Association Between Clinical Outcomes and Patient Characteristics/Genomic Profiles in Lung Cancer
As reported in JAMA, Singal et al used a clinicogenomic database in routine clinical practice to identify associations between treatment outcomes and patient characteristics or tumor genomic profiles in the setting of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The study cohort of 4,064 patients...
FDA Approves Ado-Trastuzumab Emtansine for HER2-Positive Early Breast Cancer
On May 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1; Kadcyla) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer who have residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant taxane- and trastuzumab-based treatment. Patients should be...
ESTRO 38: REQUITE Project Finds Predictive Biomarkers for Late Radiotherapy Toxicity
The latest results from the REQUITE project, which aimed to discover what makes patients more likely to experience adverse effects after radiotherapy, have shown that a combination of biologic markers and certain genetic changes can predict radiation sensitivity. In addition, the international team ...
ESTRO 38: What Type of Radiotherapy May Best Preserve Cognitive Function in Pediatric Patients With Brain Tumors?
A comparison of three types of radiotherapy for pediatric brain tumors suggests that a type of proton therapy called pencil-beam scanning (PBS) offers the best hope of preserving cognitive functions. The study, presented by Toussaint et al at ESTRO 38, the annual congress of the European Society...
ESTRO 38: High–Dose Rate Brachytherapy in Localized Prostate Cancer
A single high dose of radiation that can be delivered directly to a treatment site within a few minutes is a safe and effective technique for treating men with localized, low-risk prostate cancer, according to a study presented by Tharmalingam et al at ESTRO 38, the annual congress of the ...
FDA Pipeline: Applications and Designations in Prostate Cancer, Leukemia, and HER2-Positive Cancers
In the past 2 weeks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted a new drug application and granted Priority Review for a prostate cancer treatment, granted Orphan Drug designation to a treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, accepted an investigational new drug application for a...
Treat-and-Release Emergency Department Use by Patients With Gynecologic Cancers
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Albright et al found that treat-and-release emergency department use by patients with gynecologic cancers has increased in recent years, with an increase in total cost in this population but not in average visit cost. Visits and Costs...
FDA Approves First-Line Ivosidenib for IDH1-Mutated AML
On May 2, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded its approval of ivosidenib (Tibsovo) to include newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a susceptible IDH1 mutation, as detected by an FDA-approved test, in patients who are at least 75 years old or who have comorbidities that ...
ESTRO 38: Radical Hemithoracic Therapy in Patients With Mesothelioma
Patients with mesothelioma are twice as likely to survive for 2 years or longer if they are treated with a high dose of radiation to the affected side of the trunk, according to research presented by Minatel et al at ESTRO 38, the annual congress of the European Society for Radiotherapy...
ESTRO 38: Radiotherapy After ABVD May Improve Survival in Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma
Patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma with bulky lesions at the time of diagnosis may benefit from radiotherapy after chemotherapy, according to late-breaking results presented by Ricardi et al at ESTRO 38, the annual congress of the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology...
ESTRO 38: Long-Term Results of Adjuvant Radiotherapy Plus Antihormonal Treatment in Hormone Receptor–Positive Breast Cancer
Women with early-stage, low-risk, hormone receptor–positive breast cancer may be less likely to experience disease recurrence if they have radiotherapy after surgery as well as antihormonal treatment, according to results from a trial that has followed 869 women for 10 years. These findings...
Emergency Department Visits for Treatment-Related Complications of Systemic Therapy and Radiotherapy
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Jairam et al found that emergency department visits for complications of systemic therapy or radiotherapy in patients with cancer increased at a 5.5-fold higher rate over 10 years compared with overall emergency department visits. Study Details The study...
Adjuvant Pelvic Radiation Therapy vs Vaginal Brachytherapy Plus Chemotherapy in Endometrial Cancer
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Randall et al, the phase III Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG)-0249 trial showed similar outcomes with adjuvant pelvic radiation therapy vs vaginal brachytherapy plus paclitaxel/carboplatin in high-intermediate and high-risk early-stage endometrial...
IMblaze370: Atezolizumab With or Without Cobimetinib vs Regorafenib in Previously Treated Advanced Colorectal Cancer
In the phase III IMblaze370 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Eng et al found no survival benefit with third-line atezolizumab with or without cobimetinib vs regorafenib in patients with locally advanced or metastatic colorectal cancer. Study Details The open-label trial included 363...
ESMO Breast Cancer 2019: Does Continuous Chemotherapy Benefit Patients With Advanced Breast Cancer?
Continuous chemotherapy showed greater benefit in patients with advanced breast cancer by both improving survival and maintaining quality of life compared to intermittent scheduling, according to analyses of the Stop&Go study presented by Erdkamp et al and Claessens et al at the European...
ESMO Breast Cancer 2019: PERNETTA Trial Examines Treatment De-escalation in Women With HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
De-escalation approaches in the treatment of women with HER2-positive breast cancer need to be personalized, according to a European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) spokesperson Carmen Criscitiello, MD, PhD, of the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy. Dr. Criscitello commented on the ...
Survey Finds Rates of Physician-Patient Discussions About Lung Cancer Screening Are Declining
A study examining trends in patient-reported physician-patient discussions about lung cancer screening and the association of these discussions with smokers’ attempts to quit and intent to quit has found that discussions about screening have declined since 2012. Moreover, they were not...
Minimal Adjuvant Chemotherapy for Pediatric Hepatoblastoma Resected at Diagnosis
In an analysis from the Children’s Oncology Group phase III AHEP0731 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Katzenstein et al found that minimal adjuvant chemotherapy with two cycles of cisplatin, fluorouracil, and vincristine was associated with disease control in pediatric patients with...
Long-Term Follow-up: Addition of Idelalisib to Rituximab in Relapsed Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
In an article published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sharman et al provided long-term findings of a phase III trial that examined the addition of idelalisib to rituximab in relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), including findings from an extension phase of idelalisib monotherapy. The ...
ESMO Breast Cancer 2019: Outcomes in Younger Patients With Breast Cancer
Breast cancer in young women is characterized by more aggressive biologic features as compared to older patients, but outcomes are good when guideline-recommended treatments are given. European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) spokesperson Matteo Lambertini, MD, PhD, of IRCCS Policlinico San...
ESMO Breast Cancer 2019: Evidence-Based Educational Nutrition Intervention Among Patients With Early-Stage Breast Cancer
Although tools like the ESPEN guidelines on nutrition for patients with cancer have helped to standardize practices in this area of patient care, scientific evidence on the efficacy of nutritional intervention among patients with breast cancer is still scarce. Preliminary results from a study to be ...
ESMO Breast Cancer 2019: ONCOLLEGE-001: Global Survey of HER2 Testing
A global survey of HER2 testing has raised questions about how resources should be spent on potentially lifesaving HER2-targeted therapies for breast cancer, especially in lower-income countries. These results will be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Breast Cancer...
Final Overall Survival Analysis of the LATITUDE Trial in Newly Diagnosed, High-Risk, Metastatic, Castration-Sensitive Prostate Cancer
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Fizazi et al, the final overall survival analysis in the phase III LATITUDE trial has shown a significant benefit with the addition of abiraterone acetate plus prednisone to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in newly diagnosed, high-risk, metastatic, ...
Phase II Study of Regorafenib in Metastatic Osteosarcoma
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Davis et al, outcomes in the osteosarcoma cohort of the phase II SARC024 trial indicated a progression-free survival benefit with regorafenib vs placebo in previously treated metastatic osteosarcoma. Study Details The randomized...
Colon Cancer Proteogenomic Analysis May Uncover New Potential Treatments
A new study analyzing the entire set of genes and all the proteins produced by colon cancer tissues from patient samples has revealed a more comprehensive view of the tumor, pointing to novel cancer biologic mechanisms and possible new therapeutic strategies. This multidisciplinary and...
New Biomarkers Associated With Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment Identified
Cognitive impairment associated with cancer—also known as “chemobrain”—has gained recognition as a complication of the disease and its treatment. With this in mind, a research team started to investigate levels of biomarkers in relation to chemobrain to better understand its ...
Study Identifies Six Prognostic Factors That May Predict Invasive Breast Cancer Recurrence After a DCIS Diagnosis
Results from a new study are providing information to potentially improve the clinical management of women diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). A systematic review with meta-analyses to summarize current knowledge on prognostic factors for invasive disease after a diagnosis of DCIS has...
Erlotinib Plus Bevacizumab vs Erlotinib Alone in EGFR-Positive, Advanced Nonsquamous NSCLC
In an interim analysis of the phase III NEJ026 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Saito et al found that the addition of bevacizumab to erlotinib improved progression-free survival in patients with EGFR-positive, nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the open-label...
Risk Model for Disease Progression in Asymptomatic Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bustoros et al developed a model for predicting risk of progression from asymptomatic Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia to symptomatic disease requiring treatment. The study involved 439 patients with asymptomatic...
Addition of Nab-paclitaxel to Gemcitabine and Cisplatin in Advanced Biliary Tract Cancers
In a phase II trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Shroff and colleagues found that the addition of nab-paclitaxel to standard gemcitabine and cisplatin resulted in promising outcomes in patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancers. The study included 60 patients...
Intermittent vs Intensive PEG-Asparaginase in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
In a Scandinavian study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Albertsen et al found that use of intermittent vs intensive pegylated (PEG)-asparaginase was associated with similar efficacy and reduced asparaginase-related toxicity in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The study...
Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden Step Down From Biden Cancer Initiative Board
In light of the launch of his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, former Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden announced that they are stepping down as Co-Chairs of the Biden Cancer Initiative. They are also resigning from the Board of Directors. “[W]e are glad...
Access Program to Be Established for Patients After Olaratumab Is Withdrawn From the Global Market
On April 25, Eli Lilly and Company announced that the company has been working to facilitate the withdrawal of olaratumab from the market for the treatment of advanced soft-tissue sarcoma. Lilly's actions to withdraw olaratumab from the market follow completion of the international phase III...
ASH President Comments on Medicare Proposal for CAR T-Cell Therapy
Earlier this week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed to improve the reimbursement currently given to hospitals that provide chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy to patients with blood cancer as part of the Fiscal Year 2020 Inpatient Prospective Payment...
Does Squamous Cell Carcinoma Risk Change With Immunosuppression?
Immunosuppressed patients seem to have an increased risk of poor outcomes with multiple squamous cell carcinomas compared with those who are immunocompetent. Jessica L. Gonzalez, MD, of Tufts Medical Center in Boston, and colleagues published the results of a single-center case-control study...
DNA Rearrangement May Predict Treatment Resistance and Poor Outcomes in Multiple Myeloma
A certain type of DNA marker may predict poor outcomes in multiple myeloma, researchers at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University have found. The marker is a particular rearrangement of chromosomes that is rarely tested for but may indicate resistance to immunomodulatory drugs such as...
Does Oncotype DX–Guided Treatment Reduce Initial Costs of Breast Cancer Care?
A new study suggests that Oncotype DX–guided treatment could reduce the cost for the first year of breast cancer care in the United States by about $50 million (about 2% of the overall costs in the first year). These findings were published by Mariotto et al in the Journal of the...
Combined Crowd Innovation and AI in Producing Algorithms for Radiotherapy Targeting
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Mak et al found that a crowd innovation contest produced automated artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms “that replicated the skills of a highly trained physician” in segmenting lung tumors for radiotherapy targeting. The investigators also noted...
Low-Dose Tamoxifen vs Placebo in Preventing Local and Contralateral Recurrence in Breast Intraepithelial Neoplasia
In an Italian phase III study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, DeCensi et al found that tamoxifen at 5 mg/d vs placebo for 3 years reduced the risk of recurrence of breast intraepithelial neoplasia and was associated with limited toxicity. As noted by the investigators,...
SABR-COMET: Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy vs Standard Palliative Treatment in Oligometastatic Cancers
Results of the phase II SABR-COMET trial reported by Palma et al in The Lancet indicate that stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) was associated with improved survival vs standard palliative treatment in patients with oligometastatic cancers, although it was also associated with...
Colonoscopy Polyp Detection Rates and Endoscopist Characteristics
Previous research has suggested that specific factors about the doctor performing colonoscopy—for example, a gastroenterologist vs a surgeon, female vs male—were associated with different rates of detection of precancerous polyps. However, a Cleveland Clinic–led research team...
Perioperative Therapy With FLOT vs ECF/ECX in Locally Advanced Gastric Adenocarcinoma
In the German phase II/III FLOT4 trial reported in The Lancet, Al-Batran et al found that perioperative therapy with the docetaxel-based triplet FLOT (fluorouracil [5-FU]/leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) was associated with improved overall survival vs ECF/ECX (epirubicin and cisplatin plus...
Doxepin or Diphenhydramine/Lidocaine/Antacid Mouthwash for Radiotherapy-Related Oral Mucositis Pain
In the phase III Alliance A221304 trial reported in JAMA, Sio et al found that doxepin mouthwash and diphenhydramine/lidocaine/antacid mouthwash reduced oral mucositis pain for the first 4 hours after administration in patients with oral mucositis pain from head and neck radiotherapy, but the...
SUNSHINE Trial: High-Dose Vitamin D May Benefit Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
Results of a small clinical trial suggest that supplementing chemotherapy with high doses of vitamin D may benefit patients with metastatic colorectal cancer by delaying progression of the disease. These findings were published by Ng et al in JAMA. Initial trial findings were reported at the 2017...
Does Intake of Dietary Fat Increase Risk of Skin Cancer?
Dietary intake of fat is associated with several types of cancer, but few studies have explored the link between fat intake and the risk of skin cancer. In a study published by Park et al in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, researchers examined the relationship between fat intake...
FDA Approves Pembrolizumab Plus Axitinib for First-Line Treatment of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma
On April 19, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus axitinib for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). KEYNOTE-426 Approval was based on KEYNOTE-426, a randomized, multicenter, open-label trial conducted in ...
Cervical Cancer Subtype Rising in Some Populations
A new study reports that a type of cervical cancer that is less amenable to detection by Papanicolaou (Pap) testing is increasing in several subpopulations of women, pointing to the growing importance of human papillomavirus (HPV) testing and vaccination. The study was published by Islami ...
Deep-Learning Model May Improve Predictions of Survival and Specific Outcomes in Lung Cancer
A study by Xu et al in Clinical Cancer Research evaluating deep-learning networks that analyze time-series computed tomography (CT) images of patients with locally advanced NSCLC has found these networks can integrate imaging scans at multiple time points to improve clinical outcome...
KEYNOTE-042: Pembrolizumab vs Chemotherapy in Previously Untreated Locally Advanced or Metastatic NSCLC With PD-L1 Expression ≥ 1%
As reported in The Lancet by Mok et al, the KEYNOTE-042 trial has shown an improvement in overall survival with pembrolizumab vs standard chemotherapy in previously untreated patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without a sensitizing EGFR mutation or ...
Front-Line Dose-Adjusted EPOCH-R vs R-CHOP in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Bartlett et al, the phase III intergroup Alliance/CALGB 50303 trial showed front-line DA-EPOCH-R (dose-adjusted etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and rituximab) did not improve outcomes vs standard R-CHOP...
