January 2015

The toolkit for attacking many tumor types is well stocked, and the prospects for continued progress are brighter than ever.

As varying immunotherapy options become available for different types of cancers, researchers will have to take the next steps in clinical studies and in practice before the growing excitement over emerging agents can truly be translated into beneficial new therapies for patients.

OncologyLive asked experts in lymphoma, chronic myeloid leukemia, breast cancer, and non–small cell lung cancer to discuss the impact that the first targeted agents have had on these malignancies and the prospects for new therapeutic approaches.

Agents that target components of the programmed death-1 (PD-1) pathway are poised to make an impact on the treatment of patients with hematologic malignancies, particularly Hodgkin lymphoma (HL).

The FDA's calendar for making decisions on new oncology drugs and indications is taking shape for 2015, and the clock is ticking on at least 13 applications for novel agents and new therapeutic settings for existing drugs.

Hagop M. Kantarjian, MD, has built the nation's largest clinical leukemia practice, in part to ensure that leukemia studies are completed efficiently and in a timely manner.

For more than two decades, Kenneth Offit, MD, MPH, has been researching the molecular genetic factors that increase cancer risk, notably concerning germline BRCA mutations in breast and ovarian cancer, with a focus on potential preventive surgical remedies and screening programs for women at hereditary risk.

There has been considerable discussion and debate within the gynecologic oncology community for more than two decades regarding a role for second-look surgery (open or laparoscopic) in the management of advanced ovarian cancer.

Circulating tumor cell (CTC) enumeration is a strong prognostic factor in metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and predicts treatment failure.

A lung cancer researcher who has served on the editorial boards of major medical journals, Howard L. "Jack" West, MD, has made communicating with oncology specialists and patients a part of his professional mission.