November 25, 2025 (View All Issues)
Pembrolizumab Plus Weekly Paclitaxel Improves Survival Outcomes in Platinum-Resistant Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
The addition of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab to weekly paclitaxel, with or without the VEGFA-targeted bevacizumab, significantly improved progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer, in the randomized, double-blind, phase III...
Treatment Advances in Malignant Hematology: 2025 Updates
The pace of therapeutic innovation in hematologic oncology continues to accelerate, moving clinical practice away from broad-spectrum chemotherapy and toward an era of highly personalized, biologically driven treatment. This transformation was the central theme of the 2025 National Comprehensive...
How to Adapt to the Era of AI and the Changing Interactions With Patients: Lessons From a Low-Resource Setting
After 2 decades of practicing medicine across multiple disciplines and health systems, I’ve witnessed the dramatic transformation of patient-physician interactions, and none more dramatic than what I’m seeing in this era of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on cancer care. Early in my...
Long-Term Survival With Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy vs Surgery for Early-Stage NSCLC
With 10 years of follow-up, no significant difference in survival rates was reported between patients who were treated with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) or video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These findings from the revised...
Proton vs Photon Radiation Therapy for Nonmetastatic Breast Cancer: Focus on Patient Perspective and Satisfaction
Health-related quality-of-life analyses for proton radiation therapy and photon radiation therapy in patients with nonmetastatic breast cancer showed similar impacts on quality of life with both treatments, according to findings from the phase III RadComp consortium trial. Shannon M. MacDonald, MD, ...
Ivonescimab, a Dual-Targeting Bispecific Antibody, Improves Progression-Free Survival in Squamous NSCLC
In the phase III HARMONi-6 trial, conducted in China, the bispecific antibody ivonescimab, given with chemotherapy, improved progression-free survival by 4.2 months over the PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab-jsgr plus chemotherapy, a 40% reduction in risk as first-line treatment of advanced squamous...
FDA Approves Daratumumab and Hyaluronidase-fihj for High-Risk Smoldering Multiple Myeloma
On November 6, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved daratumumab and hyaluronidase-fihj (Darzalex Faspro) for adults with high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma.
Efficacy of daratumumab and hyaluronidase as monotherapy vs active monitoring was evaluated in AQUILA, an open-label,...
Icahn School of Medicine Family Center for Caregiving Launches Website to Further Reach and Broaden Mission
Allison J. Applebaum, PhD, FAPOS, recently announced the launch of the website for the Steven S. Elbaum Family Center for Caregiving at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York (www.mountsinai.org/care/palliative-care/elbaum-center-caregiving).
Dr. Applebaum is Director of the...
Zanzalintinib Plus Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
The phase III STELLAR-303 trial evaluated the anti-VEGFR–related multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor zanzalintinib in combination with the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab vs the multikinase inhibitor regorafenib in patients with previously treated non–microsatellite instability (MSI)–high...
Cognitive Function and Statin Administration During Doxorubicin-Based Cancer Treatment
Contrary to previous research, a preplanned secondary analysis of the multicenter PREVENT trial, reported by W.Gregory Hundley, MD, FACC, of Pauley Heart Center, Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, and colleagues in ...
Project DISARM: New Cancer Mission Emphasizes Risk Assessment and Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer
Often referred to as a “silent killer,” ovarian cancer is the most lethal of female cancers. Issues of late detection and poor survival rates continue to persevere, leading to increasing levels of incidence and mortality. Data from the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition have stressed that ovarian...
How the Proliferation of Fraudulent Scientific Papers Is Threatening the Integrity of Cancer Research
There is a perception among many scientists that scientific fraud is a rare occurrence, resulting from the actions of a few isolated bad actors. However, an extensive investigation by Reese A.K. Richardson, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Science of Science and Innovation, Kellogg School ...
Significant Medicare Physician Reimbursement Methodology Changes Finalized for 2026
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule final rule for 2026 on October 31, 2025.1 The rule finalizes physician reimbursement and policy reforms under the Physician Fee Schedule as well as changes to reporting requirements and policy...
ASCO Election for Open Leadership Positions
The ASCO Nominating Committee has selected 13 distinguished members as candidates for open leadership positions within the Society.
President-Elect: Deb Schrag, MD, MPH, FASCO, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Dr. Schrag is a gastrointestinal medical oncologist who currently serves as Chair ...
Memorial Sloan Kettering Names Recipients of 2025 Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) will award three cancer researchers with this year’s Paul Marks Prize for Cancer Research. The prize, named in honor of former MSK president Paul Marks, MD, recognizes a new generation of leaders who are making significant contributions to the...
Preneoplastic and Neoplastic Small Lymphocytic Proliferations
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In this installment, Syed Ali Abutalib, MD, and L. Jeffrey Medeiros, MD, explore the key epidemiologic, pathologic, diagnostic, and prognostic aspects of chronic...
How an Endowed Chair in Cord Blood Research Is Providing New Hope for Patients With High-Risk Leukemia
In 2016, Filippo Milano, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Translational Science and Therapeutics Division, and Director of the Cord Blood Transplant Program at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, published the results of his landmark study investigating whether an alternative stem cell donor...
ASTRO Recognizes 2025 Award Recipients for Excellence in Radiation Oncology
During its recent Annual Meeting, the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) honored the recipients of its 2025 Gold Medal awards and other prestigious distinctions. Here, The ASCO Post celebrates the achievements of these leading radiation oncology experts.
Gold Medal
The Gold Medal is...
New Approvals in Hematologic Malignancies, Skin Cancer, and Small Cell Lung Cancer
Here are brief reports on four oncology approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in October 2025:
• Menin Inhibitor in NPM1-Positive AML : On October 24, 2025, the FDA approved revumenib (Revuforj), a menin inhibitor, for the treatment of relapsed or refractory acute myeloid...
Reflections of a Medical Oncologist: Empathy Matters in Caring for Patients With Cancer
“Someday you will be a doctor, Fazlur, and help people,” were the prophetic words of a mother to her son and the driving force behind the early quest of Fazlur Rahman, MD, to become a physician. Born and raised in what is now Bangladesh, he experienced the death of his mother at the young age of 7.
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As a Cancer Survivor, My Main Worry Now Is Affording Health Insurance
Until 3 years ago, cancer was so utterly frightening to me that I avoided discussing the disease or even mentioning the word as much as possible. I sympathized with a friend when she was diagnosed with lung cancer, but I never expected to be in her position. I’m a never-smoker, and except for a...
Postsurgical ctDNA Testing in Stage III Colon Cancer for Treatment De-escalation
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) was found to be a strong prognostic classifier for patients with stage III colon cancer following surgery, according to findings from the phase II/III DYNAMIC-III trial. Findings from the study presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2025 ...
