Pancreatic Cancer 11-13 | Geriatrics for the Oncologist
23
| Hematology Q&A
45, 50
| Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
54
VOLUME 6, ISSUE 3
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
Editor-in-Chief, James O. Armitage, MD | ASCOPost.com
Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium
Ramucirumab Added to FOLFIRI Yields Results Similar to Bevacizumab or Aflibercept in Second-Line Colorectal Cancer Higher Price a Concern By Caroline Helwick
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he phase III international RAISE trial found that ramucirumab (Cyramza) extends survival when given with chemotherapy to metastatic colorectal cancer patients who progress on treatment,1 but some experts commented that “financial toxicity” might be an issue, given the modest benefit. “The RAISE trial met its primary endpoint. The addition of ramucirumab induced an increase in overall survival, with a hazard ratio [HR] of 0.84. The addition of ramucirumab also significantly increased progression-free survival,” said Josep Tabernero, MD, PhD, Head of Medical Oncology at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital and Director of the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona.
By Derek Raghavan, MD, PhD, FACP, FRACP, FASCO
O
Ramucirumab Background Ramucirumab is a fully humanized monoclonal antibody that inhibits angiogenesis by targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor 2 and prevents binding of Josep Tabernero, MD, PhD VEGF. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2014 to treat gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer and non– small cell lung cancer following progression. The RAISE study randomly assigned 1,072 patients to second-line treatment with FOLFIRI (leucovorin, continued on page 4
Issues in Oncology
ABIM President Richard J. Baron, MD, Announces Immediate Changes to Maintenance of Certification Program
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Translational Research: Under Assault From the Bottom Line
ne of the disheartening aspects of becoming a senior medical administrator is that you have the opportunity to view the health-care system from two sides. From the Presidential suite, it is clear that there is increasing chaos in health care in the United States, characterized by blowouts of expenditures, falling patterns of reimbursement, a government that doesn’t have a solution to paying the bills, an inflated pharmaceutical bottom line, a profession faced with increasing uncertainty (and potentially inadequate staffing numbers in cancer care), and a public that fears the increasing costs of health insurance and copays while continuing to demand every innovation continued on page 90
Dr. Raghavan is President, Levine Cancer Institute, Charlotte, North Carolina. Disclaimer: This commentary represents the views of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of ASCO.
MORE IN THIS ISSUE
he American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) announced substantial changes to its Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program and indicated a desire to work more closely with the internal medicine community. ABIM President and CEO Richard J. Baron, MD, MACP, reached out to diplomates via e-mail to open a conversation on how to improve MOC with the following statement: ABIM clearly got it wrong. We launched programs
that weren’t ready and we didn’t deliver an MOC program that physicians found meaningful. We want to change that. Nearly 80 years ago, the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians founded the ABIM, which was charged with distinguishing the discipline of internal medicine from other forms of practice by creating uniform standards for internists. Those standards have evolved over the years, reflecting the dynamic nature of internal mediI have heard you, and ABIM’s Board cine and its more than 20 subspecialties. has heard you. We will continue to One year ago, ABIM listen to your concerns and evolve our changed its decennial MOC program to a more program to ensure it embodies our continuous one. This shared values as internists. change generated legiti—Richard J. Baron, MD, MACP mate criticism among in-
Oncology Meetings Coverage GI Cancers Symposium ������������ 1-5, 11-14 ASH ��������������������������������������������� 15-17, 21 SIOG ����������������������������������������������������������23 SABCS ����������������������������������������������� 28-30 Stuart Lichtman, MD, on Geriatric Oncology �������������������������������������23 ASCO Endorses ESMO Guidelines �������������������������������������������32-35 Direct From ASCO ��������������������������� 41-44 New! Hematology Review ������������������������45 Inside the Black Box �������������������������������� 48 Amy C. Degnim, MD, on Atypical Hyperplasia ��������������������������������� 84 Letters to the Editor ��������������������������������� 88
continued on page 63
CMS to Cover Lung Cancer Screening, see page 66
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