December 25, 2022 (View All Issues)
Brentuximab Vedotin Combined With Chemotherapy in Pediatric Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
On November 10, 2022, brentuximab vedotin was approved for use in combination with doxorubicin, vincristine, etoposide, prednisone, and cyclophosphamide for pediatric patients aged ≥ 2 years with previously untreated high-risk classical Hodgkin lymphoma.1
Supporting Efficacy Data
Approval was...
Indiana University Names Music Therapy Researcher Sheri Robb, PhD, as New Walther Professor of Supportive Oncology
Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine has named Sheri Robb, PhD, a Walther Professor of Supportive Oncology. This is one of five endowed positions to develop a supportive oncology program that encompasses research and patient care. Dr. Robb is a nationally renowned music therapy researcher,...
Understanding the Health Provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act and Their Implications for Oncology Care
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, signed into law on August 16, 2022, contains several important provisions regarding health care and drug pricing.1 In this article, I provide an overview of the legislation’s implications for oncology care, focusing on its provisions concerning drug price...
Alex Herrera, MD, Finds a Path From the Baseball Fields of Miami to a Leadership Role at City of Hope
Lymphoma expert Alex Herrera, MD, was born in Miami; his parents were just 19 years old when he was born. Dr. Herrera’s father was born in Puerto Rico to Cuban and Ecuadorian parents. His mother was born in Cuba and came to the United States via Operation Peter Pan, the clandestine program that...
Tremelimumab Combined With Durvalumab and Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in Metastatic NSCLC
On November 10, 2022, tremelimu-mab in combination with durvalumab and platinum-based chemotherapy was approved for patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with no sensitizing EGFR mutation or ALK genomic tumor aberrations.1
Supporting Efficacy Data
Approval was supported by...
From Immigrant Roots to a Budding Career in Oncology, Gladys Magaly Rodriguez, MD, Aims to Advance Health Equity in Vulnerable Populations
Gladys Magaly Rodriguez, MD, was born in Piedras Negras, Mexico, a city situated along the banks of the Rio Grande. At age 6, her family immigrated to Eagle Pass, Texas, a border town of some 30,000 people that is predominantly Latinx and Spanish speaking. “Even though I lived and attended school...
Traditional Chinese Medicine Herbal Formula Shen Ling Bai Zhu San for Chronic Diarrhea
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies sometimes used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Yen Nien (Jason) Hou, PharmD, DiplOM, LAc, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, focus on ...
Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center Establishes Geriatric Oncology Center of Excellence at Jefferson Health
Jefferson Health’s Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center (SKCC) recently launched the Geriatric Oncology Center of Excellence to address the needs of a growing patient population through innovative research and care delivery methods via a multidisciplinary approach. The center identifies and removes barriers ...
A Serendipitous Ride Along a Highway May Have Saved My Life
In 2017, I noticed a roadside billboard touting the benefits of low-dose computed tomography (CT) imaging for lung cancer screening. The message probably saved my life. The public service campaign, called Saved by the Scan from the American Lung Association, included an Internet address where I...
New Approaches Still Needed to Treat Patients With Cancer Who Have Serious Mental Illness
Although mandates by ASCO and the American Cancer Society to meet the needs of underserved populations have drawn much-needed awareness to the issue, patients with cancer who experience bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other debilitating mental illnesses continue to experience significantly...
Fox Chase Receives $6 Million Grant as Founding Member of New NCI Prevention Initiative
Fox Chase Cancer Center was recently awarded a grant for $6 million over the course of 5 years to develop a new Cancer Prevention-Interception Targeted Agent Discovery Program (CAP-IT). The new National Cancer Institute (NCI) program was created to establish a pipeline for the discovery of new...
How Do You Move Forward With a Life You Didn’t Choose After a Cancer Diagnosis?
“I was in bed in the surgical wing of Duke University Hospital when the doctor popped his head in and smiled apologetically before flicking on the fluorescent lights. It was 4:00 AM, the end of my second night in the hospital, but nobody sleeps in the conventional sense,” writes Kate Bowler in the...
Cedars-Sinai Cancer Leaders Assume New Roles
Lali Medina-Kauwe, PhD, former Co-Leader of the Cancer Biology Program in Cedars-Sinai Cancer, assumed a new role as Associate Director for Basic Research. The Cancer Biology Program will now be led by Dolores Di Vizio, MD, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in ...
Ivosidenib/Azacitidine for Newly Diagnosed IDH1-Mutant Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Patients Aged 75 or Older or With Comorbidities
On May 25, 2022, ivosidenib was approved for use in combination with azacitidine for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia with a susceptible IDH1 mutation, as detected by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved test, in patients aged 75 or older or in those who have comorbidities precluding...
MD Anderson and WHO Establish a New International Collaboration to Reduce the Global Burden of Women’s Cancers
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the World Health Organization (WHO) recently announced a formal agreement to establish a new international collaboration concentrated on reducing the global burden of women’s cancers. The agreement builds on years of collaboration between the...
Sodium Thiosulfate to Reduce the Risk of Cisplatin-Related Ototoxicity in Pediatric Patients With Localized Solid Tumors
On September 20, 2022, sodium thiosulfate was approved to reduce the risk of ototoxicity associated with cisplatin in pediatric patients (aged ≥ 1 month) with localized, nonmetastatic solid tumors.1
Supporting Efficacy Data
Approval was based on findings in the multicenter open-label SIOPEL 6...
2021 JADPRO Article of the Year Award Spotlights Management of Adverse Events in Immunotherapy
A team of advanced practice providers in the Department of Hematology/Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center have received the 2021 Article of the Year Award from the Journal of the Advanced Practitioner in Oncology (JADPRO). This award is given to one article each year that demonstrates an...
2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium Award Recipients Announced
The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), an SABCS cosponsor, honored two researchers for their significant contributions to breast cancer research at the 2022 SABCS.
2022 AACR Distinguished Lectureship in Breast Cancer Research
...
Ribociclib Plus Endocrine Therapy vs Combination Chemotherapy for Patients With Breast Cancer: Focus on Those in Visceral Crisis
According to findings from the phase II RIGHT Choice trial, many premenopausal patients with metastatic hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer experiencing visceral crisis are best treated with first-line ribociclib plus endocrine therapy rather than with chemotherapy.1
Ribociclib, ...
How the American Cancer Society Aims to Improve Outcomes in Breast and Cervical Cancers and Reduce Health Disparities
Just days before the publication of the 2022 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer on October 27, 2022,1 which showed a continued downward trend in cancer deaths, Karen Knudsen, MBA, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of the American Cancer Society (ACS), joined the First Lady Dr. Jill...
How Telemedicine Can Transform Clinical Research and Practice
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the world, and nowhere more so than in the health-care arena. Significant changes happened almost overnight in the delivery of medical care to focus on the safety and convenience of patients, staff, and providers. Although pilot efforts to integrate telemedicine...
T-DXd Confirmed as Preferred Second-Line Therapy for Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
The antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) proved to be superior to the antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), significantly improving progression-free survival and overall survival, in women with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer as ...
Research Exposes Inequities in Health-Care Access and Delivery for Blood Disorders
Several studies presented during the 2022 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition uncovered significant disparities in medical care and health outcomes among patients of different racial backgrounds, nationalities, and socioeconomic status across a range of blood...
Study Finds Lifileucel Active in Advanced Melanoma After Disease Progression on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Cell therapy with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) may address an important unmet need for patients with difficult-to-treat melanoma after disease progression on immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to data presented during the 2022 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting.1
...
From the Clinic to the Lab: Overcoming Resistance to Immune Checkpoint Therapy
As a result of breakthroughs in immune checkpoint inhibitors over the past decade, immunotherapy has joined surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy as one of the pillars of cancer treatment. However, nearly half of patients still do not benefit from immune checkpoint blockade.
During the 2022 ...
Study Finds Microbiome-Derived Vaccine Plus Nivolumab and Bevacizumab May Improve Outcomes in Recurrent Glioblastoma
A microbiome-derived therapeutic vaccine (EO2401) has demonstrated immune responses and anticancer activity in combination with nivolumab and bevacizumab in patients with recurrent glioblastoma, one of the most difficult-to-treat cancers, according to data presented at the 2022 Society for...
Risk-Reducing Bilateral Mastectomy May Help Women With High-Penetrance Genetic Mutations to Avoid Cancer
“Risk-reducing bilateral mastectomy allows a woman with a high-penetrance breast cancer-causing mutation to avoid an encounter with the experience of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment,” Seema A. Khan, MD, MPH, stated at the 2022 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.1 For these women, by avoiding...
Changing Landscape in the Management of High-Risk Lesions for Breast Cancer
As the population of women at increased risk for breast cancer grows, with an estimated 140,000 high-risk lesions diagnosed each year, “the landscape for surgical excision of high-risk lesions continues to evolve,” Melissa Pilewskie, MD, reported at the 2022 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium in...
World Cancer Research Fund International Launches New Flagship Research Program
The cancer prevention and survival research organization World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) International recently launched the Global Cancer Update Programme, a new and updated version of the organization’s flagship research program, which was previously known as the Continuous Update Project. This ...
How ASCO and the Oncology Community Came Together to Discuss Progress in Global Cancer Control and the Challenges Ahead
After a 4-year in-person hiatus because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the World Cancer Congress, hosted by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), held its first hybrid in-person and virtual meeting in October in Geneva. The conference brought together more than 2,000 attendees from...
Managing Severe Diarrhea in Patients With Cancer
Diarrhea in patients with cancer is a well-known phenomenon with clear guidelines for prevention and management. However, it remains a condition with poorly explored consequences and a lack of sufficient and fast-acting treatments.
In a webinar presented by members of the Multinational Association ...
Lung Cancer Screening Perceptions of Patients and Clinicians: The Power of Shared Decision-Making
Despite the benefits of lung cancer screening, including the high cure rate when found by screening compared to being discovered based on symptoms, the uptake of this technique among those who are eligible and where the screening is fully covered by insurance remains dismally low, on the order of...
Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia: Treatment and Prognosis, Part 2
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In the concluding half of this two-part installment, which began in our November 25 issue, Drs. Syed Ali Abutalib and Mrinal M. Patnaik continue to explore the current...
A Lifelong Love of Science Leads to a Leadership Role in Oncology for Laurie Glimcher, MD
For this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, Guest Editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Laurie Glimcher, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). She is also Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Principal...
Eyal Gottlieb, PhD, to Join MD Anderson as Vice President for Research
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center recently announced that Eyal Gottlieb, PhD, has been named the institution’s Vice President for Research. In this role, Dr. Gottlieb will oversee laboratory science departments leading innovative discovery and translational research across a variety ...
Barbara Burtness, MD, Named Chief Translational Research Officer for Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital
Barbara Burtness, MD, Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology), has been named Chief Translational Research Officer for Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital and Associate Cancer Center Director for Translational Research for Yale Cancer Center. Dr. Burtness’ experience, leadership, and...
Mirvetuximab Soravtansine for FRɑ-Positive, Platinum-Resistant Epithelial Ovarian, Fallopian Tube, or Peritoneal Cancer
On November 14, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx accelerated approval for patients with folate receptor alpha (FRα)-positive, platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who have received one to three...
AACR and ASCO Release Joint Policy Statement on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and ASCO recently released a joint policy statement outlining the latest research on the use of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and recommendations for regulating these products to protect public health. The...
Uniting on Shared Priorities to Improve Cancer Care: ASCO and ECO Formalize Collaboration With a Memorandum of Understanding
ASCO and the European Cancer Organisation (ECO) are pleased to announce a new collaboration, formalized with a recently signed memorandum of understanding, that will advance their shared aims on cancer control. The two organizations will continue to work together to support the ECO-ASCO Special...
Nearly All Oncology Providers Report Prior Authorization Causing Delayed Care, Other Patient Harms
Prior authorization is harming individuals with cancer, according to new survey results from ASCO. The survey found that prior authorization delays necessary care, worsens cancer care outcomes, and diverts clinicians from caring for their patients.
Nearly all survey participants reported a patient ...
Updated Position Statement on Drug Repository Programs Aims to Increase Access to Treatment
ASCO recently released an updated position statement on drug repository programs. The update shifts ASCO’s position to allow donation of oral cancer drug treatments in an open distribution system—which are drugs that have left the supply chain and have been dispensed to patients.
ASCO’s previous...
