Anita T. Shaffer

Associate Director of Editorial, Print
Anita T. Shaffer is your lead editorial contact for OncologyLive®, a twice monthly clinical news publication. A 10-year veteran of MJH Life Sciences™, she has been at the helm of the publication since shortly after joining the company in 2010. Before becoming an oncology journalist, she held a variety of editorial positions at The Times of Trenton, including metro editor. Email: anitashaffer@onclive.com

Articles

Novel Agents Prompt Need for New Sequencing Strategies in HCC

September 14th 2018

The rapid development of novel therapies for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma has dramatically expanded the options for systemic treatments over the past 2 years, creating the need for new sequencing strategies.

Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy Emerges as a New Frontier

August 20th 2018

Although checkpoint blocking immunotherapy has significantly improved outcomes for patients with advanced and metastatic disease, researchers believe the modality also may be effective in the neoadjuvant setting.

Progress in Pancreatic Cancer: ASCO Studies Move the Needle

July 19th 2018

New strategies for the use of standard chemotherapies are likely to improve outcomes for a significant subset of patients with pancreatic cancer.

Study Explores ADT Alternative in Localized Prostate Cancer Recurrence

June 18th 2018

Cryoablation may help men whose prostate cancer recurs after radiation therapy avoid or delay retreatment with androgen deprivation therapy.

Pancreatic Cancer Survival Jumps With Postsurgical Chemo Combo

June 4th 2018

A 4-drug chemotherapy combination dramatically improved survival compared with standard gemcitabine as postoperative therapy for patients with resected pancreatic cancer.

Black Men May Fare Better Than White Men With Standard mCRPC Therapy

June 2nd 2018

Black men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer may experience greater benefits from chemotherapy and hormone-targeting treatment than their white counterparts.

It's Fast-Forward for Cancer Drugs

May 11th 2018

More than a third of the new indications for oncology drugs that became available for patient care during the past 25 years entered clinical practice as a result of the FDA’s accelerated approval program.

Novel Hormone Strategies Gain Ground in Breast Cancer

November 16th 2017

Although hormone-targeting therapies have been a long-established strategy for the treatment of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, more than 20% of patients with early-stage disease relapse and those who progress to a metastatic stage eventually die from their illness.

IDO Plus PD-1 Inhibitor Combo Sparks Responses in Bladder and Cervical Cancers

November 12th 2017

The combination of nivolumab and BMS-986205 generated promising response rates without increasing adverse effects in patients with advanced cervical or bladder cancers.

Nivolumab Spurs Responses in non-CRC Patients With dMMR

November 11th 2017

Nivolumab demonstrated a 24% overall response rate among patients with a range of non-colorectal cancers with mismatch repair deficiency who were identified through the NCI-MATCH trial.

Novel Therapy Partners Emerge in Melanoma Research

July 18th 2017

A novel combination therapy aimed at 2 processes implicated in NRAS-mutant melanoma has displayed promising activity in preclinical investigations, signaling an avenue of exploration for a new therapeutic approach for patients who currently have few options.

Beyond Tumor Type: New Milestones on a Long Road

July 16th 2017

After years of efforts to steer clinical trials toward molecularly defined therapeutic targets, oncology researchers recently notched 2 key successes in changing the paradigm of how patients with advanced cancers are diagnosed and treated.

Attacking FLT3 Mutations Yields First Targeted Therapy in AML

June 15th 2017

Although FLT3 mutations are well established as a prognostic marker in patients with AML, efforts to target the aberration therapeutically were underway for more than 15 years before yielding success.

Adjuvant Pertuzumab May Help Some Early Breast Cancer Patients

June 5th 2017

The addition of pertuzumab (Perjeta) to standard postoperative trastuzumab (Herceptin) therapy for patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer slightly improved the rate of recurrence overall but had a greater benefit for individuals with higher-risk disease, particularly as more time elapsed, according to early results from the phase III APHINITY trial.

Study Backs 50% Chemo Cutback After Surgery for Low-Risk Colon Cancer

June 4th 2017

Most patients with low-risk advanced colon cancer would benefit from a 50% reduction in the oxaliplatin-containing chemotherapy they typically receive after surgery without notably increasing their risk of recurrence and while markedly decreasing the likelihood that they will develop neuropathy, according to an analysis that challenges the current standard of care and paves the way for a more personalized approach.

Abiraterone Studies Hailed as Practice-Changing in Newly Diagnosed Metastatic Prostate Cancer

June 3rd 2017

Earlier intervention with abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) lowered the risk of death by nearly 40% for men with high-risk advanced or metastatic prostate cancer who were newly diagnosed or had not yet received hormone therapy in findings from 2 clinical trials presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Web-Based Therapy Helps Newly Diagnosed Patients Manage Stress

June 3rd 2017

Newly diagnosed patients with cancer experienced improvements in quality of life and lower levels of distress by participating in a web-based stress management program, according to results of a study presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Immunotherapy Gains Frontline Foothold in NSCLC

May 29th 2017

Less than 2 years after checkpoint blockade immunotherapy first became available for patients with non-small cell lung cancer, the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab is poised to reshape the treatment paradigm for previously untreated individuals without molecular mutations.

Genomic Findings Reshaping CRC Field

May 16th 2017

Extensive studies into molecular aberrations in colorectal cancer are yielding fresh insights into the potential clinical utility of checkpoint immunotherapies, genetic testing, and tumor-sidedness implications. Experts weigh in on key developments that may change treatment paradigms.

Dual HER2 Targeting Effective in Refractory mCRC Subset

April 2nd 2017

A dual attack on HER2 expression resulted in a 30% objective response rate in heavily pretreated patients with HER2-positive metastatic colorectal cancer.