Cassie Homer
Verified
Have I had my coffee yet?
If not: Shhhh
If yes: Still shhh
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Cassie Homer
FDA Grants Novel Targeted Therapy Orphan Drug Designation for Small Cell Lung Cancer
By Cassie Homer, Senior Managing Editor Save to PDF April 12, 2022 By <em>By Cassie Homer, Senior Managing Editor</em> The FDA granted HPN328, a delta like ligand 3 (DLL3) targeting therapy, orphan drug designation for the treatment of patients with small cell lung cancer, according to a press release from the manufacturer. The manufacturer used its Tri-specific T cell Activating Construct (TriTAC) platform to develop the drug.
Variant reclassifications ‘common’ after hereditary cancer genetic testing
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . About 25% of genetic variants of uncertain significance detected in testing for hereditary cancer risk were later reclassified as benign or pathogenic, according to a retrospective study that assessed 10 years of data from a single institution.
Project ECHO brings ‘disruptive innovation’ to community cancer centers
PHOENIX — If implemented in community cancer centers, the telehealth program Project ECHO could impact patients and providers by bringing education and best practices to rural communities, according to a presentation at the Association of Community Cancer Centers National Oncology Conference. Project ECHO brings together centers of excellence and primary care clinicians via a telehealth model to educate, share cases and exponentially grow health care specialists across a variety of programs.
Data analytics, telemedicine aid in cancer survivorship care
PHOENIX — Innovative programs that use data analytics and telemedicine aim to address challenges of providing critical cancer survivorship care, according to two presentations at the Association of Community Cancer Centers National Oncology Conference.
24-hour cancer clinic reduces ED visits, patient costs
PHOENIX —A 24-hour cancer clinic at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin resulted in a 26% reduction in ED utilization and high patient satisfaction, according to a presentation at the Association of Community Cancer Centers National Oncology Conference.
Tools aid in detection, treatment of cancer-related cognitive impairment
PHOENIX — A simple, computer-based tool allows clinicians to detect cancer-related cognitive impairment, according to a presentation at the Association of Community Cancer Centers National Oncology Conference. Once detected, clinicians can offer a web-based, interactive cognitive training program as an alternative to traditional speech or occupational therapy to help restore cognitive function.
Oncology pharmacy navigators guide patients to reduce costs, improve treatment compliance
PHOENIX — As an oncology pharmacy navigator, Kelly Scott Rice, PharmD, has provided medication-related support services to patients and saved her institution over $200,000 per year, according to a presentation at the Association of Community Cancer Centers National Oncology Conference. Rice is an oncology pharmacy navigator at the Legacy Cancer Institute in Oregon. “Pharmacists are trusted members of the cancer care team,” Rice said during her presentation.
Drug vial optimization reduces waste, saves costs
PHOENIX — Drug vial optimization resulted in 94% reduction in drug waste and over $43 million in cost savings, according to a presentation at the Association of Community Cancer Centers National Oncology Conference. “Drug vial waste does create several difference issues,” Lindsey B. Amerine, PharmD, MS, BCPS, associate director of pharmacy at University of North Carolina Medical Center and associate professor of clinical education at UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, said during her presentation.
Increase in mortality with daily aspirin attributable to cancer
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Healthy older adults who used aspirin daily had higher mortality rates, primarily driven by cancer-related death, than those who took placebo, according a randomized, placebo-controlled, dual-country trial. Because other trials have not shown this effect, the results should be interpreted with caution, the researchers wrote.
Oncologist experience associated with improved survival in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
Scott F. Huntington Patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma had improved survival outcomes under the care of high-volume oncologists, who were more likely to administer guideline-adherent therapy, according to a retrospective Medicare population-based study. “For cancer patients undergoing complex procedures, hospital and surgeon-level case volume is frequently associated with important clinical outcomes,” Scott F.
Disease factors predict outcomes across treatments for BRAF V600-mutated melanoma
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Baseline lactate dehydrogenase level, ECOG performance status and disease burden strongly predicted PFS and OS among patients with BRAF V600-mutant metastatic melanoma treated with BRAF or MEK inhibitors, according to a retrospective and exploratory recursive partitioning analysis of four trials.
Childhood cancer survivors may be at increased risk for erectile dysfunction
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . “Male sexual dysfunction and its association with psychological and physical well-being have been underreported in childhood cancer survivors,” Laura van Iersel, MD, of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and colleagues wrote.
Ruxolitinib-azacytidine combination shows ‘synergistic efficacy’ for myelofibrosis
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Treatment with ruxolitinib plus azacytidine yielded encouraging spleen response rates and improvement in bone marrow fibrosis among patients with myelofibrosis, according an open-label, single-arm phase 2 study.
Cancer immunotherapy pioneers win Nobel Prize
James P. Allison, PhD, chair of the department of immunology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Tasuku Honjo, MD, PhD, professor of immunology and genomic medicine at Kyoto University in Japan, have been awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their separate work developing immune-based cancer treatments. “As a basic scientist, to have my work really impact people was just one of the best things I could think about,” Allison said during a press conference.
Risk does not dictate real-world surveillance frequency for bladder cancer
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Patients with high-risk early-stage bladder cancer underwent surveillance about as frequently as low-risk patients, according a retrospective study of veterans. “Guidelines for cancer surveillance routinely recommend aligning care with patients’ underlying cancer risk,” Florian R.
LOXO-292 safe, effective for
LOXO-292 appeared well tolerated and demonstrated antitumor activity among patients with heavily pretreated RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer, according to updated interim results of a global, phase 1/phase 2 trial presented at International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer’s World Conference on Lung Cancer.
Single-arm trials often miss ‘substantial benefit’ mark
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Single-arm trials that paved the way for FDA approval of anticancer drugs seldom met validated criteria for a substantial clinical benefit, according to a retrospective study.
Lenalidomide plus rituximab safe, effective for mantle cell lymphoma
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Initial treatment with lenalidomide plus rituximab induced durable responses with a manageable safety profile among patients with mantle cell lymphoma, according to 5-year follow-up of a multicenter, single-arm phase 2 study.
Cancer treatment costs cause financial toxicity, warrant discussion
Women with breast cancer faced significant financial hardships and wished their doctors had discussed and considered costs before initiating treatment, according to two studies scheduled for presentation at the ASCO Quality Care Symposium.
Insurance rates rise for head, neck cancer among Medicaid expansion states
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act increased insurance rates among patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, according a prospective, observational study. Prior to implementation of the ACA, patients with insurance had better survival outcomes than uninsured patients.
Brentuximab vedotin plus gemcitabine safe, active for young patients with Hodgkin lymphoma
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Salvage treatment with the combination of brentuximab vedotin and gemcitabine showed antitumor activity among children and young adults with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma, according a multicenter, single-arm phase 1/phase2 study. The regimen also had a tolerable toxicity profile.
Study data reveal ‘complexity’ of evaluating benefit of breast cancer screening
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Inviting women to mammography screenings may reduce breast cancer mortality by up to 20%, according to retrospective study of Danish national registries. However, the reduction appeared limited to women who could benefit from screening.
Immediate compression offers 'clear benefit' following blood clot
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Patients with deep vein thrombosis who underwent immediate compression therapy had significantly lower rates of residual vein obstruction and post-thrombotic syndrome than those who received no compression, according a multicenter prospective study.
Tool predicts risk for late breast cancer recurrence
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . An online prognostic tool accurately determined the risk for late distant recurrence among women with ER-positive breast cancer, according to a single-arm, prospective study. The Clinical Treatment Score post-5 years (CTS5) tool could be used to determine whether patients should continue endocrine therapy 5 years after initial treatment.
Low-cost genetic test spurs ‘cascade testing’ among relatives
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Nearly half of people closely related to carriers of cancer-associated genes accepted invitations to undergo low-cost genetic testing to assess their own risk, according a retrospective study of an online initiative.
Blood test could reduce unnecessary biopsies of lung nodules
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . A risk-assessment test that combined levels of plasma proteins and clinical factors accurately determined whether pulmonary nodules were benign or malignant, according to a prospective, multicenter observational trial.
Chemotherapy combination appears safe for elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Treatment with the combination of cladribine and low-dose cytarabine alternating with decitabine appeared safe and effective among older patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia, according a single-arm, open-label phase 2 study.
Fatal toxic events possible, but rare, with immune checkpoint inhibitors
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Fatal toxic events occurred in about 0.3% to 1.3% of patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to a meta-analysis of adverse outcomes reports and trial data. These event rates compare favorably with other oncologic interventions.
Obinutuzumab-venetoclax shows activity for chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Bendamustine followed by obinutuzumab and venetoclax appeared safe and effective for treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to results from the open-label, phase 2 CLL2-BAG trial.
Three community oncology practices join forces to ‘transform’ cancer care delivery
Three community oncology practices have formed OneOncology, a company with a mission to improve cancer care through patient-centric and technology-driven innovations. OneOncology’s founding practices are Tennessee Oncology, New York Cancer & Blood Specialists, and West Cancer Center.
4L lymph node dissection may improve lung cancer survival
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Patients with primary left lung cancer who underwent 4L lymph node dissection had more favorable survival outcomes than those who did not receive 4L dissection, according a single-center, retrospective study.
Weight-adjusted tinzaparin provides safe thromboprophylaxis after bariatric surgery
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Extended thromboprophylaxis with weight-adjusted tinzaparin appeared safe and effective for patients following bariatric surgery, according to results of a single-center retrospective cohort study. Patients experienced few incidences of venous thromboembolism and major bleeding.
Second cancers increasingly common among HPV-related cancer survivors
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Adults who survived HPV-associated cancers appeared at a significant risk for HPV-associated second primary cancers, according a retrospective cohort study. Additionally, the risk for developing most types of HPV-associated second primary cancers has increased over the last 4 decades.
Anti-PD-1 drugs may cause hyperprogressive disease in lung cancer
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who underwent treatment with PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors had higher rates of hyperprogressive disease than those who received chemotherapy, according a multicenter retrospective study conducted in France.
Patients with low-risk blood clots may be better managed at home
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Outpatient treatment appeared safe for select patients with acute pulmonary embolism with low risk for mortality, according a single-arm, prospective study. No deaths or recurrent venous thromboembolism occurred among patients treated at home.
Many adult survivors of pediatric CNS tumors do not achieve independence
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Only 40% of survivors of pediatric central nervous system tumors achieved complete independence, according to results from a single institution cohort study. Certain treatment regimens and declines in physical function increased survivors’ risk for nonindependence.
Universal genetic testing feasible at time of pancreatic cancer diagnosis
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . The prevalence of pathogenic germline variants associated with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and limitations of current methods to determine testing eligibility may warrant universal germline genetic testing at the time of diagnosis, according to a study of a consecutive cohort.
One-third of oncologist authors fail to disclose industry payments
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . A substantial portion of oncologists working on published clinical trials that led to FDA approvals failed to fully disclose payments from trial sponsors, according to a research letter published in JAMA Oncology.
CDC: Oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma now most common HPV-associated cancer
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . In 2015, oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma surpassed cervical cancer as the most common HPV-associated cancer in the U.S., with 15,479 cases among men and 3,438 cases among women, according to data from the CDC published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Nivolumab, ipilimumab combination effective for melanoma with brain metastases
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . The combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab had a clinically meaningful intracranial effect among patients with melanoma who had untreated brain metastases, according to results from the open-label, phase 2 CheckMate 204 trial.
Women with disabilities less likely to undergo cervical cancer screening
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Women with physical and mental disabilities appeared significantly less likely to undergo cervical cancer screening, according to a South Korean population-based study.
Insurance status may impact follicular lymphoma survival
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Patients with follicular lymphoma who had private insurance demonstrated better survival outcomes than those with Medicare, Medicaid or no insurance, according to results from a retrospective cohort study. “The variable disease course and lack of cure has resulted in variable treatment strategies, without a standard of care,” Christopher R.
ACCC National Oncology Conference to bring ‘new insights into action’
The Association of Community Cancer Centers 35th National Oncology Conference will be held Oct. 17 to 19 at the Sheraton Grand at Wild Horse Pass in Phoenix. HemOnc Today will serve as a media partner for the conference, which includes presentations on team building, data analytics, patient education tools and creative partnerships, and serves to understand each attendee’s community needs and opportunities.
Vadastuximab talirine induces modest benefit for acute myeloid leukemia
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . The addition of vadastuximab talirine to a hypomethylating agent led to a high complete remission rate among older patients with CD33-positive acute myeloid leukemia, according to a phase 1 study. However, the combination therapy led to more hematologic toxicities than historical data for hypomethylating agent monotherapy.
Liver disease linked to lower risk for venous thromboembolism
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Patients with moderate-to-severe liver disease demonstrated a lower risk for venous thromboembolism compared with those without liver disease, according to a population-based study. However, those with moderate-severe liver disease who developed VTE had an increased risk for in-hospital mortality.
Talazoparib provides significant benefit for germline
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Single-agent talazoparib significantly improved PFS and objective response rates compared with standard chemotherapy among women with advanced breast cancer and a germline BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation, according to results from the global phase 3 EMBRACA trial.
Pediatric CAR T-cell therapy guidelines highlight need for interdisciplinary monitoring
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Children treated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy experience unique toxicities that require careful monitoring to prevent serious sequalae, according to new management guidelines.
PD-1 blockade provides ‘dramatic advance’ for the treatment of advanced melanoma
Looking into the future, there’s still a lot to be done, including expanding this kind of therapy to other kinds of skin cancers and to difficult-to-treat populations. We aim to achieve a much better understanding of response and resistance to anti-PD-1 so that we can effectively design combination regimens with other drugs or other kinds of therapies, like radiation or chemotherapy, to have more effectiveness than monotherapy with anti-PD-1.
Cisplatin fails to improve survival for elderly patients with lung cancer
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . The addition of cisplatin to single-agent chemotherapy did not significantly improve OS or quality-of-life scores among elderly patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, according to a combined analysis of two parallel phase 3 trials. However, the addition of cisplatin did improve PFS and objective response rate.
Ultrasound-guided doxorubicin increases chemotherapy concentration for liver tumors
Receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on this topic . Noninvasive focused ultrasound hyperthermia enhanced intratumoural delivery of doxorubicin among patients with liver tumors, according to study results published in The Lancet Oncology.
Show More
loading
Actions
Get in touch with Cassie
Contact Cassie, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack