Beth Fand Incollingo

Articles

Grappling With Healthcare Upheaval

March 8th 2013

Oncology leaders are bracing for a host of changes in the healthcare system, not only as a result of the recently upheld insurance reform legislation but also because of continued pressure to control the ever-rising cost of cancer care.

Study Confirms Treatment Target in Patients With Polycythemia Vera

March 6th 2013

Patients with the rare form of blood cancer polycythemia vera whose hematocrit levels hover between 45% and 50% have a four-fold higher incidence of thrombotic complications.

Sequestration Takes Effect, Imposes Major Cuts to Cancer Research and Care

March 2nd 2013

Two months after temporarily delaying a package of budget cuts and tax increases, federal lawmakers allowed the changes to automatically take effect by failing to agree on an alternative plan.

EGFR Mutation Not a Prognostic Factor for NSCLC

February 28th 2013

Although the presence of an EGFR mutation is a predictive marker for response to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, the mutation is not a prognostic factor.

Novel TKI Quizartinib Sparks Remission in Some Patients With Resistant AML

February 22nd 2013

Quizartinib, an investigational tyrosine kinase inhibitor, demonstrated a clinical benefit in patients with a particularly deadly form of acute myeloid leukemia.

FDA Gives Radium-223 Priority Review Status

February 13th 2013

Radium Ra 223 Dichloride will be considered as a treatment for patients who have castration-resistant prostate cancer with bone metastases under the FDA's priority review program.

A Journey of a Lifetime: Noted Breast Cancer Researcher in Far-Flung Pursuit of a "Cure"

February 12th 2013

Leyland-Jones, MB BS, PhD, a renowned oncologist and translational scientist, has helped develop several mainstay oncologic treatments and the targeted breast cancer therapy trastuzumab.

Guideline Adherence Is Vital to HER2 Accuracy

January 31st 2013

Efforts to improve guidelines continue for HER2 testing and the evaluation of whether patients' tumors are estrogen receptor-positive and progesterone receptor-positive.

Gene Profiling of Circulating Tumor Cells May Predict Treatment Response in Pancreatic Cancer

January 25th 2013

A simple blood draw could lead to life-prolonging adjustments in treatment for patients with pancreatic cancer, the authors of a study have found.

Making Oncology History: Imatinib Pioneer Created His Own Opportunities

January 17th 2013

Brian J. Druker, MD, one of the pioneering researchers who discovered imatinib, has maintained his focus on finding new and better treatments for CML and other leukemias.

Novel Drugs Show Promise in NSCLC

January 14th 2013

An ever-deeper understanding of the biology that drives NSCLC is sparking new treatment paradigms that include selecting targeted drugs based on patients' biomarkers.

PointBreak Trial Misses Goals but Yields Clues for Maintenance Therapy

January 11th 2013

Despite missing its main goals, the PointBreak trial did provide guidance about how best to structure maintenance therapy in NSCLC, and it proved that an option besides paclitaxel is available.

Mark G. Kris, MD, Discusses Emerging Targets and Treatments for Lung Cancer

January 4th 2013

Mark G. Kris, MD, offers insight into NSCLC related topics, including emerging therapeutic targets, the optimal application of TKIs, strategies for patients with poor performance status, maintenance therapies, and the treatment pipeline.

"Fiscal Cliff" Deal Averts Severe Cuts to Medicare and Cancer Research

January 2nd 2013

After wrangling between Democrats and Republicans pushed a decision beyond a year-end deadline, the federal government passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 and averted the "fiscal cliff."

Ponatinib Could Herald "Revolution" in CML Treatment

December 24th 2012

For the past six years, researchers have been working to develop a treatment for patients with CML who have become resistant to the groundbreaking drug imatinib and to the TKIs dasatinib and nilotinib that were developed subsequently.

Gaining Ground: Personal Losses Help Drive Pioneer in Stem Cell Study

December 12th 2012

An interview with Jenny C. Chang, MB BChir, MD, who broke new ground in cancer research when she identified and patented a 493-gene signature for breast cancer.

ASH Campaigns Against Threatened Research Cuts

December 11th 2012

Proposed federal budget cuts that could affect the National Institutes of Health, and thus hematology/oncology research, were highlighted as an area of concern during the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology in Atlanta, Georgia.

Ponatinib Stimulates 'Powerful' Response in Treatment-Resistant Leukemias

December 10th 2012

Researchers have demonstrated that ponatinib can overcome a wide range of mutations that cause treatment resistance-including the stubborn T315I mutation-in all stages of CML and Ph+ ALL.

MLN9708 May be Alternative to Bortezomib in Multiple Myeloma

December 10th 2012

MLN9708 has shown comparable efficacy and greater convenience and tolerability than bortezomib, for patients with multiple myeloma.

A Man of Many Battles: Genitourinary Expert Spurs Advances Amid Challenges

November 12th 2012

An interview with Nicholas J. Vogelzang, MD, a researcher who has changed the course of cancer treatment by helping to develop therapies for prostate cancer, kidney cancer, bladder cancer, testicular cancer, and mesothelioma.