May 25, 2020 (View All Issues)
- Adult patients with metastatic RET fusion–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)
- Adult and pediatric patients ≥ 12 years of age with advanced...
United Against Cancer to Accelerate Progress for Patients
When I chose my Presidential theme for the 2020 ASCO Annual Meeting, “Unite and Conquer: Accelerating Progress Together,” in early 2019, I never imagined it would take on a new meaning 12 months later. The world is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, and, even as we practice social distancing, I...
Overall Survival Benefit Shown for Maintenance Olaparib in Ovarian Cancer
For the first time, overall survival has been improved with maintenance therapy involving a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor in patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer associated with BRCA1/2 mutations.
In the final, preplanned, overall survival analysis in the...
Overcoming the Challenges of Presenting the ASCO Annual Meeting During the COVID-19 Pandemic
As the worldwide cases of the coronavirus started to mount in February and March, medical societies and organizations monitoring the escalating COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international and domestic travel made the difficult decision to postpone or cancel their scientific conferences. On...
Geriatrician Assessment and Integrated Care May Help Older Patients as Well as the Health-Care System
A full geriatric assessment and geriatrician-led multidisciplinary care improved the quality of life of patients aged 70 and older undergoing chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy, according to results of a prospective, randomized, controlled, open-label trial, reported in a press...
Videoconference Intervention Can Reduce Levels of Anxiety and Distress Among Distance Caregivers
According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, the number of adult individuals in the United States providing care for patients with cancer ranges between 2.8 million and 6.1 million. Caregivers for patients with cancer who live more than 1 hour away report having higher levels of anxiety and...
AACR 2020: Triplet Regimen Improves Progression-Free Survival in Advanced Melanoma in IMspire150 Trial
The addition of the checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab to two targeted therapies (the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib and the MEK inhibitor cobimetinib) as initial therapy improved outcomes compared with the two targeted therapies plus placebo in patients with newly diagnosed BRAF V600E/K–mutant advanced ...
AACR 2020: I-SPY2 Trial: Durvalumab/Olaparib/Paclitaxel ‘Graduates’ in HER2-Negative Breast Cancer
The I-SPY2 trial found that the combination of the checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab, the PARP inhibitor olaparib, and the taxane paclitaxel followed by doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide as neoadjuvant therapy improved pathologic complete responses vs paclitaxel followed by doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide...
Selected Poster Presentations on Cancer Therapeutics and More
Although the live 2020 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Conference was canceled, more than 100 posters scheduled for presentation are now available online, as part of the NCCN 2020 Virtual Annual Conference. The ASCO Post has summarized some of the clinical trial updates we found ...
Advanced Ovarian Cancer: Use of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Increasing Along With Survival
The use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for advanced ovarian cancer may not have the negative impact on survival feared by many gynecologic oncologists. In fact, according to a pair of studies that were to have been presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2020 Annual Meeting on Women’s...
WEE1 Inhibitor Shows Activity in Recurrent Uterine Serous Carcinoma
Monotherapy with the experimental WEE1 inhibitor adavosertib has shown activity in patients with advanced recurrent or metastatic uterine serous carcinoma,1 according to data presented during the 2020 Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer Webinar Series. The initial ...
Niraparib as First-Line Maintenance Therapy for Advanced Ovarian Cancers
Making sense of maintenance therapy in advanced ovarian cancer has been a tall order since the publication of impressive data for not one but three PARP inhibitors at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2019 Congress.1 The picture became a little clearer on April 29, 2020, however,...
FDA Approves Olaparib Plus Bevacizumab as Maintenance Treatment for Ovarian, Fallopian Tube, or Primary Peritoneal Cancers
On May 8, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the indication of olaparib (Lynparza) to include its combination with bevacizumab for first-line maintenance treatment of adult patients with advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in...
FDA Approves Niraparib as Maintenance Therapy for Advanced Ovarian Cancer
On April 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved niraparib (Zejula) for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in a complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy.
...
From the Front Lines: Perspectives on How the COVID-19 Pandemic Is Impacting Oncology Care
The long-term effects on oncology care from the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping across the globe are still being assessed, but there is no doubt they will be deep and far-reaching and may lead to substantial changes in how research and medicine are practiced.
One alarming trend starting to emerge is...
FDA Approves New Pembrolizumab Dosing Regimen
On April 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to a new dosing regimen for pembrolizumab (Keytruda)—400 mg every 6 weeks—across all currently approved adult indications, in addition to the current 200 mg every 3 weeks dosing regimen.
The approval was based on ...
Evolving Insights Into COVID-19 and Cancer Care
Pulling together the 2020 American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting in less than 1 month was a Herculean task, and an important component was producing a session on COVID-19 and cancer care. This special session involved researchers from the front lines of the pandemic...
AACR 2020: Continuous Dosing of Dabrafenib Plus Trametinib Improves Progression-Free Survival vs Intermittent Dosing in Advanced Melanoma
Continuous dosing with dabrafenib and trametinib improved progression-free survival in patients with BRAF-mutated advanced melanoma compared with an intermittent-dosing strategy, according to results of the phase II SWOG S1320 randomized trial reported at the opening Plenary Session of the 2020...
AACR Virtual Annual Meeting I Draws Over 61,000 Registrants
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) announced that its first-ever Virtual Annual Meeting attracted a vast worldwide audience, with more than 61,000 registrants from 140 countries. Held April 27 and 28, the 2-day meeting featured practice-changing clinical trials, innovative basic...
Pemigatinib for Previously Treated Cholangiocarcinoma With FGFR2 Rearrangement or Fusion
On April 17, 2020, pemigatinib was granted accelerated approval for the treatment of adults with previously treated unresectable locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma with a fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) fusion or other rearrangement as detected by a U.S. Food and Drug...
New ASCO Guideline Addresses Head/Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary
ASCO has released a new clinical guideline titled, “Diagnosis and Management of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Unknown Primary in the Head and Neck: ASCO Guideline.”1 The guideline, promulgated by an international expert panel, is intended to “provide evidence-based recommendations to practicing...
ASCO’s President-Elect Aims to Ensure Equitable Cancer Care for Every Patient
The desire to pursue a career in medicine took root when Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, was a young child visiting family in segregated Ahoskie, North Carolina. She witnessed firsthand the impact the town’s lone African American family physician had on the community.
When it came time to...
FDA Approves Selpercatinib for Lung and Thyroid Cancers With RET Mutations or Fusions
On May 8, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to selpercatinib (Retevmo) for the following indications:
Breast Surgeon Eric A. Brown, MD, FACS, Joins Staff at Karmanos Cancer Institute
The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute recently announced that breast surgeon Eric A. Brown, MD, FACS, has joined its medical team. Board-certified in general surgery and breast ultrasound, Dr. Brown will serve as co-leader of the Breast Cancer Multidisciplinary Team, alongside Michael Simon,...
City of Hope Welcomes Stanley Hamilton, MD, and Alexey Danilov, MD, PhD
City of Hope has announced the addition of pathologist Stanley Hamilton, MD, and researcher Alexey Danilov, MD, PhD, to the National Medical Center in Duarte, California.
Dr. Hamilton is a recognized leader in pathology who helped develop pathology and laboratory medicine into a world-class...
Selumetinib for Pediatric Neurofibromatosis Type 1 With Symptomatic, Inoperable Plexiform Neurofibromas
On April 10, 2020, the oral MEK inhibitor selumetinib was approved for the treatment of patients 2 years of age and older with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) who have symptomatic, inoperable plexiform neurofibromas.1,2 Selumetinib is the first therapy approved for children who have this disease.
Luspatercept-aamt for Anemia in Adults With Myelodysplastic Syndromes
On April 3, 2020, luspatercept-aamt was approved in the treatment of anemia failing to respond to an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent and requiring 2 or more red blood cell (RBC) units over 8 weeks.1,2 The treatment is geared toward adult patients with very low– to intermediate-risk myelodysplastic ...
Hypercoagulability in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19: Where Do We Stand?
“Life is short, art long, opportunity fleeting, experience treacherous, judgment difficult.”
―Hippocrates
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that occasionally quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In this installment, Drs. Abutalib and Connors...
Genetics May Soon Guide Targeted Treatment of Brain Metastases
Genetic mapping of brain metastases, in the laboratory of Priscilla Brastianos, MD, Director of the Central Nervous System Metastasis Center at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, and Scott Carter, PhD, at the Harvard School of Public Health, is yielding findings that could...
Mitomycin Gel for Low-Grade Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer
On April 15, 2020, mitomycin gel was approved for the treatment of adult patients with low-grade upper tract urothelial cancer.1,2 Mitomycin gel is for pyelocalyceal use alone and not for intravenous, topical, or oral administration.
Supporting Efficacy Data
Approval was based on findings in the...
Tucatinib in Previously Treated HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer
On April 17, 2020, tucatinib was approved for use in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine for treatment of adult patients with advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer. These patients included those with brain metastases and those who have received one or more prior...
Yale Cancer Center Announces Hematology Leadership Appointments
The Yale Cancer Center has announced the appointments of Thomas Prebet, MD, PhD, as Disease Aligned Research Team (DART) Leader for Myeloid Malignancies and Amer Zeidan, MBBS, as Director of the Hematology Early Therapeutics Program. In these new roles, Drs. Prebet and Zeidan will work closely with ...
How the COVID-19 Pandemic Is Propelling the Delivery of Home Care for Patients With Cancer
In 2019, the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center began planning a demonstration program, called Cancer Care at Home, to broaden the delivery of oncology treatments to patients in the home setting. The existing services offered by Penn...
Treating Colorectal Cancer in the Time of COVID-19
The treatment of colorectal cancer has always been something of an art—but never more so than during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ASCO Post asked three experts in this malignancy to share their concerns and their approaches to achieving good patient outcomes while minimizing the risk of COVID-19...
FDA Approves Capmatinib for Patients With Metastatic NSCLC With Confirmed MET Exon 14 Skipping
On May 6, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to capmatinib (Tabrecta) for adult patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have a mutation that leads to mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) exon 14 skipping as detected by...
How California Dreamer John Craig Venter, PhD, Changed Paths to Focus on Sequencing the Human Genome
In this edition of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with John Craig Venter, PhD, Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer of the J. Craig Venter Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to human, microbial, and environmental genomic research. A...
Moffitt Appoints John Cleveland, PhD, as New Director
The Moffitt Cancer Center has announced the appointment of John Cleveland, PhD, as Center Director and Executive Vice President of the Tampa-based, National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated comprehensive cancer center. Dr. Cleveland joined Moffitt in 2014 as Associate Center Director of Basic...
Martin F. Dietrich, MD, PhD, Joins Florida Cancer Institute
Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute of Lake Mary, Florida has announced that medical oncologist Martin F. Dietrich, MD, PhD, has joined the cancer specialty group.
Dr. Dietrich is Board-certified in internal medicine and medical oncology. In his clinical practice, he addresses...
Online Guide Offers Tips for Communicating With Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A NEW ONLINE GUIDE provides tips to help oncology and other clinicians navigate the difficult and distressing communications with patients that have arisen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anthony Back, MD, a medical oncologist and palliative medicine specialist at the University of Washington and...
Being Interviewed on Zoom? Here Are Some Professional Tips
You’ve agreed to be interviewed on Zoom. If you’re like most people, the technology itself isn’t a barrier. (And if it is, you can consult our step-by-step guide to using Zoom at https://bit.ly/2yxcTN0.) However, you might be less sure about what you can do to make the best impression (and the most ...
Despites Advances, Treatment-Related Sequelae Remain Problematic in Pediatric Neuro-oncology
The management of pediatric brain and spinal cord tumors is extremely complex, as are the survivorship issues in this highly vulnerable patient population. To shed light on the current clinical reality in this setting, The ASCO Post recently spoke with Katherine E. Warren, MD, an internationally...
Robert Bona, MD, Named Director of Benign Hematology Program at Yale Cancer Center Smilow Cancer Hospital
Yale Cancer Center has announced the appointment of Robert Bona, MD, as Professor of Medicine (Hematology) and inaugural Director of the Benign Hematology Program at Smilow Cancer Hospital. He will also join as Medical Director of the Hemophilia Treatment Center for the Pediatric Hematology &...
Melanoma Research Alliance Announces $11 Million for Grant Awards
In recognition of Melanoma Awareness Month, the Melanoma Research Alliance has announced funding for 26 research awards, totaling $10.9 million. These grant awards are made possible through the significant contributions of individuals, families, institutions, and corporate allies. The 26 awards...
OneOncology Names Jeff Patton, MD, Chief Executive Officer
Jeff Patton, MD, has been named Chief Executive Officer of OneOncology, a national partnership of independent community oncologists. Dr. Patton has been Acting Chief Executive Officer and President of Physician Services since February. Dr. Patton will continue as Executive Chairman of the Board...
NIH Aims to Quantify Undetected Cases of Coronavirus Infection
A new study has begun recruiting at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, to determine how many adults in the United States without a confirmed history of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, have antibodies to the virus. The presence of antibodies in...
ECOG-ACRIN Conducts Smoking Cessation Study in Patients With Cancer
During the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, patients with cancer are at high risk of severe respiratory illness from infection because cancer and its treatments weaken their immune systems. Patients who smoke may be even more immunocompromised and at greater risk of COVID-19. A research study...
Treating Patients With Leukemia During the COVID-19 Era at MD Anderson Cancer Center
As part of a series of interviews with cancer experts during the COVID-19 pandemic, The ASCO Post spoke with Hagop Kantarjian, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, about the impact of the pandemic on treatment of...
Roswell Park Investigators Study Immunotherapy Combination in Patients With Cancer Infected With COVID-19
A clinical trial investigating a two-drug immunotherapy combination will soon be available to patients with cancer infected with COVID-19 at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized clinical researchers at the center to conduct...
How the Lung Cancer Community Came Together During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus) has created a host of diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up problems for patients with cancer of all types, and this is particularly true for patients with lung cancer, their families, and providers. Everyone wanted to ...
Is Estrogen Protective Against COVID-19?
Reports suggest that the severity of coronavirus infection may be significantly more pronounced in men than in women.1 Studies have demonstrated that estrogen reduces both influenza virus replication in human female nasal epithelial cells2 and moderates the cytokine storm in murine models of this...
Cancer vs COVID-19: Clinical Trial Research During the Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed cancer care, seemingly overnight, as practices scrambled to ensure a safe environment for caregivers and patients. Although regulatory burdens have been relaxed to allow patients to continue on trial treatment and telemedicine has expanded its competency and reach, ...
On the Shoulders of Giants
Before the dawn of the modern antibiotic era and amid the chaos of World War II, future Professor of Radiology and Founding Dean of two American medical colleges, Dr. George T. Harrell,* penned what could now be argued was far too bold a statement. As the opening lines of his nonrandomized...
10 Changes I Will Make in My Oncology Practice as a Result of COVID-19
As a result of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, or COVID-19) global pandemic, medicine—including oncology practice—will never be the same. We find ourselves in a time of emergency medicine for all specialties, technologic innovation (eg, more prevalent use of...
FDA Approves Daratumumab and Hyaluronidase-fihj in Multiple Myeloma
On May 1, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved daratumumab and hyaluronidase-fihj (Darzalex Faspro) for adult patients with newly diagnosed, relapsed, or refractory multiple myeloma. This new product allows for subcutaneous dosing of daratumumab.
Daratumumab and hyaluronidase-fihj...
Celebrating the Role of Nurses in Meeting the Current Challenges of Cancer Care Delivery
The coronavirus pandemic is being compared to a battlefield, with health-care workers seen as the front-line soldiers in the war against the disease. There is certainly truth to that, insofar as doctors and nurses in many countries now face an unprecedented workload in saving lives, along with the...
Novel Imaging Application Illuminates Processes in Cancer, COVID-19
Medical images for a wide range of diseases, including COVID-19, can now be more easily viewed, compared, and analyzed using a Web-based imaging platform developed by Massachusetts General Hospital and collaborating researchers.
The Open Health Imaging Foundation (OHIF) Web viewer was originally...
Sleeping Well After Cancer: Patient-Centered Research for Treatment of Insomnia
Insomnia is a persistent sleep disorder that affects nearly 60% of people with cancer, diminishing their quality of life.1,2 Chronic insomnia disorder is defined by trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early three times per week for 3 months or more.3 Standard care comprises...
American Academy of Arts & Sciences Inducts Members of Class of 2020
The American Academy of Arts & Sciences recently announced its newest members, with the election of 276 artists, scholars, scientists, and leaders in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors.
Among those inducted were numerous researchers and scientists involved in the care of patients...
FDA Issues Emergency Use Authorization for Remdesivir for Treatment of Severe COVID-19
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the investigational antiviral drug remdesivir for the treatment of suspected or laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in adults and children hospitalized with severe disease. Severe disease is defined as low...
Indiana University Researcher Receives $1.6 Million NCI Grant for Multiple Myeloma
G. David Roodman, MD, PhD, of Indiana University (IU) Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center, has been awarded a 5-year, $1.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to study ways to build bone and decrease tumor growth in multiple myeloma bone disease. Dr. Roodman is...
NIH Begins Clinical Trial of Combination Regimen to Treat COVID-19
A clinical trial has begun to evaluate whether the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, given together with the antibiotic azithromycin, can prevent hospitalization and death from COVID-19. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health
Lessons Learned on Rotation at COVID-19 Inpatient Service at New York City Hospital
AS I WRITE TO YOU, I am happy to report I have just completed a 7-day rotation at the COVID-19 inpatient service at my hospital in New York City! Overall, it was a positive experience, despite the occasional sad and scary moments. I left the service feeling uplifted and fulfilled. I am glad to have ...
Prioritizing Patients With Metastatic Disease for Palliative Radiotherapy
In anticipation of how the COVID-19 pandemic might impact oncology care as the coronavirus spread across New York City, radiation oncologists with expertise in the management of metastatic disease and inpatient oncologic emergencies at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) met in late winter ...
Gynecologic Oncologist Describes His New Normal in a New York Hospital
During the COVID-19 pandemic, The ASCO Post will be interviewing oncologists on how they and their centers are dealing with the crisis. Here, we speak with Alexander Melamed, MD, MPH, a gynecologic oncologist and Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia...
Mortality Rate of Patients With Cancer and COVID-19 in a New York Hospital
Patients with cancer who were infected with COVID-19 were much more likely to die from the disease than those without cancer, according to research from physician-researchers at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Their findings were published by Mehta et al in Cancer...
Artificial Blood Substitute
The text and photograph here are excerpted from a four-volume series of books titled Oncology: Tumors & Treatment, A Photographic History, The Radium Era: 1916–1945 by Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS, and Elizabeth A. Burns. The photograph appears courtesy of Stanley B. Burns, MD, and The Burns...
Ancestry and Molecular Makeup of Cancer Evaluated in New Study
A new study by researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Genome Analysis Network, a collaborative group with investigators in the United States, Canada and Europe, provides the most comprehensive look to date at the effect of ancestry on the molecular makeup of normal and...
The Story of Three Patients With Leukemia
The human drama within the oncology world is a never-ending story of triumph, tragedy, and all of the valiant efforts and human emotions in between. The doctor-patient relationship in oncology is deeper and longer than in most medical specialties due to the life-and-death stakes at play after a...
What Have I Learned in More Than Half a Century in Cancer Medicine?
My journey in cancer medicine started in June 1968, when I traveled from Lebanon to New York to begin my fellowship in medical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Since then, and on a daily basis, I have been actively engaged in the treatment of patients with cancer and in cancer...
Champion in Geriatric Oncology, Rosemary Yancik, PhD, Dies at 86
Rosemary Yancik, PhD, a medical sociologist, was best known for her talent of bringing a group of experts together who shared her interests in improving the prevention and management of cancer in elderly patients. She served many years at the National Institutes of Health in both the National...
Researcher and Leader in Cancer Center Administration, John W. Yarbro, MD, PhD, Dies at 88
Most who leave a mark in life are noted for a single contribution; few are remembered for the breadth of their contributions. Such a man was John W. Yarbro, MD, PhD, who, near the end of his rich life, stepped foot on Antarctica, completing his desire to have visited all of the world’s seven...
Paul G. Marks, MD, Visionary Leader of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dies at 93
In 1980, Paul G. Marks, MD, became the President and Chief Executive Officer of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), the oldest and largest private cancer center in the world. Over his 19-year reign, he is credited with setting MSK on a more scientific course by encouraging innovative...
Allocating Ventilators in Times of Crisis: A Brave New World
The unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has challenged us, as a society, to evaluate our core values and philosophy. Ventilators, a precious and limited commodity, are now in short supply. Humanity is at a precipice, and we physicians are facing an ethical dilemma, how best to allocate ventilators,...
COVID-19 Evidence Accelerator Leverages Real-World Data
The Reagan-Udall Foundation for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in collaboration with Friends of Cancer Research recently announced the COVID-19 Evidence Accelerator, an expansive public-private partnership combining the efforts of academic, government, and private sector organizations...
A Daughter of Immigrant Doctors, Nina Kadan-Lottick, MD, MSPH, Chose a Career in Pediatric Oncology
In 2003, Nina Kadan-Lottick, MD, MSPH, established the regional Yale HEROS multidisciplinary research and clinical program for long-term survivors of childhood cancer survivors, which is the first of its kind in Connecticut and one of the first in the United States. She intends the HEROS program to ...
The Arc of Therapy—From Cure to Humbling Legacy
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays, historical...
Durvalumab for Solid Tumors in Patients With Virologically Controlled HIV-1 Infection
In the Spanish phase II DURVAST trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Gonzalez-Cao et al found that treatment with durvalumab was feasible, safe, and active in patients with solid tumors and virologically controlled HIV-1 infection.
As stated by the investigators, “Concerns about the safety and...
Recurrence of Immune-Related Adverse Events After Checkpoint Inhibitor Rechallenge in Patients With Cancer
A study reported in JAMA Oncology by Dolladille et al using pharmacovigilance data from the World Health Organization database VigiBase found that the same immune-related adverse events (irAEs) associated with discontinuation of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy recurred in 28.8% of patients...
Radiation and Chemoradiation Interruption and Noncompletion in Squamous Cell Anal Carcinoma
In a Canadian study reported in JAMA Oncology, Raphael et al found that interruption and noncompletion of definitive radiation and chemoradiation for patients with squamous cell anal carcinoma were common, and that failure to complete radiation and chemoradiation was associated with poorer...
Addition of Pembrolizumab to Docetaxel for Previously Treated Immunotherapy-Naive Patients With Advanced NSCLC
In the single-institution phase II PROLUNG trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Arrieta et al found that the addition of pembrolizumab to docetaxel improved objective response rate and progression-free survival in immunotherapy-naive patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who...
Brain Cancer Prepared Me for the Isolation and Uncertainty of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The symptoms of low-grade oligodendroglioma first appeared in the summer of 2003, when I was 12, but they were vague enough—mild headaches and occasional weird sensations on my right side—to ignore. In the fall, I tripped and fell during a game of rollerblade hockey with my classmates and started...
Jennifer C. King, PhD, Named CSO of GO2 Foundation
GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer (GO2 Foundation) has promoted Jennifer C. King, PhD, to the role of Chief Scientific Officer. In her new position, Dr. King will be responsible for leading scientific and research priorities for a global patient advocacy group dedicated to saving, extending, and...
A Long Crusade Against Some of the World’s Most Virulent Diseases for Anthony S. Fauci, MD
The doctor-patient relationship, a time-honored tradition based on trust and cooperation, is critical for vulnerable patients, as they experience a heightened reliance on the physician’s competence, skills, and good will. That same trust is critical on the public health stage, when a nation is...
Study Finds Cancer-Related Deaths Declined in States With Expanded Access to Medicaid
States that adopted Medicaid expansion after passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 saw a decline in cancer mortality rates by 29% compared with 25% in states that did not expand access to Medicaid, according to a study by Anna Lee, MD, MPH, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New...
FDA Approves Pomalidomide for Kaposi Sarcoma
On May 14, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the indication of pomalidomide (Pomalyst) to include treating adult patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)-related Kaposi sarcoma after failure of highly active antiretroviral therapy and those with Kaposi...
Tips for First-Time Abstract Presenters
The fundamental goal of scientific meetings is to share knowledge and accelerate scientific advances. Investigators use different types of presentations to disseminate and share their valuable work with others in the field. This is an important aspect of promoting their scientific careers. These...
Milestone Memories: Conquer Cancer Researcher Searches for Colorectal Cancer Cures
On her wedding day, a father—who happens to have colorectal cancer—walks his daughter down the aisle. His oncologist, Rona Yaeger, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, helped him mark this milestone.
Currently, patients with BRAF-mutant colorectal cancers face a poor prognosis. Dr....
Fundraising to Help Patients and Oncologists During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, is raising money through COVID Impacts Cancer, an emergency campaign to support patients with cancer, cancer care teams, and researchers. This fund will aid in advancing vital cancer research and expanding support for patients and oncology providers during and...
Help Your Patients Manage Their Weight With This ASCO Resource
Do your patients know that being overweight may slow recovery and lower cancer survival? Address this sensitive topic with the help of the Managing Your Weight After a Cancer Diagnosis booklet from ASCO Answers. This resource will help patients manage their weight by providing practical resources...
New Guidance Released for Oncology Community on Allocation of Limited Resources During the COVID-19 Pandemic
ASCO recently released a set of recommendations to support the oncology community as health-care institutions across the United States face potentially difficult decisions around the allocation of scarce health-care resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. In some geographic areas, the ongoing...
New Article Analyzes Impact of PBMs on Quality Cancer Care
Recently, an article and accompanying infographic published in JCO Oncology Practice examined the impact pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) have on cancer care delivery. The article is part of ASCO’s State of Cancer Care in America series, which explores challenges and opportunities in today’s...
