August 25, 2025 (View All Issues)
Tafasitamab Combined With Lenalidomide and Rituximab Improved Outcomes in Relapsed or Refractory Follicular Lymphoma
Adding tafasitamab-cxix, an anti-CD19 monoclonal antibody, to lenalidomide and rituximab significantly prolonged progression-free survival in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, according to data presented at the 2025 European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress.1
Results...
Potential New Second-Line Standard of Care Emerges in Small Cell Lung Cancer
In patients with small cell lung cancer, second-line treatment with the bispecific T-cell engager tarlatamab-dlle (which targets the delta-like ligand 3 [DLL3]) vs standard-of-care chemotherapy appeared to significantly improve overall survival, progression-free survival, and patient-reported...
Is This the End of Cancer Research as We Know It?
Ongoing efforts to rein in government spending have been described as a “chainsaw for bureaucracy.” It’s an apt metaphor for the haphazard budget cuts that many federal agencies are still experiencing.
On February 7, 2025, the chainsaw made its way to facilities and administrative (F&A)...
Upfront Radical Cytoreductive Surgery Extends Progression-Free Survival in Advanced Ovarian Cancer
The TRUST trial is the first phase III randomized study to show improved progression-free survival for primary cytoreductive surgery compared with interval surgery without compromising short-term or long-term quality of life, although the study failed to meet its primary endpoint of overall...
Alcohol-Associated Cancer Death Rates Are Climbing
Alcohol-associated cancer deaths have doubled in the United States, disproportionately affecting men and those aged 55 or older, according to the results of an observational study presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 Over the study period of 30 years, proportional mortality rates increased...
Nivolumab Added to Chemoradiotherapy Reduced Recurrence Risk in High-Risk Head and Neck Cancer
Adding the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab to standard chemoradiotherapy after surgery significantly reduced recurrence rates for patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma who are at high risk for recurrence, according to data presented at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting.1
At a...
Emerging PD-1 Inhibitor Plus Chemotherapy Shows Efficacy in Second-Line Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
The addition of the PD-1 inhibitor sintilimab to ICE (ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide) chemotherapy appeared to significantly improve the complete remission rate and showed a trend toward improved progression-free survival in second-line classical Hodgkin lymphoma, according to Yuankai Shi,...
ASCO Names 2025 Q1, Q2 FASCO Recipients
Launched in 2007 and formerly called the ASCO Statesman Award, the FASCO distinction honors members for their extraordinary volunteer service, engagement, and dedication to American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Association for Clinical Oncology (collectively ASCO). Listed here are the FASCO ...
Similar Efficacy, Improved Safety Achieved Without Concurrent Cisplatin for Locoregionally Advanced Nasopharyngeal Cancer
The PD-1 inhibitor toripalimab in combination with an induction chemoradiotherapy regimen free of concurrent cisplatin demonstrated noninferior efficacy and superior safety compared with the same regimen plus concurrent cisplatin in patients with high-risk, locoregionally advanced nasopharyngeal...
Studies on EGFR Mutations and NRG1 Fusions Included in ASCO NSCLC Living Guideline Update
ASCO has issued a new update to its living guideline on treatment of stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with driver alterations based on two recent studies.1 The update, which amends the most recent version published in February 2025, includes a discussion of osimertinib therapy options in ...
New Report Supports Overhaul of Cancer Drug Dosing
A new study calls for a paradigm shift in how cancer drug dosages are determined, concluding that the long-standing practice of using the “maximum tolerated dose” (MTD) may be outdated, harmful to patients, and ill-suited for modern cancer therapies.
“The Totality of the Evidence: Optimizing...
Best of ASCO 20th Anniversary: Advancing Medicine and Patient Care, ASCO Style!
For the 20th year in a row, major advances in cancer research and practice-changing clinical trials from the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting (ASCO25) were presented at the ASCO-licensed Best of ASCO meeting, held on July 18–19, 2025, in Beirut, Lebanon. It was indeed a great celebration and commitment to...
Experimental Approach to Graft-vs-Host Disease Prophylaxis Offers Alternative to Standard Regimen
Prevention of graft-vs-host disease was far superior with a cyclophosphamide/cyclosporin-based regimen than with standard prophylaxis in patients receiving a matched-sibling donor stem cell transplant in a large Australian randomized trial, investigators reported at the European Hematology...
Studies Explore Cardiac Risks and Clinical Characteristics Associated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor–Related Myocarditis
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have significantly impacted treatment options for a wide range of cancers given their efficacy, especially among cancer types that are considered immunologically “hot.” With this broad benefit across many tumor types, researchers continue to look for ways to...
Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors, Cardiovascular Health, and a Potentially Protective Biomarker
New research out of Spain has shown that patients with cancer who had lower levels of the biomarker CD69 (receptor on T cells) before starting treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) had a more negative immune response and were at higher risk of cardiovascular damage and myocarditis.1...
The Inflation Reduction Act and Ibrutinib
In August 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a negotiated price for the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib that is 38% lower than the manufacturer’s list price. This new price will go into effect in January 2026. Negotiations began following...
ASH Announces 2025 Hematologists to Be Honored With Top Awards and Distinguished Lectures
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) will recognize 11 hematologists who have made significant contributions to the field with several honorific awards and prestigious lectures at the 2025 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition in Orlando, Florida, on December 6–9.
Rainer Storb, MD, of Fred...
A Young Hematologist’s Take on ICML 2025
From Dr. Bruce Cheson’s electric speech on how it all started with pentostatin in hairy cell leukemia, to the introduction of bendamustine in indolent lymphoma, to the development of R-squared (an innovative chemotherapy-free approach to treating lymphoma)—the nostalgia at the International...
A Diagnosis of Stage IV Lung Cancer at 18 Has Tested My Faith—and Made It Stronger
The main symptom that eventually led to my diagnosis of stage IV adenocarcinoma non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) started in the fall of 2009. I was just 17 and in my freshman year at college when I began experiencing a persistent cough. The coughing became so unrelenting over the next month, I...
