Monica L. Baskin, PhD, Named Director of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center
Monica L. Baskin, PhD, will serve as the next Director of VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, pending approval by the Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors in September. She is also expected to be named the Lipman Chair in Oncology. Dr. Baskin is the first female director of Massey and the first Black woman to be named director of a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center. She will begin in the Director’s role on August 3.
Beth Erickson, MD, FASTRO, Named ASTRO President-Elect
The members of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recently elected five new officers to ASTRO’s Board of Directors.
Rectal Cancer: AI Identifies Patients Most Likely to Benefit From Irinotecan-Intensified Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy
Higher tumor cell density in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer receiving irinotecan-intensified neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy was associated with improved survival outcomes compared with those treated with standard chemoradiotherapy, according to findings from a post-hoc analysis of the phase III ARISTOTLE trial that was published in eBioMedicine.
Dabrafenib Plus Trametinib Improves Progression-Free Survival in BRAF V600E–Positive Differentiated Thyroid Cancer
In a global phase III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology by Gao et al, dabrafenib plus trametinib significantly improved progression-free survival and overall response rate compared with placebo in previously treated patients with locally advanced or metastatic, radioactive iodine–refractory, BRAF V600E–positive differentiated thyroid cancer.
FDA Approves Zidesamtinib for Second-Line Treatment of ROS1-Positive NSCLC
On July 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved zidesamtinib (Jideytro), a ROS1 selective inhibitor, for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received a prior ROS1 kinase inhibitor. The approval comes ahead of the original target action date of September 18, 2026, and follows the FDA's Breakthrough Therapy and Orphan Drug designations.
Charles Bennett and colleagues: The Inflation Reduction Act and Ibrutinib
Derek Raghavan: How I Discuss the Current Political Chaos When Patients Ask Health-Related Questions About It
Narjust Florez and Coral Olazagasti: Silence Is Complicity
Robert Peter Gale: Therapy With a TKI for EGFR-Variant Lung Adenocarcinoma: Lessons From CML?
Raj Mohan on Kindness, Mercy, Empathy, Compassion: Are They Relevant in the Era of Robotics and AI?
Sponsored Content
SPONSORED BY LILLY MEDICAL AFFAIRS
Treatment Considerations for Relapsed/Refractory CLL in the Post-cBTKi SettingMore Top Stories
Discovery Is an Act of Hope: Remembering Dr. Maura Gillison’s Pursuit of Truth
Maura L. Gillison, MD, PhD Maura Gillison did not chase awards. She chased answers, and especially clinically impactful answers. That distinction between the pursuit of recognition and the pursuit of truth defined everything about her as a scientist, a clinician, and a person. She was direct...
Durvalumab Plus Radiation Therapy in Frail Patients With Locally Advanced NSCLC
In a phase II study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Rimner et al found that concurrent and consolidative durvalumab administered with definitive radiation therapy, without chemotherapy, demonstrated encouraging efficacy in patients with inoperable locally advanced non–small cell lung ...
ASCO Publishes First Guideline on ctDNA Testing in Solid Tumors and Lymphoma
A panel of ASCO experts voted to approve ASCO’s first guideline on ctDNA testing in patients with solid tumors or lymphoma on November 18, 2025.1 The guideline addresses four overarching clinical questions: when ctDNA testing should (or should not) be used to (1) support cancer diagnosis; (2)...
The Fear of Having Cancer Never Goes Away
There is a strong history of breast cancer in my family, and the fact that I have dense breasts adding to my risk of developing the disease, kept me vigilant about getting a yearly mammogram screening since I turned 32. The test never showed any suspicious lesions over the last nearly 2 decades,...
HRR-Altered Metastatic Prostate Cancer: Talazoparib Plus Enzalutamide Improves Progression-Free Survival
In the phase III TALAPRO-3 trial, adding talazoparib to enzalutamide significantly improved imaging-based progression-free survival in patients with metastatic androgen pathway modulation–sensitive prostate cancer—also known as metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer—harboring homologous...
Electronic Prior Authorization Requirements for Drugs
The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) submitted formal comments (see https://bit.ly/4xYRg1j) to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to the 2026 CMS Interoperability Standards and Prior Authorization for Drugs proposed rule. If finalized, this rule will require...
HER2-Targeted Regimen Yields High Pathologic Complete Response Rate in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
A human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–targeted regimen achieved high pathologic complete response rates before surgery in patients with locally advanced HER2-positive breast cancer, according to results from the single-arm phase II neoPICD trial. The findings were highlighted during a...
