June 10, 2022 (View All Issues)
- Nivolumab (Opdivo) in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-based chemotherapy
- Nivolumab in...
Ibrutinib Added to Standard Therapy Prolongs Progression-Free Survival in Older Patients With Mantle Cell Lymphoma
Primary results from the phase III SHINE trial demonstrated that first-line treatment with ibrutinib combined with bendamustine/rituximab and rituximab maintenance achieves a substantial prolongation of progression-free survival in elderly patients with mantle cell lymphoma, according to a...
No Good Treatment Options, So I’ll Eat Ice Cream
On a warm summer afternoon, I stood in front of tables at the local farmers market loaded with my favorite fruits and vegetables: peaches, tomatoes, corn, peppers, melons, kale. I practically drooled thinking about what I could make that week: corn and tomato salad, kale and mushroom quesadillas,...
T-DXd Improves Progression-Free Survival vs T-DM1 in Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
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...
MONALEESA-3: Ribociclib Plus Fulvestrant Improves Overall Survival Over Fulvestrant Alone in the First-Line Setting
In an updated analysis of the phase III MONALEESA-3 trial, which included postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer, first-line treatment with ribociclib plus fulvestrant added nearly 16 months of overall survival time vs fulvestrant...
DESTINY-Breast03: Should Trastuzumab Deruxtecan Be the Preferred Second-Line Regimen in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer?
Since the introduction of trastuzumab in the late 1990s, overall survival for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer has substantially improved. Median overall survival in the pivotal first-line trial was only 20.3 months in the chemotherapy arm, and 25.1 months in the...
BEGONIA Trial Reports Activity With Datopotamab Deruxtecan Plus Durvalumab in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Preliminary results of the basket BEGONIA trial showed that the antibody-drug conjugate datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd), paired with the immune checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab, has strong activity in advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer among patients not biomarker-selected for...
Cemiplimab-rwlc Improves Overall Survival vs Chemotherapy in Recurrent Cervical Cancer After First-Line Platinum-Based Chemotherapy
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Krishnansu S. Tewari, MD, of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of California, Irvine, and colleagues, the phase III EMPOWER-Cervical1/GOG-3016/ENGOT-cx9 trial has shown improved overall survival with cemiplimab-rwlc vs...
Cemiplimab-rwlc Following Platinum-Based Chemotherapy in Recurrent or Metastatic Cervical Cancer: Clinical Implications
It is estimated that globally, more than 600,000 women per year are diagnosed with cervical cancer, and more than 300,000 die annually of the disease.1 Many women continue to be diagnosed with cervical cancer at an advanced stage, with a high risk of recurrence.
To date, the most effective...
NCCN Honors Oncology Leaders Promoting Progress in Cancer Care
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) recently announced the recipients of 2022 awards for both internal and external champions advancing NCCN’s mission and helping all people with cancer to live better lives. The annual awards include the Rodger Winn Award for expert judgment and...
How Social Media Is Fueling an Epidemic of Misinformation and Disinformation—and Distrust in Science
The COVID-19 pandemic and the confluence of events that followed—including the rapid development of vaccines, the mixed messaging on mitigation efforts to prevent coronavirus infection, and the growing political polarization—helped spark public mistrust and skepticism toward science. This mistrust...
Traditional Chinese Medicine Herbal Formula Ma Zi Ren Wan for Constipation
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, Eugenie Spiguel, MSN, ANP-BS, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, focus on Ma Zi Ren...
Use of T-DXd in Previously Treated Patients With Advanced HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
On May 4, 2022, fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) was granted regular approval for patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have received a prior anti-HER2–based regimen in the metastatic setting or in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting and have developed...
Topical Imiquimod vs Surgery for Vulvar High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Neoplasia
In an Austrian phase III trial reported in The Lancet, Trutnovsky et al found that topical imiquimod was noninferior to surgery as measured by complete clinical response in patients with vulvar high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions.
Study Details
In the multicenter trial, 107 evaluable...
Trends in Hysterectomy-Corrected Uterine Cancer Mortality and Racial/Ethnic Differences
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Clarke et al found that hysterectomy-corrected rates of mortality from uterine corpus cancer overall and from nonendometrioid carcinomas have increased in recent years, with mortality rates being highest in Black women.
The study involved data from the U.S....
Ipilimumab/Nivolumab in Patients With Metastatic Pancreatic or Biliary Cancer and HRD Pathogenic Germline Variants
In a single-institution case series reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Terrero et al found that the combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab was active in patients with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic pancreatic or biliary cancer with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD)...
T-DXd Shows Efficacy Against Active Brain Metastases in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
In the single-center phase II TUXEDO-1 trial of patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer, fam-trastuzumab-deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) showed efficacy in patients with active brain metastases, yielding intracranial responses in 73.3% of the population and a median progression-free survival of...
Annual Meeting of the Moroccan Cancer Society: An Opportunity for Young Cancer Researchers to Evolve
The Moroccan Cancer Society (MCS; Société Marocaine de Cancérologie/https://smc.ma) was created in 1992 by a group of Moroccan medical and radiation oncologists, surgeons, and pathologists who had led the field in the 1980s. To date, this scientific society has more than 350 members practicing in...
Emily Whitehead, First Pediatric Patient to Receive CAR T-Cell Therapy, Celebrates Remission 10 Years Later
Tom and Kari Whitehead came to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) 10 years ago looking for a miracle. Their 6-year-old daughter, Emily, had relapsed in her battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), after many months of unsuccessful chemotherapy and a disease that had progressed so...
TJ Gan, MD, FRCA (UK), to Join MD Anderson as Division Head of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center recently announced that Tong Joo (TJ) Gan, MD, FRCA (UK), has been named Division Head of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine. Dr. Gan will join MD Anderson’s faculty on September 1.
Dr. Gan will lead a division composed of 117...
FDA Approves Two Nivolumab-Based Regimens as First-Line Treatments for Unresectable Advanced or Metastatic Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
On May 27, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the following for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma:
Researcher Xiao-Jing Wang, MD, PhD, Joins UC Davis Cancer Center’s Leadership Team
Xiao-Jing Wang, MD, PhD, assumed the role of Chief Science Officer and Associate Director for Basic Science for the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center in Davis, California. She is also Associate Director for Basic Science.
Dr. Wang comes to UC Davis from the University of Colorado Anschutz...
Jennifer Willcox, JD, Named Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Governance Officer at Dana-Farber
After a nationwide search, Jennifer Willcox, JD, has been named Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Chief Governance Officer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In this role, Ms. Willcox has overall responsibility for the legal and board governance function of Dana-Farber. She will serve on...
Multiple Myeloma: Treatment Conundrums
The availability of numerous new agents for treating multiple myeloma has created some “conundrums” for clinicians, said Sergio Giralt, MD, Deputy Head of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Melvin Berlin Family Chair in Myeloma Research and...
Robotic Surgery Improves Perioperative Outcomes vs Open Radical Cystectomy in Bladder Cancer Trial
Patients who underwent robotic-assisted radical cystectomy with intracorporeal diversion spent fewer days in the hospital and experienced fewer complications compared with those who underwent open radical cystectomy, according to data presented at the 2022 American Urological Association (AUA)...
Race/Ethnicity and Poverty Are Associated With Worse Outcomes Among Children With High-Risk Neuroblastoma
Prior studies by the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) have demonstrated population-based disparities in late relapse rates among Black children with high-risk neuroblastoma, and trial-based disparities in relapse and survival among children living in poverty receiving postconsolidation...
Study Finds State Public Welfare Spending Was Associated With Improved 5-Year Overall Survival in Black Patients With Cancer
According to a recent report by The Commmonwealth Fund, “large racial and ethnic health inequities, driven by factors both inside and outside the health-care delivery system [in the United States], are common.” The result, according to the report, is that actions that could mitigate health...
FDA Approves Azacitidine for Newly Diagnosed Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia
On May 20, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved azacitidine (Vidaza) for pediatric patients with newly diagnosed juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML).
AZA-JMML-001
Efficacy was evaluated in AZA-JMML-001 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02447666), an international, multicenter,...
FDA Approves Ivosidenib/Azacitidine for Certain Patients With Newly Diagnosed AML
On May 25, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ivosidenib (Tibsovo) in combination with azacitidine for patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a susceptible IDH1 mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test in adults aged 75 or older, or who have...
Fred Hutch, SCCA, Seattle Children’s, and UW Medicine Complete Restructure of Partnership
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch), Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA), Seattle Children’s, and the University of Washington (UW) Medicine have completed the restructure of their longtime relationship and the formation of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, a unified adult cancer...
Cleveland Clinic Announces New Appointments to Oncology Staff
The Cleveland Clinic-Taussig Cancer Center recently announced two new appointments and updates to the Center’s staff and faculty. Sophia Balderman, MD, has joined the leukemia group at Taussig Cancer Institute. Prior to her new role, Dr. Balderman was Assistant Professor in the Department of...
The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research Appoints Ryan Schoenfeld, PhD, as Chief Executive Officer
The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, which actively partners with scientists, research institutions, and philanthropic organizations around the world to accelerate research in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, recently announced that Ryan Schoenfeld, PhD, has been appointed...
Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation Announces $25 Million Commitment to Five U.S. Cancer Centers to Help Reduce Disparities in Cancer Care in Underserved Communities
The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation recently announced it will provide $25 million in new grant funding to expand or establish five Ralph Lauren cancer centers, aimed at reducing disparities in cancer care and access across underserved communities in the United States.
The funding will benefit...
ASCO’s CancerLinQ® and Atropos Health Collaborate to Harness Real-World Data to Provide Point-of-Care Informatics Consult to Oncologists
ASCO’s CancerLinQ® and Atropos Health announced a new collaboration that will provide oncology clinicians with the latest real-world evidence available to help inform personalized care and treatment of an individual patient.
Atropos Health and CancerLinQ will work together to provide a “digital...
ASCO Refines Guidance on Using Biomarkers for Adjuvant Endocrine and Chemotherapy in Early-Stage Breast Cancer
A new ASCO guideline update provides further recommendations on the use of biomarkers to guide decision-making on adjuvant endocrine therapy and chemotherapy in patients with early-stage breast cancer.1 The update includes clarification of the use of certain genomic tests, based on age or...
ASCO and ACCC Release Joint Recommendations to Increase Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Clinical Trials
ASCO and the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) jointly released recommendations that address the lack of equity, diversity, and inclusion in cancer clinical trials. Published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,1 their recommendations detail specific actions to engage the entire cancer ...
