ASCO: Addition of Cetuximab to Pemetrexed Fails to Improve Survival in Advanced NSCLC
June 11th 2012The idea of adding the targeted EGFR inhibitor cetuximab to standard chemotherapy took a hit, as results from the SELECT phase III trial showed no improvement in efficacy when cetuximab was combined with pemetrexed in patients with recurrent or progressive non–small-cell lung cancer.
ASCO: Trastuzumab Tops Lapatinib for First-Line Treatment of HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer
June 7th 2012Women with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer treated with a taxane-based chemotherapy in combination with trastuzumab as a first-line of treatment have a longer progression-free survival compared to chemotherapy in combination with lapatinib (Tykerb)
ASCO: Afatinib Improves PFS, Quality of Life in EGFR Mutation-Positive Lung Cancer
June 6th 2012Patients with EGFR mutation-positive lung cancer had improved progression-free survival and better quality of life with new drug afatinib than with standard chemotherapy, according to results from a large phase III trial.
ASCO: FDG-PET Has Poor Accuracy for NSCLC Diagnosis Across Many Centers
June 5th 2012The use of fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), for diagnosing lung cancer may have to be rethought. According to an analysis of data from a national prospective trial, FDG-PET has substantially lower sensitivity and specificity than in previously published studies.
ASCO: Controversies in Prostate Cancer-PSA Screening
June 3rd 2012The underlying cost debate surrounding the issue of whether or not to recommend prostate cancer screening is based on the idea that if you use healthcare resources in one area, they’re being diverted from another area by nature of their being a limited pool of funding.
ASCO: Expert Panel Explores Questions Regarding Drug Selection, Drug Sequencing in Advanced Melanoma
June 3rd 2012The new therapies that became available for advanced melanoma over the past year-the anti-CTLA4 antibody ipilimumab (Yervoy) and the selective BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (Zelboraf)-represent promising new options for these patients, whose prognosis was heretofore almost universally dismal. However, the advent of new treatment strategies has made treatment decisions more complex.
Cytoreductive Surgery Plus HIPEC for Metastatic Colon Cancer
October 3rd 2011David Ryan, MD, discusses his debate with Paul H. Sugarbaker, MD, from the ASCO session “Intraperitoneal Chemotherapy and Cytoreductive Surgery in Colon Cancer” and how in his view this type of treatment, as presented to the patient, creates a certain dynamic between the surgeon and medical oncologist, one of hope vs reality.
A Paradigm Shift in the Treatment of Endometrial Cancer
September 24th 2011Don Dizon, MD, Brown University, discusses the paradigm shift in the treatment of endometrial cancer with the use of medical therapy, including chemotherapy with biologics, mTOR inhibitors combined with chemotherapy, and targeted therapies.
ASCO: Impact of 2 New Drugs for the Treatment of Metastatic Melanoma
August 19th 2011Dr. Antoni Ribas, UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and a presenter at this year’s annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, discusses the impact of 2 new drugs- ipilimumab (Yervoy) and vemurafenib (Zelboraf)-for the treatment of metastatic melanoma.
Using PSA Doubling Time to Predict Metastatic Prostate Cancer
August 5th 2011Nancy Dawson, MD, discusses PSA dynamics: the significance of PSA levels and PSA doubling time-the marker which currently provides the most information-and their usefulness in predicting metastatic disease and in counseling patients on their prognosis.
ASCO: Time Management for the Busy Oncologist
July 7th 2011Tim Moynihan of the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota discusses topics from the session he chaired at ASCO, "Effective Time Management for the Busy Oncologist," including why EHRs may not actually save physicians time; how to manage your email load; and tips for avoiding burnout, which he cites as a danger in such a physically and emotionally taxing profession.
New Research on HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
June 14th 2011Dr. Gianni has been involved with new drug therapies in medical oncology for some time, and in this interview he discusses the changing use of breast cancer treatments, neoadjuvant regimens, and research and developments on HER2-positive breast cancer.
ASCO President George Sledge Discusses the Challenge and Promise of the Genomic Era
June 13th 2011In his plenary address as outgoing president of ASCO, Dr. George Sledge proposed that we are on the brink of a new era in cancer therapy – an era of genome-based treatment. He stressed that this new “genomic era” holds great promise for patients, citing as evidence a recent paper in JAMA that described a case in which the results of deep sequencing of a patient’s leukemic cells led to successful individualized therapy.
Novel Treatments and New Research in Hodgkin Lymphoma
June 9th 2011In this video interview, Joseph Connors gives an overview of the results presented here at ASCO of the phase II trial of brentuximab vedotin in patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma, and discusses the most intriguing work currently being done with novel agents used to treat relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma.