Past Issues – Page 6 – The Cancer Letter

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Issue 39 - Oct. 16, 2020

TCL46-39 (191 downloads)

Karen Knudsen’s AACI presidential initiative: Reduce cancer disparities across North America
Over the next two years, as president of the Association of American Cancer Institutes, Karen Knudsen will challenge her colleagues at North America’s premier cancer centers to focus on reducing cancer disparities.
NCI Director’s Report
Ned Sharpless: “Nothing will stop us”—NCI commemorates 50th anniversary of the National Cancer Act
NCI plans to mark the 50th anniversary of the National Cancer Act of 1971 with an effort to build a coalition of support for cancer research, including raising the payline to 15% by 2025.
Guest Editorial
AACR conference examines how societal framework of racism drives cancer disparities
The global coronavirus pandemic has torn the veil that dimmed the nation’s awareness of the breadth and depth of health disparities, including cancer health disparities.
An Appreciation
“Political oncologist” Helene Brown dies at 91
A cancer pioneer, Helene G. Brown had coined the name for her peculiar subspecialty: political oncology.
In Brief
- OSUCCC – James receives $7 million Program Project NCI grant renewal
- Walther Cancer Foundation to invest $11 million to expand IU-Purdue bioinformatics collaboration
- John Glaspy named inaugural chair in integrative oncology at UCLA
- SKCC refines NCI-supported research programs
Trials & Tribulations
COVID and lung cancer: How experts in cancer and virology joined forces in a challenging time
Researchers from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai was recently awarded a U54 grant ($3.9 million over the first two years as a part of a five-year research proposal) to establish a NCI/SeroNet Center for Serological Excellence at Mount Sinai with a focus on lung cancer.
Clinical Roundup
- Genomic study of 6,000 NCI-MATCH cancer patients leads to new clinical trial benchmarks
- Miami Cancer Institute analysis shows developments for brain metastases patients
- Napo Pharmaceuticals initiates phase III trial of Mytesi for prophylaxis of diarrhea in adult cancer patients
- Phase II EV-201 study demonstrates 52% ORR in urothelial cancer
- Virus-mimicking drug helps immune system target cunning cancer cells
Drugs & Targets
- Keytruda receives FDA approvals in Hodgkin lymphoma indications
- United Kingdom signs on to FDA’s Project Orbis
- MD Anderson and Allogene Therapeutics collaborate to advance allogeneic CAR T therapy

Issue 38 - Oct. 9, 2020

TCL46-38 (644 downloads)

First-ever TCL-AACI study of the leadership pipeline points to urgent need for more diversity at elite cancer centers
How diverse are the upper rungs of leadership at America’s academic cancer centers?
Are these institutions promoting women and underrepresented minorities into top leadership positions? How prevalent are diversity recruitment programs? Do they work?
Guest Editorial
A long road ahead but every reason to travel with purpose
Diversity, inclusion, and equity are important issues, not only to our nation’s cancer centers, but to our nation as a whole. To embody these values, we must work to close gaps in cancer research and care.
“We can’t let this issue slide into the background.”
Directors of cancer centers reflect on the TCL-AACI data
If we’re not diverse enough, we will lose the opportunity to learn something from the differences among us,” Rohit Bhargava, director, Cancer Center at Illinois at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, said to The Cancer Letter. “It may not come out from the commonalities among us, and those differences might hold the key to actually developing new approaches for everyone.
Guest Editorial
ASCO survey demonstrates views on cancer care amid COVID-19 and racial reckoning
Last week, a national public perception survey from the American Society of Clinical Oncology revealed a public grappling with cancer care amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the nation’s reckoning with racial injustice.
NCI awards 25 grants and contracts as part of SeroNet
NCI has awarded 25 grants and contracts as part of the Serological Sciences Network initiative.
2020 Nobel Prizes
- Jennifer A. Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier receive 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice receive the 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of hepatitis C virus
In Brief
- Kelvin Lee named director of IU Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Jan Kitajewski named director of the University of Illinois Cancer Center
- Ira Pastan receives Paul A. Volcker Career Achievement Medal
- Thomas J. Fuchs named dean of artificial intelligence and human health, co-director of Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health at Mount Sinai
- Kevin Kalinsky named director of Glenn Family Breast Center at Winship
- David Gius named associate cancer center director for translational research at Mays Cancer Center
- Sarasota Memorial Cancer receives $25 million from Brian and Sheila Jellison Family Foundation
- Yale’s Sidi Chen receives $500,000 ACGT grant for pancreatic cancer research
- City of Hope forms AccessHope for employers to improve care, experience, outcomes and value
Trials & Tribulations
Overcoming systemic barriers to improve cancer clinical trials
One of the more complex tasks that I performed in my medical oncology practice was enrolling patients on a clinical trial.
Clinical Roundup
- City of Hope leads novel clinical trial to treat cancer patients with COVID-19
- Novel CAR T-cell lymphoma therapy developed at MCW advances to phase II study
- MD Anderson researchers identify characteristics of infused CAR T cells associated with efficacy and toxicity in large B-cell lymphoma
- MD Anderson researchers: Cancer mutations accumulate in distinct regions based on structure of genome and mutational causes
- UCSD study: Personalized cancer therapy improves outcomes in advanced disease
- Phase III CheckMate-816 trial: Opdivo + chemotherapy demonstrates improvement in pathologic CR in resectable NSCLC
Drugs & Targets
- Opdivo + Yervoy receive FDA approval in mesothelioma indication
- Regeneron asks FDA for emergency clearance for COVID-19 therapy
- FDA issues draft guidance that encourages inclusion of premenopausal women in breast cancer clinical trials

Issue 37 - Oct. 2, 2020

TCL46-37 (647 downloads)

Sexual harassment reporting structures in oncology are broken, The Cancer Letter survey finds
Women in oncology who face gender bias know what not to do: seek help from their institutions.
A survey by The Cancer Letter found that women in academic oncology who have encountered gender bias at work overwhelmingly accept the notion that their institutions will fail them, and those who do lodge complaints are, with no exception, disappointed.
In their own words: Responses to The Cancer Letter survey on gender bias
These harrowing responses to The Cancer Letter’s survey on gender bias are best represented with no interpretation or analysis.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
Pamela Kunz: “In any other industry, if someone had behavior like that, they would be fired.”
Pamela Kunz said she left Stanford School of Medicine because of years of gender-related microaggressions and verbal abuse she experienced there.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
Leonidas Platanias: These incidents are “really shocking and disturbing”
Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center Director Leonidas Platanias said gender bias in oncology “is totally unacceptable at all levels. I also think it negatively impacts cancer research. These situations can affect how teams function and, ultimately, have a negative impact in research.”
In Brief
- C. Kent Osborne steps down as director of Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Ruben Mesa named executive director of the Mays Cancer Center
- Stephen Gruber named head of City of Hope’s Center for Precision Medicine
- Deirdre Cohen named director of Mount Sinai’s Gastrointestinal Oncology Program
- James B. Yu named associate chief medical officer for radiation oncology at Smilow
- Yale awarded SPORE for head and neck cancer research
- VICC receives “exceptional” score with renewal as an NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center
- AACR convenes conference on health disparities
- Melanoma researchers at UCLA receive $13M grant from NIH
- Ohio State receives $10M NCI grant to study impact of COVID-19 in first responders
- Ohio State receives $9.1M NCI Grant renewal to support cancer retrovirus research
- Cancer genomic screening program LC-SCRUM-Asia adopts latest Thermo Fisher Scientific NGS solutions
- ACS CAN: Executive order on pre-existing condition protections unlikely to help cancer patients and survivors
Funding Opportunities
Lymphoma Research Foundation announces $10M initiative for follicular lymphoma clinical research
The Lymphoma Research Foundation has announced the establishment of the Jaime Peykoff Follicular Lymphoma Initiative, named for follicular lymphoma survivor and wife of Andrew Peykoff II, owner of Niagara Bottling.
Trials & Tribulations
The cancer detection rate—a public health approach to early detection
Back in the 1960s, the American Cancer Society first began promoting the Pap smear as an effective means of cervical cancer screening. A decade later, early detection of breast cancer through mammography became mainstream.
Clinical Roundup
- Corticosteroids improve survival in critically ill COVID-19 patients
- Phase III trial shows Opdivo significantly improves DFS as adjuvant therapy for muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma
- Yale study reinforces benefit of using targeted therapy for early-stage NSCLC
Drugs & Targets
- Innova Therapeutics receives Rare Pediatric Disease Designation from FDA for IVT-8086 for Osteosarcoma
- Celyad Oncology collaborates with MSD to evaluate CYAD-101 with Keytruda in microsatellite stable mCRC
- University of Illinois scientists enter licensing deal with Bayer, Systems Oncology
- Elevation Oncology and US Oncology Research collaborate to expand genomic testing of solid tumors
NCI Trials
NCI Trials for Oct. 2020
The National Cancer Institute approved the following clinical research studies last month.

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