Melanoma Expert Focuses on Finding the Next Best Therapy
December 22nd 2022Clinical trials demand extreme rigor. A mistake in trial design, like a bookkeeping error, can lead regulators to reject a potentially valuable drug. Many researchers dislike this intense focus on dotting i’s and crossing t’s. Omid Hamid, MD, enjoys the challenge.
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Traina Helps Navigate Surge of New Breast Cancer Therapies
September 14th 2020Nearly 15 years have passed since pathologists at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center conducted gene expression analyses on breast cancer primary tumors and described a potential role for a novel target, which quickly became a major research focus for their colleague Tiffany A. Traina, MD.
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The New Ovarian Cancer Landscape: Many Questions, Much Hope
September 3rd 2019In the past 5 years, the FDA has awarded 4 drugs 9 new indications for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancers. Although these approvals represent a welcome expansion of the therapeutic toolkit for this challenging malignancy, the arrival of new options has outpaced efforts to discover the best use for each medication.
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Expert Advocates Universal Genetic Testing in Breast Cancer
August 5th 2019Although research findings have established many applications for genetic information in breast cancer, not enough patients are being tested for the risk of germline mutations and new strategies are needed to broaden the clinical application of genomic advancements.
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Fresh Signs of Progress Surface in Geriatric Oncology
August 2nd 2019Although there has been significant progress in the field of geriatric oncology, experts say there is still a pressing need to increase clinical trial participation by older patients and to improve the predictive value of assessment tools.
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The Fight to Save the Bladder Turns to Genomics
June 14th 2019The search for effective alternatives to radical cystectomy (RC) in patients with bladder cancer has lasted more than 3 decades. Progress has been slow, but investigators have proved that a combination of radiation, chemotherapy, and maximal transurethral resection of the bladder tumor works as well as RC in carefully selected patients.
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Persistent BCG Shortages Lead to Hard Choices in Bladder Cancer
April 27th 2019The Tice strain of BCG has emerged as a go-to drug for treating primary and recurrent bladder cancer, but in the United States and some other countries, a constellation of marketplace dynamics has reduced manufacturers of this agent to a sole producer that is unable to keep up with demand. Available supplies are being rationed, and sufficient expansion of supply could be years away.
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Strategies Take Shape for a New Disease State in Prostate Cancer
April 1st 2019Now that the FDA has carved out nonmetastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer as a new disease state, the decision about whether to administer recently approved antiandrogen therapies in this setting hinges on the rate of increase in prostate-specific antigen levels and comorbidities.
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Excitement Grows About Immunotherapy Potential in Breast Cancer
March 10th 2019Although the first checkpoint inhibitor has just been approved for patients with breast cancer, findings from dozens of ongoing studies may eventually change the paradigm for large subsets of those with the malignancy.
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Controversy Adds Caution to CRISPR Editing in United States
January 17th 2019The development of cancer treatments and diagnostic tools using CRISPR/Cas9 and other gene-editing technology is a promising area of research in the United States, although the field is moving into human studies at a relatively slow pace.
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Biomarker Hunt Focuses on Predicting Immunotherapy Adverse Events
December 26th 2018Although the need for biomarkers of immunotherapy response has generated much attention, investigators also are pursuing mechanisms for distinguishing which patients will experience adverse effects from these therapies.
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Risk Prediction Calculators Multiply in Cancer Care
October 1st 2018Like clinicians elsewhere, investigators from the University of Colorado, Denver, struggled not only to predict the likelihood that a particular patient would do well with surgery alone but also to convey their estimates in terms that patients would understand.
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Tumor-Treating Field Therapy Looks Beyond Brain Cancer
July 31st 2018Tumor-treating field therapy, which uses low-intensity electrical fields to disrupt cancer cell division and promote cell death, has gained a frontline approval in glioblastoma. Several pivotal clinical trials have been launched to determine whether the technology can help patients with other solid tumors.
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Reinventing Benchmarking for the Value Era
May 23rd 2018Benchmarking has historically been difficult in oncology because of barriers to the flow of information and the complexities of care. However, such performance comparisons are now becoming a part of payment models, and practices realize they need comparative data to understand how well they perform.
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Blueprint for Tackling Toxicities From Checkpoint Blockade Agents Is Introduced
May 14th 2018The National Comprehensive Cancer Network has developed its first set of recommendations to help clinicians manage toxicities in the recognition of the variety of immune-related adverse events that patients receiving checkpoint blockade immunotherapy may experience.
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Scarcity of Actionable Oncogenes Should Not Preclude Testing in Breast Cancer
March 21st 2018Although much remains unknown about many mutations and test results rarely clarify the need for any particular response, panel testing has already demonstrated its cost value, which continues to increase every day.
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Operating With Scientific Rigor: How Brennan Changed Cancer Surgery
February 4th 2018Sir Murray F. Brennan, MD, made his reputation—and saved many lives—by pioneering the use of rigorous empirical analysis to evaluate alternative strategies and optimize outcomes in surgical oncology.
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