June 25, 2019 (View All Issues)
ENZAMET Trial Shows Enzalutamide Improves Overall Survival in Hormone-Sensitive Metastatic Prostate Cancer
Agents that improve survival in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer when added to background androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) are showing success in treating metastatic prostate cancer earlier while it is still hormone-sensitive. These agents include docetaxel (chemotherapy) and...
An ASCO Survey, Hope, and Conventional Therapies
HOW DO YOU respond when patients with a good prognosis want to delay chemotherapy to try an anticancer diet for a few months or visit an unregulated clinic for unproven therapies? I’m asking because of an alarming finding of ASCO’s 2018 National Cancer Opinion Survey: “Nearly 4 in 10 Americans...
Solving the Mystery of Why Colorectal Cancer Is on the Rise in Young Adults
Excluding skin cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most prevalent and lethal cancer among both men and women in the United States.1 Although the risk of developing colorectal cancer increases with age—more than 90% of cases occur in people aged 50 or older2—recent research shows that the...
POLO Trial Shows Maintenance Olaparib Improves Progression-Free Survival in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer
In patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and germline mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2, maintenance therapy with olaparib doubled the time to disease progression and the proportion of patients who were progression-free at 2 years, in the phase III POLO trial.1
“Maintenance olaparib provided a...
KEYNOTE-062: Pembrolizumab Is a New First-Line Option in Gastric/Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer
KEYNOTE-062, a study of first-line treatment in patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, found pembrolizumab to be noninferior to chemotherapy and perhaps better than chemotherapy in a subgroup of patients. The results were reported at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting ...
FDA Approves Pembrolizumab for the First-Line Treatment of Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
On June 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the anti–programmed cell death protein 1 immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic or unresectable recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Pembrolizumab was approved for...
OneOncology Expands Executive Leadership Team
ONEONCOLOGY, a clinical partnership between three community oncology practices—Tennessee Oncology, New York Cancer and Blood, and West Cancer Center, and other independent community oncologists, recently announced three new appointments to the group's executive team: Natalie Dickson, MD, as Chief...
Apalutamide Improves Survival Outcomes in Castration-Sensitive Metastatic Prostate Cancer in TITAN Trial
Adding apalutamide to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) significantly improved survival in men with metastatic castration-sensitive (also termed hormone-sensitive) prostate cancer, according to the results of the phase III TITAN trial, which were presented at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting and...
Fixed-Duration Venetoclax Plus Obinutuzumab as First-Line Treatment in Older Patients With CLL Who Have Comorbidities
A fixed-duration regimen of venetoclax plus obinutuzumab demonstrated superior progression-free survival, complete response rates, and minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity compared with chlorambucil plus obinutuzumab as first-line therapy for older patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia...
Two Studies Question the Role of Continuous LHRH Antagonists in Metastatic Castration‑Resistant Prostate Cancer
In the field of prostate cancer, the use of androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer is received wisdom. When experts are asked why ADT is continued once the disease has figured out how to evade hormone suppression, the answer invariably is...
Improved Survival Shown With First-Line Pembrolizumab in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer
In the final analysis of KEYNOTE-048, first-line pembrolizumab monotherapy led to a significant improvement in overall survival, vs standard chemotherapy with targeted therapy (EXTREME regimen), in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma expressing programmed...
Update on Early-Stage Studies of Novel Treatments in Glioblastoma
Outcomes are typically grim for patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme. At the 2019 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), three early-stage studies hinted at ways that standard treatments might be made more effective.
Metronomic Dosing of...
ASCO Launches Task Force to Address the Cancer Care Gap in Rural America
Despite progress being made in cancer survivorship—there are currently nearly 17 million cancer survivors in the United States1—not everyone is benefiting equally, especially those patients living in rural communities across America. According to “The State of Oncology Practice in America, 2018:...
Immune Therapies Emerging in Disease-Specific Treatment of HPV-Positive Head and Neck Cancer
Patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related head and neck cancer stand to benefit greatly from immunotherapy, according to Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP, Director, Head and Neck Medical Oncology Program, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta. He added, immunotherapy will likely play...
Synergistic Relationship Between Radiotherapy and Immunotherapy for Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck
Recent technologic improvements in radiotherapy now offer an unprecedented opportunity to enhance immune response, and going forward, may play a role in the definitive treatment of head and neck cancer, according to William Stokes, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at...
Actively Recruiting Clinical Trials for Oral, Head, and Neck Cancers
THIS CLINICAL TRIALS Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies that focus on different techniques; treatments; and technology for oral, head, and neck cancers. More specifically, these trials are evaluating different drug combination regimens for both tumor treatment and pain...
Noninferiority Trial Establishes Chemoradiotherapy Regimen as ‘First Standard of Care for HPV-Positive Oral Cancer’
A noninferiority phase III trial, previously reported in The Lancet, has established the standard of care in human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oral cancer, according to Andy M. Trotti, MD, a radiation oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Data from the NRG Oncology RTOG 1016 trial ...
Accelerated Approval Program: For the Benefit of Patients
A DIAGNOSIS of any life-threatening cancer or other serious illness has always been a world-shaking event for those touched by significant disease, and most of us have known—or will know—the frustration, helplessness, and desperate sense of urgency provoked by the words, “The disease is worsening,...
Access Program to Be Established for Patients After Olaratumab Is Withdrawn From the Global Market
ELI LILLY AND COMPANY recently announced that it has been working to facilitate the withdrawal of olaratumab from the market for the treatment of advanced soft-tissue sarcoma. Lilly’s actions to withdraw olaratumab from the market follow completion of the international phase III ANNOUNCE clinical...
Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, Elected to Association of American Physicians
Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, Director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer and Phase ONE Foundation Distinguished Chair in Oncology, has been inducted as a new member of the Association of American Physicians. Dr. Theodorescu is a translational cancer researcher and expert in bladder cancer. He is known for his...
ARAMIS Trial: Darolutamide in Nonmetastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
In a phase III ARAMIS trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Karim Fizazi, MD, of the Institut Gustave Roussy, Universite Paris-Sud, Villejuif, France, and colleagues found that the androgen-receptor antagonist darolutamide significantly prolonged metastasis-free survival vs placebo ...
Darolutamide in Nonmetastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer: Delaying Overt Metastatic Disease Is a Major Advance
Nonmetastatic (M0) castration-resistant prostate cancer arises in the subset of men with biochemically recurrent disease (ie, rising prostate-specific antigen [PSA] level after definitive therapy in the absence of metastases) who develop PSA progression after chronic exposure to...
Curbside Consults: New Liability Risks to Avoid When You Are Not a Patient’s Physician
Like most clinicians, oncologists often informally consult their colleagues, both asking questions and seeking suggestions on how best to care for their patients.1,2 These informal or “curbside” consults (sometimes called “sidewalk,” “elevator,” or “hallway” consults) are valuable, because the...
NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center Expands Care With New Outpatient Facility
NYU Langone Health has opened the doors to a new multispecialty outpatient facility in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. This new location features the capabilities of the Perlmutter Cancer Center.
Previously, patients received radiation treatment at NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn and chemotherapy and other...
New NCCN Guidelines for Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Recently, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) debuted the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)—the most comprehensive and up-to-date, evidence-based, consensus-driven guidelines for treating children with...
Denosumab Prevents Neither Breast Cancer Relapse Nor Death
The recently published report of Austrian Breast and Colorectal Cancer Study Group’s Study 18 (ABCSG-18)1 for the secondary endpoint of disease-free survival suggests that denosumab given in a low dose of 60 mg subcutaneously every 6 months during aromatase inhibitor adjuvant therapy is...
Are Your Patients Using Complementary and Alternative Therapies? You Might Not Know If You Don’t Ask
Nearly one-third of patients with cancer who reported that they used complementary and alternative therapies in a nationwide survey did not tell their physicians about the use of those therapies, and the most frequently cited reason for not telling their physicians was that their physicians did...
Transitioning From Healthy Physician to Patient With Cancer
As you probably already know, physicians do not make the best patients. When I began experiencing the early signs of Hodgkin lymphoma, in 2007, including a persistent cough, unusual fatigue, and pruritus, I self-diagnosed allergic rhinitis and began treatment with intranasal corticosteroids....
Roswell Park and Partners Launch Community-Based Care Network in New York and Pennsylvania
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has joined with hospitals, health systems, physicians, and supportive care teams from across New York to launch the Roswell Park Care Network. Led by Roswell Park, the network is the most expansive community cancer, supportive care, and specialized care...
Evidence Lacking That Denosumab Alters the Course of Breast Cancer
I am writing to provide personal context to my column on adjuvant denosumab or bisphosphonates for resected breast cancer, which appears on page 52 in this issue of The ASCO Post.
I have been upset since 2013 that adjuvant zoledronate has been recommended for women with breast cancer onset after...
NCCN Names 2019 Young Investigator Award Recipients
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) and the NCCN Foundation® recently announced four recipients of the annual Young Investigator Awards. These awards provide funding and study support to early-career cancer researchers from across the 28 academic cancer centers that comprise NCCN.
...
Oral HPV DNA Persistence and Disease Progression in Oral Cavity and Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
In a two-institution study reported in JAMA Oncology, Carole Fakhry, MD, and colleagues found that persistent detection of tumor-type human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA after primary treatment for oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas was associated with poorer outcomes.
Study Details
The ...
What We Remember: From D-Day to Cancer Care
I RECENTLY returned from Normandy, France, where my wife and I attended events honoring the 75th Anniversary of D-Day and the millions, including close friends and family, who fought and died in the Second World War. My wife and a journalist from Los Angeles laid a wreath on Omaha Beach in honor of ...
FDA Announces Project Facilitate to Access Investigational Therapies for Patients With Cancer
The Oncology Center of Excellence of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced a new pilot program to assist oncology health-care professionals in requesting access to unapproved therapies for patients with cancer. A new call center designated Project Facilitate will be a...
2019 ASCO Educational Book Explores Practice-Changing Cancer Research
The 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting included groundbreaking science that has the potential to influence oncology care for years to come—but how should that science be applied in practice? The National Library of Medicine–indexed 2019 ASCO Educational Book aims to answer that question with compelling,...
Researchers Supported by Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation, Earn Spots in Clinical Cancer Advances 2019 for Leukemia Research
The work of nine researchers who have previously received funding from Conquer Cancer is featured in ASCO’s Clinical Cancer Advances 2019. Visit CONQUER.ORG/CCA for more details.
New Approaches in Leukemia
In two separate trials, Conquer Cancer researchers joined forces to improve treatment...
Register Early for ASCO’s Research Community Forum 2019 Annual Meeting
EARLY REGISTRATION is now open for the ASCO Research Community Forum (RCF) 2019 Annual Meeting. The ASCO RCF Annual Meeting brings together physician investigators and research staff from across the country for 2 days of learning and collaboration. The meeting offers colleagues from a variety of...
Trainee and Early-Career Members: Tips for Maximizing Your Benefit From ASCO Membership
ASCO is one of the premier professional societies that is guiding oncologists throughout the world. Whether you are a medical student or an early-career oncologist, ASCO has a lot to offer. A main focus of ASCO is to promote and provide guidance to trainees and early-career oncologists. I consider...
Caregivers Are Your Partners in Patient Care—Help Them Navigate Their Essential Role
ASCO OFFERS tools and resources designed specifically for caregivers who are supporting someone with cancer. The ASCO Answers Guide to Caregiving includes advice for talking with family and the health-care team, trackers for symptoms and medications, and more. A simple one-page worksheet,...
