Medical Specialties Commons^™

Oncolog, Volume 59, Number 09, September 2014, Stephanie Deming, Bryan Tutt, Joe Munch, Jill Delsigne

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Biomarker-Driven Clinical Trials may Improve Personalized Treatment for Patients With Lung Cancer: Innovative clinical trials that assign patients to treatment arms based on tumor biomarkers could lead to increase treatment options for patients with lung cancer
• New Antibody-Chemotherapy Combinations Show Promise Against Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Two investigational agents-inotuzumab and ofatumumab-shows promise when combined with cytotoxic chemotherapy drugs for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in adults
• Deep Inspiration Breath Hold Protects Against Radiation-Induced Cardiotoxicity in Patients With Left-Sided Breast cancers: Patients with lest-sided breast cancers have an increased risk of heart damage from adjuvant radiation therapy given after lumpectomy …

Oncolog, Volume 59, Number 08, August 2014, Kathryn L. Hale, Bryan Tutt, Sunita Patterson, R. Molar-Candanosa

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Show Promise Against Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma, Other Difficult-to-Treat Cancers: A decade ago, oncologists had little to offer most patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, a breakthrough discovery that has already changed the treatment of metastatic melanoma is showing promise against other metastatic cancers-including metastatic RCC-and giving patients new hope for long-term survival
• Clinical Study Offers Definitive Local Treatment of Bone Metastases from Breast Cancer: Metastatic breast cancer carries a poor prognosis, and most systemic treatments for metastatic disease aim to slow its progression rather than to cure it. In a select group of patients, …

Oncolog, Volume 59, Number 07, July 2014, Sarah Bronson, Joe Munch, Bryan Tutt, K. Stuyck

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Side Effects of Targeted Molecular Agents Vary According to Mechanism of Action: The main side effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy are notorious. But the side effects of newer, targeted molecular agents are less well known, so patients receiving such drugs may not know what to expect and may require additional guidance from physicians
• INBRIEF: Study Finds Less Frequent Bisphosphonate Treatment Equivalent to Standard Regimen
• RAS Mutation Status May predict Outcomes After Surgery for Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases
• HPV Test Does Not Replace Pap Test for Cervical cancer Screening: The recent approval of a human papillomavirus (HPV) test for cervical cancer screening …

Oncolog, Volume 59, Number 06, June 2014, Jill Delsigne, Luanne Jorewicz, K. Stuyck

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• New Agents Hold Promise for Patients With Advanced Thyroid Cancer: New agents are expanding treatment options for patients with advanced thyroid cancer-not only the papillary variant but also the less common medullary and differentiated variants of the disease
• Surgical Options for Lymphedema: Lymphedema of the extremities, whether from cancer treatment or other causes, typically is not curable. But advances in surgical techniques are reducing or eliminating symptoms for many patients
• INBRIEF: Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy Improves Survival in Head and Neck Cancer Patients/ Research Findings Could Lead to Blood Test for Cancer-Related Gene Defects/ Tumor-Suppressing Protein May Help Predict Survival in …

Wai-Kwan Alfred Yung, Md, Oral History Interview, May 7, 2014, Wai-Kwan Alfred Yung Md, Tacey A. Rosolowski Phd

Interview Sessions

Major Topics Coveted:

• History of Neuro-Oncology services and research at MD Anderson
• History of the Department of Neuro-Oncology
• The Brain Tumor Center: collaborative relationships and shared resources with Neuro-Oncology, Neuro-Surgery, Neuro-Pathology, neuro-imaging and other support fields

Oncolog, Volume 59, Number 05, May 2014, Bryan Tutt, Therese Bevers, Zach Bohannan

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• New Treatments may Improve Outcomes for AL Amyloidosis Patients: AL amyloidosis-a rare, potentially fatal disease-has no approved treatments. The ''standard'' treatments are prescribed off-label, and few clinical trials have compared their effectiveness
• Dialog: Screening Mammography Reduces Breast Cancer-Related deaths
• 'Sleeping Beauty'' Technique Modifies T Cells to Treat B Cell Malignancies: A novel technique that helps the patient's own immune system find and destroy cancer cells could extend remission times for patients with B cell lymphomas and leukemias
• INBRIEF: Analysis Suggests Need to Revise Low-Grade Glioma Classification, Treatment/Combination of Antiangiogenic Drugs Shows Activity Against Solid Tumors/ Computed Tomography Predicts Chemotherapy Response …

Oncolog, Volume 59, Number 04, April 2014, Zach Bohannan, Joe Munch, J. Delsigne

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• New fat Grafting Technique Improves Aesthetic Outcomes Following Head and Neck Reconstructive Surgery: A new gat grafting technique is enabling reconstructive surgeons to maximize aesthetic outcomes following major reconstruction for head and neck cancer treatment-related defects
• INBRIEF: Invasive Bladder Cancer Subtypes Resemble Breast Cancer Subtypes
• New Kinase Inhibitors Hold Promise for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, Other B-Cell Malignancies: New targeted therapies against chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are eliciting overall response rates similar to those achieved using standard chemoimmunotherapy but with fewer toxic effects
• HOUSE CALL: Animal-Assisted Therapy- Interacting with pets helps recovery

Oncolog, Volume 59, Number 03, March 2014, Bryan Tutt, Joe Munch, K. Stuyck

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Expanding the Use of Laparoscopic Liver Resection: Minimally invasive surgical resection of liver tumors once was used only in select patients with easily accessible lesions located in the anterior of the liver. However, recent improvements in surgical techniques and the use of preoperative imaging have made laparoscopic approaches possible for even compels liver resection
• Physicians Refining Lung Cancer Screening Program: Lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT) has been shown to reduce the rate of lung cancer-specific mortality in people at high risk for the disease
• Should the Primary Tumor Be Treated in Patients With Metastatic Prostate Cancer?: Researchers …

Oncolog, Volume 59, Number 02, February 2014, Sarah Bronson, Kathryn L. Hale, Bryan Tutt, M. Yeoman

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• New Approaches Revolutionize the Treatment of Advanced Melanoma: Recent breakthroughs in immunotherapy and targeted therapy have improved outcomes for patients with advanced melanoma
• Comprehensive Tobacco Treatment Approach Helps Patients Quit on Their Terms: Kicking a tobacco habit is a formidable task. Quitting tobacco after a diagnosis of cancer, can be even more difficult
• Targeted Drug Shows Promise Against Advanced Breast Cancer: Adding the experimental kinase inhibitor palbociclib to standard hormonal therapy may delay disease progression in patients with advanced breast cancer that is estrogen receptor (ER) positive and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER@) negative
• HOUSE CALL: Avoiding Food-Drug …

Oncolog, Volume 59, Number 01, January 2014, Joe Munch, Jill Delsigne, M. Yeoman

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Addressing Fertility Issues in Cancer Patients: For some newly diagnosed cancer patients, whether they will be able to have children after treatment is the furthest question from their minds-until the risks of therapy bring it front-and-center
• INBRIEF: Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy May Reduce Side Effects of Oropharyngeal Carcinoma Treatment
• Medical Advances Improve Bile Duct Cancer Treatment: Cholangiocarcinoma, the most common bile duct cancer, is a clinically silent disease in its early stages; patients usually present with advanced disease, which carries a poor prognosis
• HOUSE CALL: Weight Loss Tips for Breast Cancer Survivors-Losing excess weight has multiple benefits

Oncolog, Volume 58, Number 11-12, November - December 2013, Amelia Scholtz, Bryan Tutt, Luanne Jorewicz, K Stuyck

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Paget Disease of the Breast: A Rare, Often Misdiagnosed Malignancy: A small, scaling rash around the nipple may not be just another case of eczema or dermatitis. Paget disease of the breast, a rare malignancy, is often mistaken for a benign dermatological condition. But Paget disease typically indicates underlying ductal carcinoma in situ or invasive breast cancer
• New Partial-Breast Radiation Therapy Regimen Uses Protons: Whole-or partial-breast radiation therapy can reduce a patient's chance of brest cancer recurrence after lumpectomy, but this benefit must be weighed against the risk of damage to healthy tissue
• Managing Dental Complications in Patients with Head …

Oncolog, Volume 58, Number 10, October 2013, Bryan Tutt, Sunni Hosemann, C. Wilcox

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Sentinel Lymph Node Dissection After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Node-Positive Breast Cancer May replace Axillary Dissection for Some Patients: Sentinel lymph node dissection has become a standard staging tool for breast cancer patients with no clinical eveidence of disease in the lymph nodes
• INBRIEF: miR-200 MicroRNAs Slow Tumor Growth
• Compass: Resectable or Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma: Initial Treatment Options-Neoadjuvent chemoradiation may benefit patients with resectable disease
• HOUSE CALL: Hereditary Cancers: Genetic screening can give valuable information

Oncolog, Volume 58, Number 09, September 2013, Jill Delsigne, Markeda Wade

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Advances in Neuroimaging Help Unveil the Mechanisms of Chemobrain: Chemobrain, a catchall term for the cognitive dysfunction and neurophysiological changes produced bt chemotherapy toxicity, is an important quality-of-life issue for cancer survivors
• Opioid Rotation Can Improve Pain Control and Reduce Neurotoxicity for Cancer Patients: Opioids are a main stay in the relief of pain-especially the chronic cancer-related pain often encountered in the palliative care setting. However, extended opioid use can result in tolerance, dependence, and opioid-induced neurotoxicity
• INBRIEF: Researchers Identity Inhibitor of Cancer-Promoting Protein SKp2/ Change in CA-125 Level Over Time Shows Promise for Ovarian cancer Screening
• HOUSE CALL: Myths …

Oncolog, Volume 58, Number 08, August 2013, Bryan Tutt, Sarah Bronson

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Specialized Care Improves Lives of patients With Head and Neck Lymphedema: A unique program is producing dramatic results for patients with head and neck lymphedema, a side effect of cancer treatment that can interfere with patient's ability to speak, swallow, or breath
• Targeted Cancer Therapies May Help Overcome Resistance to Radiation Therapy: Some cancer cells are resilient enough to withstand and recover from the damage to their DNA caused by radiation therapy. But recent studies have shown that adding molecularly targeted agents to radiation therapy can prevent the repair of this radiation-induced damage and therapy improve the treatment response of …

Oncolog, Volume 58, Number 07, July 2013, Zach Bohannan, Sunni Hosemann

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Treating Diabetes in Cancer Patients: Type 2 diabetes is a serious health concern for any patient-but when the patient also has cancer, diabetes may interfere with potentially life-saving cancer treatment
• INBRIEF: MET Protein May Serve as a Biomaker for a Treatment-Resistant Colorectal Cancer Subtype
• Compass: Penile Cancer- Although curable, localized or regional squamous cell carcinoma of the penis present treatment dilemmas
• HOUSE CALL: Stand Up for Your Health- Prolonged sitting may increase your risk for cancer and other disease

Oncolog, Volume 58, Number 06, June 2013, Joe Munch, Amelia Scholtz, Luanne Jorewicz

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Addressing Emerging Survivorship Issues in Glioblastoma Patients: An increasing number of glioblastoma patients are becoming '' long-term'' survivors-living 3 or more years after diagnosis
• Prediction Tool Helps Determine Whether Older Breast Cancer Patients will benefit from Radiation: A statistical tool is now available to predict the likely individual benefit of radiation therapy for older women who have undergone breast-conserving surgery for breast cancer
• Sequential Multidrug Regiman May Offer an Alternative to Standard Cisplatin-Based Therapy for Urothelial Cancer: Cisplatin-based chemotherapy is the standard neoadjuvant treatment for high-risk, surgically resectable, invasive urothelial cancer. But some patients are not good candidates for this …

Oncolog, Volume 58, Number 05, May 2013, Jill Delsigne, Bryan Tutt

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Robotic Surgery Makes Tissue Harvest for Breast Reconstruction Less Invasive: A new minimally invasive robotic procedure enables surgeons to harvest latissimus dorsi muscle flaps for breast reconstruction with less scarring and discomfort than traditional techniques
• Diagnosis and Treatment of Invasive Fungal Infections in patients with Hematological Malingnancies: Invasive fungal infections are important causes of morbidity and death for patients with hematological malignancies. Although much progress has been made in the management of opportunistic fungal infections, their diagnosis and treatment remain a challenge
• INBRIEF: Beta-Blocker Use Associated With Higher Survival Rates in Lung Cancer Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy/ Selumetinib Shows Promise …

Oncolog, Volume 58, Number 04, April 2013, Kathryn L. Hale, Sunni Hosemann

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Preventing and Treating Graft-Versus-Host Disease After Stem Cell Transplantation: Each year, thousands of patients with hematologic malignancies undergo allogeneic (donor) stem cell transplantation (SCT), which offers a chance at cure. Graft-versus-host disease (GHVD) is a potentially deadly complication of this therapy and occurs in 25%-60% of patients. However, clinicians and researchers are continually working to reduce the rate of GVHD occurrance and improve patient outcomes
• Compass: Breast cancer Risk Reduction: Women at increased risk have multiple options
• HOUSE CALL: Benefits of In-Person Support Groups- Face-to-face contact helps people cope with chronic illness

Oncolog, Volume 58, Number 03, March 2013, Sarah Bronson, Zach Bohannan, Bryan Tutt

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Advances in Pulmonary Medicine Facilitate Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment: The lungs present unique challenges in cancer diagnosis and treatment-navigating a maze of bronchi to find and sample tissue that will lead to an accurate diagnosis of lung cancer, for example, or deciding whether to proceed with treatment for cancer in the presence of concomitant lung disease
• New Drugs Increase Treatment Options for Patients with Imatinib-Resistant Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: In the past year, several new targeted drugs have been approved as second-line treatments for imatinib-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). These drugs include the second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor bosutinib and the third-generation tyrosine …

Oncolog, Volume 58, Number 02, February 2013, Bryan Tutt, Jill Delsigne

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Chronic Viral Hepatitis in Cancer Patients Requires Personalized Management: Chronic viral hepatitis is life-threatening for many patients but curable or manageable for others. But in patients who have both viral hepatitis and cancer, cancer treatment may exacerbate the viral infection and lead to other complications, such as liver failure or even death
• Managing Sleep Disorders in Cancer Patients: Quality sleep is essential to healing, to proper immune function, and even to mental health. Conversely, lack of sleep has been associated with depression, anxiety, and decreased cognitive function. In cancer patients, poor sleep reduces quality of life; nevertheless, most cancer patients …

Oncolog, Volume 58, Number 01, January 2013, Joe Munch, Sunni Hosemann

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Emerging Vaccines Take Aim at Preventing Recurrent Breast Cancer: Myriad advances have been made in the treatment of breast cancer, and cures are achieved in many patients. However, there are still patients whose cancer recurs, and most of these patients will die of their disease. This indicates a need for other therapies that can be used to prevent recurrent disease. One potential option is breast cancer vaccines.
• Compass: Hepatocellular Carcinoma: Concomitant liver disease affects treatment options
• HOUSE CALL: Music Therapy-Music therapists help cancer patients manage stress and side effects

Oncolog, Volume 57, Number 11-12, November - December 2012, Kathryn L. Hale, Amelia Scholtz, Luanne Jorewicz

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Research Explores Link Between Thrombocytosis and Cancer: High platelet counts can be an early indicator of cancer, In fact, about one-third of women with ovarian cancer have an abnormally high platelet count at the time of diagnosis. This paraneoplastic thrombocytosis is also seen in patients with cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, lung or breast
• Wide Range of Cancer Treatments May Produce Ocular Complications: Although most ocular side effects of cancer treatment may be transient and reversible, regular ophthalmic examinations and effective doctor-patient communication can help cancer patients avoid permanent damage
• New Software May Provide a Standardized Reporting System for Diagnostic …

Oncolog, Volume 57, Number 10, October 2012, Jill Delsigne, Sunni Hosemann

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Treatments May Alleviate and Reverse Central Nervous System Radiation Necrosis: Although radiation therapy is effective against many tumors of the brain and spine, it also damages normal tissue
• INBRIEF: Bevacizumab With High-Dose Chemotherapy Shows Promise for Cisplatin-Refractory Germ Cell Tumors
• Compass: Early-Stage Testicular Cancer-Postsurgical treatment varies according to tumor stage and histology
• HOUSE CALL: Online Cancer Support Networks-Patients and caregivers find support online

Oncolog, Volume 57, Number 09, September 2012, Zach Bohannan, Sunita Patterson

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Achieves High Control Rates in Lung Cancer: Stereotactic body radiation (SBRT), a relatively new treatment modality, has recently become a very successful treatment-and may even exceeded the effectiveness of surgery-for early-stage lung cancer
• Inflammatory Breast Cancer: Clinical Challenge, Research Enigma- Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) stands apart from other cancers of the breast in its unusual clinical presentation, its aggressiveness, and its poor prognosis. Researchers and clinicians are working to clarify what distinguishes IBC from other breast cancers and to discover treatments that improve patient outcomes
• HOUSE CALL: Reducing Cancer-Causing Chemicals in Outdoor Cooking: Tips for healthy …

Oncolog, Volume 57, Number 08, August 2012, Amelia Scholtz, Dawn Chalaire

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Preoperative Chemotherapy Offers Best Outcomes for Patients with Rare Bladder Cancer: A combination of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and surgery provides patients who have small-cell urothelial cancer (SCUC) with much longer survival times than does initial surgery, the previous standard treatment
• Addressing Psychological Concerns for Cancer Patients: Despite advances in cancer treatment over the past several years, for many people, a diagnosis of cancer can still feel like a death sentence. The added stress leads to psychological problems for many patterns
• INBRIEF: New Antibody Treatment Produces Responses in Patient with Advanced Cancer/Accelerated Partial-Breast Brachytherapy Associated with Decreased Long-Term Breast Preservation and Increased …

Oncolog, Volume 57, Number 07, July 2012, Kathryn L. Hale, Sunni Hosemann

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Geriatricians Play an Increasingly Important Role in Cancer care: In the past, many elderly patients did not survive long after a cancer diagnosis. Even older patients who were healthy enough to undergo the standard treatment for their cancer often had a shorter life expectancy than younger people with the same cancer
• Compass: Early -Stage Cervical Cancer: Treatment choices vary according to disease stage and patient-specific factors
• HOUSE CALL: Exercise and Cancer Prevention: Benefits of exercise apply to a variety of cancers

Oncolog, Volume 57, Number 06, June 2012, Sarah Bronson, Stephanie Deming

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Minimally Invasive Component Separation Reduces Wound-Healing Complications from Abdominal Surgery: Component separation, a major advance in abdominal wall reconstruction, can prevent hernia recurrence in many patients
• Bevacizumab for Glioblastoma: Symptom Relief Proven, Overall Survival Benefit Being Studied-The antiangiogenic agent bevacizumab has been shown to prolong progression-free survival and ameliorate symptoms in patients with recurrent glioblastoma. However, it remains unknown whether bevacizumab should be used to treat newly diagnosed glioblastoma and whether bevacizumab prolongs the overall survival of patients with glioblastoma
• HOUSE CALL: Hospice Care- Patients and families have choices for care and comfort
• INBRIEF: Panobinostat Elicits Durable Response in Hodgkin …

Oncolog, Volume 57, Number 05, May 2012, Bryan Tutt, Sunni Hosemann

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Advances in Gene Mapping Technology May Accelerate Cancer Drug Development: As new technology makes DNA sequencing faster and less expensive, researchers aim to exploit these abilities to develop novel targeted cancer therapies
• Compass: Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma: Surgery and/or systemic therapy can help manage disease
• HOUSE CALL: Do Nutritional Supplements Help Prevent Cancer ?: For many people, the risks may outweigh the benefits
• INBRIEF: Drug Provides Symptom Reduction and Survival Advantages for Myelofibrosis Patients

Oncolog, Volume 57, Number 04, April 2012, Joe Munch, Bryan Tutt

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Biology, More Than Chemotherapy Timing, Drives Locoregional Recurrence in Patients Who Undergo Breast-Conserving Therapy: The management of breast cancer, like that of many cancers, often requires a little bit of everything: surgery, radiation therapy, and systemic therapy with chemotherapeutic drugs or other agents
• New Treatments for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia May Improve Patient Outcomes: Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is an aggressive and deadly malignancy, nut new treatments are being developed that may prolong remissions
• HOUSE CALL: Controlling Nausea and Vomiting from Chemotherapy: Several techniques can be used to prevent or reduce this side effect

Oncolog, Volume 57, Number 03, March 2012, Zach Bohannan, Sarah Bronson, Bryan Tutt

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues) Archives

• Precision Robotic Tools Facilitate Minimally Invasive Prostectomy: Surgeons face a treacherous landscape when they perform a proctectomy
• Fluorescence Cystoscopy Detects Hard-to-Find Bladder Tumors: Fluorescence cystoscopy, although not yet widely used in United States, has been shown to be effective for detecting tumors in the bladder that might not be visible with standard cystoscopy
• New HPV Vaccine Recommendations Could Have Multiple Benefits: New recommendations for vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) are intended to prevent cervical cancer but may also decrease the incidence rates of other cancers
• HOUSE CALL: Tanning Beds Pose Health Risks: Dangers of tanning range from wrinkled skin to …