Author: Editor

At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Asia 2015 Congress, held in Singapore from 18 December to 21 December 2015, Solange Peters, MD, PhD, from Lausanne University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland, discusses a phase 1b trial that was designed to evaluate the safety and antitumour activity of durvalumab (MEDI4736), an anti-PD-L1 antibody, combined with tremelimumab, an anti-CTLA-4 antibody, in patients with stage III/IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). European Medical Journal Website: http://emjreviews.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/EMJReviews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emjreviews

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At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Asia 2015 Congress, held in Singapore from 18 December to 21 December 2015, Su Pin Choo, MBBS, MRCP(UK), FAMS, from the National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, discusses the development of immunotherapy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), including early promising clinical data with nivolumab, a programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) antibody. European Medical Journal Website: http://emjreviews.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/EMJReviews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emjreviews

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Is it really important to mention treatment side effects to your healthcare team? CLL expert Dr. Nicole Lamanna of Columbia University Medical Center and Physician Assistant Jamie Lynn Gibbons of MD Anderson Cancer Center explore nature of treatment-related side effects, what your doctor may be looking for, and steps your healthcare team can make to alleviate symptoms. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

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Dr. Michael Keating of MD Anderson and Dr. Nicole Lamanna of Columbia University give a thorough description of FISH and CLL profiling, emphasizing the need to get the right test done at the right time to obtain the best targeted therapy. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

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In February 2016, the FDA placed a full clinical hold on the trials for the MPN treatment pacritinib. To find out more, we reached out to one of the principal investigators for the trial, Dr. Ruben Mesa from the Mayo Clinic in Arizona. Watch as Dr. Mesa helps patients to understand why the FDA places holds on trials from time to time, particularly related to the pacritinib trial. He also shares guidance specifically for patients that may have been on the trial and how they should move forward. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on…

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Dr. Bhishamjit S. Chera, MD of University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, North Carolina gives an overview of a Phase II Trial of De-intensified Chemoradiotherapy for Low-Risk HPV-associated Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Purpose To perform a prospective, multi-institutional, phase 2 study of a substantial decrease in concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CRT) intensity as primary treatment for favorable-risk, human papillomavirusassociated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods and Materials The major inclusion criteria were: (1) T0 to T3, N0 to N2c, M0; (2) human papillomavirus or p16 positive; and (3) minimal/remote smoking history. Treatment was limited to 60 Gy intensity modulated radiation therapy…

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Dr. Bhishamjit S. Chera, MD of the University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill, North Carolina discusses his study at ASTRO Head and Neck Conference 2016 Purpose To perform a prospective, multi-institutional, phase 2 study of a substantial decrease in concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CRT) intensity as primary treatment for favorable-risk, human papillomavirusassociated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Methods and Materials The major inclusion criteria were: (1) T0 to T3, N0 to N2c, M0; (2) human papillomavirus or p16 positive; and (3) minimal/remote smoking history. Treatment was limited to 60 Gy intensity modulated radiation therapy with concurrent weekly intravenous cisplatinum (30 mg/m2).…

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At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Asia 2015 Congress, held in Singapore from 18 December to 21 December 2015, Makoto Tahara, MD, PhD, from National Cancer Center Hospital East, Kashiwa, Japan, discusses the progression-free survival and response rates in pre-defined subgroups and biomarker-defined populations in LUX-H&N1, a phase 3 clinical trial comparing second-line afatinib, an ErbB family blocker, with methotrexate for the treatment of patients with recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. European Medical Journal Website: http://emjreviews.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/EMJReviews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emjreviews

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Researchers examined the molecular characteristics of OPSCC caused by HPV in an effort to determine which DNA mutations predict lower disease free and survival rates among HPV-positive throat cancer patients who smoke. Whereas most patients with OPSCC caused by HPV have an excellent prognosis for disease free survival, those who also smoke generally face more dire prognoses. The 66 cases of HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) in this study were split into heavy and light smoking behavior groups based on pack years. This metric of smoking frequency over long stretches of time is determined by multiplying the number of…

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4,042 patients were included: 2,538 (63%) received CRT. Median follow-up was 19 months. Unadjusted median OS was longer with the addition of CRT (p<0.001). OS was superior with CRT on MVA (HR, 0.63; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.58-0.68; p<0.001) and PSM analyses (HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.66-0.80; p<0.001) compared to RT alone. Under RPA, CRT was associated with longer OS in patients < 81 years with low comorbidity scores and either T1- 2/N2-3 disease, or patients with T3-4/N0-3 disease. The survival benefit with CRT disappeared for two subgroups in the 71-80 age range: those with T1-2, N1, and CD0-1 and…

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The NCDB is a joint project of the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons and the American Cancer Society. It is a hospital-based registry that represents 70% of all cancer cases in the US, drawing data from more than 1,500 commission-accredited cancer programs. The NCDB contains detailed information on disease stage, risk-factors specific to HNSCC cancer, and receipt of treatment including radiation dose, treatment site, and chemotherapy delivered during the first course of treatment. The data used in the study are derived from a de-identified NCDB file. The American College of Surgeons and the Commission on Cancer…

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Approximately 45,000 new head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) are diagnosed annually in the United States, with at least one-quarter occurring in patients >70 years of age.1,2 Tailoring cancer therapy for older patients with HNSCC can be challenging. Older patients (herein defined as ? 71 years) with HNSCC often have comorbidities that may hinder their ability to receive optimal multimodality therapy. While the addition of concurrent chemotherapy to radiotherapy (RT) is the standard organ preservation approach for locally advanced HNSCC based upon improved overall survival (OS) in multiple prospective randomized trials, it can be associated with increased short and…

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At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Asia 2015 Congress, held in Singapore from 18 December to 21 December 2015, Suresh Kumarasamy, MBBS(Mysore), MObGyn(Mal), FRCOG(Lond), FRCP(Ire), AM, from Gleneagles Penang, Penang, Malaysia, reviews advances in the development of new therapeutic approaches for the management of patients with ovarian cancer, including the available data and future directions of new agents, olaparib, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, and bevacizumab, an anti-VEGF antibody. European Medical Journal Website: http://emjreviews.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/EMJReviews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emjreviews

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MPN expert Dr. Rami Komrokji of Moffitt Cancer Center discusses various genetic marker subsets of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) and how these alterations affect what type of treatment a patient should receive. Dr. Komrokji points out that genetic testing allows doctors to make a firm diagnosis and choose different courses of treatment. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

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At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Asia 2015 Congress, held in Singapore from 18 December to 21 December 2015, Sibylle Loibl, MD, PhD, from the German Breast Group, Neu-Isenburg, Germany, discusses changes in tumour expression of HER2 and hormone receptor status and pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in a Japanese breast cancer registry. European Medical Journal Website: http://emjreviews.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/EMJReviews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emjreviews

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At the 58th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, Anton Hagenbeek, MD, PhD, from the University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, discusses immuno-oncology mechanisms and pathways that can be targeted by immunotherapies for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma or non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Highlighted approaches that are being explored include immune checkpoint inhibitors and brentuximab vedotin, an anti-CD30 antibody-drug conjugate.

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