March 25, 2022 (View All Issues)
Triplet Combination Improves Overall Survival in Metastatic Hormone-Sensitive Prostate Cancer
Triplet therapy with the oral androgen receptor inhibitor darolutamide plus docetaxel plus androgen-deprivation therapy significantly improved overall survival in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer vs docetaxel plus androgen-deprivation therapy, according to results of the...
War Is Hell. It’s Also a Public Health Disaster, Especially for People With Cancer
We are all following the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine with surprise and horror. I’m sure few readers of The ASCO Post imagined the invasion of a European country by its European neighbor was possible again, naively thinking wars like this ended with the Allied victory in World War II. But...
ASCO Stands With Ukraine’s Cancer Community
On March 2, 2022, ASCO issued the following statement:
“ASCO stands with our Ukrainian members, the worldwide oncology community, and health-care providers around the globe in condemning Russia’s unprovoked war on Ukraine. We call for an immediate cessation of these hostilities and demand full...
First-Line Olaparib Plus Abiraterone Extends Radiographic Progression-Free Survival in Men With Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
The PARP inhibitor olaparib in combination with abiraterone demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in radiographic progression-free survival vs current standard-of-care abiraterone as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic castration-resistant...
Study Reports Modest Gain in Progression-Free Survival With Continued Enzalutamide in Advanced Prostate Cancer
Enzalutamide is a common first-line choice for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, but response in some patients eventually wanes and then patients are switched to a different treatment. According to the phase IIIb PRESIDE trial, reported at the 2022 ASCO Genitourinary...
Neoadjuvant Enfortumab Vedotin-ejfv Shows Activity in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer
Neoadjuvant treatment with the antibody-drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin-ejfv achieved notable antitumor activity in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who are ineligible for treatment with cisplatin, according to preliminary results for cohort H of the EV-103 trial reported at the 2022...
KEYNOTE-564 Update Supports Benefit of Adjuvant Pembrolizumab in High-Risk Renal Cell Carcinoma
An updated analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-564 trial continues to support the use of adjuvant pembrolizumab vs placebo in patients with renal cell carcinoma at high risk of recurrence, according to a presentation at the 2022 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.1 At 30 months of follow-up,...
B.J. Rimel, MD, Named Medical Director, Cancer Clinical Trials Office
Gynecologic oncologist and surgeon B.J. Rimel, MD, recently was named Medical Director of the Cedars-Sinai Cancer Clinical Trials Office. She will serve as a medical liaison between clinical trial principal investigators and Cedars-Sinai Cancer leadership to ensure the quality of services provided...
ARIES Trial: Avelumab Failed to Improve 1-Year Survival in PD-L1–Positive Advanced Urothelial Cancer
First-line treatment with the PD-L1 antibody avelumab failed to meet the primary endpoint of an improvement in overall survival at 1 year for patients with cisplatin-ineligible, PD-L1–positive advanced urothelial cancer. However, the objective response and disease control rates were favorable in...
Atezolizumab Induces Responses in Advanced Penile Cancer, but Biomarkers Needed to Improve Patient Selection
Use of the immune checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab with or without radiotherapy showed antitumor activity in stage IV penile cancer in the phase II PERICLES trial, although the study failed to meet the primary endpoint of 1-year progression-free survival of at least 35%. The hints of activity were ...
Adjuvant Therapy for Colon Cancer: Impact of Stopping Treatment Early
For patients with stage III colon cancer, early discontinuation of adjuvant chemotherapy leads to worse outcomes—but early discontinuation of oxaliplatin did not. These findings, which came from an analysis of the large ACCENT and IDEA clinical trials databases, were presented at the 2022 ASCO...
CodeBreaK 100: Sotorasib Shows Activity in KRAS G12C–Mutated Pancreatic Cancer
Promising activity in metastatic pancreatic cancer was shown by sotorasib, an inhibitor of the KRAS G12C mutation, in the phase I/II CodeBreaK 100 study presented by John H. Strickler, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, during the...
ACCC Welcomes Matt Devino, MPH, as Director, Cancer Care Delivery and Health Policy
The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) announced that Matt Devino, MPH, has joined the organization as Director, Cancer Care Delivery and Health Policy. Mr. Devino will lead the organization’s initiatives to improve cancer care delivery and promote health equity across rural, urban,...
Lu-177 Dotatate Plus Long-Acting Octreotide vs High‑Dose Long-Acting Octreotide in Midgut Neuroendocrine Tumors
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Jonathan R. Strosberg, MD, of Moffitt Cancer Center, and colleagues, the final overall survival analysis of the phase III NETTER-1 trial has shown an approximately 12-month benefit with the addition of lutetium Lu-177 dotatate to long-acting octreotide in...
Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy for Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: Implications for Current Practice
The rising incidence and prevalence of gastroenteropancreatic endocrine tumors make them the second-most prevalent gastrointestinal cancer.1 Although most of these tumors are relatively slow growing, their histologic grade and differentiation are closely correlated with their clinical behavior.2,3...
Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, Awarded Sjöberg Prize for Cancer Research
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which also awards Nobel Prizes, has announced the winner of the 2022 Sjöberg Prize. Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, S.P. Hicks Professor of Pathology and Urology at Michigan Medicine, is being honored for the discovery of recurrent gene fusions in prostate cancer....
Allogeneic Transplantation for Hematologic Neoplasms in Adults
“The value of experience is not in seeing much, but in seeing wisely.”
—Sir William Osler
To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting...
Study Evaluates Whether ctDNA Has Demonstrable Advantage Over Standard Surveillance Methods for Colorectal Cancer
Researchers at City of Hope published data pointing to the limitations of a popular liquid biopsy that is used to detect the recurrence of colorectal cancer in patients who who have undergone surgical resection. The findings were published in JAMA Network Open by Marwan Fakih, MD, and colleagues.
...
New Appointments for ECOG-ACRIN and NCI Committees
Janice Mehnert, MD, was recently named Co-Chair of the ECOG-ACRIN Melanoma Committee, replacing Craig L. Slingluff, MD. Dr. Mehnert is Associate Director for Clinical Research and Director, Melanoma and Cutaneous Medical Oncology at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center. She specializes in both...
ACCC Appoints David R. Penberthy, MD, MBA, as New President
David R. Penberthy, MD, MBA, was recently named President of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) at the organization’s 48th Annual Meeting and Cancer Center Business Summit. Oncology professionals from around the nation gathered at the conference to discuss the convergence of...
Midtreatment Imaging De-escalates Therapy for Half of Study Patients With Oropharyngeal Cancer
Positron-emission tomography (PET) scans obtained before and midway through treatment may be used to de-escalate therapy for patients with oropharyngeal cancer, leading to fewer side effects, according to data presented at the 2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium.1 An interim...
Robert Otto Valdez, PhD, MHSA, Named Director of the AHRQ
Robert Otto Valdez, PhD, MHSA, was appointed Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) in February 2022. He was previously the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Professor Emeritus of Family & Community Medicine and Economics at the University of New Mexico (UNM). In...
New Role for Raymond N. DuBois, MD, PhD, FAACR, at The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research
Raymond N. DuBois, MD, PhD, FAACR, was recently appointed Executive Chairman of the Board of The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research. Dr. DuBois is Director of the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Hollings Cancer Center and Distinguished University Professor at MUSC. As The Mark...
FDA Approves Ciltacabtagene Autoleucel for Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma
On February 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ciltacabtagene autoleucel (Carvykti) for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma after four or more prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor, an immunomodulatory agent, and an anti-CD38 ...
FDA Approves Pacritinib for Adult Patients With Myelofibrosis and Thrombocytopenia
On February 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pacritinib (Vonjo) for the treatment of adults with intermediate- or high-risk primary or secondary (post–polycythemia vera or post–essential thrombocythemia) myelofibrosis with a platelet count below 50 × 109/L. Pacritinib is a...
I Enrolled in the WISDOM Study and Learned I Am at High Risk for Cancer
I have always been interested in volunteering my services and helping others, so when I got an e-mail asking if I’d like to participate in the WISDOM (Women Informed to Screen Depending on Measures of Risk) study (www.thewisdomstudy.org) I signed on. The study plans to enroll 100,000 diverse women...
Tofacitinib for Rheumatoid Arthritis: Cancer and Cardiovascular Event Risks
In a phase IIIb/IV safety endpoint trial (ORAL Surveillance) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Ytterberg et al found that treatment with the JAK inhibitor tofacitinib for rheumatoid arthritis was associated with higher rates of cancer and major cardiovascular events compared with...
Abemaciclib for Previously Treated Patients With p16ink4A-Deficient Mesothelioma
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Dean A. Fennell, FRCP, and colleagues, a phase II trial (MiST2) showed the activity of abemaciclib in previously treated patients with p16ink4A-deficient malignant mesothelioma.
As stated by the investigators, “Genetically stratified therapy for malignant...
American Cancer Society Names Arif Kamal, MD, First Chief Patient Officer
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has named Arif Kamal, MD, MBA, MHS, FACP, FAAHPM, FASCO, as its first Chief Patient Officer to lead its patient support vision and strategic plans to improve the lives of patients with cancer and their families. Based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Dr. Kamal will ...
Societies Team Up to Provide Support for Ukrainian Patients With Cancer
According to the United Nations (UN), more than 1.7 million Ukrainians have already fled to Central Europe due to the Russian invasion, which the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has called the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Many of those fleeing Ukraine and those...
Blood Test Predicts Recurrence of HPV-Driven Oropharyngeal Cancer After Treatment
A blood-basedliquid biopsy may accurately predict recurrence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma following treatment, according to data presented at the 2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium.1
Results of the large, multi-institutional study...
Oncolytic Virus Plus Nivolumab Demonstrates Durable Response in Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer of the Head and Neck
Intratumor injection of the oncolytic virus RP1 in combination with the checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab has demonstrated durable antitumor activity in patients with nonmelanoma skin cancer of the head and neck, according to data presented at the 2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers...
Outcomes and Toxicity With Single-Agent Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment in Geriatric Patients With Cancer
In a multicenter international retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Caroline A. Nebhan, MD, PhD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and colleagues found that single-agent immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in patients with cancer aged 80 and older appeared to be effective...
Should Patients Aged 80 and Older Receive Single-Agent Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment?
The checkpoint inhibitors are among the most important advances in oncology in recent times. They have changed the natural history of many tumors, particularly melanoma. They have a favorable toxicity profile, which for most patients is manageable and tolerable. However, there are several...
ASCO Provisional Clinical Opinion Offers Guidance for Using and Interpreting Genomic Testing in Patients With Advanced Cancer
Somatic genomic testing should be a routine part of clinical care for many patients with metastatic or advanced solid tumors, according to a new ASCO provisional clinical opinion.1 As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the expert panel found that genomic testing in oncology practice has...
Most Favored Nation Model’s Withdrawal Complete; ASCO Applauds Decision Preserving Access to Care
On December 29, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule rescinding the Most Favored Nation (MFN) model. MFN was originally proposed in November 2020 and scheduled to be implemented on January 1, 2021. ASCO and other groups strenuously opposed what would have ...
New ASCO-SNO Guideline Addresses Treatment Recommendations Tailored to Glioma Subtypes
Reflecting recent significant classification changes and new data on the use of biomarkers to inform treatment for central nervous system tumors, a new guideline offers oncologists up-to-date recommendations for managing gliomas in adults with neurologic cancer.1
“Over the past decade, there have...
