Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a fascinating disease from which many groundbreaking medical and oncologic lessons have been learned. Since the Irish surgeon Denis P. Burkitt, MD, FRCS, FRS, first described rapidly enlarging jaw and facial tumors in Ugandan children in 1958,1 the study of BL has led to...
Approximately 10% of adults in the United States self-report being members of sexual and gender minorities (SGMs), which means that most oncologists will treat SGM patients in their practice. Here are some suggestions on how clinicians and oncology institutions can help SGM patients feel safe and...
In its programming for the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting, ASCO included a special Education Session on “Gender-Based and Sexual Orientation Inequities: Promoting Inclusion, Visibility, and Data Accuracy in Oncology.” The session offered a comprehensive discussion on the challenges that sexual and gender ...
The invited discussant of the SUNLIGHT trial, Dustin Deming, MD, the ACI/Schwenn Family Association Professor in the Division of Hematology, Medical Oncology, and Palliative Care and Director of JD Fluno Colorectal Cancer Precision Medicine at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, said the findings ...
In the open-label phase III SUNLIGHT trial, the addition of bevacizumab to trifluridine/tipiracil, also known as TAS-102, significantly improved overall survival in patients with metastatic treatment-refractory colorectal cancer,1 according to Josep Tabernero, MD, Head of the Department of Medical...
Alan H. Bryce, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, discusses the final results of the primary endpoint of rPFS and interim results on overall survival among patients with chemotherapy-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The data showed that rucaparib improved radiographic progression-free...
Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, of the Yale Cancer Center, discusses phase III findings from the KEYNOTE-921 study, which was designed to assess the combination of pembrolizumab and docetaxel in the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. They had not received...
Paul L. Nguyen, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, discusses results from the FORMULA-509 study, which compared postoperative salvage radiotherapy and 6 months of GnRH agonist with or without abiraterone acetate/prednisone (AAP) and apalutamide, after radical...
Investigators have estimated the environmental impacts of prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and prostate biopsies, according to a new study published by Michael S. Leapman, MD, MHS, and colleagues in European Urology. The findings suggest that more carefully selecting patients for...
Researchers have discovered that whole-genome sequencing—rather than the current standard of exome sequencing—may allow physicians to better identify genetic changes that drive cancer development and growth, and create the most effective, personalized treatment plans for patients with classical...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Rodriguez‑Otero et al, an interim analysis of the phase III KarMMa-3 trial showed superior progression-free survival with the B-cell maturation antigen–directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel) vs...
As reported in The Lancet by Robert J. Motzer, MD, and colleagues, part A of the phase III CheckMate 914 trial has shown no improvement in disease-free survival with adjuvant nivolumab/ipilimumab vs placebo in resected localized clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Part B of the trial is evaluating...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Hisham Mehanna, FRCS, and colleagues found that concordance and discordance of p16 immunohistochemistry and human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA/RNA testing were associated with different outcomes among patients with squamous cell oropharyngeal carcinoma....
Clinical trials set the treatment standards for cancer care. However, for select populations, such as those who are older, Black, or facing socioeconomic challenges, access to clinical trials and health care generally remains limited. Barriers to clinical trial participation are numerous and...
Aristotelis Bamias, MD, of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, discusses results from the phase III IMvigor130 study, which suggest that atezolizumab monotherapy continues to show better tolerability vs chemotherapy for patients with untreated locally advanced or metastatic...
Neeraj Agarwal, MD, of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, discusses phase III results from the TALAPRO-2 study, which suggested an improvement in radiographic progression-free survival with the combination of talazoparib and enzalutamide over standard-of-care enzalutamide alone as...
Thomas Powles, MD, PhD, of Barts Health NHS Trust, Queen Mary University of London, discusses new data from the COSMIC-313 study of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma of IMDC (International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium) intermediate or poor risk. Those who received cabozantinib...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Ian H. Kunkler, MB, BChir, MA, FRCR, and colleagues, the phase III PRIME II trial has shown a higher risk of local recurrence with the omission of adjuvant radiotherapy after breast-conserving surgery in patients aged ≥ 65 years with hormone...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Buske et al, the European Consortium for Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia (ECWM)-1 study has shown a numeric benefit in progression-free survival with the addition of bortezomib to dexamethasone, rituximab, and cyclophosphamide (DRC; B-DRC) in the...
Investigators have uncovered how current and historical experiences—including discrimination, violence, family rejection, and exclusion—have created a legacy of distress and fear, adversely impacted trust in health-care professionals, and resulted in unmet needs in cancer survivorship and care for...
Patients with early-stage estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer who live in low-income neighborhoods may be more likely to have more aggressive tumor biology and significantly lower overall survival than those living in higher-income neighborhoods, according to a new study published by Ma...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Brown et al, the phase II/III STAR trial showed that noninferiority in overall survival and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) could not be concluded for temporary treatment cessation vs continuous treatment with first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy in ...
Smoldering myeloma is an asymptomatic plasma cell disorder with a heterogeneous clinical behavior. Two trials presented at the 2022 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition investigated early intervention for smoldering multiple myeloma, aiming for a “curative strategy”...
Combination regimens beyond lenalidomide/dexamethasone were shown to significantly delay—and potentially prevent altogether—progression from smoldering disease to active multiple myeloma, according to researchers who reported findings from two studies at the 2022 American Society of Hematology...
Investigators have found that pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who lived along the Texas-Mexico border were more likely to die within 5 years than those living in other areas of the state, according to a new study published by Castellanos et al in Cancer. Background...
Results of the interim analysis of KEYNOTE-859 are in, and they confirm the overall survival benefit of first-line immunotherapy plus chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer. Pembrolizumab plus a fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing doublet provided a statistically significant improvement in...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Sandro Pignata, MD, and colleagues, the Italian phase II MITO END-3 trial showed no progression-free survival benefit with the addition of first-line avelumab to carboplatin/paclitaxel in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. A trend toward...
As in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 ASCO GI Cancers Symposium—its 20th such gathering—played to a full ballroom. It featured a stellar lineup of experts in the field as well as high-quality, impactful research in esophageal, gastric, hepatocellular, pancreatic, biliary tract, and ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Paolo Antonio Ascierto, MD, and colleagues, the phase I/IIa RELATIVITY-020 trial part D has shown evidence of activity of the combination of nivolumab and relatlimab in patients with advanced melanoma progressing on anti–PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. Study...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Karim Fizazi, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III TRITON3 trial has shown significantly improved progression-free survival with rucaparib vs physician-selected single-agent therapy in the entire population of patients with metastatic...
On February 2, 2023, President Joseph Biden announced his intent to appoint six members to the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB). The NCAB plays an important role in guiding the Director of the National Cancer Institute in setting the course for the national cancer research program. The NCAB...
Although there is no history of cancer in my family, I guess it isn’t surprising that I would develop an aggressive form of melanoma on my scalp after years of ultraviolet radiation from sun exposure. Still, getting the diagnosis was devastating. I first noticed a small lump on the top of my head ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, of Yale Cancer Center and Yale School of Medicine, and colleagues, updated findings in the phase III ADAURA trial showed continued disease-free survival benefit with adjuvant osimertinib vs placebo after complete resection...
The widespread use of immune checkpoint inhibitors has led to significant benefits in younger patients with advanced lung cancer; however, older patients have not experienced similar survival benefits, according to research from Yale Cancer Center. The study was published in JAMA Oncology.1 “There ...
Toni K. Choueiri, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses a biomarker analysis from the phase III CheckMate 9ER trial of nivolumab plus cabozantinib vs sunitinib for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma. The ongoing study aims to identify a predictive biomarker that...
The addition of the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor talazoparib to the androgen receptor signaling inhibitor enzalutamide resulted in a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in radiographic progression–free survival compared with placebo plus enzalutamide as...
Adjuvant therapy with the immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab following surgery improved disease-free survival in patients with high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma, according to new findings presented by Matthew D. Galsky, MD, FASCO, and colleagues at the 2023 ASCO Genitourinary...
Researchers have found that following chemotherapy, 46% of patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma were able to avoid a cystectomy and achieve a 2-year metastasis-free survival, according to new findings presented by Daniel M. Geynisman, MD, and colleagues at the 2023 ASCO Genitourinary...
In the phase III FORMULA-509 trial, the addition of abiraterone acetate/prednisone and apalutamide—compared with bicalutamide—to salvage radiation therapy plus 6 months of treatment with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist failed to improve progression-free survival postprostatectomy in ...
In a German phase III trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Bornhäuser et al found that allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) was not associated with improved overall survival vs standard consolidation chemotherapy in patients aged ≤ 60 years with cytogenetically defined intermediate-risk...
In the phase II ANCHOR CRC trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Eric Van Cutsem, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the combination of encorafenib, binimetinib, and cetuximab produced an objective response in nearly half of previously untreated patients with BRAF V600E–mutant...
This is Part 4 of Updates in Melanoma, a four-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this Roundtable. In this video, Drs. Omid Hamid, Sapna Patel, and Ryan Sullivan discuss the second- and third-line therapy options for unresectable and metastatic melanoma. The...
This is Part 3 of Updates in Melanoma, a four-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this Roundtable. In this video, Drs. Omid Hamid, Sapna Patel, and Ryan Sullivan discuss the first-line treatment of metastatic melanoma. The patient is a 32-year-old woman...
This is Part 2 of Updates in Melanoma, a four-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this Roundtable. In this video, Drs. Omid Hamid, Sapna Patel, and Ryan Sullivan discuss current adjuvant treatment options in malignant melanoma. The patient is a 67-year-old man ...
This is Part 1 of Updates in Melanoma, a four-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this Roundtable. In this video, Drs. Omid Hamid, Sapna Patel, and Ryan Sullivan discuss current adjuvant treatment options in malignant melanoma. The patient is a 67-year-old man ...
Lung cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, causing nearly 2 million deaths a year. Although treatment advances in late-stage non–small lung cancer (NSCLC) are extending survival in some patients, breakthroughs for early-stage...
In an analysis from the U.S. Lymphoma CAR T Consortium reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wang et al found that standard-of-care treatment with brexucabtagene autoleucel in relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma since its approval in this setting has been associated with response...
In a Chinese phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ding et al found that camrelizumab plus apatinib produced durable objective responses in most patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Study Details The multicenter trial enrolled 58 patients between...
Researchers have found that an algorithm that calculates patient-reported symptom complexity scores may help oncologists identify patients who are at an increased risk for unplanned visits to the emergency department (ED), creating the potential for additional proactive care and reduced health-care ...
In a retrospective, population-based, case-control study reported in JAMA Network Open, Larsen et al found that patients receiving anthracyclines for breast cancer or lymphoma were at a significantly elevated risk of congestive heart failure vs noncancer controls. No significant difference in risk...