In a U.S. two-center phase III trial (MC1675) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ma et al found that de-escalated adjuvant radiotherapy was associated with a reduced cumulative, chronic grade ≥ 3 toxicity rate at 3 to 24 months after radiotherapy compared with standard adjuvant treatment in patients with newly diagnosed human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma.

Investigators have found several oral bacteria and fungi associated with an increased risk for pancreatic cancer, according to findings published in JAMA Oncology. This cohort study seems to confirm a long-standing suspicion of the relationship between poor oral health and pancreatic cancer and suggests that oral microbiota could be used as biomarkers to identify patients at higher risk for pancreatic cancer who could benefit from screening and prevention measures.

In a Canadian phase II trial (GROUQ-PCS 9) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Niazi et al found that the addition of metastasis-directed stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to standard systemic therapy improved radiographic progression-free survival in patients with oligometastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

In a phase I, first-in-human trial of nearly 50 patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies, the orally administered, small molecule degrader bexobrutideg (NX-5948) was reported to be well tolerated, including in those with a longer duration of treatment and higher doses. Clinical activity with this agent was shown in a heavily pretreated population with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL); the objective response rate for the phase Ia cohort was 80.9%, with a median time to first response of 1.9 months. These updated early-phase study results were presented by Nirav N. Shah, MD, MSHP, Professor of Medicine and Director of the BMT & Cellular Therapy Program at the Medical College of Wisconsin, on behalf of colleagues, at the 2025 Society of Hematologic Oncology (SOHO) Annual Meeting.¹ Enrollment is ongoing for the phase Ib dose-expansion part of the study (200-mg and 600-mg cohorts).