May 10, 2020 (View All Issues)
PARP Inhibitors in Maintenance Treatment for Advanced Ovarian Cancer
Based on multiple phase III prospective trials, there is evidence that both PARP inhibitors and antiangiogenic therapies such as bevacizumab provide benefit when utilized in a maintenance strategy in the first-line treatment of advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (GOG 218, ICON7, SOLO-1, PRIMA,...
April Is the Cruelest Month
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in forgetful snow, feeding
A little life with dried tubers.
—T.S. Eliot, The Burial of the Dead, The Waste Land, 1922
I...
New Guideline on Systemic Therapy for Melanoma Tackles Rapid Developments in Treatment Options
Systemic treatment of melanoma has changed rapidly since the introduction of ipilimumab in 2011. Newer therapies approved for melanoma since that time include immunotherapy, targeted therapy for mutation-bearing tumors, and injectional therapy for cutaneous or palpable lesions. ASCO has released...
Novel Treatment Strategies Under Study in Advanced Melanoma
Several novel strategies for the treatment of patients with stage III or IV melanoma showed promise in studies presented at the 2020 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium.1,2
Vaccine for High-Risk Patients After Resection
A tumor lysate, particle-loaded, dendritic cell (TLPLDC) vaccine was ...
Early Signs of Activity With Immunotherapies in Low-Incidence Cancers
Immunotherapy is showing promise for patients with rare cancers, offering new treatment opportunities and clinical trials to those with previously limited options. At the 2020 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium, presenters discussed the use of immunotherapy in three low-incidence cancers: ...
FDA Approves Tucatinib in Combination With Trastuzumab/Capecitabine for Advanced Unresectable or Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
On April 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval to tucatinib (Tukysa) in combination with trastuzumab/capecitabine for adult patients with advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, including patients with brain metastases, who have received one or...
FDA Approves Sacituzumab Govitecan-hziy for Patients With Previously Treated Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
On April 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved sacituzumab govitecan-hziy (Trodelvy) for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer who have received at least two prior therapies for metastatic disease.
Sacituzumab govitecan-hziy is the first...
Can Breast Cancer Surgery Be Eliminated in ‘Exceptional Responders’ to Neoadjuvant Therapy?
Can patients with breast cancer who achieve an “exceptional response” to neoadjuvant therapy safely forgo surgery? That is a question being seriously explored in multinational trials.
“We’ve known for a long time that we can eliminate disease in many patients if they have chemosensitive tumors....
Timothy Chan, MD, PhD, Named Director of Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Immunotherapy and Precision Immuno-Oncology
Timothy Chan, MD, PhD, has been appointed Director of the Center for Immunotherapy and Precision Immuno-Oncology at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Chan will lead the new center to bring together multidisciplinary experts from across the Cleveland Clinic enterprise to advance research and treatment related...
Vascular Imaging for Detection of Breast Cancer: Best of Two Worlds?
For breast imaging, contrast-enhanced mammography, which uses the anatomic imaging of a mammogram in addition to imaging neovascularity, can offer the overall screening capability of standard mammography and the sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at a fraction of the cost of MRI,...
Joint Guideline Sheds Light on Management of Hereditary Breast Cancer
As germline genetic testing becomes more widespread among patients with breast cancer, recommendations for the appropriate management of patients with hereditary breast cancer are needed. Until now, no ASCO guideline has addressed the management of hereditary breast cancer, even for carriers of...
Addition of Olaparib to Bevacizumab Maintenance in Advanced Ovarian Cancer: PAOLA-1 Trial
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Isabelle Ray‑Coquard, MD, PhD, of the Centre Leon Berard, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and Groupe d’Investigateurs Nationaux pour l’Etude des Cancers Ovariens (GINECO), Paris, and colleagues, the phase III PAOLA-1 trial has shown a...
Addition of Pembrolizumab to Docetaxel for Previously Treated Immunotherapy-Naive Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer
In the single-institution phase II PROLUNG trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Oscar Arrieta, MD, and Christian Rolfo, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the addition of pembrolizumab to docetaxel improved objective response rates and progression-free survival in immunotherapy-naive patients with...
Actively Recruiting Clinical Trials Studying Cancer Prevention Measures
This Clinical Trials Resource Guide lists actively recruiting clinical trials evaluating strategies to improve cancer prevention measures, mostly through increased rates of screening. Some of the following trials also address cancer prevention through improving knowledge of tumor biomarkers,...
Bispecific Antibodies Poised to Impact Treatment of Lymphoma and Other Blood Cancers
Studies of second-generation bispecific antibodies were among the highlights of the 2019 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition. The bispecific T-cell engager blinatumomab was the first such agent to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in...
Noninferiority of Four vs Six Cycles of CHOP for Patients With Favorable Prognosis B-Cell Lymphoma: FLYER Trial
As reported in The Lancet by Viola Poeschel, MD, and colleagues, the phase III FLYER trial has shown noninferiority of progression-free survival with four vs six cycles of cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin/vincristine/prednisone (CHOP) in combination with six doses of rituximab in patients with...
FDA Approves Ibrutinib/Rituximab for CLL/SLL
On April 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the indication of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) to include its combination with rituximab for the initial treatment of adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).
This review was conducted...
Studies Show Circulating Tumor Material May Predict Outcomes After Neoadjuvant Therapy for Breast Cancer
In early triple-negative breast cancer, the presence of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) and circulating tumor cells after neoadjuvant chemotherapy may enable risk stratification of patients for disease recurrence and may predict outcomes, according to a preplanned correlative analysis of the phase II ...
FDA Approves Mitomycin Gel for Low-Grade Upper Tract Urothelial Cancer
On April 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mitomycin (Jelmyto) for adult patients with low-grade upper tract urothelial cancer.
OLYMPUS Trial
Efficacy determination was based on OLYMPUS, an ongoing, single-arm, multicenter trial enrolling 71 patients with treatment-naive or ...
FDA Approves Selumetinib for Pediatric Patients With NF1 and Symptomatic Inoperable Plexiform Neurofibromas
On April 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved selumetinib (Koselugo) for pediatric patients aged 2 years and older with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) who have symptomatic inoperable plexiform neurofibromas.
Selumetinib, a kinase inhibitor, is the first therapy approved for...
FDA Approves Pemigatinib for Patients With Cholangiocarcinoma and an FGFR2 Rearrangement or Fusion
On April 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to pemigatinib (Pemazyre) for the treatment of adult patients with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma with a fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) fusion or...
Neoadjuvant and Adjuvant Pembrolizumab Improves Outcomes in Early Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Peter Schmid, MD, PhD, of Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and colleagues, analyses in the phase III KEYNOTE-522 trial have shown that the addition of pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and the use of adjuvant...
KEYNOTE-522: A Biomarker Resource for PD-1 Inhibition in Early Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
In the phase III KEYNOTE-522 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, Schmid et al1 found that the addition of pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in stage II or III triple-negative breast cancer significantly improved the pathologic...
Pooled Analysis Supports Benefit of Dual HER2-Targeted Therapy, but Questions Remain
In the treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer, patients who receive dual HER2-targeted therapy in both the neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings are less likely to experience recurrence than those who received dual therapy only as neoadjuvant treatment, according to a pooled analysis of...
American Cancer Society Awards New Research, Training Grants
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has approved funding for 79 research and training grants, totaling $36,165,100 in the first of two grant cycles for 2020. Grant applications were reviewed and approved remotely in light of the coronavirus epidemic. The grants will fund investigators at 59...
Negotiating the Obstacles to Conducting Clinical Trials of Immunotherapy During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is perhaps the biggest challenge health-care systems have ever had to face. As part of a series of interviews The ASCO Post is conducting with oncologists, we talked with Charles G. Drake, MD, PhD, about the impact of COVID-19 on his practice and on the conduct...
Practical Approach to Management of Patients With Cancer During the COVID-19 Pandemic: An International Collaborative Group Statement
In an article published in The Oncologist, an international collaborative group outlined issues and potential management approaches for the treatment of patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Key issues facing cancer treatment and some of the potential measures for addressing these...
Outcomes of COVID-19 Infection in Patients With Cancer in Wuhan, China
In a retrospective cohort study reported in the Annals of Oncology, Li Zhang, MD, of the Department of Oncology, Tongji Hospital, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, and colleagues described characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 infection in 28 patients with cancer from...
Managing Multiple Myeloma During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In dealing with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), some oncologists are modifying conventional treatment regimens to limit patients’ visits to infusion centers and providers’ offices. The ASCO Post asked C. Ola Landgren, MD, PhD, Chief of the Myeloma Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer...
Highlights From ASH 2019 Included New Data in Leukemia, Lymphoma, Myeloma, and Myelodysplastic Syndromes
The 2019 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition featured a cornucopia of sessions. It was impossible to attend all the lectures, symposia, oral presentations, poster presentations, and special events because many were concurrent. Below, we have selected some...
The Role of Adipose Tissue in Cancer Aggressiveness
Over the past decade, obesity has been linked to an increased risk and aggressiveness of numerous cancer types. Many biologic activities within adipose tissue change with obesity and may contribute to carcinogenesis and the initiation of cancer. To shed light on the current state of knowledge in...
Understanding Patient-Reported Outcomes in Cancer Trials: A Beginner’s Guide
Patient-reported outcomes are measures used in clinical trials to capture aspects of a patient’s health condition, reported directly by the patient, without introduction of bias from third parties. They are distinct from the physical toxicities reported by clinicians1 and are collected using a...
Encorafenib Combined With Cetuximab in Previously Treated BRAF V600E–Mutant Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
On April 8, 2020, encorafenib was approved for use in combination with cetuximab for the treatment of previously treated adult patients with metastatic colorectal cancer with a BRAF V600E mutation detected by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved test.1,2
Encorafenib is not indicated...
Grace and Forgiveness
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
Durvalumab Plus Chemotherapy for Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer
On March 27, 2020, durvalumab (Imfinzi) was approved for use in combination with etoposide and either carboplatin or cisplatin as first-line treatment of patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer.1,2
Supporting Efficacy Data
Approval was based on the findings of the open-label phase...
Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy Appoints Frederic Pla, PhD, as Chief Operating Officer
The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) recently announced the appointment of Frederic Pla, PhD, as its Chief Operating Officer (COO). Dr. Pla will lead day-to-day operations and work with the Institute’s leadership team to establish goals for performance, expansion, and sustainable...
Fox Chase Cancer Center Welcomes Andres F. Correa, MD
Fox Chase Cancer Center announced that Andres F. Correa, MD, has joined the Department of Surgery in the Urologic Oncology Division as Assistant Professor. Dr. Correa, w ho was a Society of Urologic Oncology Fellow at Fox Chase, is returning to the center after serving as Attending Surgeon and...
Aria Vaishnavi, PhD, Receives NCI’s Pathway to Independence Award
Aria Vaishnavi, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, has received the first annual National Cancer Institute (NCI) Pathway to Independence Award for Outstanding Early Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00). The “Early K99” grant supports...
Larry Kwak, MD, PhD, Named AIMBE Fellow
City of Hope recently announced that Larry Kwak, MD, PhD, has been inducted into the 2020 Class of American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) Fellows. Dr. Kwak is Vice President and Deputy Director of City of Hope’s Comprehensive Cancer Center. He has pioneered breakthrough ...
Breast Surgeon Kristin L. Brill, MD, Joins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center
Kristin L. Brill, MD, has joined the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center–Jefferson Health (SKCC) in Philadelphia as Enterprise Director of Breast Oncology. Dr. Brill brings expertise in a comprehensive range of services for patients with malignant and benign diseases, including breast-conserving surgery, ...
Global COVID-19 Observatory and Resource Center for Childhood Cancer
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in partnership with the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP), has launched the Global COVID-19 Observatory and Resource Center for Childhood Cancer. The website offers health-care providers around the world a space to share the latest...
Yoga for Pediatric and Adolescent Patients With Cancer
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.
Despite significant improvements reported in survival rates, symptom management in pediatric...
David A. Tuveson, MD, PhD, FAACR, Named AACR President-Elect for 2020–2021
The members of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) have elected David A. Tuveson, MD, PhD, FAACR, as their President-Elect for 2020–2021. He will officially become President-Elect on April 29, 2020, during the AACR’s Business Meeting of Members. He will assume the presidency in...
Delayed Targeted Intraoperative Radiotherapy vs Whole-Breast Radiotherapy in Early Breast Cancer
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Jayant S. Vaidya, MBBS, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III TARGIT-A trial showed that delayed second-procedure targeted intraoperative radiotherapy (TARGIT-IORT) was not noninferior to whole-breast external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) in preventing local recurrence of...
Quality of Life After Adjuvant Radiotherapy With vs Without Tumor Bed Boost for Patients With Non–Low-Risk DCIS
In a health-related quality-of-life study reported in The Lancet Oncology, King et al found that adjuvant radiotherapy with a tumor bed boost was associated with poorer cosmetic status and arm and shoulder functional status than radiotherapy with no boost among women with non–low-risk ductal...
Camrelizumab for Previously Treated Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma
In a Chinese phase II study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Qin et al found that the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor camrelizumab showed activity in patients with previously treated advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.
Study Details
In the open-label multicenter trial, 217...
Surgical Margins and Survival in Trial of Adjuvant Imatinib for Localized GIST
A post hoc observational study from the phase III EORTC 62024 trial of adjuvant imatinib in patients with localized gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) showed that improvement in survival with R0 vs R1 resection was no longer evident when tumor rupture was excluded from the R1 category. The...
I Have Multiple Myeloma and Am Concerned About the Coronavirus
In hindsight, the symptoms I began experiencing in the fall of 2013—sudden excruciating back bone pain and severe fatigue—should have tipped me off that I had a serious disease, but 7 years ago, they were easy to explain away. The bone pain was similar to what I had experienced several years...
Ongoing Efforts Toward Vaccine Development for COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading throughout the world, and vaccine developers have responded with unprecedented speed. Since the COVID-19 genome sequence was released in January, human trials of an experimental vaccine candidate have already begun in the Seattle area. Although the...
My ASCO Journey: Opportunities for Gratitude and Breaking Glass Ceilings
In my native language, there is a saying that is translated as, “A child who does not travel only appreciates their mother’s cooking.” In the broad sense, as we grow up and experience the different things that life has to offer, two things happen if we allow our minds to open up: we realize there...
Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, FACP: Breakthroughs in Combination Therapy for Colorectal Cancer
Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, FACP, works to improve outcomes for patients with colorectal cancer at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
The trial: Single drugs aimed at inhibiting the BRAF gene have not been effective against BRAF-mutated colorectal cancers. To explore the effectiveness ...
COVID-19: What People With Cancer Need to Know
Encourage your patients and their caregivers to visit the award-winning Cancer.Net Blog for key information from leading experts for people with cancer and cancer survivors about the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 content is also available in Spanish.
Help keep your patients informed by directing...
ASCO’s COVID-19 Cancer Registry Aims to Understand Impact on Patients During Pandemic, Inform Future Care
ASCO has launched the ASCO Survey on COVID-19 in Oncology Registry (ASCO Registry) to help the entire cancer community learn about the pattern of symptoms and severity of COVID-19 among patients with cancer, as well as how COVID-19 infections impact the delivery of cancer care and patient outcomes. ...
Financial Support Available to Providers During COVID-19 Pandemic
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and new guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) both contain provisions to provide financial support to qualified providers. ASCO strongly encourages providers to immediately begin meticulously documenting...
In ‘Remembering Mum,’ Siblings Honor Their Mother With Action and Innovation
It’s one of the worst things Claire Paxman can recall: She’s 14 years old, using orange-handled kitchen scissors to cut her mother’s hair.
“You shouldn’t be standing in the bathroom cutting your mom’s hair because of chemotherapy,” said Claire as she describes that defining childhood moment...
