May 25, 2012

Announcements

Paul Eder Appointed to Lead Phase I Program

Roy Herbst and I are very pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Eder as Assistant Director for Experimental Therapeutics at Yale Cancer Center.  Paul is a proven leader in drug development and clinical research and he will lead our Phase I research efforts.  

He joins Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital from AstraZeneca, LP and Dana Farber Cancer Institute and will begin his new appointment at Yale on July 1, 2012.

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Yale Cancer Center Joins SWOG

Yale Cancer Center recently finished the application review process with the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG), after having submitted a comprehensive application that included the Smilow Cancer Hospital Cancer Care Centers.   Our membership was at the last SWOG meeting.  We look forward to participating in the disease oriented and scientific committees within the SWOG.

ASCO Participation from Yale

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at ASCO beginning on June 2. Below is a list of participants from Yale Cancer Center during oral abstract and poster sessions.  If your schedule permits, I hope you will take time to add these to your agenda.  If you are not attending, please follow our activities and media clips from ASCO by subscribing to our Facebook page.

Oral Abstract Session:

Monday, June 4; 8:00 - 11:00 AM

Location: S404

Post diagnosis weight gain and the role of exercise in breast cancer survivors

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 9007)

Tara Beth Sanft, Marty Alvarez-Reeves, Melinda Irwin

Young Investigator Award Presentation:

Saturday, June 2; 5:00 PM

Location: Regency Ballroom

Vamsidhar Velcheti, a second-year fellow, will be presented with a Young Investigator Award by ASCO for his project, "Prognostic and Predictive value of Programmed Death-1 ligands in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer."  Roy Herbst and David Rimm are his mentors for the project.

Clinical Science Symposiums:

Saturday, June 2; 8:00 - 9:30 AM

Location: E Hall D2

Clinical activity and safety of anti-PD1 (BMS-936558, MDX-1106) in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 7509)

Julie R. Brahmer, Leora Horn, Scott Antonia, David R. Spigel, Leena Gandhi, Lecia V. Sequist, Jon Wigginton, Dan McDonald, Georgia Kollia, Ashok Kumar Gupta, Scott N. Gettinger

Saturday, June 2; 1:15 - 2:45 PM

Location: S 406

Anti-PD-1 (BMS-936558, MDX-1106) in patients with advanced solid tumors: Clinical activity, safety, and a potential biomarker for response

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr CRA2509)

Suzanne Louise Topalian, Julie R. Brahmer, F. Stephen Hodi, David F. McDermott, David C. Smith, Scott N. Gettinger, Janis M. Taube, Charles G. Drake, Drew M. Pardoll, Scott Antonia, David R. Spigel, Michael B. Atkins, Donald P. Lawrence, Dan McDonald, Maria Jure-Kunkel, Alan Korman, Georgia Kollia, Ashok Kumar Gupta, Jon Wigginton, Mario Sznol

Satellite Symposium:

Sunday, June 3; 5:30 PM

Location: CC10

Targeting Histology and Oncogenic Drivers of NSCLC: Guidelines and Evidence

Roy Herbst - Symposium Co-Chair

Poster Discussion Sessions:

Saturday, June 2; 12:00 - 1:00 PM

Location: S 100a

Prognostic significance of the AJCC staging in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 5529)

Carlos Rodrigo Acevedo-Gadea, Megan Ann Baumgart, Zuoheng Wang, Hari Anant Deshpande, Marianne Davies, Roy H. Decker, Clarence Sasaki, Benjamin Judson, Roy S. Herbst, Daniel Morgensztern

Saturday, June 2; 12:00 - 1:00 PM

Location: S 100a

Influence of extracapsular extension on lymph node staging for patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 5532)

Megan Ann Baumgart, Carlos Rodrigo Acevedo-Gadea, Zuoheng Wang, Eugenia Buta, Marianne Davies, Hari Anant Deshpande, Roy H. Decker, Clarence Sasaki, Benjamin Judson, Roy S. Herbst, Daniel Morgensztern

Monday, June 4; 4:45 - 5:45 PM

Location: N Hall B1

Short-term complications and use of breast brachytherapy in the national Medicare population in 2008-2009

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 1030)

Carolyn J. Presley, Pamela R. Soulos, Jeph Herrin, Kenneth B Roberts, James B. Yu, Brigid K. Killelea, Beth-Ann Lesnikoski, Jessica B. Long, Cary P. Gross.

Tuesday, June 5; 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: S 406

An assessment of the collective efforts of clinical trials to provide evidence-based practice guidelines in cancer care

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 6019)

Shane Lloyd, Daniela L. Buscariollo, Cary P. Gross, Danil V. Makarov, James B. Yu

Tuesday, June 5; 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: S406

Timeliness of care and stage at diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with the implementation of a cancer care coordination program (CCCP) at a VA medical cente.

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 6033)

Susan Alsamarai, Herta H. Chao, Xiaopan Yao, Yanhong Deng, Michal G. Rose

Poster Sessions: S Hall A2

Saturday, June 2; 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Neoadjuvant weekly nab-paclitaxel (wA), carboplatin (Cb) plus bevacizumab (B) with or without dose-dense doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide (ddAC) plus B in ER+/HER2-negative (HR+) and triple-negative (TN) breast cancer (BrCa): A BrUOG study

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 1045)

Natalie Faye Sinclair, Maysa M. Abu-Khalaf, Tina Rizack, Kayla Rosati, Gina Chung, Robert Duffy Legare, Michael DiGiovanna, Mary Anne Fenton, Veerle Bossuyt, Rochelle Strenger, Bachir Joseph Sakr, Donald R. Lannin, Jennifer S. Gass, Lyndsay Harris, William M. Sikov.

Comparative patient-centered outcomes (health state and adverse sexual symptoms) between adjuvant brachytherapy versus no adjuvant brachytherapy in early-stage endometrial cancer

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 9104)

Shari Damast, Kaled M. Alektiar, Shari Beth Goldfarb, Naamit Kurshan Gerber, Anne Eaton, Sujata Patil, Jeffrey Mosenkis, Laura Sit, Lauren J. Rogak, Mario M. Leitao, Jeanne Carter, Ethan M. Basch

Accuracy of breast MRI in predicting pathologic tumor size

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 1109)

Kimberly Anne Caprio, Anees B. Chagpar, Regina Hooley, Fattaneh Tavassoli, Helen Honarpishe, Donald R. Lannin, Brigid K. Killelea, Nina Ruth Horowitz

Can primary tumor markers of cancer-initiating cells predict lymph node positivity in breast cancer patients?

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 1121)

Anees B. Chagpar, Veronique Neumeister, Donald R. Lannin, David Rimm

ERβ mRNA expression in ERα-negative and triple-negative breast cancers.

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 574)

Young Choi, Hadong Kim, Tae-Hoon Kim

Aromatase inhibitors, arthralgias, and exercise in breast cancer survivors

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr TPS669)

Melinda Irwin, Brenda Cartmel, Elizabeth Ercolano, Martha Fiellin, Marianna Rothbard, Scott Capozza, Yang Zhou, Kathryn Schmitz, Jennifer A. Ligibel, Dawn L. Hershman, Tuhina Neogi, Cary P. Gross

Poster Sessions: S Hall A2

Saturday, June 2; 1:15 - 5:15 PM

The evolution of breast cancer screening in the Medicare population: Clinical and economic implications

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 1595)

Brigid K. Killelea, Jessica B. Long, Xiaomei Ma, Rong Wang, Anees B. Chagpar, Joseph Ross, Cary P. Gross

CA184-104: Randomized, multicenter, double-blind, phase III trial comparing the efficacy of ipilimumab (Ipi) with paclitaxel/carboplatin (PC) versus placebo with PC in patients (pts) with stage IV/recurrent non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) of squamous histology

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr TPS7611)

Martin Reck, Haolan Lu, Greta Gribkoff, Sabine Maier, Rachel McGovern, Jean-Marie Cuillerot, Thomas James Lynch

Trial of exercise in ovarian cancer survivors.

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr TPS1614)

Melinda Irwin, Linda Gottlieb, Brenda Cartmel, Elizabeth Ercolano, Marianna Rothbard, Yang Zhou, Peter E. Schwartz, Jennifer A. Ligibel, Vivian E. Von Gruenigen, Harvey Risch

Treatment patterns and comorbidities in a population-based cohort of glioblastoma patients diagnosed 1997-2008

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 1591)

Susan A. Oliveria, Laura Chu, Deborah Casso, Karen Wells, Wei Dong, Robert Dubrow, Asha Das, David R Nerenz, Marianne Ulcickas Yood

Poster Sessions: S Hall A2

June 3; 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Prognostic factors and treatment-related outcomes in patients with uterine serous cancer (USC)

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 5099)

Maria deLeon, Lingeng Lu, Pei Hui, Alessandro Santin, Thomas J. Rutherford, Dan Arin-Silasi, Masoud Azodi, Elena Ratner, Peter E. Schwartz

Trends in body mass index (BMI) during and after treatment for standard risk (SR) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL): A report from the Children's Oncology Group (COG)

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 9546)

Susan Joy Lindemulder, Linda C. Stork, Bruce C. Bostrom, Xiaomin Lu, Meenakshi Devidas, Joseph Philip Neglia, Nina Kadan-Lottick

Proton radiotherapy for prostate cancer in the Medicare population: Patterns of care and comparison of early toxicity with IMRT

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 4651)

James B. Yu, Pamela R. Soulos, Laura D. Cramer, Kenneth B Roberts, Jeph Herrin, Arnold L. Potosky, Cary P. Gross

Poster Sessions: S Hall A2

June 4; 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM

A phase I study of BMS-936558 in combination with gemcitabine/cisplatin, pemetrexed/cisplatin, or carboplatin/paclitaxel in patients with treatment-naive, stage IIIB/IV non-small-cell lung cancer

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr TPS2615)

Scott N. Gettinger, Naiyer A. Rizvi, Frances A. Shepherd, Laura Q. Chow, Scott Andrew Laurie, David R. Spigel, Eric Sbar, Yun Shen, Julie R. Brahmer

An exploratory study to investigate the immunomodulatory activity of BMS-936558 in patients with metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr TPS2613)

Charles G. Drake, Mayer N. Fishman, Brendan D. Curti, Jenny J. Kim, Walter Michael Stadler, Douglas G. McNeel, Toni K. Choueiri, Bruce Redman, Gary R. Hudes, Maria Jure-Kunkel, Dan McDonald, Ashok Kumar Gupta, Ashutosh Kumar Pathak, Jon Wigginton, Mario Sznol

Poster Sessions: S Hall A2

June 4; 1:15 - 5:15 PM

Evaluation of gene expression by RNA-seq after single dose of trastuzumab (T) reveals predictors of pathologic complete response (pCR) in HER2-positive early breast cancer

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 10558)

Natalie Galanina, Emmet Sprecher, Veerle Bossuyt, Sudipa Sarkar, Ian E. Krop, Eric Winer, David P. Tuck, Can Bruce, Lyndsay Harris

The effect of family history on adherence to breast cancer screening guidelines

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 1571)

Lauren Marie Hibler, Anees B. Chagpar

Regional variation in treatment costs and survival for elderly patients with myelodysplastic syndromes

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr 6628)

Xiaomei Ma, Rong Wang, Jessica B. Long, Heather Taffet Gold, Stephanie Halene, Cary P. Gross

Online Only

Evaluation of the pattern of SOX2 expression in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and correlation with clinicopathologic (CP) features and prognosis

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr e21106)

Vamsidhar Velcheti, Huan Cheng, Xiaopan Yao, Yanhong Deng, Scott N. Gettinger, David Rimm

Single institution experience with FOLFIRINOX in advanced pancreatic cancer (PC)

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr e14534)

Krishna Soujanya Gunturu, Jaykumar Ranchodbhai Thumar, Howard S. Hochster, Stacey Stein, Xiaopan Yao, Xiangyu Cong, Jill Lacy

Demographics of uterine serous cancer (USC) patients: A single institutional experience

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr e15581)

Maria de Leon, Lingeng Lu, Pei Hui, Alessandro Santin, Thomas J. Rutherford, Dan Arin-Silasi, Masoud Azodi, Elena Ratner, Peter E. Schwartz

Anti-estrogenic effect of TAS-108 in breast cancer cell lines

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr e11029)

Hadong Kim, Young Choi, Tae-Hoon Kim

Weekly ixabepilone with or without concurrent bevacizumab in the treatment of recurrent endometrial cancer

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr e15526)

Dana Marie Roque, Elena Ratner, Dan-Arin Silasi, Masoud Azodi, Peter E. Schwartz, Thomas J. Rutherford, Alessandro Santin

The relations between age and androgen deprivation therapy use among men receiving radiation therapy for prostate cancer in the Medicare population

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr e15150)

Jennifer L. Quon, James B. Yu, Pamela R. Soulos, Cary P. Gross

In vitro chemosensitivity assay for patients with gynecologic sarcoma

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr e13078)

Alessandro Santin, Joyce Varughese, John K. Chan, Candace McClure, Jayanthi Lea

Predictors of early discontinuation of chemotherapy (EDC) in patients (pts) age 65 or older with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr e18133)

Ajeet Gajra, William P. Tew, Molly Hardt, Supriya Gupta Mohile, Cynthia Owusu, Heidi D. Klepin, Cary P. Gross, Stuart M. Lichtman, Vani Katheria, Arti Hurria, on behalf of the Cancer and Aging Research Group (CARG)

Targeting the upregulation of the AKT pathway and homologous recombination repair as a therapeutic strategy for epithelial ovarian cancer

J Clin Oncol 30, 2012 (suppl; abstr e13125)

Elena Ratner, Z-Ping Lin, Thomas J. Rutherford, Masoud Azodi, Alessandro Santin, Peter E. Schwartz, Alan Sartorelli

Notables

Roy Herbst has been named Vice-Chair of the American Association for Cancer Research's Science Policy and Legislative Affairs Committee (SPLAC).  The committee serves as AACR's principal means for devising and implementing strategies to influence important biomedical research-related public policy issues. Dr. Herbst has been an active member of the committee for the last several years and will continue to serve as the Chairman of the AACR Task Force on Tobacco and Cancer.

Four physicians from the Smilow Cancer Hospital Cancer Care Centers were named to Connecticut Magazine's 2012 Top Doc's list.  Congratulations to Samuel Bobrow, Victor Chang, Martin Katz, and Kert Sabbath.

Suzanne Evans was an invited lecturer at the New England Society for Radiation Oncologists in April and presented "After the Error: Ethical Issues in Medical Error Disclosure."  Dr. Evans is also scheduled to present at the New England Chapter of the American Association of Physicists in June.

Jason Wilken, a trainee in Yale's Komen-funded 'Racial Disparities in Breast Cancer' Post-graduate Training Program, has been appointed as one of only 83 new Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) effective July 2012.  Nita Maihle in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, mentors Dr. Wilken.

In the News

Stopping cell migration may help block fibrosis and the spread of cancer

Discoveries by a Yale-led team of scientists could lead the way for development of new therapies for treating fibrosis and tumor metastasis. Led by Dan Wu, a member of the Yale Cancer Center Signal Transduction Research Program, the researchers have both uncovered a signaling pathway that promotes cell migration in certain forms of pulmonary fibrosis, a deadly lung disease, and developed a drug treatment that may block the cancer cell migration. 

Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer: Which Patients are at High Risk?

Learn More >>

Capitol Hill Day

Employee Profile: Donna Izzo

The Employee Profile recognizes the diverse contributions made by Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital staff have to meet our patient care, research, education, and outreach goals. The staff profiled are examples of the great work being done here, and the dedication and values we possess. To suggest someone to be profiled, please contact Emily Fenton.

As a Business Service Associate in the Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, Donna Izzo is one of the first people patients meet when they come in for their appointments. She is responsible for patient arrival and ensuring that the patient is in the right location for their appointment and the registration process is complete. She monitors patient flow in the waiting area and assesses caregiver concerns. She utilizes service recovery tools, such as coupons to the Boutique, when patients are delayed, and keeps caregivers apprised of the patient journey. She also interacts with nurses, the breast imaging technologists, and the administrative assistants to make sure everyone is on the same page and communicating so that patients are seen in a reasonable amount of time.

"I am aware of the patients that are there, what they are coming in for, and how long they have been waiting. I make it a point to give them a friendly smile, and let them know if their appointment is going to be delayed. Even if they are just coming in for an imaging test, it can be nerve wracking, and I do everything I can to make them comfortable," said Donna.

Donna describes herself as a natural born caregiver, and has spent most of her career in the medical field. Her interest and passion in care giving prompted her to become a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant). She has been in her current position at Smilow for 2 years. Part of her job is helping to answer patient questions and guide them towards the wonderful programs available at Smilow, such as the 'Look Good...Feel Better' Program, which she highly recommends to patients.

Shirley Pinette, Donna's manager, commented, "Donna is a true professional who genuinely cares about our patients and her fellow co-workers as exhibited by her warmth and friendliness toward all.  They say that laughter is the best medicine and Donna's great sense of humor is medicine that is truly appreciated by staff and patients. Donna is a very dedicated and flexible employee, one who is always willing to help out when and wherever needed.  We are truly fortunate to have Donna on our team."