February 25, 2025 (View All Issues)
Experimental Regimen Demonstrates Benefit in BRAF V600E–Mutant Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
The BRAF inhibitor encorafenib plus the monoclonal antibody cetuximab combined with mFOLFOX (modified folinic acid, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin) significantly improved overall response in BRAF V600E–mutant metastatic colorectal cancer, according to data presented at the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal ...
Only Half of Young Adults With Cancer Are Told of Fertility Preservation Options by Their Providers: Strategies for Improving That Number
Each year in the United States, approximately 90,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs), defined as those between the ages of 15 and 39, are diagnosed with cancer, and about 9,300 die of the disease.1 Worldwide, the number of new cases of cancer in this age population tops 1,300,200—an increase of ...
Lung-MAP 3.0: Simplifying the Process to Meet Patients’ Needs
The Lung Cancer Master Protocol (Lung-MAP) is an innovative clinical trial designed to efficiently address the unmet needs of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following front-line therapy. This pioneering effort was the first biomarker-driven umbrella master protocol...
Dual Immunotherapy Extended Progression-Free Survival in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Subgroup
An immunotherapy combination for advanced, highly mutated colorectal cancer has significantly delayed disease progression vs single-agent therapy, according to data presented at the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.1
The phase III CheckMate 8HW trial compared the PD-1 inhibitor...
New Blood-Based Screening Test Accurately Detects Colorectal Cancer Risk in Adults Aged 45 and Older
Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. This year, it’s expected that more than 53,000 individuals will die of the disease.1
Although screening for colorectal cancer through colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy is effective in detecting the...
Novel Menin Inhibitors Show Safety and Activity in Several Clinical Trials
The recently approved menin inhibitor revumenib is poised to improve the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), specifically for disease with a KMT2A rearrangement. Promising results for other novel menin inhibitors now in development—with their unique safety and activity profiles—suggest the...
Can R-CHOP–Like Therapy Effectively Treat Late-Relapse DLBCL?
Late relapse of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) may represent a new lymphoma arising from a common precursor cell that is essentially chemotherapy-naive. Treatment with curative intent using a second-line regimen like R-CHOP (rituximab cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, prednisone, and...
ChatGPT Has Limitations in Clinical Utility for Colorectal Cancer but May Be Useful for Patient Education
A study evaluating ChatGPT’s ability to accurately respond to patient inquiries regarding colon cancer by comparing its responses with assessments from expert clinical oncologists found that questions about symptoms, prevention, and screening for the cancer were highly accurate. However, responses...
FDA Approves Preparative Regimen for Allogeneic HSCT in Patients With AML or MDS
On January 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved treosulfan (Grafapex), an alkylating agent, with fludarabine as a preparative regimen for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in adult and pediatric patients 1 year of age and older with acute myeloid leukemia ...
Early-Stage Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma
“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.”
—Muhammad Ali
Long-term survival in early-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) was first made possible by the introduction of the mantle and inverted Y fields of radiotherapy in the 1960s. The addition of...
Jennifer A. Woyach, MD, Named The Ohio State’s Director of Hematology
Jennifer A. Woyach, MD, a hematology cancer expert and researcher who has been with The Ohio State for more than 12 years, has been named Director of the Division of Hematology at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research...
BOREAS Trial: Navtemadlin Demonstrates Clinical Benefit in JAK Inhibitor–Refractory Myelofibrosis
The oral MDM2 inhibitor navtemadlin is the first single agent to demonstrate significant efficacy in JAK (Janus kinase) inhibitor–refractory myelofibrosis, achieving improvements in spleen volume, symptoms, and biomarkers, according to data presented at the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) ...
Bicistronic CAR T-Cell Therapy Demonstrates Clinical Activity in Relapsed or Refractory B-Cell ALL
A novel bicistronic CD19/CD22-directed CAR T-cell therapy (B019) has demonstrated high remission rates, durable responses, and a favorable safety profile among children with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), including those with isolated or combined extramedullary...
ASCO Updates Guidelines on Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Advanced Ovarian Cancer
ASCO has updated its guidelines on the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients newly diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer, underscoring key considerations in selecting patients for treatment and where to go from there.1
Since ASCO’s previous guidelines were published in 2016, there has...
Imlunestrant Alone or With Abemaciclib: An All-Oral Targeted Therapy for ER-Positive Advanced Breast Cancer
The investigational next-generation oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) imlunestrant improved progression-free survival both as monotherapy in patients with ESR1 mutations and in combination with the CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib regardless of ESR1 mutational status in patients with...
FDA Approves Acalabrutinib With Bendamustine and Rituximab for Previously Untreated Mantle Cell Lymphoma
On January 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted traditional approval to the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor acalabrutinib (Calquence) with bendamustine and rituximab for adults with previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma who are ineligible for autologous hematopoietic stem...
T-DXd Approved by the FDA for Pretreated Patients With HER2-Low or -Ultralow Metastatic Breast Cancer
The antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-low (immunohistochemistry [IHC] 1+ or IHC 2+/in situ...
FDA Approves First Companion Diagnostic to Identify Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer Eligible for T-DXd
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a label expansion for the PATHWAY anti-HER2/neu (4B5) Rabbit Monoclonal Primary Antibody to identify patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-ultralow metastatic breast cancer who may be eligible for treatment with fam-trastuzumab...
Primary Analysis of ZUMA-2: Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor–Naive Relapsed or Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma
ZUMA-2 is a single-arm, multicenter, open-label phase II study that investigated leukapheresed adults with mantle cell lymphoma whose disease was refractory to or had relapsed after up to five prior lines of therapy, including anthracycline or bendamustine-containing chemotherapy; anti-CD20...
How Telehealth Is Broadening Access to Early Palliative Care and Improving Outcomes for Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer
Although national guidelines, including ASCO’s palliative care guideline,1 call for the early integration of palliative and oncology care for patients with advanced cancer, only 36% of those with a very poor prognosis and 18% of those with a poor prognosis receive palliative care services.2 The...
Exercise Therapy as Candidate Anticancer Strategy
Guest Editor’s Note: With growing evidence indicating that regular physical activity helps control cancer symptoms, oncology guidelines recommend exercise before, during, and after cancer treatment. Observational data also demonstrate a promising association between physical activity and favorable...
Felix Feng, MD, Leader in Genitourinary Cancer, Dies at Age 48
NRG Oncology, the RTOG Foundation, and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), announced the death of Felix Feng, MD, from cancer at age 48 on December 10, 2024.
Dr. Feng was a George and Judy Marcus Distinguished Professor; Professor of Radiation Oncology, Urology and Medicine; Vice...
Former UNMC Cancer Center Director, Kenneth H. Cowan, MD, PhD, Dies at 77
Kenneth H. Cowan, MD, PhD, served for 24 years as Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), now called the Nebraska Medicine Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center in Omaha. Dr. Cowan died on December 15, 2024,...
I’m a 2.0 Version of Myself After Cancer
Although there’s no history of breast cancer in my family, when I was 10, my pediatrician introduced me to breast self-exams, so I would become familiar with my breasts and learn to spot any unusual changes as I got older. I remember her telling me this was an especially important exercise to do...
Cancer Mortality Rates Continue to Decline, Incidence Rates in Women Rise, and Racial Disparities Persist
The findings in the American Cancer Society (ACS) annual report, Cancer Statistics, 2025,1 showed a mixed trend in cancer incidence and mortality rates. Although cancer mortality declined by 34% from 1991 to 2022 in the United States—largely because of smoking reductions, earlier detection, and...
