In the News

A new drug is being shown to extend the lives of patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma by almost a year. The results of a multicenter phase II trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of olaratumab in combination with doxorubicin chemotherapy was published in The Lancet on June 9. William Tap, MD, Chief of the Sarcoma Medical Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), served as corresponding author on this study, which met its primary endpoint of progression-free survival and showed a statistically significant improvement in overall survival. To arrange an interview with Dr. Tap, please email [email protected].

Results to be presented at the upcoming American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting suggest combination immunotherapy may help more people with the most common form of lung cancer.

Vice President Joseph Biden visited Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) for a roundtable discussion with MSK experts and members of the cancer community. The candid conversation, inspired by the “moonshot” initiative announced by President Obama, was led by Craig Thompson, MD, President and CEO of MSK. MSK’s Carol Brown, MD, Ross Levine, MD, and Robert Sidlow, MD, were also active participants in the discussion. For more information about the event or to request an interview with a MSK roundtable participant, please e-mail [email protected].

The lack of participation in clinical research may be the Achilles heel facing today’s cancer community. According to a new survey of more than 1,500 consumers and nearly 600 physicians conducted on behalf of MSK, only 35 percent of Americans indicated that they were “likely” to enroll in a clinical trial. For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact [email protected].