robert C. Young, MD, Interim Vice President of Oncology Research Program
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has appointed Robert C. Young, MD, as Interim Vice President of the NCCN Oncology Research Program.
Dr. Young brings to NCCN more than 45 years of oncology experience. He is President of RCY Medicine, a consulting service focused on cancer center...
FDA Approves Necitumumab Combination for Metastatic Squamous NSCLC
The FDA approved necitumumab (Portrazza) in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin for first-line treatment of patients with metastatic squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Necitumumab is not indicated for treatment of nonsquamous NSCLC.
Necitumumab is a recombinant human IgG1...
Amy K. Hara, MD, Named Chair of Diagnostic Radiology at Mayo–Arizona
Amy K. Hara, MD, has been named Chair of Diagnostic Radiology at Mayo Clinic’s Arizona campus. Dr. Hara, Professor of Radiology, joined Mayo Clinic in 2001.
Her main research interests include computed tomography (CT) colonography, also known as virtual colonoscopy; CT enterography; CT radiation...
Convergence of Breast Cancer Incidence but Continued Divergence of Mortality in Black Women and White Women
In an article published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Carol E. DeSantis, MPH, and colleagues from the American Cancer Society reported that the incidence of breast cancer in black women has caught up to that in white women, whereas the risk of mortality continues to be higher in black...
Reducing Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer Incidence and Mortality Trends to Improve Outcomes
A recent report by DeSantis and colleagues from the American Cancer Society, summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post, presented breast cancer incidence and mortality data from an extensive analysis of the U.S. system of state-based tumor registries.1 The data showed that the incidence of breast...
Closing the Racial Survival Disparity Gap in Breast Cancer: Models for Change From Chicago, New York, and Beyond
It has long been said that white women of European ancestry are more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, but African American women are more likely to die of it. This statement has introduced multiple articles on the topic of the racial survival disparity in breast cancer, including our own...
NIH Awards City of Hope $2.2 Million Grant for Investigation of Chronic Graft-vs-Host Disease
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $2.2 million grant to help City of Hope researchers explore the underlying mechanisms of graft-vs-host disease, the leading cause of long-term sickness and death following...
Understanding Health-Care Disparities Among Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Patients to Ensure More Effective Cancer Care
A new study examining the health-care needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender/transsexual patients has found myriad disparities in access to cancer care.1 The researchers reviewed nearly 170 papers published over the past 15 years on the health-care needs among this population. Although...
Evidence-Based Practice Needed in End-of-Life Care
Evidence-based oncology practice is a systematic approach to problem solving for cancer care providers, characterized by the use of the best evidence currently available for clinical decision-making. Over the past several decades, the oncology community, led by its major organizations such as ASCO...
Nivolumab Improves Overall Survival vs Docetaxel in Advanced Previously Treated Squamous Cell NSCLC
In a phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Julie Brahmer, MD, of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, and colleagues found that treatment with the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitor antibody nivolumab...
ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline: Use of Biomarkers to Guide Systemic Therapy for Women With Metastatic Breast Cancer
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Catherine Van Poznak, MD, and colleagues, ASCO has issued a clinical practice guideline on the use of biomarkers to guide decisions on systemic therapy in women with metastatic breast cancer.1 The statement is based on an ASCO expert panel review...
Regional Nodal Irradiation in Early Breast Cancer Yields Significant Disease-Free Survival Benefit in Two Trials
Two phase III trials recently reported in The New England Journal of Medicine indicated that the addition of regional nodal irradiation was associated with no or marginal overall survival benefit but significantly improved disease-free survival in patients with early-stage breast cancer.1,2
NCIC...
Nodal Irradiation in Node-Positive Breast Cancer: It Is Not Time to Change Practice
Management of the regional nodes in breast cancer has evolved from the era of the extended radical mastectomy to exclusion of axillary dissection in appropriately selected patients. Throughout this evolution, studies of nodal irradiation have been shown to improve locoregional control, usually...
NCCN Foundation Appoints Three New Representatives to Board of Directors
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Foundation has appointed three new representatives to its Board of Directors: Heather Kopecky, PhD, MBA; Marc Samuels, JD, MPH; and Susan Stein, MPH. There are currently 15 members of the Board of Directors, responsible for the strategic direction...
Cancer Researchers and Clinicians Elected as 2015 AAAS Fellows
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Council elected 347 fellows for 2015, in recognition of their contributions to innovation, education, and scientific leadership. The tradition of electing AAAS fellows began in 1874 to recognize members for their scientifically or...
Making a Difference for Patients: An Interview With Dr. Daniel F. Hayes, 2015–2016 President-Elect
Daniel F. Hayes, MD, FASCO, began his term as ASCO President-Elect this past June, and will serve as President in 2016–2017. A breast cancer specialist, he is Professor of Internal Medicine, the Stuart B. Padnos Professor in Breast Cancer, and the Clinical Director of the Breast Oncology Program at ...
Now Available: Holiday Cards From the Conquer Cancer Foundation
The holiday season has officially begun, but there is still plenty of time to share in the spirit of giving on behalf of someone special.
When you donate to the Conquer Cancer Foundation through cards.conquercancerfoundation.org, the Foundation will mail greeting cards or email eCertificates in...
This December: Triple Your Impact
Earlier this year, Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) Board Member Raj Mantena, RPh, announced his intention to match individual donations to CCF dollar-for-dollar, up to $1 million, throughout the month of September. His generous support of The Campaign to Conquer Cancer—a comprehensive, $150 million ...
Barriers to Oncology Careers Focused on Cancer Prevention Could Be Addressed Through Education, Research Opportunities, Advocacy
A new study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) on the barriers facing oncology professionals to a career focus in cancer prevention found that a lack of mentors and exposure during training, unclear career path, and uncertainty regarding reimbursement caused reluctance to incorporate...
Earn MOC Points With ASCO
The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program promotes lifelong learning and the enhancement of the clinical judgment and skills essential for high-quality patient care. ASCO supports these principles by providing a variety of opportunities for oncology...
Resource to Help Patients Manage Cancer Costs
Help your patients manage the financial impact of a cancer diagnosis with Cancer.Net’s Managing the Cost of Cancer Care booklet. This booklet provides information on the main financial categories for cancer care; an easy-to-understand explanation of health insurance benefits; information about the...
MD Anderson Receives $22.2 Million in CPRIT Research Funding
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center was awarded more than $22 million in research grants from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Thirty-six percent of funds awarded for Individual Investigator Awards went to MD Anderson faculty, as well as nearly 40% of...
Gut Bacteria May Facilitate Efficacy of Anti–PD-L1 Agents
Could the manipulation of bacteria in the gut pack the same punch in melanoma as antibodies targeting the programmed cell death protein and its ligand (PD-1/PD-L1)? It’s possible, at least in mice, according to research from the University of Chicago, recently published in Science.1 The researchers ...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Argentina
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this special feature on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Argentina. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the world. For ...
Cancer Care in Low-Resource Areas: Some Improvements Over the Years, but Serious Problems Remain
Low- and middle-income countries bear a larger share of the global cancer burden than does the developed world,” said Greta Massetti, PhD, Associate Director for Science, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Cancer Prevention and Control and Co-Chair of the National Cancer...
UC San Diego Robotic Surgeon Christopher J. Kane, MD, Named Joseph D. Schmidt, MD, Presidential Chair in Urology
Christopher J. Kane, MD, a specialist in prostate cancer and an expert in robotic and other minimally invasive procedures for urologic surgery at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), has been appointed the inaugural holder of the Joseph D. Schmidt, MD, Presidential Chair in Urology in...
The Complex Interactions of Treatment Costs, Clinical Outcomes, and Patient Expectations
A clinical dilemma that is receiving a great deal of attention in the oncology community is the undue financial burden some patients face during their treatment and into survivorship. While much emphasis is put on methods to reduce and help patients navigate the complex payment system, little is...
Dario Marchetti, PhD, Named Director of the Center for Biomarkers
Dario Marchetti, PhD, recently joined Houston Methodist Hospital as the new Director of the Center for Biomarkers. Over the past 7 years, Dr. Marchetti’s laboratory at Baylor College of Medicine has made key discoveries in the biology and clinical use of circulating tumor cells. Dr. Marchetti’s...
Montefiore and Einstein Receive $3.9 Million NCI Calabresi Grant
Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care (MECCC) and the Albert Einstein Cancer Center (AECC) announced receipt of a $3.93 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for the prestigious Paul Calabresi Career Development Award for...
Philip W. Kantoff, MD, Named Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Philip W. Kantoff, MD, has been named the new Chairman of the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). An accomplished leader, physician, researcher, and mentor, Dr. Kantoff served the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School (HMS) since 1987 in a...
Practicing the Humanistic and Holistic Approach to End-of-Life Care
In 1990, when Bruce (B.J.) Miller, MD, was an undergraduate at Princeton University, the practice of medicine was far from his mind. Then a student in Chinese and Asian studies and later an art history major, Dr. Miller would come to pursue a career specializing in palliative medicine after an...
Foot Care in Oncology: The Cancer Patient From Ankle to Toe
There is as yet no clinical or research focus on foot complications that result from cancer therapies. Foot conditions, however, are common and have a considerable negative impact on patients’ ambulation, quality of life, and consistent dosing of antineoplastic agents.1-4 There are currently no...
A Blueprint for Drug/Diagnostic Development: Expansion and Use of Curated Genetic Databases
In a continuation of a 2014 conference that explored regulatory considerations and strategies for next-generation sequencing, the Friends of Cancer Research, with support from Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc, Pasadena, California, met to discuss the issues and problems of coordinating drug and ...
City of Hope Provost Steven T. Rosen, MD, Honored by Israel Cancer Research Fund
Steven T. Rosen, MD, Provost and Chief Scientific Officer for City of Hope, has received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF). The award recognizes Dr. Rosen’s longstanding commitment to advancing science and medicine and providing extraordinary patient care.
...
Alexandra M. Levine, MD, MACP, Honored by LA County Medical Association
The Los Angeles County Medical Association (LACMA) awarded the Hospital Physician Leadership Award to Alexandra M. Levine, MD, MACP, Chief Medical Officer of City of Hope. Dr. Levine received the award in recognition of her exemplary contributions to the medical profession, including her leadership ...
A Swiss Psychotherapist Gives Her Perspective on Optimal Palliative Care
Over the past few decades, the oncology community has incorporated new evidence-based therapies to address the psychosocial needs of patients with cancer, especially those with advanced disease. To bring a global perspective to this evolving discipline, The ASCO Post recently spoke with Monika...
Lung Cancer: Hope From Science
The following essay by Paul A. Bunn, Jr, MD, is adapted from The Big Casino: America’s Best Cancer Doctors Share Their Most Powerful Stories, which was coedited by Stan Winokur, MD, and Vincent Coppola and published in May 2014. The book is available on Amazon.com and thebigcasino.org.
I grew up ...
Valerie W. Rusch, MD, FACS, Elected Chair of ACS Board of Regents
Valerie W. Rusch, MD, FACS, was elected Chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) during the College’s Annual Clinical Congress, held October 4–8 in Chicago.
In her role as Chair of the Board of Regents, Dr. Rusch will work closely with the ACS Executive Director and...
Osimertinib for Metastatic EGFR T790M–Mutant Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer After EGFR Inhibitor Therapy
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.
On November 13, 2015, osimertinib (Tagrisso) was granted...
Parotid Tumor Excision, Albumen Print, Paris, February 1872
A Century of Progress
The text and photographs on this page are excerpted from a four-volume series of books titled Oncology Tumors & Treatment: A Photographic History, by Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS. The photos below are from the volume titled “The Anesthesia Era 1845-1875.” To view additional ...
Daratumumab in Previously Treated Multiple Myeloma
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.
On November 16, 2015, daratumumab injection (Darzalex) was...
Ixazomib in Previously Treated Multiple Myeloma
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.
On November 20, 2015, ixazomib (Ninlaro) was approved by the U.S....
2015-2016 Oncology Meetings
DECEMBER
American Society for Cell Biology Annual Meeting
December 12-16 • San Diego, California
For more information:
http://ascb.org/2015meeting/
ESMO Asia 2015 Congress
December 18-21 • Singapore
For more information:
www.esmo.org/Conferences/ESMO-Asia-2015-Congress
JANUARY 2016
4th...
The Highs and Lows of a Transplant Surgeon
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Title: Last Night in the OR: A Transplant Surgeon’s Odyssey
Author: Bud Shaw, MD
Publisher: Plume, division of Penguin Group
Publication date: September 15, 2015
Price: $16.00; paperback, 304 pages
Surgery has a distinct place in medicine. Surgeons cut deep into our bodies amid clusters of ...
Racial Issues on the Road to Medicine
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Title: Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine
Author: Damon Tweedy, MD
Publisher: Picador, Macmillan Publishing
Publication date: September 8, 2015
Price: $26.00; hardcover, 304 pages
Strained race relations over issues whose foundation is based on inequality...
Yet Another Reason Why Dogs Are Our Best Friends
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Title: Heal: The Vital Role of Dogs in the Search for Cancer Cures
Author: Arlene Weintraub
Publisher: ECW Press
Publication date: October 13, 2015
Price: $16.95; paperback, 240 pages
Comparative oncology, a fairly recent addition to the ever-evolving world of cancer research, studies the...
You’ve Lived A Good Life
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the “Art of Oncology” as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO). These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
Cancer Survival Improves in Europe, With Wide Regional Variations
EUROCARE-5, the latest in a series of comprehensive reports on the state of cancer survival in Europe, shows an improvement in 5-year survival from 1998 to 2007, with large variations among regions of Europe, according to a presentation at the European Cancer Congress.1 Furthermore, although 5-year ...
Selective Internal Radiation Therapy Impacts Liver Metastases in Colorectal Cancer
A novel interventional approach to treating liver metastases associated with colorectal cancer improved control of liver metastases, according to the SIRFLOX study presented at the 2015 ASCO Annual Meeting.1
The addition of selective internal radiation therapy to first-line chemotherapy extended...
Integrating Spirituality Into Palliative Care Services
Over the past couple of decades, the oncology community has made great strides in mediating the psychosocial needs of our patients. However, a patient’s spirituality is a subjective and uncomfortable issue for many oncologists, which leaves a gap in the continuum of care.
To reach a better...
Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, Named President of the Salk Institute
Elizabeth Blackburn, PhD, has been named President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.
Dr. Blackburn will join the Salk Institute from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where she is Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. She will assume her new role ...
The Sixth Edition of the Essential Breast Cancer Book
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Title: Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book
Author: Susan M. Love, MD
Publisher: Da Capo Lifelong Books
Publication date: September 8, 2015
Price: $24.00; paperback, 704 pages
For more than 25 years, Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book has been the best source of information for women with breast ...
Mayo Clinic Names Bobbie Gostout, MD, Vice President
The Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees named Bobbie Gostout, MD, Vice President of the Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Gostout will be the physician leader for Mayo’s community practice in the Midwest, including Mayo Clinic Health System in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and Mayo Clinic’s Minnesota-based community...
Starting Over
My diagnosis of pleural mesothelioma early in 2015 couldn’t have been more surprising. In one day, I went from being a healthy, vibrant woman with a busy career and the excitement of launching a promising new business venture to a woman facing the greatest challenge of her life. The fact that my...
Shift in Treatment Patterns of Ductal Carcinoma in Situ
An evaluation of national treatment trends for ductal carcinoma in situ from 1991 to 2010 and their impact on survival revealed “a substantial shift in locoregional treatment patterns for ductal carcinoma in situ,” Mathias Worni, MD, of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, and...
Increased Risk of Second Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Among Patients Receiving Immunosuppressive Therapy
Patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with methotrexate had an increased risk of a second nonmelanoma skin cancer, and adding anti–tumor necrosis factor (TNF) may increase that risk, according to results of a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Dermatology. A similar association was...
Anemia Prevalent and Independently Associated With Functional Disability in Older Patients With Cancer
“Anemia was highly prevalent and independently associated with functional disability” among older adults with cancer, according to an analysis of data conducted by Cynthia Owusu, MD, MS, of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, and colleagues. “Older patients with anemia were more than twice...
One Long Shift With a Nurse on a Cancer Ward
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Title: The Shift: One Nurse, Twelve Hours, Four Patients’ Lives
Author: Theresa Brown, RN
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Publication date: September 22, 2015
Price: $15.59; hardcover, 272 pages
If health care were looked at through an architect’s eyes, nurses would be the girders...
Nationally Regarded Oncology Nurse Practitioner, Mary Pazdur, RN, MSN, Remembered by Friends and Colleagues
Oncology nurse practitioner Mary Pazdur, RN, MSN, spent her professional life bettering the clinical care and outcomes of cancer patients, culminating in her career at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), in the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, working with patients on cancer vaccine...
AACC Elects Michael J. Bennett, PhD, 2017 President, Names New Treasurer and Board Members
The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) has announced that Michael J. Bennett, PhD, has been elected to serve on the AACC Board as President-Elect beginning in January 2016, followed by successive terms as the Association’s 68th President in 2017 and Past President in 2018. The AACC...
