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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
As with other new therapies that have been approved in recent years for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), researchers are not entirely certain about how best to fit radium Ra 223 dichloride (Xofigo) into the emerging paradigm
Two patients with metastatic cervical cancer achieved durable complete responses that have so far lasted from 15 to 22 months through an adoptive T-cell therapy (ACT) targeting the human papillomavirus (HPV) in a study that researchers say supports the concept that the experimental immunotherapy approach may be beneficial in a variety of tumor types.
A dual HER2-blockade strategy that added lapatinib to trastuzumab for the adjuvant treatment of women with early breast cancer failed to demonstrate a significant improvement in DFS over the standard therapy with trastuzumab alone.
Combining the oral targeted agents olaparib and cediranib resulted in a near-doubling of median progression-free survival (PFS) among women with recurrent ovarian cancer in a phase II study highlighted Saturday during the 2014 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.
Patients with less aggressive, HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer can be effectively treated with a lower-dose radiation regimen depending upon their response to combination induction therapy.
Maurie Markman, MD, the editor-in-chief of OncologyLive magazine, has been named president of the Medicine & Science unit at Cancer Treatment Centers of America.
An improved assay for assessing MRD status in patients with multiple myeloma is contributing to the momentum for using MRD as a surrogate endpoint for survival in clinical trials and as a tool with the potential to help guide therapy choices.
The approval of the first small-molecule, targeted therapy for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) launches a new era that promises to transform management of the disease, yet significant challenges in translating research advances into improvements in long-term outcomes remain
Amid advances in targeted therapies for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), researchers also have been making strides in the realm of chemoimmunotherapy regimens for the disease.
Eribulin mesylate (Halaven) proved safe and effective as first-line therapy for locally recurrent or metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer in final phase II clinical trial results
As PARP inhibitors continue to emerge as a novel class of anticancer agents, BMN 673 has entered late-stage clinical development as a treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer whose tumors test positive for germline BRCA1/2 mutations.
The FDA's rules for approving new drugs for the treatment of women with ovarian cancer pose frustrating problems for researchers developing novel agents and for clinicians seeking to improve outcomes for their patients
As anticancer antibody therapies have evolved into ever more highly engineered and complex structures, so have the manufacturing processes that pave the way for their widespread clinical use.
Adjuvant therapy for patients with advanced melanoma and the optimal use of molecular testing are among the most pressing issues facing oncologists who treat patients diagnosed with the disease.
The ability of clinicians to improve treatment outcomes that gemcitabine offers for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer is expected to move forward now that the FDA has approved a new indication for nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) as part of a combination regimen, according to researchers.
Amid rapid progress in the treatment of advanced lung cancer, several leading organizations have joined in developing new guidelines for the optimal use of molecular testing to help select patients for therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors
Hot topics, emerging therapies, and tough cases from the front lines of patient care will be featured during the 9th Annual International Symposium on Ovarian Cancer and Gynecologic Malignancies, scheduled for October 5 in Philadelphia.
The optimal use of adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer remains unresolved, with several clinical trials under way in Europe aimed at identifying ways to better select patients for treatment
In the mid-1970s, more than half of the patients diagnosed with cancer in the United States failed to survive five years. Today, that picture has changed dramatically.
Nivolumab, the most advanced agent in the rapidly developing field of PD-1-targeting cancer immunotherapy, delivered durable clinical benefits across multiple solid tumor types.
Any lingering skepticism about immunotherapy as an anticancer strategy appears to have been banished by research presented at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting.
T-VEC manifested significant gains in durable response rate and other key clinical indicators in patients with advanced melanoma in what researchers described as the first phase III trial demonstrating the efficacy of an oncolytic virus immunotherapy.
Obinutuzumab (GA101), a novel antibody that targets CD20, demonstrated a dramatic advantage in response rates when added to chlorambucil compared with the chemotherapy agent alone in elderly patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Although recent findings suggest some patients with HER2-negative breast cancer would benefit from therapies directed against overexpression of the protein, two leading oncologists do not see an immediate impact on clinical practice as further validation is needed.
Women with early sentinel lymph node-positive breast cancer achieve as much of a disease-free and survival benefit from axillary radiotherapy as they do from axillary lymph node dissection with significantly less risk of lymphedema.
A British study has confirmed that 10 years of adjuvant tamoxifen substantially reduces late breast cancer recurrence and mortality among women with estrogen receptor-positive disease.
Nivolumab has demonstrated an overall objective response rate of 31% with a median duration of two years in patients with advanced melanoma.
The technological advances in analyzing the human genome have spawned a new era in breast cancer as well as other types of malignancies that will affect oncology practice and will necessitate dramatic changes in the clinical trials system.
An antibody that targets PD-L1 to unleash the body's immune system has demonstrated a 21% response rate in a phase I study of patients with multiple solid tumors, setting the stage for an advance in immunotherapy with broad implications for treatment.
The key to advancements in chemotherapy treatment for patients with metastatic breast cancer most likely will come through a better understanding of their underlying tumor biology.
