Journal Spotlight
First-Line Dabrafenib Plus Trametinib vs Standard Chemotherapy for Pediatric Low-Grade Glioma With BRAF V600 Mutations
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Eric Bouffet, MD, of the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, and colleagues, a phase II trial has shown a significant improvement in objective response rate and other efficacy outcomes with first-line dabrafenib plus trametinib vs standard chemo...
PROpel Trial: Olaparib Plus Abiraterone in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Unselected for HRR Mutation Status
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Fred Saad, MD, of the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, and colleagues, the final prespecified overall survival analysis of the phase III PROpel trial has shown no significant benefit with the addition of first-line olaparib to abiraterone in patie...
Addition of Tumor Treating Fields Therapy to Standard Systemic Therapy Improves Survival in Metastatic NSCLC after Progression on Platinum-Based Therapy
Matthew Stenger
In a phase III trial (LUNAR) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ticiana Leal, MD, Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University, and colleagues found that the addition of Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy to standard systemic therapy improved overall survival in patients with metastatic non-smal...
Diagnosis of Cardiovascular Disease and Risk of Subsequent Incident Cancer Diagnosis
Matthew Stenger
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Caitlin F. Bell, MD, of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, and colleagues found that persons with a diagnosis of cardiovascular disease (CVD) were more likely to have a subsequent incident...
Ipilimumab Plus Nivolumab May Improve Outcomes in Refractory Metastatic Melanoma, Study Suggests
The ASCO Post Staff
Researchers have discovered that the combination of the CTLA-4 inhibitor ipilimumab and the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab may be an effective second-line therapy in patients with PD-1 blockade–refractory metastatic melanoma, according to a recent study conducted by the SWOG Cancer Research Network and ...
Patterns in Early-Onset Cancer in the United States From 2010 to 2019
Matthew Stenger
In a study using SEER (Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results) registry data reported in JAMA Network Open, Daniel Q. Huang, MBBS, MMED, of the National University of Singapore, and colleagues found that the incidence of cancer among U.S. persons up to age 50 (early-onset cancer) increased sign...
First-Line Pembrolizumab Plus Lenvatinib Active in Advanced Non–Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma
Matthew Stenger
In a phase II trial (KEYNOTE-B61) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Laurence Albiges, MD, PhD, of Gustave Roussy, Paris–Saclay University, Villejuif, France, and colleagues found that first-line pembrolizumab plus lenvatinib produced durable responses in patients with advanced non–clear cell renal ...
Addition of Nivolumab to Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy in Early-Stage or Isolated Lung Parenchymal Recurrent NSCLC
Matthew Stenger
In a phase II trial (I-SABR) reported in The Lancet, Joe Y. Chang, MD, of the Department of Radiation Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, and colleagues found that the addition of immunotherapy with nivolumab to stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) improved...
Association of Lifestyle and Cardiovascular Risk Factors With Hospitalization for Heart Failure Subtypes in Breast Cancer Survivors
Matthew Stenger
In an analysis from the Women’s Health Initiative reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Kerryn W. Reding, PhD, MPH, RN, of the University of Washington at Seattle, and colleagues, identified the incidence of hospitalization for heart failure among postmenopausal breast cancer survivors. They reported th...
Cardiovascular Mortality and Cancer Mortality Over Time Among Cancer Survivors
Matthew Stenger
In an English retrospective cohort study reported in JACC: Cardio-Oncology, Helen Strongman, PhD, of the Department of Non-Communicable Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and colleagues found that cardiovascular mortality ultimately exceeded mortality from common p...
Rucaparib vs Physician’s Choice of Single-Agent Therapy in BRCA-Mutated Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Karim Fizazi, MD, PhD, of Gustave Roussy Institute, Paris-Saclay University, and colleagues, the phase III TRITON3 trial has shown significantly improved progression-free survival with rucaparib vs physician-selected single-agent therapy in the e...
ASCO-CAP Guideline Update Confirms Previous Recommendations for HER2 Testing in Breast Cancer
Emily A. Kuhl, PhD
In partnership with the College of American Pathologists (CAP), ASCO has affirmed findings from its 2018 practice guideline on the use of HER2 testing in breast cancer. Notably, the ASCO/CAP expert panel found there is currently no justification for a new designation of HER2 test results for patient...
Investigators Evaluate the Effect of Body Mass Index on Outcomes in Patients With Head and Neck Cancer
The ASCO Post Staff
Investigators reported that patients with head and neck cancer who had an overweight body mass index (BMI) may have had better outcomes, longer overall and progression-free survival, and lower rates of locoregional failure than those patients with a normal or obese BMI, according to a recent study p...
Addition of Tislelizumab to Chemotherapy Improves Survival in Treatment of Metastatic Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Jianming Xu, MD, of Fifth Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, corresponding author Harry H. Yoon, MD, of the Department of Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase III RATIONALE-306 trial has shown imp...
Certain Cancers Will Likely Rise Exponentially Because of COVID-19 Screening Delays, Study Predicts
The ASCO Post Staff
Delays in cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic will likely cause a significant increase in cancer cases that could have been caught earlier with screening. These cases may now be diagnosed at later stages, placing an increased burden on an already-strained health-care system, according to a...
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Show Promise for People Living With HIV
Matthew Stenger
New research involving people living with HIV treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors has provided valuable insights into the safety and efficacy of immunotherapy in this historically excluded population, according to data published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1 The real-world data analysi...
Interruption of Endocrine Therapy to Attempt Pregnancy in Women With Hormone Receptor–Positive Early Breast Cancer
Matthew Stenger
In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Ann H. Partridge, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues found that temporary interruption of adjuvant endocrine therapy to attempt pregnancy was not associated with increased short-term risk of breast cancer events among ...
Tumor Genomic Profile and Risk for Arterial Thromboembolism in Patients With Solid Cancer
Matthew Stenger
In a single-institution study reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Stephanie Feldman, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues found that somatic KRAS and STK11 alterations were associated with increased risk of arterial thromboembolism in patients with solid tumors, irrespectiv...
Survival in Patients With Neuroblastoma on Reduced Therapy as a Result of Change in COG Risk Stratification
Matthew Stenger
In an analysis recently reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,1 Bender et al found that “excellent” survival outcomes were achieved in patients receiving reduced treatment for neuroblastoma as a result of reassignment to intermediate risk from high risk based on a change in the minimum age fo...
American College of Surgeons Evaluates the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on National Cancer Database Reporting
The ASCO Post Staff
New research from the American College of Surgeons (ACS) outlines significant ways that the COVID-19 pandemic destabilized usual patterns of cancer care, as reported in the National Cancer Database (NCDB). The NCDB is one of the largest cancer registries in the world and is used by thousands of hosp...
Radiation Oncology Workforce Expected to Remain Stable Through 2030
The ASCO Post Staff
A new analysis of the U.S. radiation oncology workforce projects a relative balance between the supply of radiation oncologists and the demand for radiation therapy services through 2030.1 The report was produced by Health Management Associates (HMA), a consulting firm commissioned by the American S...
Circulating Tumor DNA Identified Prior to and During Treatment Is Associated With Poorer Outcomes in Primary CNS Lymphoma
Matthew Stenger
In a collaborative study from the University of Freiburg and Stanford University reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jurik A. Mutter, BSc, of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, and colleagues found that circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) identified prior to and during treatment ...
Detection of Early Emphysema During Lung Cancer Screening: Opportunities to Optimize Health
Matthew Stenger
In an article in Annals of the American Thoracic Society, James L. Mulshine, MD, of the Center for Healthy Aging, Department of Medicine, Rush University, and colleagues maintained that the high frequency of emphysema newly identified during low-dose computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening ...
Idecabtagene Vicleucel vs Standard Regimens in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Paula Rodriguez-Otero, MD, PhD, of Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase III KarMMa-3 trial has shown superior progression-free survival with the B-cell maturation antigen–directed chime...
Yale Study Indicates Older Patients Are Excluded From Progress Against Lung Cancer
The ASCO Post Staff
The widespread use of immune checkpoint inhibitors has led to significant benefits in younger patients with advanced lung cancer; however, older patients have not experienced similar survival benefits, according to research from Yale Cancer Center. The study was published in JAMA Oncology.1 “Ther...
DESTINY-Breast03: T-DXd Improves Overall Survival vs T-DM1 in Previously Treated HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The Lancet by Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, of the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues, updated results of the phase III DESTINY-Breast03 trial showed significantly improved overall survival with fam-trastu...
Sotorasib Improves Progression-Free Survival vs Docetaxel in Previously Treated Advanced NSCLC With KRAS G12C Mutation
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The Lancet by Adrianus Johannes de Langen, MD, PhD, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, and colleagues, the phase III CodeBreaK200 trial has shown a small but significant improvement in progression-free survival with sotorasib vs docetaxel in previously treated advanced n...
Association of Baseline and Subsequent Cardiovascular Health Metrics to Risk for Incident Cancers
Matthew Stenger
In an analysis from the French GAZEL study reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Thomas Van Sloten, MD, PhD, of the Université Paris Cité, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Paris, and colleagues found that better cardiovascular health (CVH) scores at baseline and improvement in ...
Racial/Ethnic Disparities in All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality Among U.S. Patients With Cancer
Matthew Stenger
In an analysis reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Cenjing Zhu, MPhil, of the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale University, and colleagues found that Black patients with cancer in the United States were at increased risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular (CVD) mortality compared...
Rucaparib vs Physician’s Choice of Single-Agent Therapy in BRCA-Mutated Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Karim Fizazi, MD, PhD, of Gustave Roussy Institute, Paris-Saclay University, and colleagues, the phase III TRITON3 trial has shown significantly improved progression-free survival with rucaparib vs physician-selected single-agent therapy in the e...
Adjuvant Accelerated Partial-Breast Irradiation vs Whole-Breast Irradiation in Early Breast Cancer: 10 Year Outcomes of Phase III Study
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Vratislav Strnad, MD, PhD, of University Hospital Erlangen and Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen, Germany, and colleagues, 10-year outcomes in a phase III GEC-ESTRO (Groupe Européen de Curiethérapie and European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology) trial ...
Zanubrutinib Improves Progression-Free Survival vs Ibrutinib in Relapsed or Refractory CLL or SLL
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Jennifer R. Brown, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard University, and colleagues, the phase III ALPINE trial has shown significantly better progression-free survival with zanubrutinib, a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibito...
Mirvetuximab Soravtansine Active in Platinum-Resistant Ovarian Cancer With High FRα Expression
Matthew Stenger
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ursula A. Matulonis, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues, the phase II SORAYA study has shown activity of mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx, an antibody-drug conjugate targeting folate receptor α (FRα), in women with platinum-resist...
KRYSTAL-1 Confirms Activity of Adagrasib in KRAS G12C–Mutated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer and Highlights Need for Randomized Controlled Trials
Marwan Fakih, MD
KRAS G12C–mutated colorectal cancer represents 3% to 4% of metastatic colorectal cancers. Like other KRAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancers, this group of patients represents a patient population with an unmet need, with limited options beyond two lines of therapy. In contrast to other KRAS muta...
Significant Benefit With Addition of Daratumumab to Bortezomib/Dexamethasone in Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
Matthew Stenger
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Pieter Sonneveld, MD, PhD, of Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues, the final overall survival analysis of the phase III CASTOR trial has shown a significant benefit of the addition of daratumumab to bortezomib/dex...
Adagrasib With or Without Cetuximab in Previously Treated Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer and a KRAS G12C Mutation
Matthew Stenger
In a phase I/II trial (KRYSTAL-1) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Rona Yaeger, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and colleagues found that the KRAS G12C inhibitor adagrasib showed activity alone and in combination with cetuximab in heavily pretreated patients ...
Cardiovascular Events Before and After Initiation of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy for Cancer
Matthew Stenger
In a study reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Lavanya Kondapalli, MD, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, and colleagues found that cardiovascular events common in the general population were observed both prior to and after the initiation of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy ...
Risks of Cardiovascular and Immune-Related Adverse Events in Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy
Matthew Stenger
In a single academic hospital network retrospective case-control study reported in JACC:CardioOncology, Charlotte Lee, MD, of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, along with senior author Tomas Neilan, MD, MPH, of Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues found that patients with...
Study Explores the Addition of First-Line Atezolizumab in BRAF V600–Mutant Advanced Melanoma
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Paolo A. Ascierto, MD, of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Pascale, Naples, and colleagues, the second interim overall survival analysis of the phase III IMspire150 trial has shown a numeric but statist...
Addition of Neoadjuvant Nivolumab to Chemotherapy Improves Complete Pathologic Response Rate and Event-Free Survival in Resectable NSCLC
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Patrick M. Forde, MB, BCh, of Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, and colleagues, the phase III CheckMate 816 trial has shown improved pathologic complete response rate and event-free survival with the addition of nivolumab to platinum-based ch...
Novel Selective Estrogen Receptor Degraders in Advanced Breast Cancer: Use of Elacestrant in the Phase III EMERALD Trial
Melissa McShane, MD, and Lori J. Goldstein, MD, FASCO
Endocrine therapy is the foundation of first-line therapy in most patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. Many of these patients respond to endocrine therapy but eventually become resistant to it through both intrinsic and acquired resistance mechanisms. This...
Lisocabtagene Maraleucel Improves Event-Free Survival in Second-Line Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory LBCL
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The Lancet by Manali Kamdar, MD, of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase III TRANSFORM trial has shown significantly improved event-free survival with second-line lisocabtagene maraleucel vs standard-of-care salvage immunoc...
Increased Mortality From Comorbid Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Associated With Increased Social Vulnerability
Matthew Stenger
In a U.S.-based cross-sectional study reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Sarju Ganatra, MD, of Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Burlington, Massachusetts, and colleagues found that mortality from comorbid cancer and cardiovascular disease (CVD) was significantly higher in counties with higher v...
Elacestrant Improves Progression-Free Survival vs Standard Endocrine Therapy in Previously Treated Estrogen Receptor–Positive, HER2-Negative Advanced Breast Cancer
Matthew Stenger
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by François-Clément Bidard, MD, PhD, of the Institut Curie, Paris and Saint Cloud, and colleagues, the phase III EMERALD trial has shown prolonged progression-free survival with the oral selective estrogen receptor degrader elacestrant vs standard endo...
Axicabtagene Ciloleucel Improves Event-Free Survival vs Standard Care in Second-Line Treatment for Large B-Cell Lymphoma
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Frederick L. Locke, MD, of the Department of Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, and colleagues, the phase III ZUMA-7 trial in large B-cell lymphoma has shown improved event-free s...
T-DXd Improves Progression-Free Survival vs T-DM1 in Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Javier Cortés, MD, PhD, of the International Breast Cancer Center, Barcelona, and colleagues, the phase III DESTINY-Breast03 trial has shown significantly prolonged progression-free survival with fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) vs ado-tra...
Addition of Pembrolizumab to Chemotherapy Improves Event-Free Survival in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Peter Schmid, MD, PhD, of Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and colleagues, a preplanned interim analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-522 trial has shown improved event-free survival with the addition of pembrolizumab to neoad...
Cabozantinib Prolongs Progression-Free Survival in Previously Treated Radioiodine-Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer
Matthew Stenger
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Marcia S. Brose, MD, Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues, the phase III COSMIC-311 trial has shown that cabozantinib produced a numerically higher objective response rate and significantly prolonged progression-free survival vs pla...
ASCO Guideline Update Supports New Second- and Third-Line Treatments for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
Emily A. Kuhl, PhD
ASCO has issued a new practice guideline update on the use of systemic therapy for HER2-positive breast cancer, just 4 years after the previous practice guideline update was released in 2018.1,2 This latest update reviews results from multiple clinical trials published between 2016 and 2021 that cou...
Changing the Natural History of ER-Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer With the Introduction of CDK4/6 Inhibition
Richard S. Finn, MD
It has been 14 years since a collaboration between the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Pfizer identified a unique role for cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive human cell line models and demonstrated that these agents act synergistically...
