The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) has released its first set of recommendations for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) large language models in oncology practice, called the ESMO Guidance on the Use of Large Language Models in Clinical Practice (ELCAP). The guidance was...
A new clinical trial from the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (ECOG-ACRIN) presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2025 Congress found that adjuvant therapy with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab appeared to reduce the risk of distant metastases for an aggressive form of skin...
Belzutifan induced durable responses without surgery in patients with advanced pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma and demonstrated manageable safety in the phase II LITESPARK-015 trial, according to findings presented during the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2025 (Abstract...
Patients with cancer who received mRNA-based COVID vaccines within 100 days of starting immune checkpoint therapy were twice as likely to be alive 3 years after beginning treatment, according to a recent study. These findings, which include more than 1,000 patients treated between August 2019 and...
Lisaftoclax, an investigational BCL2 inhibitor, in combination with pomalidomide/dexamethasone (Pd) or daratumumab/lenalidomide/dexamethasone (DRd) led to improved outcomes for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma and for patients with AL amyloidosis, according to findings from a...
In a randomized phase II trial, Christiane Querfeld, MD, PhD, and colleagues investigated the effects of a PD-L1–blocking strategy for targeting both the innate and adaptive immune systems in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). At the 2025 Society of Hematologic Oncology (SOHO) Annual Meeting,1 Dr....
In a systematic review and reconstructed individual-patient meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Di Federico et al found that dual CTLA-4 and PD-L1 or PD-1 blockade did not result in improved long-term survival overall vs single PD-L1 or PD-1 blockade in patients with advanced non–small...
In a phase II/III study (ENRICH) reported in The Lancet, Lewis et al found that the chemotherapy-free combination of ibrutinib plus rituximab prolonged progression-free survival vs standard immunochemotherapy in patients aged 60 years or older with previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma. Study...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Morschhauser et al, the 5-year findings of the POLARIX trial showed a continued benefit with polatuzumab vedotin plus rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (Pola-R-CHP) vs rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine,...
In 2022, Congress requested a scientific review from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to study the associated risks of cancer and other health conditions and the use of alcohol. The concern was that the health risks associated with low-to-moderate consumption of ...
In a phase II trial (AMALEE) reported in JAMA Oncology, Cardoso et al found that a first-line ribociclib dose of 400 mg was not noninferior to a dose of 600 mg in patients with newly diagnosed hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer. Study Details In the open-label...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies sometimes used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Yen Nien (Jason) Hou, PharmD, DiplOM, LAc, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, focus...
In a prospective cohort study published in JCO Oncology Practice, Ssebyala et al examined long-term health-care utilization and adherence to follow-up care among young adult survivors of breast cancer. Their findings reveal high rates of mammography adherence but persistent gaps in other areas of...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Wang et al, a phase I/II trial (KOMET-001) has shown activity of the oral menin inhibitor ziftomenib in patients with relapsed or refractory NPM1-mutant acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Study Details In the phase II portion of the trial, 92 patients...
In the 1940s, the first drugs proven to cause objective responses in human cancers were developed. Mechlorethamine was discovered as a possible treatment of lymphoid cancers after autopsies on military personnel exposed to mustard gas found destruction of lymphatic tissue and bone marrow....
The results of the multicenter Female Asian Nonsmoker Screening Study (FANSS) suggest that low-dose CT screening is feasible and has value for early lung cancer detection in the historically underserved demographic of Asian women with no history of smoking. These data from the largest United...
On October 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo) for the adjuvant treatment of adults with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) at high risk of recurrence after surgery and radiation therapy. C-POST Efficacy was evaluated in C-POST (ClinicalTrials.gov ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Wieduwilt et al, findings in a cohort of the phase II Alliance study A041703 indicate that the chemotherapy-free regimen of inotuzumab ozogamicin followed by blinatumomab was highly active in patients aged ≥ 60 years with newly diagnosed B-cell...
In the phase III HARMONi trial, when ivonescimab was given with carboplatin plus pemetrexed, vs the chemotherapy regimen alone, after a third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor, patients with EGFR-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had a significant delay in disease progression.1...
Chemoradiation with a pulsed low-dose–rate technique led to lower-than-usual rates of severe esophagitis without compromising efficacy in patients with esophageal and non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to findings from a single-arm phase I study presented as a poster during the American...
In patients rendered immunocompromised by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), a single dose of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine within the first year afterward resulted in low seroconversion rates, as reported by Redjoul et al in JAMA Network Open. However, a...
Although the process of obtaining insurance prior authorization before a patient’s medical procedure, service, or prescription has typically been left to clinicians, as cancer therapies grow increasingly complex, the burden of navigating prior authorization is increasingly being shared by patients...
No significant differences were observed in breast volume loss between five-fraction whole-breast and partial-breast radiation therapy in patients with breast cancer who underwent prior partial mastectomy, according to the results of a study presented in a poster during the American Society for...
In a French phase III trial (IFM2017-03) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Manier et al found that a dexamethasone-sparing regimen of daratumumab plus lenalidomide improved progression-free survival vs lenalidomide plus dexamethasone in patients with frailty and newly diagnosed multiple myeloma....
Clinically meaningful improvements in longer-term quality of life were achieved with the addition of atezolizumab immunotherapy to chemoradiation in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC), according to patient-reported outcome findings from the NRG LU005 trial presented during ...
Dose intensification of proton radiation therapy led to improved overall survival for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, according to findings from a cohort of the phase II NRG-BN001 trial, which were presented as late-breaking research during the 2025 American Society for Radiation...
Treatment with obecabtagene autoleucel was the focus of the phase Ib/II multicenter FELIX study of more than 100 adults with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).1 The initial report in 2024 revealed a rate of complete remission or complete remission with incomplete...
On October 2, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lurbinectedin (Zepzelca) in combination with atezolizumab (Tecentriq) or atezolizumab and hyaluronidase-tqjs (Tecentriq Hybreza) for maintenance treatment of adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) whose disease...
In a Brazilian phase II trial (HERCULES; LACOG 0218) reported in JAMA Oncology, Maluf et al found that pembrolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy showed activity in patients with advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma. The investigators explained, “Advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma is...
Studies show that individuals diagnosed with ulcerative colitis have approximately a twofold increased risk of developing colorectal cancer compared with the general population. A study investigating treatment with autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting the CD19 antigen in a...
The phase Ib DeLLphi-303 trial has reported overall survival data for a novel maintenance regimen in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer following first-line chemoimmunotherapy. Patients treated with the bispecific T-cell engager tarlatamab-dlle plus a PD-L1 inhibitor had a median overall...
In a phase II trial (WU-KONG1B) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Yang et al found that the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunvozertinib was active at both dose levels tested in patients with platinum-pretreated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations....
Health-related quality-of-life measurements demonstrated that both proton and photon radiation therapies led to excellent and similar impacts on quality of life for patients with breast cancer undergoing comprehensive nodal irradiation, according to findings from the phase III RadComp trial that...
For patients with intermediate-risk, localized prostate cancer, radiation therapy delivered in five sessions reduced patient-reported side effects compared to longer courses of radiation, according to results of a large, randomized phase III trial. Patients treated with stereotactic body radiation...
Stereotactic radiation therapy (SABR) was found to be noninferior to surgical resection in terms of overall survival for patients with early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to 10-year results from the STARS trial presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)...
Adjuvant radiation therapy following radical cystectomy and chemotherapy was found to be safe and efficacious for patients with locally advanced muscle-invasive bladder cancer, according to findings from the phase III randomized BART trial presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology...
Assessment with a genomic test could help predict which patients with recurrent prostate cancer are most likely to benefit from the addition of hormonal therapy to radiation following prostatectomy, according to findings from the phase II BALANCE trial (NRG GU006) presented in a press briefing...
A new clinical trial found that people with a limited number of metastases from recurrent prostate cancer lived significantly longer without disease progression when they received a radiopharmaceutical drug before targeted radiation compared with radiation alone. The phase II LUNAR trial is the...
In an analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology by Gui et al in the International Consortium on Meningiomas, TERT expression in meningiomas was found to be associated with poorer progression-free survival. Study Details The multi-institutional cohort study involved retrospectively collected data...
In a phase III trial (TrilynX) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bourhis et al found that the addition of xevinapant (an inhibitor of apoptosis proteins inhibitor) to platinum-based chemoradiotherapy did not improve event-free survival in patients with unresected locally advanced...
In a Scandinavian trial (ALASCCA) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Martling et al found that low-dose aspirin reduced the risk of disease recurrence vs placebo in patients with PI3K-altered localized colorectal cancer. Study Details In the double-blind trial, patients with stage I...
In a Dutch phase III trial (PREOPANC-2) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Janssen et al found no difference in overall survival between patients receiving neoadjuvant FOLFIRINOX vs neoadjuvant gemcitabine-based chemoradiotherapy for resectable or borderline resectable pancreatic ductal...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved imlunestrant, an estrogen receptor antagonist, for adults with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative, estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1)-mutated advanced or metastatic breast cancer with disease progression after at least one line of...
Atish D. Choudhury, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist and clinical/translational investigator at the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses current guideline recommendations for the use of relugolix and leuprolide, relugolix as a combination backbone, and...
Atish D. Choudhury, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist and clinical/translational investigator at the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses forms of hormonal therapy for patients with prostate cancer, with a focus on the HERO trial, which evaluated oral...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In this installment, Syed Ali Abutalib, MD, and L. Jeffrey Medeiros, MD, focuses on clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (also referred to as CHIP) as well as...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Yang et al, the final overall survival analysis in the phase III MARIPOSA trial has shown significant benefit with amivantamab plus lazertinib vs osimertinib in patients with previously untreated EGFR-mutated advanced non–small cell lung cancer...
Perioperative use of nivolumab with or without ipilimumab may prove to be of benefit for patients with resectable diffuse pleural mesothelioma, according to the findings of a phase II study published in Nature Medicine. Findings from the study were also presented during the International...
Researchers have developed a novel method to test for prostate cancer using biomarkers present in urine. This approach may significantly reduce the need for invasive, often painful biopsies, the researchers said in a statement. The study, which was funded in part by the National Institutes of...
The 15th edition of the American Association for Cancer Research’s (AACR’s) annual Cancer Progress Report presents a mixed picture of the major advances in cancer care over the past year, including the approval of 20 new anticancer drugs, juxtaposed against the continuing rise in early-onset...