September 25, 2020 (View All Issues)
Enthusiastic Response to Novel Therapies on the Horizon in Multiple Myeloma
Clinicians who treat multiple myeloma can anticipate a host of new treatments: melflufen, cereblon E3 ligase (CEL) modulators, antibody-drug conjugates, bispecific antibodies, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, Director of the Jerome Lipper Multiple...
Efforts to Broaden Eligibility Criteria for Clinical Trials Seek to Include More Racial and Ethnic Minority Patients
A review of the 2019 Drug Trials Snapshots Report1 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) showed that although female participation in clinical trials grew to 72% from 56% in the FDA’s 2018 Drug Trials Snapshots Report,2 ethnic minority participation in clinical trials actually declined ...
The New Face of Medical Visits
“Good morning! I’m Dr. Saksena. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I wave my introduction as I enter the room. Two women sit beside each other. One of them wears a mask that reads “lipstick optional,” and the other dons a surgical mask. This is a new visit for breast cancer, but I haven’t yet deciphered ...
Dr. Kantarjian Shares His Thoughts on Optimizing the Treatment of Adults With ALL
In the treatment of adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), use of newer antibodies and de-intensification of chemotherapy have greatly improved outcomes, according to Hagop Kantarjian, MD, who has been very involved in much of the research in ALL treatment. Dr. Kantarjian, Professor and...
Disparities and Incidence of Late Effects of Treatment for AYA Lymphoma Survivors
The late effects of adolescent and young adults (AYA) with lymphomas are considerable and have not been given much attention, according to Theresa Keegan, MD, of the University of California at Davis.
“Lymphoma is one of the most commonly occurring malignancies in AYAs,” she stated. “The 5-year...
Cigarette Smoking Associated With Worse Outcomes for Patients With Bladder Cancer After Surgery
Patients treated for bladder cancer with a radical cystectomy have worse outcomes if they are smokers, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis by Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC). The study appeared in The Journal of Urology.1
“This study is important because ...
Applications of Circulating Tumor DNA Liquid Biopsy Continue to Expand in Lymphomas
Liquid biopsies using circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) have the potential to personalize medicine for patients with lymphoma, going beyond traditional markers and risk factors to provide dynamic assessments over time. Expanded applications of ctDNA liquid biopsy beyond diagnosis include early response ...
Azacitidine Tablets for Continued Treatment in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs.
On September 1, 2020, azacitidine tabletswere approved...
Corticosteroids Improve Survival in Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19, According to International Trial
In a demonstration of global collaboration, clinician-scientists have pooled data from 121 hospitals in 8 countries to find that inexpensive, widely available steroids may improve the odds that very sick patients with COVID-19 will survive the illness. The findings were made through the Randomized...
Is Infiltrating Tumor Border Configuration Linked to Poor Survival in Colon Adenocarcinoma?
Findings from a retrospective cohort study could fuel the debate over the use of adjuvant chemotherapy in stage II colon cancer, according to data presented during the virtual edition of the 2020 Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) International Conference on Surgical Cancer Care.1 Results of the...
Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Alone vs Chemoradiation in Esophageal Cancer: No Difference Found in Long-Term Survival
Improved local-regional tumor control may not be enough to justify the increased morbidity of adding neoadjuvant radiation to chemotherapy in esophageal and gastroesophageal junction cancers, according to a pair of studies presented during the 2020 Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) International...
Impact of Neoadjuvant Endocrine Therapy and Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy on Rates of Breast‑Conserving Surgery
“Studies that have compared neoadjuvant endocrine therapy with neoadjuvant chemotherapy have shown low pathologic complete response rates with both approaches. However, the rates of breast-conserving surgery have been shown to be slightly higher with neoadjuvant endocrine therapy,” Kelly Hunt, MD,...
Age at Diagnosis May Improve Risk Stratification for Patients With Breast Cancer
Age is not just a number when it comes to prognosis for invasive breast cancer. According to data presented during the 2020 Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) International Conference on Surgical Cancer Care, age at diagnosis of breast cancer is a highly prognostic clinical variable that warrants...
Avapritinib Produces High Response Rate in Advanced PDGFRA D842V–Mutant GIST
As reported inThe Lancet Oncology by Michael C. Heinrich, MD, of the VA Portland Health Care System and the Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute, and colleagues, the phase I NAVIGATOR trial showed that the PDGFRA and KIT kinase inhibitor avapritinib produced a high...
City of Hope Leads Novel Clinical Trial to Treat Patients With Cancer and COVID-19
City of Hope is investigating an innovative treatment for patients with cancer and COVID-19 by repurposing leflunomide, an anti-inflammatory drug for rheumatoid arthritis that is inexpensive and has few serious side effects, in a new clinical trial. Patients treated for cancer in the past 2 years...
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy and Age-Related Mutations: Therapeutic and Predictive Implications in Melanoma
Findings from a study among patients with melanoma randomly assigned to observation following removal of a positive sentinel lymph node “strongly support the therapeutic effect of the sentinel lymph node biopsy in providing long-term regional nodal disease control in the large majority of...
Phase III NALA Trial Meets Primary Endpoint in Previously Treated HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Cristina Saura, MD, of Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, Barcelona, and colleagues, the phase III NALA trial has shown significantly prolonged progression-free survival with the irreversible pan-HER tyrosine kinase inhibitor neratinib plus...
Neratinib in Previously Treated HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer: Point of View From the NALA Trial
Neratinib is an oral pan-HER tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for two indications. The first is as adjuvant treatment of early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer following adjuvant trastuzumab therapy. The second is in combination with...
New Breast Cancer Agents and Concurrent Radiation: Risk or Benefit?
Most of the newer systemic treatments for breast cancer can be safely and effectively paired with radiation therapy—although there are some exceptions, according to Mylin A. Torres, MD, the Louisa and Rand Glenn Family Chair in Breast Cancer Research and Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at ...
Many Reasons to ‘Geriatricize’ Your Oncology Practice: Research Updates From ASCO20
“Older adults form the majority of patients with cancer.” For more than 3 decades now, almost every article, presentation, or discussion related to cancer and aging started with this statement. As I entered the field of geriatric oncology, I thought that by simply stating this fact, everyone would...
World Gynecologic Oncology Awareness Day: Turning the World Purple
Advocates for patients with cancer and medical professionals in more than 20 countries planned activities for World Gynecologic Oncology Day (World GO Day). A project of the European Society of Gynaecological Oncology (ESGO) and the European Network of Gynaecological Cancer Advocacy Groups...
National Survey Shows Decline in Overall Youth E-Cigarette Use, Uptick in Use of Disposable Products
In september, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released new data from the 2020 National Youth Tobacco Survey (NYTS). The results, published by Wang et al in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), showed 1.8 ...
Good Outcomes With PET-Directed Therapy for Limited-Stage Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Daniel O. Persky, MD, of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, and colleagues, the phase II Intergroup National Clinical Trials Network Study S1001 has shown good outcomes with positron-emission tomography (PET)-directed therapy in...
Pembrolizumab Produces Durable Responses in Recurrent or Metastatic Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Jean-Jacques Grob, MD, PhD, of Aix-Marseille University, France, and colleagues, the first interim analysis of the phase II KEYNOTE-629 trial has shown the achievement of durable responses with pembrolizumab treatment of recurrent or metastatic...
Effect of Mammography Screening From Age 40 on Breast Cancer Mortality in the UK Age Trial
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Stephen W. Duffy, MSc, of the Centre for Cancer Prevention, Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, and colleagues, final results of the UK Age Trial show that initiation of annual mammography screening for breast cancer at...
Addition of Venetoclax to Azacitidine in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
In the phase III VIALE-A trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Courtney D. DiNardo, MD, MSCE, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues found that venetoclax plus azacitidine significantly improved overall survival vs azacitidine alone in previously...
NYGC Launches Collaborative Cancer Genomics Research Projects Focused on Underserved Populations
Leading cancer scientists working with the New York Genome Center (NYGC) announced that grants are being awarded to fund six projects that address the role of ethnicity in several major cancer types, taking advantage of the diversity of patients being treated at health-care institutions throughout...
Updates on BCMA-Directed CAR-Modified T-Cell Gene Therapies
Outcomes in patients with triple-class–failure relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who experience disease progression on immunomodulatory agents, proteasome inhibitors, and CD38 antibodies are dismal. Most recently, early results of three anti-B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) chimeric antigen...
Caring for Undocumented Patients With Cancer
There are approximately 25 million foreign-born immigrants living in the United States, which is more than 13% of the nation’s total population. Of these individuals, it is estimated that about 11 million are undocumented; by far, the largest group of this immigrant undocumented population is...
FDA Issues Alert About Efficacy and Potential Safety Concerns Regarding Atezolizumab Plus Paclitaxel in Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
On September 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted health-care professionals, oncology clinical investigators, and patients that a clinical trial studying the use of atezolizumab and paclitaxel in patients with previously untreated, inoperable, locally advanced or metastatic...
Brexucabtagene Autoleucel for Relapsed or Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma
On July 24, 2020, brexucabtagene autoleucel, a CD19-directed genetically modified autologous T-cell immunotherapy, was granted accelerated approval for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma.1,2 Brexucabtagene autoleucel is approved with a Risk Evaluation...
Irish Boy With His Scapula
The text and photograph here are excerpted from a four-volume series of books titled Oncology: Tumors & Treatment, A Photographic History, The Antiseptic Era 1876–1900 by Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS, and Elizabeth A. Burns. The photograph appears courtesy of Stanley B. Burns, MD, and The Burns...
IU Cancer Center Researcher Awarded $5.7 Million to Study Chemotherapy-Induced Hearing Loss, Toxicities
A researcher at the Indiana University (IU) Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center has been awarded a 5-year, $5.7 million National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant to evaluate long-term health outcomes for patients with cancer who receive platinum-based chemotherapies. An internationally...
Early Cancer Experience Plants the Seed for a Career in Oncology to Grow for Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH
As a young girl growing up in central New Jersey, Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH, a medical oncologist specializing in gynecologic cancers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, dreamed of becoming an astronaut. However, she realized her fear of heights and propensity for motion sickness didn’t jive with...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Botswana
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this occasional special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Botswana. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the...
Karmanos Receives $630,000 CATCH-UP Grant to Recruit Minority, Rural Patients to Clinical Trials
Researchers at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute have secured a 1-year, $630,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to help support the Institute’s clinical trials, which target underserved populations in Detroit and in the rural areas that Karmanos serves. The NCI P30 Cancer...
Eric P. Winer, MD, Recipient of Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award
In September 2020, Eric P. Winer, MD, was honored with the William Silen Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award, presented by the Office for Diversity, Inclusion & Community Partnership at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Winer is Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Director of the...
Combination Immunotherapy Benefits Subset of Patients With Advanced Prostate Cancer
Results from a phase II trial led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center suggest that a combination of ipilimumab (anti–CTLA-4) plus nivolumab (anti–PD-1) can generate durable responses in a subset of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, an...
With the Goal of Curing Cancer, Ezra M. Greenspan, MD, Helped Usher in the Modern Era of Chemotherapy
Born in Brooklyn on April 4, 1919, Ezra M. Greenspan, MD, did not stray far from his birthplace, spending most of his 5-decade medical career in New York. After graduating from New York University School of Medicine in 1942, he was accepted into the house training program at Mount Sinai Hospital...
Never Say Never
She was elderly, slightly confused, and very, very worried. I was not quite sure why. It was a minor procedure—a routine angiogram, one of a dozen to be performed that morning. The risks were so small that the job of admitting her had been handed to me, then a final-year medical student, with a...
I’ve Turned My Pain Into a New Life Purpose
The first half of 2016 was arguably the most exciting of my life. My wife, Jaione, and I had decided to leave the United Kingdom and move with our two children, Andrew, then 14, and Alba, then 10, to Denver, where I was taking on a leadership role in corporate affairs for a brewery company. By the...
COVID-19 Pandemic Delays Cancer Care and Strains Resources
Delays and cancellation of cancer treatments and other safety measures undertaken to minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19 have generated a huge backlog in oncology care and research. The threat of delayed diagnoses looms while oncology professionals face burnout, according to new studies...
Cancer Center at Brown University Established
The Corporation of Brown University has approved the establishment of the Cancer Center at Brown. The center takes a broad-spectrum approach to research, from working to understand how cancer develops, grows, and metastasizes, to developing new therapeutics for patients in a personalized way that...
Cleveland Clinic Appoints New Chair of Head and Neck Institute
Cleveland Clinic has appointed Patrick J. Byrne, MD, MBA, as Chair of the Head & Neck Institute. Dr. Byrne joins Cleveland Clinic from The Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he served as Director of the Division of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head...
Leading Cancer Treatment Recommendations From NCCN Available in Several Languages
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) has announced the availability of multiple non–English-language versions of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology® (NCCN Guidelines®) for numerous high-incidence cancer types. These treatment recommendations can be accessed for free at...
FDA Approves Oral Azacitidine as Maintenance Therapy for Adults With AML in First Remission
On September 1, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved oral azacitidine (Onureg; also known as CC-486) for the continued treatment of adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who achieved first complete remission or complete remission with incomplete blood count recovery...
NCCN Adds Tafasitamab-cxix to Its Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for B-Cell Lymphomas
MorphoSys and Incyte have announced that tafasitamab-cxix, a humanized Fc-modified cytolytic CD19-targeting monoclonal antibody, has been included in the latest National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines® (NCCN Guidelines®) in Oncology for B-Cell Lymphomas. Specifically,...
Study Finds Recent-Onset Diabetes With Unintentional Weight Loss Linked to Increased Risk of Pancreatic Cancer
A large cohort study with close to 160,000 men and women reported that “recent-onset diabetes accompanied by weight loss was associated with a substantial increase in risk for pancreatic cancer and may represent a high-risk group in the general population for whom early detection strategies would...
COVID-19 Prevalence and Mortality in Patients With Cancer in the UK
In a UK study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Lee et al in the UK Coronavirus Cancer Monitoring Project (UKCCMP) found an increased prevalence of COVID-19 infection among patients with hematologic malignancies and increased risk of death from COVID-19 in patients with leukemia and those with...
Selective MET Inhibitor Tepotinib in Patients With Advanced NSCLC and MET Exon 14–Skipping Mutation
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Paul K. Paik, MD, and colleagues, the phase II VISION trial has shown durable responses with the highly selective MET inhibitor tepotinib in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and MET exon 14–skipping mutation.
As noted by the...
Second-Line Carboplatin/Etoposide vs Topotecan in Relapsed Small Cell Lung Cancer
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Baize et al, a French phase III trial has shown significant improvement in progression-free survival with second-line carboplatin plus etoposide vs topotecan in patients with chemotherapy-sensitive relapsed small cell lung cancer.
As noted by the...
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Receives $126 Million Gift
A gift of $126 million to the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine will accelerate advances in finding cures for cancer and expand innovative treatment options. The donation is the single largest in the University of Miami’s 95-year...
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Launches First Clinical Trial in Patients With Hematologic Malignancy and COVID-19
In response to studies showing that between 30% and 60% of patients with blood cancer are at risk of death if infected with COVID-19 compared with patients who are cancer-free, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has announced its launch of the first clinical trial dedicated solely to this...
Inaugural AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report Released
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released its inaugural Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2020, which found that while overall cancer death rates are declining and the number of survivors is reaching record highs, progress against cancer is not benefiting everyone equally, with...
Cancer in My Community: Caring for Children With Cancer in Armenia
Cancer in My Community is a Cancer.Net Blog series that shows the global impact of cancer and how providers work to care for people with cancer in their region.
Why I Care for People With Cancer
When you tell someone that you are a pediatric oncologist and treat children with cancer, the first...
Conquer Cancer Collaborates With Israel Cancer Research Fund for Career Development Award in Israel
Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation has joined forces with the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) to grant a 2020 Career Development Award (CDA) to a physician-scientist in Israel. The CDA supports early-career clinical and translational investigators during their first few years of faculty...
October Cancer Awareness Month: Patient Resources From ASCO
Are you looking to provide trusted education materials to your patients and their caregivers for October cancer awareness month?
Cancer.Net, ASCO’s patient information website, and ASCO Answers patient education materials have everything you need to stock your practice and inform your patients....
Regional Council for a Stronger Society
In 2019, ASCO launched an Asia-Pacific Regional Council, a group of distinguished oncology leaders from countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The Council’s purpose is to advise ASCO on the needs of members in the region and facilitate and encourage member involvement in ASCO’s global activities.
...
Greater Coverage, Patient Education, and Research for Telemedicine Needed During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond
Flexibilities in reimbursement that have allowed the expanded use of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic should continue and be made available to more providers and patients, according to a recent statement from ASCO. ASCO Interim Position Statement: Telemedicine in Cancer Care also calls for ...
In ‘Marriage and Medicine,’ Judith and Alan Kaur Vow to Advance Cancer Research
Before Judith Kaur, MD, the self-proclaimed “Mother of the YIA” became Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation’s first grant recipient more than 35 years ago, she was a wife, a teacher, and then a stay-at-home mom. Going to medical school and becoming a research pioneer was just a daydream.
“When I ...
