The disease we now call diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) has gone by the names of reticulum cell sarcoma, diffuse histiocytic lymphoma, and diffuse large cell lymphoma, and included both lymphomas of B cells and T cells. We now know DLBCL is still heterogenous and some subtypes might benefit...
On May 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved retifanlimab-dlwr (Zynyz), a PD-1–blocking monoclonal antibody, with carboplatin and paclitaxel for the first-line treatment of adults with inoperable locally recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCAC)....
Six parenchymal phenotypes were established that may be associated with a higher risk of developing breast cancer. Studies of these phenotypes identified by radiomics on mammograms demonstrated that these patterns were associated with an increased risk of invasive breast cancer, according to...
In a first-in-human, single-institution phase I trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Lou et al found that autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) genetically edited with CRISPR-Cas9 to target the intracellular immune checkpoint CISH were tolerable and showed evidence of activity in...
“Knowledge is like a lion; it cannot be gently embraced.” –South African Proverb Long-term efficacy and safety confirm that a hypomethylating agent and venetoclax is an improvement in the standard of care for patients with AML who are not eligible for intensive chemotherapy because of advanced age...
On April 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) with the CTLA-4 inhibitor ipilimumab (Yervoy) for adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch...
In a Japanese trial (JCOG0905) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hiraga et al found no disease-free survival benefit with the addition of a higher dose of ifosfamide to methotrexate, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (MAP) in patients with newly diagnosed high-grade osteosarcoma with poor...
A novel cell therapy approach using cord blood–derived natural killer (NK) cells precomplexed with the CD30/CD16A bispecific antibody AFM13 may be safe and generate responses in patients with refractory CD30-positive lymphomas, according to a recent study published by Nieto et al in Nature...
Chemotherapy followed by local excision may be effective in patients with node-negative low rectal adenocarcinoma, according to new findings presented by Buettner et al at the 2025 Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Annual Meeting. Background The current standard of care among most patients with...
Current standard chemoradiation therapy remains the most effective treatment for selected patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer, based on the results of the NRG-HN005 trial. Researchers have halted this large, randomized phase II/III trial after patients in the...
On March 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the indication for lutetium Lu-177 vipivotide tetraxetan (Pluvicto) to include adults with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who have been treated with androgen ...
Today’s oncologists are blessed with an abundance of therapies for HER2-positive early breast cancer, but this comes with the challenge of selecting among them. At the 2025 Miami Breast Cancer Conference, Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, FACP, offered insight on common clinical scenarios. Dr. Hurvitz is...
Prostate carcinoma is the most common type of cancer among men in the United States, accounting for more than 299,000 estimated new cases and approximately 35,000 new deaths in 2024.1 A new ASCO guideline based on findings from a systematic review indicates that in metastatic cases of prostate...
Adding intraperitoneal (IP) paclitaxel to standard intravenous (IV) paclitaxel plus S-1 (oral fluoropyrimidine derivative) significantly extended overall survival for patients with gastric cancer peritoneal metastases, according to data presented at the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers...
The phase III DUO-E study evaluated the addition of the monoclonal antibody durvalumab to chemotherapy, and the benefit of maintenance durvalumab, with and without the PARP inhibitor olaparib, in advanced endometrial cancer. As reported this past year,1 the inclusion of durvalumab reduced the risk...
Erectile dysfunction could be improved through regular exercise in men with prostate cancer, according to a recent study published by Galvão et al in JAMA Network Open. Background Sexual dysfunction is a critical adverse effect of prostate cancer treatment and a major survivorship issue among...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Gianni Bisogno, MD, PhD, and colleagues, long-term follow-up of the European Paediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group RMS2005 trial showed significant survival advantages with the use of maintenance chemotherapy in pediatric patients with...
A novel treatment approach may improve outcomes in patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, according to new findings presented by Choi et al at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2025 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer. Recurrent cervical cancer remains a significant challenge,...
In a Japanese phase II trial (MARBLE) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Shukuya et al found that atezolizumab plus carboplatin/paclitaxel showed promising results in patients with recurrent or metastatic thymic carcinoma. Study Details In the multicenter trial, 48 patients enrolled between June 2022 ...
In previously untreated patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma, use of the antibody-drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin-ejfv in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab continues to demonstrate a significant survival benefit over chemotherapy, according to updated...
Cancer and its treatments often contribute to burdensome symptoms that negatively impact patients’ quality of life and treatment outcomes, including fatigue, anxiety, and depression.1 Many patients experience multiple symptoms concurrently2 that can disrupt their treatments and lead to unplanned...
In a single-center phase I/II trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Floudas et al found that the combination of the human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 therapeutic vaccine PDS0101, the tumor-targeting interleukin-12 antibody-drug conjugate PDS01ADC, and the bifunctional PD-L1/TGF-β inhibitor bintrafusp...
Nearly 20% of patients participating in middle-stage cancer drug trials may receive treatments that eventually receive U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, according to a recent study published by Ouimet et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The findings may have...
Germline or somatic mutations in the BRCA1 gene might not be key to the initiation of prostate cancer, as previously thought, suggests the first study of its kind, published in BMJ Oncology. If confirmed in further studies, the findings suggest that it may be time to reassess current treatment...
This is Part 3 of Evolving Treatment Landscape of Indolent Lymphoma, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Laurie Sehn, Gilles Salles, and Sonali Smith discuss the treatment of relapsed/refractory nodal marginal zone...
This is Part 2 of Evolving Treatment Landscape of Indolent Lymphoma, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Laurie Sehn, Gilles Salles, and Sonali Smith discuss the third-line treatment of relapsed/refractory...
This is Part 1 of Evolving Treatment Landscape of Indolent Lymphoma, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Laurie Sehn, Gilles Salles, and Sonali Smith discuss the second-line treatment of early relapsing follicular...
The Annual Meeting of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) was held from October 17–19, 2024, in Montreal. The conference theme was “Promoting Equity and Enhancing Optimal Care Delivery.” The conference chairs were Shabbir Alibhai, MD, MSc, FRCPC, and Martine Puts, RN, PhD, FAAN,...
Offering genetic testing to patients with multiple myeloma may help physicians to determine which patients have the most aggressive types of the disease and how to target their malignancy more effectively, according to a recent study published by Kaiser et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology....
Investigators may have uncovered racial and ethnic disparities in the receipt of same-day diagnostic services and biopsies following abnormal mammogram findings in spite of the similar availability of diagnostic technologies, according to a recent study published by Lawson et al in Radiology....
Ceasing or pausing a combination of the immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab and the oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) axitinib after 2 years may be safe among patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma who achieved a positive response to this treatment, according to updated analysis of a...
In an individual patient data meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Nikitas et al found that early toxicity associated with radiotherapy for prostate cancer was associated with increased risk for late toxicity. Study Details The study included patient-level data from six randomized phase...
The World Health Organization (WHO) and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have begun distributing critical cancer drugs to pediatric patients in two of six pilot countries through the new Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines. Background Every year, about 400,000 children...
ASCO has updated its guidelines on the role of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for patients newly diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer, underscoring key considerations in selecting patients for treatment and where to go from there.1 Since ASCO’s previous guidelines were published in 2016, there has been ...
Experiencing pain may increase the risk that cancer survivors will use cigarettes and cannabis, according to a recent study published by Powers et al in Cancer. Background Pain and the use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, alcohol, and cannabis commonly occur together in the general population. Cancer...
The risk of developing more serious long-term urinary and bowel health issues may be higher in men undergoing radiation therapy for prostate cancer who experience side effects early in treatment, according to a recent study published by Nikitas et al in The Lancet Oncology. The findings highlighted ...
Late relapse of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) may represent a new lymphoma arising from a common precursor cell that is essentially chemotherapy-naive. Treatment with curative intent using a second-line regimen like R-CHOP (rituximab cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, prednisone, and...
Two pivotal phase III trials presented at the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition mark a significant shift toward chemotherapy-free approaches in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), offering potentially more effective and tolerable treatment options for both...
Treatment with the oncolytic virus talimogene laherparepvec may be effective in patients with basal cell carcinoma, according to a novel study published by Ressler et al in Nature Cancer. Background Although basal cell carcinoma—which typically occurs in chronically sun-exposed areas such as the...
“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.” —Muhammad Ali Long-term survival in early-stage classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) was first made possible by the introduction of the mantle and inverted Y fields of radiotherapy in the 1960s. The addition of...
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...
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...
Telephone-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy may be effective in reducing the interference of fatigue with functioning and improving the quality of life among survivors of metastatic breast cancer, according to a recent study published by Mosher et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology....
Guest Editor’s Note: With growing evidence indicating that regular physical activity helps control cancer symptoms, oncology guidelines recommend exercise before, during, and after cancer treatment. Observational data also demonstrate a promising association between physical activity and favorable...
Investigators may have uncovered an association between manufactured per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) levels in drinking water and the incidence of certain digestive, endocrine, lung, oral, and pharyngeal cancers, according to a novel study published by Li et al in the Journal of Exposure ...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Daw et al, findings in a cohort of the phase II CheckMate 744 trial indicated good outcomes with a response-adapted, transplantation-free treatment approach in children and adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with low-risk relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL)....
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Matei et al, the final overall survival analysis in the long-term follow-up of the phase III NRG258 trial has shown no difference between adjuvant chemoradiation (C-RT) vs chemotherapy (CT) in patients with locally advanced endometrial carcinoma....
In a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Heinzerling et al found that primary lung tumor stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) followed by concurrent mediastinal chemoradiotherapy (with or without adjuvant immunotherapy) was associated with activity in patients with locally advanced...
For women with high-risk, BRCA-positive breast cancer, 1 year of adjuvant treatment with the PARP inhibitor olaparib following primary treatment continued to improve overall survival compared with placebo, according to the third interim analysis of the phase III OlympiA trial presented at the 2024...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Scambia et al, the final overall survival results of the phase III SOLO3 trial showed similar outcomes with olaparib vs non–platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with platinum-sensitive BRCA-mutated relapsed ovarian cancer. In the initial report...