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You may have noticed that the issue you received last month looked a little different than what you’re used to seeing from the ONCOLOGY journal!

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While some improvement was achieved by adding etoposide and shortening the treatment intervals from 3 to 2 weeks (CHOEP-14), best results in young good-prognosis patients (age-adjusted International Prognostic Index [IPI] = 0,1) have been achieved with six cycles of CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin HCl, vincristine [Oncovin], prednisone)-like chemotherapy in combination with the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab (Rituxan). The role of additional radiotherapy in this setting remains to be determined. With this approach, 2-year eventfree survival rates of > 90% and overall survival of > 95% can be achieved in a very favorable subgroup (patients without IPI risk factor and no bulky disease), while further improvement is warranted for the less favorable subgroup (event-free survival only 77%). For young poorprognosis patients (age-adjusted IPI ≥ 2), the 5-year survival is around 50%, and progress has not been convincingly and specifically demonstrated in these patients. Ongoing studies will show whether dose-dense conventional or high-dose chemotherapy regimens requiring stem cell support in combination with rituximab will result in similar improvements of outcome as has been reported recently for young patients with good-prognosis aggressive lymphoma. In elderly patients, CHOP interval reduction from 3 to 2 weeks (CHOP-14) and the addition of rituximab to CHOP-21 achieved similar improvements in outcome. The ongoing RICOVER-60 (rituximab with CHOP over 60) trial of the German High-Grade Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Study Group (DSHNHL) evaluates whether the combination of both approaches (R-CHOP-14) can further improve the prognosis of elderly patients.

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Preclinical data suggest that irinotecan (Camptosar, CPT-11), a novel topoisomerase I inhibitor, has exhibited promising activity in the treatment of lung cancer. In a phase II study of non-small-cell lung cancer, irinotecan

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The field of surgical oncology isgrowing rapidly. As it assumes

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Adjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to alter the natural history of patients with resected colon cancer. Two regimens (fluorouracil [5-FU] plus levamisole (Ergamisol) and 5-FU plus leucovorin) have been found most

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The demand for early palliative care (PC) involvement has never been greater in the setting of capitated healthcare delivery systems. The review by Alesi et al is timely in that it illustrates innovative practice partnerships with oncology groups during a time when PC is being thrust into mainstream outpatient care.[1]

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As advances in treatment strategies continue to focus on individualization of therapy, the identification of disease subsets is crucial to strategizing optimal therapeutic approaches.

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Tositumomab and iodine -131 tositumomab (Bexxar) is a new radioimmunotherapy in development for the treatment of low-grade or transformed, low-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL).

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Because irinotecan (CPT-11, Camptosar) is a topoisomerase I inhibitor with a broad spectrum of antitumor clinical activity, we investigated its activity in relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHLs). Irinotecan at 300 mg/m² IV was administered every 21 days with intensive loperamide management of diarrhea.

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A prospective, randomized clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of endocrine chemotherapy with uracil and tegafur (in a molar ratio of 4:1 [UFT]) in patients with prostate cancer. The study included two

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Panelists discuss how the use of CAR T-cell therapy in earlier lines of treatment for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma could potentially improve long-term outcomes, considering factors such as patient selection, optimal timing, and the impact on subsequent treatment options.

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In this interview we discuss results of the PlanB trial, which showed that use of the 21-gene recurrence score, Oncotype DX, can identify patients with early breast cancer who likely do not need chemotherapy.

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Immune responses are generated in a complex network of cellular and humoral factors. The complexity of this system makes it difficult to generate subsets of cells in vivo that are most effective against cancer cells. The goal of vaccine strategies is to redirect the immune system against cancer cells primarily by generating specific T-cell responses which would be the most effective anti-tumor effector cells.

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Angiogenesis is a dynamic process essential for primary tumor growth and metastases. New insights into the basic understanding of the biologic processes responsible for angiogenesis have led to the characterization of potential therapeutic targets. Several strategies for the development of antiangiogenic therapeutic modalities have been employed, including agents that (1) decrease the activity of specific angiogenic factors, (2) decrease the activity of endothelial survival factors, (3) increase the activity of naturally occurring antiangiogenic agents, or (4) indirectly downregulate angiogenic and survival factor activity.

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Here we discuss the advantages and pitfalls of HIPEC in advanced ovarian cancer, as well as current data and ongoing prospective trials.

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Gastrointestinal stromal tumors have until recently had a uniformly poor prognosis with lack of effective drug therapies. These tumors usually have activating mutations in either KIT or PDGFR-α tyrosine kinase receptors. Over the past decade, imatinib (Gleevec), a selective tyrosine kinase inhibitor has become the standard of care for the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable and metastatic disease. For patients with imatinib-resistant disease or intolerant to the side effects of imatinib, sunitinib (Sutent), a multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor was recently approved. For earlier-stage disease, status post–complete surgical excision, preliminary data seem encouraging for the role of adjuvant imatinib in prolonging patients' disease-free interval. The impact of neoadjuvant drug therapy needs to be further classified and explored. With additional evaluation of other tyrosine kinase inhibitors and novel therapies against other molecular markers, the treatment paradigm for this malignancy should continue to evolve.

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Dr. Pagani, who presented data on the joint analysis of the IBCSG TEXT and SOFT trials at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting, discusses how breast cancer patients in these trials responded to different methods of ovarian suppression.

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Emerging therapies in the management of ovarian cancer have resulted in a shift in paradigm, including in the appropriate time to institute therapy, and in the selection of therapy. This review focuses on chemotherapy and emerging biologic agents that present a therapeutic option for patients with recurrent ovarian cancer.

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Because of challenges in making the correct diagnosis and the physician’s reluctance to administer chemotherapy for a disease characterized by such a low tumoral mass, patients may experience a delay in the initiation of appropriate treatment.

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As genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have opened the door to systematic discovery of genetic factors for complex diseases, including cancers, the clinical utility of the findings remains to be determined. This is elegantly discussed in the article in this issue of ONCOLOGY by Stadler et al. The authors rightfully caution against the use of “personal genomic tests” based on cancer GWAS results for personal cancer risk prediction.

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Omid Hamid, MD, gives his perspective on the use of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte therapy for patients with melanoma.

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We present some tips and advice from the editorial board of ONCOLOGY on how to make the most at the 2015 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, including places to go in Chicago, nice spots at McCormick Place, and some recommended presentations and sessions.

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One recurring theme from genomic studies of pediatric CNS tumors (and almost all cancers, for that matter) is that tumors that historically appeared to be a single entity based on examination under the microscope and routine immunohistochemical staining actually harbor molecularly distinct subgroups when analyzed by genomic sequencing techniques.

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This review summarizes the most up-to-date approach to the multidisciplinary management of patients with breast cancer brain metastases.

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The recent US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of degarelix, a luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) antagonist, has renewed interest in this class of drugs as a prostate cancer therapy. Approval was based on a prospective phase III trial of 610 patients randomized to one of two dosing schedules of degarelix, or standard-of-care monthly leuprolide acetate monotherapy, with initial antiandrogen therapy allowed at the treating physician’s discretion for prevention of clinical flare.[1]

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Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) transplantation may improve outcomes of patients with hematologic malignancies not curable with conventional therapies. In some clinical settings, transplantation represents the only curative option. The feasibility and efficacy of this approach in older patients are undefined, since this population has been excluded from nearly all clinical trials. Advances in supportive care, HSC harvesting, and safer conditioning regimens have made this therapy available to patients well into their 6th and 7th decades of life. Recent evidence suggests that elderly patients with good performance status and no comorbidities could, in fact, not only survive the transplant with reasonable risk, but also benefit in the same measure as younger patients.

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With regard to cancer management, minority populations do not fare as well as the majority in the US health-care system. There is clear evidence of an increased incidence of cancer in minority populations, in many cases accompanied by reduced survival. Several factors appear to contribute to these differences, and the biomedical community has begun to focus on definining the scope of the problem and possible solutions. This review will address specific areas of disparity in cancer care, including prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes, and will consider steps toward resolving these issues.

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The number of lesions detected with low-dose CT, only some of which are early cancers, is so great that algorithms are being developed for more efficient evaluation and management of solitary pulmonary nodules. This article will discuss current tools, approaches, and concerns regarding patient care in this setting.

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In this article, we describe the long natural history of HR+ breast cancer and review current research and clinical strategies to address this clinical challenge.