September 25, 2025 (View All Issues)
Osimertinib Plus Chemotherapy Significantly Prolongs Overall Survival in EGFR-Mutated Advanced NSCLC
The combination of the EGFR-targeting tyrosine kinase inhibitor osimertinib with platinum-based chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival as a first-line treatment for patients with EGFR-mutated, advanced, non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with osimertinib monotherapy,...
How the AI-Powered ASCO® Guidelines Assistant Is Improving Clinical Decision-Making
This past May, ASCO announced its collaboration with Google Cloud to launch the ASCO® Guidelines Assistant, a new interactive tool that allows clinicians to quickly access ASCO’s evidence-based clinical guidelines to facilitate critical clinical decision-making. Developed with Google Cloud’s Vertex ...
JCO Authorship Guidelines Are of Benefit to Those Caring for Older Patients
The aging population, now the largest group of patients with cancer and cancer survivors, requires a rigorous and focused approach to clinical trial reporting, a need highlighted by the recent author guidelines from the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO; Table 1).1 The guidelines are an important ...
Overall Survival Benefit Shown for Neoadjuvant Nivolumab Plus Chemotherapy in Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
In the preplanned final analysis of the phase III CheckMate 816 trial, an overall survival benefit has been shown for neoadjuvant nivolumab plus chemotherapy in patients with resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).1 Patients treated with the combination experienced an approximate 10%...
Adding the Hepcidin Mimetic Rusfertide to the Standard of Care Yields Benefits in Polycythemia Vera
In patients with polycythemia vera requiring frequent phlebotomies, the investigational hepcidin mimetic rusfertide, given as a weekly subcutaneous injection, more than doubled the clinical response rate and significantly improved quality of life in the global phase III VERIFY study.1 These...
CheckMate 77T: Nivolumab Maintains Quality of Life and Reduces Symptom Deterioration in Resectable NSCLC
An analysis from the phase III CheckMate 77T trial confirms that perioperative nivolumab does not compromise health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including those with stage III N2 disease. These results were presented at the...
Neoadjuvant Osimertinib in the Perioperative Setting for Resectable, EGFR-Mutated NSCLC
“Neoadjuvant treatment with osimertinib, with or without chemotherapy, should be considered when planning treatment for patients with resectable, EGFR-mutated, stage II to IIIB non–small cell lung cancer [NSCLC],” according to Jamie E. Chaft, MD, FASCO, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and ...
Investigating the Mechanisms of Cardiovascular Adverse Events Linked to Certain Cancer Treatments
The true upside of the many advances in cancer treatment is clear. Approximately 18.6 million people in the United States have a history of cancer, and the number of cancer survivors is expected to exceed 22 million by the year 2035.1However, one downside affecting many of these individuals...
Cardiotoxicity From the Use of Anthracyclines in Cancer Survivors: Preventive Strategies
Many patients from Europe and the United States have experienced the benefits of anthracyclines in the treatment of an array of cancers, including solid tumors such as breast and ovarian cancers as well as lymphoma. However, a number of these cancer survivors will experience severe chronic cardiac...
Perioperative Pembrolizumab Plus Surgery and Risk-Adapted Standard Adjuvant Therapy Shows Benefit in Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer
Earlier this year, the first interim analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-689 trial showed that the use of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab as part of a perioperative treatment regimen with standard-of-care surgery plus adjuvant radiotherapy (with or without cisplatin alone) improved event-free...
Conversion of Unresectable Into Resectable Pancreatic Cancer: Chemoradiotherapy vs Chemotherapy
In a German phase III trial (CONKO-007) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,1Rainer Fietkau, MD, of the Department of Radiation Oncology, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany, and colleagues found that adding chemoradiotherapy to chemotherapy vs...
ASCO Approves First Guideline on Cancer-Specific Geriatric Assessment of Older Patients in Resource-Limited Settings
On April 22, 2025, an ASCO Expert Panel voted to approve ASCO’s global guideline on geriatric assessment of patients with cancer older than age 65 who are being treated in resource-limited settings or countries.1 Guideline recommendations were informed by the ADAPTE methodology and formal consensus ...
ASCO Remembers Past President Harvey M. Golomb, MD, FASCO
ASCO is deeply saddened by the loss of past president Harvey M. Golomb, MD, FASCO, a pioneer in the study of interferon as cancer treatment. Dr. Golomb passed away on August 20, 2025; he was 82.
From the beginning of his medical career, Dr. Golomb was a committed member of ASCO. He joined the...
ASCO Thanks Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FSCT, FASCO, for His Vision and Leadership of TAPUR
ASCO extends its thanks and appreciation to Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FSCT, FASCO, for his decade of leadership and dedication as the inaugural Principal Investigator of the groundbreaking Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) Study.
The ASCO-sponsored TAPUR study is a...
Understanding Accelerated Aging in Survivors of Childhood Cancers
Each year in the United States, nearly 16,000 children and adolescents between the ages of birth and 19 are diagnosed with cancer.1 And although survival rates have greatly improved for many types of childhood cancers, with more than 8 in 10 children and adolescents surviving at least 5 years after ...
New Approvals for Thrombocytopenia, Lung Cancer, Brain Cancer, and Multiple Myeloma
BTK Inhibitor for Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia: On September 2, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor rilzabrutinib (Wayrilz) tablets to treat adults with persistent or chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) who have had an...
What We Wish We Knew During Fellowship
July marks a significant transition for many professionals, particularly those beginning structured training programs on July 1. This article is designed to support new and current hematology-oncology fellows and trainees in making the most of their training experience. Although not all suggestions ...
New NIH-Funded Study Identifies Urine-Based Assay for Prostate Cancer
Researchers have developed a novel method to test for prostate cancer using biomarkers present in urine. This approach may significantly reduce the need for invasive, often painful biopsies, the researchers said in a statement. The study, which was funded in part by the National Institutes of...
James R. Doty, MD, Pioneer in Neurosurgical Innovation and the Scientific Study of Compassion, Dies at 69
James R. Doty, MD, Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University and a pioneer in both neurosurgical innovation and the scientific study of compassion, died on July 16, 2025. He was 69. Dr. Doty’s death occurred after prolonged hospitalization for medical complications from surgery in ...
Acute Myeloid Leukemia With RUNX1::RUNX1T1 Fusion
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 impact of the prognostic marker RUNX1::RUX1T1 fusion on the diagnosis and treatment of...
Ayurveda in Cancer Care
Guest Editor’s Note: Ayurveda, the traditional medical system that originated in India, focuses on improving overall well-being through self-care, diet, and herbal formulations. There is a growing patient interest in using Ayurveda for symptom control and to improve quality of life. In this...
Addition of Sintilimab to Total Neoadjuvant Treatment in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer
In a Chinese single-center phase II trial (SPRING-01) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Tian et al found that the addition of the PD-1 inhibitor sintilimab to chemotherapy following short-course radiotherapy as part of total neoadjuvant treatment significantly improved the pathologic complete...
City of Hope Awarded $23.7 Million to Map Biomarkers in NSCLC
City of Hope® has been awarded an up to $23.7 million contract from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The grant will help City of Hope to create a biomap of tumor changes that cause immunotherapy resistance in advanced ...
