Dual-Targeted Therapy Improves Outcomes vs Chemotherapy for Some Pediatric Patients With Low-Grade Glioma
The all-oral combination of dabrafenib plus trametinib—two targeted therapies—significantly improved the overall response rate vs standard-of-care chemotherapy with carboplatin plus vincristine in pediatric patients with BRAF V600 mutation–positive low-grade gliomas. The clinical benefit rate...
EAU22: New Research Supports Risk-Based Prostate Cancer Screening
Data from the world’s largest prostate cancer screening study provides further evidence to support the introduction of a targeted screening program for the disease, said researchers. In 2009, the European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) showed that screening can reduce...
EAU22: Study Finds Gut Microbes Differ in Patients With Prostate Cancer vs Those With Benign Biopsy Results
Researchers have found a significant difference in the gut microbiota of patients with prostate cancer compared with those who have benign biopsies. Although the finding is an association, it could partly explain the relationship between lifestyle effects and geographic differences in prostate...
New Consensus-Based Guidance on Managing Cancer Pain in Patients With Opioid Use Disorder or Opioid Misuse
Opioids are a cornerstone of cancer pain management, but there is a lack of consensus on how to treat pain patients with cancer who also have struggled with opioid use disorder or prescription opioid misuse. In a study published by Fitzgerald Jones et al in JAMA Oncology, researchers outlined...
Trastuzumab and Nivolumab Plus Either Ipilimumab or FOLFOX as First-Line Treatment for HER2-Positive Advanced Esophagogastric Adenocarcinoma
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Stein et al, the German phase II INTEGA trial showed improved survival with the addition of mFOLFOX6 (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin) vs the addition of ipilimumab to trastuzumab/nivolumab in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic...
Lisocabtagene Maraleucel as Second-Line Treatment for Relapsed or Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma: TRANSFORM Trial
As reported in The Lancet by Manali Kamdar, MD, 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 immunochemotherapy followed by autologous hematopoietic...
In Metastatic RAS Wild-Type Left-Sided Colorectal Cancer, Panitumumab Proves Superior to Bevacizumab
The preferred targeted therapy for left-sided RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer, in combination with standard chemotherapy, is panitumumab, not bevacizumab, based on a head-to-head comparison in the phase III PARADIGM trial. Panitumumab plus chemotherapy yielded the longest overall...
Chiara Cremolini, MD, PhD, Comments on Findings From the PARADIGM Trial
The invited discussant of PARADIGM, Chiara Cremolini, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Pisa, Italy, said the findings prospectively confirm the superior benefit of FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin) paired with panitumumab rather than bevacizumab in RAS...
Food Interventions and Cancer Treatment Completion Rates Among Food-Insecure Patients in New York City
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Francesca Gany, MD, MS, and colleagues found that food interventions were associated with high rates of cancer treatment completion rates among food-insecure patients in New York City (NYC).
Study Details
The study included 117 patients with...
Screening Study to Identify Risk Factors for Breast Cancer–Related Lymphedema
In a prospective single-institution study reported in JAMA Oncology, Giacomo Montagna, MD, MPH, and colleagues found that the risk for breast cancer–related lymphedema after axillary lymph node dissection was increased in Black and Hispanic patients, those who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and ...
FDA Warns About Possible Increased Risk of Death and Serious Side Effects With Duvelisib
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that results from the phase III DUO clinical trial show a possible increased risk of death with duvelisib compared to ofatumumab among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). The trial also found...
Association of CTC Levels With Outcomes in Transplant-Eligible Patients With Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bertamini et al found that higher levels of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) at diagnosis were associated with poorer progression-free and overall survival in transplant-eligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The prognostic...
Analysis Finds Prevalence of Colorectal Cancer Screenings Remains Low in Younger Adults
In 2020, nearly 150,000 Americans, mostly those aged 50 and older, were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. However, about 18,000 of those individuals were younger than age 50. And while colorectal cancer rates have decreased for people over age 50, they have been increasing by 51% since 1994 for...
Study Seeks to Determine if HER2-Low Breast Cancer Is a Distinct Biological and Prognostic Subtype of Disease
The treatment of breast cancer abounding in the protein HER2 was revolutionized with the introduction of drugs like trastuzumab that target the protein. When researchers discovered that breast cancers with lower levels of HER2 often respond to a trastuzumab-and-chemotherapy drug conjugate, they...
Outcomes in Pancreatic Cancer Surveillance Program for Carriers of Germline CDKN2A Pathogenic Variants
In a Dutch study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Klatte et al provided findings from a 20-year follow-up of a pancreatic cancer surveillance program including carriers of germline CDKN2A pathogenic variants.
Study Details
The study included 347 carriers in the Netherlands who...
Direct-Acting Antivirals in HCV-Associated Indolent Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Merli et al, the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi phase II BArT study has shown that primary treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas with direct-acting antivirals resulted in sustained virologic response in all...
Fulvestrant/Capivasertib for Aromatase Inhibitor–Resistant Advanced Breast Cancer: Overall Survival and Expanded Genetic Panel Analysis From the FAKTION Trial
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Howell et al, the phase II FAKTION trial has shown improved overall survival with the addition of the AKT inhibitor capivasertib to fulvestrant in patients with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer who experienced disease relapse or...
Rucaparib Maintenance Improves Progression-Free Survival in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Advanced Ovarian Cancer Who Responded to Platinum-Based Therapy
Maintenance therapy with the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib led to a significant improvement in progression-free survival compared with placebo in patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer who responded to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. The...
Expert Point of View: Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD
Invited discussant Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD, of University of Chicago Medicine, found the results of ATHENA-MONO promising. “I think it is encouraging that in the BRCA-mutation subgroup of patients, we see such a clear increase in progression-free survival compared to the intention-to-treat...
Is Focal Therapy With MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound Safe and Effective for Grade Group 2 or 3 Prostate Cancer?
In a phase IIb study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ehdaie et al found that focal ablation with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided focused ultrasound successfully treated a high proportion of patients with grade group 2 or 3 prostate cancer.
As stated by the investigators, “Men with grade...
NEJM Editors Publish Opinion Following Dobbs v Jackson Decision
On June 24, the editors of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published an editorial online in response to the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision in the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Court held in a vote of 5 to 4 that the Constitution of the United States does...
Early Transplant With Triplet Therapy May Delay Progression of Myeloma, but Individualized Approach Recommended
In the phase III DETERMINATION trial, progression-free survival was significantly improved with triplet induction therapy and early transplantation in newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma, but overall survival at 5 years was similar to the nontransplant approach.1 The findings were...
Chipping Away at Targetable Mutations in NSCLC: Amivantamab in NSCLC With MET Exon 14 Skipping Mutations
Dual targeting with the bispecific antibody amivantamab-vmjw showed antitumor activity and tolerability in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and MET exon 14 skipping mutations, according to results of the ongoing phase I CHRYSALIS study.1,2 Updated results were presented...
Expert Point of View: Ben Creelan, MD
Ben Creelan, MD, Associate Member of Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, provided some context for the CHRYSALIS study. “This dual bispecific antibody targeting both EGFR and MET clearly has potent single-agent activity in patients with MET exon 14 skipping NSCLC,” he said.
“For now, it is not...
Study Finds COVID-19 Vaccines Are Safe for Patients Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors for Lung Cancer
Patients with cancer have received priority status to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, but limited data are available regarding the safety and efficacy of the vaccines for patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors for lung cancer. Now, a new study published by Hibino et al in the Journal of...
Addition of Trastuzumab/Pertuzumab to Perioperative FLOT Chemotherapy in HER2-Positive Esophagogastric Adenocarcinoma
In the German phase II PETRARCA trial of the AIO EGA Study Group, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hofheinz et al found that the addition of trastuzumab and pertuzumab to perioperative FLOT (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) improved both the pathologic complete...
Risk of Interval Invasive and Advanced Breast Cancer: Screening With Digital Breast Tomosynthesis vs Digital Mammography
In a cohort study reported in JAMA, Karla Kerlikowske, MD, and colleagues found that screening with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) vs digital mammography was not associated with a lower risk of interval invasive breast cancer and was associated with a reduced risk of diagnosis of advanced...
Children’s Cancer Cause Accepting Applications Through July 31 for 2022 Survivorship Champion’s Prize
The national advocacy group Children’s Cancer Cause, which plays a leadership role in advocacy and training on national issues affecting childhood cancer, has established an annual $10,000 award, the Survivorship Champion’s Prize, to be presented to a group, program, or institution making...
18 Million Cancer Survivors in the United States, New Report Shows
A new report led by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) shows more than 18 million Americans (8.3 million males and 9.7 million females) with a history of cancer were living in the United States as of January 1, 2022, with a...
Long-Term Morbidity in AML Survivors Treated With Blood or Bone Marrow Transplantation
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Saro H. Armenian, DO, MPH, and colleagues, findings from the BMT Survivor Study (BMTSS) indicated that survivors of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with blood or marrow transplantation (BMT) are at a markedly increased risk of...
Expert Point of View: Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd
Invited discussant of the DETERMINATION trial, Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, Professor of Applied Cancer Research and Drug Discovery at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, City of Hope Cancer Center, described the many implications of the important findings for DETERMINATION and offered some ...
Structural Racism and Health-Care System Barriers May Contribute to Breast Biopsy Delays
Black and Asian women are more likely than White women to experience significant delays in getting breast biopsies after a mammogram identifies an abnormality. Moreover, those delays appear to be influenced by screening site–specific factors that may stem from structural racism, according to...
Role of Combined Positive Score With Treatment Outcomes in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer
In an analysis of the KEYNOTE-048 trial reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Yu et al identified outcomes with pembrolizumab alone or combined with chemotherapy vs cetuximab plus chemotherapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with a low or...
Biden Administration Announces New Model to Improve Cancer Care for Medicare Patients
On June 27, the Biden Administration, through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced a new model aimed at improving cancer care for Medicare patients and lowering health-care costs. CMS’ Center for Medicare and...
ASCO Statement on Supreme Court Decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health
On June 27, ASCO released a statement on the recent ruling in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health.
ASCO is committed to the delivery of medically appropriate, equitable, evidence-based cancer care. For patients of child-bearing age, a cancer diagnosis raises medical considerations around pregnancy and...
AI May Be Used to Identify Benign Thyroid Nodules and Reduce Unnecessary Biopsies
Artificial intelligence (AI) may be used to identify thyroid nodules seen on thyroid ultrasound that are very unlikely to be cancerous, reducing a large number of unnecessary biopsies, according to a study presented at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s Annual Meeting.
Thyroid nodules are very...
Study Links Diabetes and Worse Outcomes in Long-Term Survivors of Metastatic Breast Cancer
Women who are longer-term survivors of metastatic breast cancer may have a worse survival rate if they have diabetes and poorly controlled blood sugar levels, according to a new study presented at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s Annual Meeting.
This is the first study to specifically examine the ...
Raising the Bar: Rethinking the Accelerated Drug Approval Process
Our growing knowledge of the molecular and genomic drivers of cancer has translated into a robust pipeline of promising anticancer agents. However, bringing new drugs from the lab to the patient with cancer can be frustratingly slow. To that end, the accelerated approval system was created by the...
Chemicals in Personal Care Products May Increase Breast Cancer Risk in Black Women
The group of compounds called parabens, which are found in widely used hair and personal care products, may increase breast cancer risk in Black women—more so than in White women—according to a study presented at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s Annual Meeting.
One in eight women in the United...
FDA Approves Lisocabtagene Maraleucel for the Second-Line Treatment of Large B-Cell Lymphoma
On June 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy lisocabtagene maraleucel (Breyanzi) for adult patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) who have disease refractory to first-line chemoimmunotherapy or relapse within 12 months of...
Circulating Tumor Cells in the Staging of Newly Diagnosed Patients With Transplant-Eligible Multiple Myeloma
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Garcés et al found that increasing levels of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) at diagnosis were associated with poorer outcomes in newly diagnosed patients with transplant-eligible multiple myeloma, and that inclusion of CTCs in a risk model...
Ipilimumab Plus Nivolumab Improves Progression-Free Survival in Advanced Melanoma
Patients with advanced melanoma whose cancer does not respond to treatment with PD-1 inhibitors are often switched to treatment with a second type of immunotherapy drug, a CTLA-4 inhibitor such as the drug ipilimumab. In a phase II trial presented by Vanderwalde et al during the American...
Dabrafenib/Trametinib Combination Receives FDA Approval for BRAF V600E–Mutated Solid Tumors
On June 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval for dabrafenib (Tafinlar) plus trametinib (Mekinist) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 6 years and older with unresectable or metastatic solid tumors with a BRAF V600E mutation whose disease...
FDA Denies Authorization to Market JUUL Products
On June 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued marketing denial orders (MDOs) to JUUL Labs Inc for all of their products currently marketed in the United States. As a result, the company must stop selling and distributing these products. In addition, those currently on the U.S....
Study Predicts Cancer Cases and Deaths in Africa Could Double by 2040
Cancer cases and deaths are expected to double in Africa over the next 2 decades, according to findings from a study published by Sharma et al in Frontiers in Medicine. The study also revealed that the region lacks sufficient health-care resources and infrastructure to handle this growing cancer...
Nivolumab/Cabozantinib vs Sunitinib in First-Line Treatment for Advanced RCC: Overall Survival Analysis of CheckMate 9ER Trial
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Robert J. Motzer, MD, and colleagues, the protocol-defined final overall survival analysis of the phase III CheckMate 9ER trial showed a significant benefit with nivolumab/cabozantinib vs sunitinib in previously untreated patients with advanced renal cell...
Venetoclax Plus Cladribine and Low-Dose Cytarabine Alternating With Azacitidine and Venetoclax in Newly Diagnosed Older or Unfit Patients With AML
In a single-institution phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tapan M. Kadia, MD, and colleagues found that venetoclax and a lower-intensity backbone of cladribine and low-dose cytarabine alternating with azacitidine and venetoclax resulted in a high response rate in older...
Outcomes of Pancreas Surveillance in the CAPS5 Study and Total CAPS Cohort
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Dbouk et al, in the multicenter Cancer of Pancreas Screening-5 (CAPS5) study and in the total CAPS cohort (CAPS1–5 studies), cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma among enrolled high-risk individuals that were screen-detected during...
Ovarian Cancer: First-Line Every-3-Week Carboplatin/Paclitaxel vs Weekly Dose-Dense Regimens
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Andrew R. Clamp, PhD, and colleagues, no significant differences in overall survival or updated progression-free survival were found with first-line treatment with weekly dose-dense regimens of carboplatin/paclitaxel vs every-3-week carboplatin/paclitaxel in...
Factors That May Predict Response to the Addition of Bevacizumab to Front-Line Chemotherapy in Patients With Endometrial Cancer
In an analysis from an NRG Oncology/Gynecologic Oncology Group phase II study (GOG-86P) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Thiel et al looked at outcomes in patients with advanced endometrial cancer treated with bevacizumab added to front-line chemotherapy. The investigators found that...
Study Links Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Liver Cancer Risk
A study of more than 90,000 postmenopausal women found that those who consumed at least one sugar-sweetened beverage daily faced a 78% higher risk of developing liver cancer compared with people who consumed less than three servings per month of such beverages. These findings were presented by Zhao ...
Study Examines How Diet Quality May Affect Breast Cancer Risk
Research shows that what we eat may influence our cancer risk, but it’s not always clear which foods or dietary patterns are best for cancer prevention. Results from a new study presented by Shah et al during Nutrition 2022 Live Online, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition,...
Mismatch in Breast Cancer Trial Results and Real-World Outcomes Based on Treatment Discontinuation
New research published by Zeng et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network raises issues with clinical trial findings that show adjuvant hormone therapy–related hot flashes predict better treatment outcomes among patients with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer. The...
Study Identifies Three-Gene Signature That May Predict Response to Selinexor in Patients With Multiple Myeloma
Researchers have, for the first time, identified genes that may predict response to a therapy for a blood cancer that can have serious side effects for some patients. The therapy, selinexor, is part of the treatment armamentarium for multiple myeloma, but the ability to target its use to patients...
New Perspective Shows Higher Breast Cancer Mortality for Black Women Emerged 40 Years Ago
A new perspective piece authored by researchers from the American Cancer Society and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio shows the high burden of breast cancer mortality among Black women as compared to White women began in the United States in the 1980s. At that time,...
Does Receipt of Adjuvant Chemotherapy After Primary Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection Affect Outcomes for Patients With Nonseminomatous Germ Cell Tumors?
In a single-institution study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tachibana et al found high recurrence-free survival rates among patients with pathologic stage II nonseminomatous germ cell tumors who underwent primary retroperitoneal lymph node dissection and who did not receive adjuvant ...
Treatment of Anal High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions to Prevent Anal Cancer in Persons With HIV
In the phase III ANCHOR study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Palefsky et al found that treatment of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions was successful in preventing anal cancer vs active monitoring in persons infected with HIV.
Study Details
In the multicenter trial,...
Cabozantinib and Atezolizumab for Patients With Progressive Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer Post–Hormonal Therapy
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Neeraj Agarwal, MD, and colleagues, findings in the expansion cohort of the phase Ib COSMIC-021 trial indicate activity of the combination of cabozantinib and atezolizumab in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer whose disease progressed ...
Four New Teams Receive $100M to Take on Cancer's Toughest Challenges
Representing a total investment of $100 million, the following teams are the first to be funded through the partnership between Cancer Research UK and the National Cancer Institute in the United States. These teams join the Cancer Grand Challenges community, which now unites more than 700...
FLT3 Inhibitor Crenolanib in Combination With Chemotherapy for Newly Diagnosed Patients With FLT3-Mutant AML
Eunice Wang, MD, Chief of Leukemia at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues presented the long-term results of a phase II clinical trial combining crenolanib, a second-generation FLT3 inhibitor, with standard intensive chemotherapy for the treatment of adults with newly diagnosed ...
Study Finds High-Dose Ifosfamide Superior to Other Standard-of-Care Treatments in Recurrent and Primary Refractory Ewing Sarcomas
Use of high-dose ifosfamide was found to be superior for treating recurrent and primary refractory Ewing sarcomas compared with three other standard-of-care treatments used for the disease, according to research presented by McCabe et al during the Plenary Session at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting (
Study Finds Diagnostic Mammography Performance Varies Across Racial and Ethnic Groups
The disparities in female breast cancer incidence and mortality among racial and ethnic groups is well documented. Studies show that while Black women have a lower incidence of breast cancer compared with White women, they are 41% more likely to die from the disease than White women. Breast cancer...
Are Virtual Frailty Assessments for Older Patients With Hematologic Malignancies Effective?
According to a study published by DuMontier et al in the journal Blood Advances, frailty assessments—geriatric exams considered essential to predicting health outcomes in older adults with cancer—are both safe and feasible when conducted virtually for patients with blood cancers. While providers...
Germline Variants in Types of Cancer Without Hereditary Testing Guidelines
In a study reported in JAMA Network Open, Timothy A. Yap, MBBS, PhD, FRCP, and colleagues found that a substantial proportion of patients with cancer types that lacked hereditary testing guidelines harbored germline pathogenic/likely pathogenic variants.
Study Details
The study included data from ...
MMP-7 Expression and Pathologic Response to Neoadjuvant Treatment in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer Undergoing Resection
In a single-institution study reported in JAMA Surgery, Shoucair et al found that matrix metalloproteinase 7 (MMP-7) expression in fine-needle aspiration biopsy specimens was associated with pathologic response to neoadjuvant therapy in patients undergoing resection for pancreatic ductal...
Overall Survival in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer in Phase III Trials and SEER Database Over a 30-Year Period
In a study reported in JAMA Network Open, Shen et al found that data from both phase III trials and the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database indicate significant improvements in overall survival for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer over a 30-year period. Increases...
FDA Authorizes Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccines for Children as Young as 6 Months of Age
On June 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized emergency use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 to include use in children as young as 6 months of age.
For the Moderna vaccine, the FDA amended the emergency...
Real-World Association Between Smoking History and Overall Survival With First-Line Pembrolizumab in Patients With Advanced NSCLC
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Sanjay Popat, FRCP, PhD, and colleagues found that among patients initiating first-line pembrolizumab for EGFR and ALK wild-type advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), ever-smokers had significantly better overall survival vs...
Survival With Stereotactic Radiosurgery vs Whole-Brain Radiotherapy in Patients With SCLC and Intracranial Metastatic Disease
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Gaebe et al found that stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) was associated with “equitable survival” compared with whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in the first-line treatment of intracranial metastatic disease in patients with...
Neoadjuvant Nivolumab Plus Chemotherapy in Resectable Stage IIIA NSCLC: Overall Survival and Biomarker Analyses
In analyses from a Spanish phase II trial (NADIM) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Provencio et al found a high rate of 3-year overall survival in patients with operable stage IIIA non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received neoadjuvant nivolumab plus chemotherapy. Survival was...
Intracranial Efficacy of Lorlatinib vs Crizotinib in ALK-Positive Advanced NSCLC
In a post hoc analysis from the phase III CROWN trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Benjamin J. Solomon, MBBS, PhD, and colleagues found that progression-free survival and the risk of central nervous system (CNS) progression were improved with lorlatinib vs crizotinib in previously...
Adagrasib Improves Outcomes in KRAS-Mutated NSCLC, Phase II Study Shows
Nearly 43% of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose lung cancers harbored a specific KRAS mutation responded to the experimental drug adagrasib, and the targeted agent also showed activity against lesions in the brain that metastasized from the lung tumors, according to results of...
Study Investigates Rural/Urban Disparities in Hospice Care Among Patients With Hematologic Malignancies
People with blood cancers living in rural areas are less likely to receive end-of-life hospice care compared to those living in metropolitan regions, according to a new study published by Hussaini et al in the journal Blood Advances. In this study, researchers identified significant disparities in...
Postmarketing Ocular Toxicity in U.S. Adults Treated With Daratumumab
In an analysis reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Nguyen et al identified postmarketing cases of ocular toxicity in patients receiving daratumumab in the United States. Daratumumab is a CD38-directed monoclonal antibody that was initially approved in 2015 for the treatment of multiple...
MRD-Guided Cessation of Treatment in Patients Receiving Venetoclax/Ibrutinib for Relapsed or Refractory CLL
In a phase II trial (HOVON141/VISION) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Arnon P. Kater, MD, PhD, and colleagues found a high rate of 12-month progression-free survival among patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who stopped venetoclax/ibrutinib after achieving...
Study Reveals Racial Disparities in Guideline-Concordant Care for Patients With Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer
In a large national study, Black patients diagnosed with early-onset colorectal cancer received worse and less timely care than their White counterparts. Differences in health insurance coverage type, a modifiable factor, according to the findings, accounted for the largest identified contributor...
Addition of Atezolizumab to FOLFOXIRI/Bevacizumab for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
In an Italian phase II trial (AtezoTRIBE) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Antoniotti et al found that the addition of atezolizumab to FOLFOXIRI (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, irinotecan) and bevacizumab improved progression-free survival in the first-line treatment of patients with...
'Unprecedented' 100% of First 14 Untreated Patients With Rectal Cancer Respond to PD-1 Blocker Dostarlimab-gxly
Rarely, if ever, has one abstract presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting warranted its own session—but that happened with a small but mighty study from Memorial Sloan Kettering. In a study of patients with locally advanced mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) rectal cancer, 6 months of treatment with the ...
Can Abemaciclib Provide Good Clinical Outcomes in Patients With High-Risk Hormone Receptor–Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer Who Received Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy?
In a prespecified analysis from the phase III monarchE trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Miguel Martín, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the addition of adjuvant abemaciclib to endocrine therapy was associated with improved outcomes among women with high-risk hormone receptor–positive,...
Androgen Receptor Signaling May Contribute to Targeted Therapy Resistance in Patients With Melanoma
Androgen receptor (AR) signaling may affect response to BRAF/MEK inhibitor therapy in both male and female patients with melanoma, according to findings from a study published by Vellano et al in Nature. The report provides a new target to combat therapeutic resistance and one possible answer to...
Study Finds Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer May Often Be Undertreated for Modifiable Cardiovascular Risk Factors
Adults who survive childhood cancer have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than the general population, yet they are 80% more likely to be undertreated for several cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol, according to new research published by Eric J. ...
Demethylation and Upregulation of the Oncogene SALL4 After Hypomethylating Therapy
In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Liu et al found that hypomethylating therapy was associated with upregulation of the oncogene SALL4 in a high proportion of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome. They also identified the gene region that is demethylated and responsible...
Potential Association of the 2012 USPSTF Grade D Recommendation Against PSA Screening With Changes in Prostate Cancer–Specific Mortality
In a study reported in JAMA Network Open, Burgess et al found that the 2012 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) Grade D recommendation against prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for all men appeared to be associated with ending of a trend of annual reductions in prostate...
Proposed Second Revision of the International Staging System for Survival in Multiple Myeloma
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by D’Agostino et al in the European Myeloma Network, a second revision (R2-ISS) of the Revised International Staging System (R-ISS) incorporates a risk scoring system that permits delineation of four prognostic risk groups in newly diagnosed multiple...
Risk of Skin Desquamation With Breast Radiotherapy: Does Position Change Outcomes in Large-Breasted Women?
In a Canadian phase III trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Vesprini et al found that receipt of adjuvant breast radiotherapy in the supine position was associated with increased risk of moist desquamation of skin vs receipt in the prone position among large-breasted women with breast cancer.
Study...
Longitudinal Liquid Biopsy for Circulating Tumor Cells in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bootsma et al found that higher circulating tumor cell (CTC) enumeration trajectory identified through longitudinal liquid biopsy was associated with poorer survival in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment for metastatic...
Fam-Trastuzumab Deruxtecan-nxki Doubles Progression-Free Survival in HER2-Low Metastatic Breast Cancer
The use of fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki doubled progression-free survival compared with the standard-of-care treatment plus conventional chemotherapy. It also significantly improved overall survival for patients with metastatic breast cancers expressing low levels of the HER2 receptor,...
Ramucirumab/Pembrolizumab vs Standard of Care in Patients With Advanced NSCLC Previously Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
In the phase II Lung-MAP substudy S1800A presented at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 9004) and simultaneously reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Karen L. Reckamp, MD, and colleagues found that the combination of ramucirumab and pembrolizumab improved overall survival vs...
Magrolimab Plus Azacitidine in TP53-Mutant AML
High-risk patients with TP53-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have limited treatment options and very poor prognoses. Magrolimab is a monoclonal antibody designed to block CD47, an immune macrophage checkpoint molecule that signals “don’t eat me,” thereby allowing leukemia cell destruction....
Adding Targeted Therapy to Chemoimmunotherapy May Offer Long-Term Benefits for Patients With IGHV-Mutated CLL
In a phase II study, researchers evaluated the efficacy of ibrutinib, fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and obinutuzumab—a chemoimmunotherapy and targeted therapy combination—in 45 previously untreated patients with IGHV-mutated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Nitin Jain, MD, of the Department of...
Triplet Combination Therapy Yields High Response Rates in Patients With FLT3-Mutated AML
FLT3-ITD–mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive disease usually resistant to available treatment options, resulting in high front-line response rates but short response durations and low survival rates. Quizartinib—a potent selective FLT3 inhibitor—can work synergistically with...
Real-World Uptake of FGFR-Alteration Testing and Gene-Targeted Therapy for Patients With Urothelial Cancer
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Nimgaonkar et al found that less than half of patients with urothelial cancer who had received first-line platinum-based therapy underwent testing for FGFR alterations and that less than half of patients with susceptible alterations...
Metformin vs Placebo in Patients With High-Risk Operable Breast Cancer Receiving Standard Treatment
As reported in JAMA by Pamela J. Goodwin, MD, MSc, FRCPC, FASCO, the phase III MA.32 trial showed no invasive disease–free survival benefit with metformin vs placebo in patients without diabetes receiving standard therapy for high-risk nonmetastatic breast cancer.
Study Details
In the...
Targeted Therapy Emavusertib Shows Activity in Patients With MDS or AML With Specific Mutations
Mutations in SF3B1 and U2AF1 can drive overexpression of activated IRAK4—which regulates inflammation and promotes cancer cell growth and survival—and are associated with a poor prognosis for patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Emavusertib is a...
Allogeneic CAR T-Cell Therapy for Relapsed or Refractory T-Cell Lymphoma
Patients with relapsed or refractory T-cell lymphoma have limited treatment options. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has been challenging in these patients because of the state of their T cells. CTX130 is an allogeneic CAR T-cell therapy targeting CD70 on cancerous T cells, offering...
Ponatinib Plus Blinatumomab for Patients With Philadelphia Chromosome–Positive ALL
The tyrosine kinase inhibitor ponatinib and monoclonal antibody blinatumomab—which targets CD19 on leukemia cells—are highly effective as monotherapies for patients with Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The combination of the two therapies may provide an...
MajesTEC-1: Bispecific Antibody Teclistamab for Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
In the phase I/II MajesTEC-1 trial presented at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 8007) and simultaneously published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Philippe Moreau, MD, and colleagues found that the bispecific antibody teclistamab produced responses in nearly two-thirds of patients...
Personalized ctDNA Testing and Late Recurrence in High-Risk HR-Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer
In a study presented at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 103) and simultaneously reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lipsyc-Sharf et al found that personalized circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing was successful in detecting measurable residual disease (MRD) prior to late clinical...
Differences in Germline Variant Spectrum Between Black and White Men With Prostate Cancer
In a study presented at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 10502) and simultaneously published in JCO Precision Oncology, Veda N. Giri, MD, and colleagues found that Black men with prostate cancer exhibited a lower frequency and narrower spectrum of germline pathogenic or likely pathogenic...
Momelotinib for Symptomatic and Anemic Patients With Myelofibrosis
Once-daily treatment with the oral JAK1/2 and ACVR1/ALK2 inhibitor momelotinib significantly improved outcomes of patients treated for myelofibrosis. Ruben Mesa, MD, FACP, and colleagues presented results of the MOMENTUM phase III randomized study, which evaluated momelotinib vs danazol in...
