Studies have shown that having overweight or obesity increases the risk of developing more than a dozen cancers, including meningioma; multiple myeloma; and esophageal, thyroid, breast, gallbladder, stomach, liver, pancreatic, kidney, ovarian, uterine, and colorectal cancers. The presence of excess ...
In a Chinese phase III trial (APOLLO) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Zhou et al evaluated whether the combination of the multikinase inhibitor anlotinib and the PD-1 inhibitor penpulimab improved progression-free survival and overall survival vs sorafenib in first-line treatment of unresectable...
In a German phase II trial (WSG-KEYRICHED-1) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Kuemmel et al evaluated whether chemotherapy-free neoadjuvant therapy with pembrolizumab plus trastuzumab/pertuzumab showed activity in patients with HER2-enriched early breast cancer. As stated by the investigators:...
Total neoadjuvant therapy of intensified chemoradiotherapy was shown to be less effective for treating patients with rectal cancer with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than those with sporadic rectal cancer, according to study findings presented during Digestive Disease Week 2025. However, there...
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has emerged as a promising biomarker in colorectal cancer, offering dynamic insight into disease burden and recurrence risk. However, questions remain about its clinical utility and optimal application, as well as its equitable access across practice settings. At the...
This is Part 2 of Navigating the Complexities of Relapsed/Refractory AML: Identifying Mutations and Optimizing Targeted Therapy, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Uma Borate, Naval Daver, and Joshua Zeidner...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Pietrantonio et al, overall survival analysis in the phase III CodeBreaK 300 trial showed numeric improvement with sotorasib/panitumumab vs investigator's choice of treatment in patients with chemorefractory KRAS G12C-mutant metastatic colorectal...
Ablative radiation therapy is considered to be an alternative to surgery, providing an effective noninvasive option for local treatment of many types of cancer, but it is unknown whether ablative radiation therapy is effective for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Surgery provides improved...
Several medical organizations recently released a joint Clinical Practice Guideline to provide recommendations on opioid conversion in adults with cancer.1 ASCO, together with the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC), American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine,...
Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 Integrative Oncology Scholars Program and Integrative Oncology Fellows Program at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor (https://sites.google.com/view/integrative-oncology-scholars-/home). Launched in 2018, the Integrative Oncology Scholars Program ...
The use of computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) techniques for planning jaw reconstructions for patients with head and neck cancer undergoing free fibula reconstruction of the lower jaw may potentially shorten the duration of the surgery and reduce removal rates due to complications,...
A 20-year initiative that offered flexible options for colorectal cancer screening at a major integrated health system doubled colorectal cancer screening rates, cut cancer incidence by a third, halved deaths, and brought racial differences in outcomes to nearly zero, according to a study that will ...
The addition of neoadjuvant and adjuvant pembrolizumab to standard-of-care therapy significantly improved event-free survival over the standard of care alone for patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer in the phase III KEYNOTE-689 trial, according to results presented at the American...
A few weeks ago, a family member underwent a minor outpatient operative procedure. From a few weeks before the scheduled date of the procedure, multiple text messages and e-mails were forwarded to provide preparatory instructions for the procedure. The day before the procedure, another...
Ongoing efforts to rein in government spending have been described as a “chainsaw for bureaucracy.” It’s an apt metaphor for the haphazard budget cuts that many federal agencies are still experiencing. On February 7, 2025, the chainsaw made its way to facilities and administrative (F&A)...
Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed the treatment landscape over the last decade for patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the agents can also stimulate uncontrolled immunity against normal tissues and organs, leading to a cascade of immune-related adverse...
Perinatal and early-life exposure to ambient fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) and outdoor artificial light at night (O-ALAN) may be associated with a statistically significant increased risk of papillary thyroid cancer in children and young adults up to 19 years old, according to the...
In the French phase II PANACHE01-PRODIGE48 trial, researchers found that neoadjuvant chemotherapy with mFOLFIRINOX (modified leucovorin, fluorouracil, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) was feasible and active in patients with resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Schwarz et al published these findings...
New research has revealed that Schistosoma haematobium, a parasitic infection affecting millions globally, can trigger cancer-related gene activity in the cervical lining, with changes becoming even more pronounced after treatment. Presented at ESCMID Global 2025, this pivotal study sheds new light ...
Percutaneous hepatic perfusion using a melphalan hepatic delivery system (melphalan/HDS) may be an effective treatment option in patients with unresectable uveal melanoma that has metastasized to the liver, according to a recent study published by Zager et al in the Annals of Surgical Oncology....
Almost 60% of all deaths from pediatric cancers occur in regions of armed conflict, according to the results of a study published in The Lancet Oncology. Investigators from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Duke University, and other institutions sought to reveal the relationship between...
In the API-CAT trial—results of which were reported in The New England Journal of Medicine—Mahé et al found that use of reduced-dose apixaban was noninferior to full-dose apixaban in preventing recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with active cancer. Study Details In the double-blind...
Neoantigen-specific tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab led to responses among patients with metastatic gastrointestinal cancers, according to the results of a study from researchers at the National Institutes of Health published in Nature...
Waist circumference may be a more effective risk marker for the development of obesity-related cancers than body mass index (BMI) in male but not female patients, according to new findings presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO) 2025. Background Body size and excess...
Physician burnout has increased significantly in the past decade, and organizational strategies are vital to improve physician well-being, according to new research from ASCO. This compilation includes reports on the state of professional well-being among oncologists in 2023, burnout trends among...
On March 10, 2025, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Proposed Rule aimed at addressing improper enrollments in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Health Insurance Marketplace. This is the first proposed rule released under the new ...
Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) can offer patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) improved survival while minimizing or avoiding late toxicities associated with the standard of care of radiation with cisplatin chemotherapy, according to a recent ASCO guideline.1 “We show in a...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) in combination with lenalidomide and a rituximab product for adults with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL)—including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified, DLBCL arising ...
Definitive radiation therapy offers a high degree of locoregional control in large, locally advanced basal cell carcinomas (BCC), according to results from a recent multi-institutional research study published by Su et al in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology · Biology · Physics. One...
With right-sizing treatment an aim of many treatment approaches in breast cancer today, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), as well as its overtreatment, has become a potential target of change. Which patients, however, might safely forgo the current recommendations and be safely followed with active...
Newborns with congenital heart defects may have a higher risk of developing childhood cancer compared to children born without a heart abnormality. Further, congenital heart defects in newborns may also signal an elevated cancer risk for their mothers. These findings were published recently by Huh...
Taking more daily steps and engaging in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity may both be associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease–related mortality among postmenopausal women with a history of cancer, according to preliminary findings presented by Hyde et al at the American Heart...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Dee et al identified cancer incidence and mortality rates for 2022 in the countries of southeast Asia. Study Details The study involved data from the GLOBOCAN 2022 database developed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer for the 11 countries...
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have developed a novel antibody-toxin conjugate (ATC) designed to stimulate immune-mediated eradication of tumors. According to preclinical results published in Nature Cancer, the new approach combined the benefits of antibody-drug...
In a study reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Conforti et al found that invasive disease–free survival with sufficient follow-up may be the best surrogate for overall survival in neoadjuvant randomized trials in early breast cancer. Study Details The study involved 11 trials with 15...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Kristeleit et al, the UK-based phase II PEACOCC trial has shown the benefit of pembrolizumab in previously treated patients with advanced clear cell gynecological cancers (CCGCs). As stated by the investigators, “Advanced CCGCs have a poor prognosis, with response...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Jennifer Brown, MD, and colleagues, the phase III AMPLIFY trial found that fixed-duration acalabrutinib combined with venetoclax or venetoclax/obinutuzumab improved progression-free survival vs chemoimmunotherapy in fit, previously untreated...
Studies show that about one-quarter of advanced prostate cancers have alterations in DNA damage response genes involved directly or indirectly in homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene alterations, including BRCA1/BRCA2 genes, which can sensitize them to treatment with PARP inhibitors. Final...
Each year in the United States, approximately 90,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs), defined as those between the ages of 15 and 39, are diagnosed with cancer, and about 9,300 die of the disease.1 Worldwide, the number of new cases of cancer in this age population tops 1,300,200—an increase of ...
On February 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mirdametinib (Gomekli), a kinase inhibitor, for adult and pediatric patients aged 2 years and older with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) who have symptomatic plexiform neurofibromas (PN) not amenable to complete resection. ReNeu Trial...
A retrospective study provides new evidence that thyroid cancer continues to be overdiagnosed and that aggressive screening and treatment of thyroid cancer has not led to higher survival rates. The research was published by Chen et al in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. “Many studies have...
In the phase III EMERALD-1 trial reported in The Lancet, Sangro et al found that transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) with durvalumab/bevacizumab improved progression-free survival vs placebo in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) amenable to embolization. Study Details In...
In a phase Ib-II study (MORPHEUS-Liver) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Finn et al found that the addition of tiragolumab, an anti-TIGIT monoclonal antibody, to atezolizumab/bevacizumab improved objective response rate in patients with unresectable, locally advanced, or metastatic hepatocellular...
In a Chinese phase II study (C-Brain) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Xu et al found that brain radiotherapy in combination with camrelizumab and platinum-doublet chemotherapy produced “promising” results in patients with previously untreated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with brain...
As reported in The Lancet by Kudo et al, the phase III LEAP-012 trial has shown a significant progression-free survival benefit with the addition of lenvatinib and pembrolizumab to transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in patients with unresectable nonmetastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A...
Late in 2024, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued the 2025 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule adopting changes for Medicare payments under the PFS. CMS also released the 2025 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System final rule, which sets hospital outpatient...
Results of a phase III study suggest that the addition of the immunotherapy agent blinatumomab—a bispecific T-cell engager targeting CD19—to standard chemotherapy may help to prevent relapse in more children with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), the most common pediatric cancer,...
The findings in the American Cancer Society’s annual report, Cancer Statistics, 2025, show a mixed trend in cancer incidence and mortality rates. While cancer mortality declined by 34% from 1991 to 2022 in the United States—largely due to smoking reductions, earlier detection, and improved...
Tumor cells circulating in the blood are the germ cells of breast cancer metastases. They are rare and could not be propagated in the culture dish until now. A team from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the Heidelberg Stem Cell Institute HI-STEM, and the NCT Heidelberg has now succeeded...
This is Part 3 of Clinical Perspectives on KRAS-Mutant NSCLC, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Gregory Riely, Rebecca Heist, and Joshua Sabari discuss the management of a patient with unresectable locally...