When health-care providers, including oncologists, fail to promptly diagnose a medical condition or communicate their diagnosis to their patients, it can have devastating consequences for those patients. In such cases, patients may seek legal recourse through medical malpractice lawsuits, creating...
Researchers have developed new imaging guidelines, representing a major shift in the management of patients with head and neck cancers, according to a study published by Henson et al in The Lancet Oncology. The guidelines may lay the foundation for these patients to be treated with tailored...
On May 30, 2017, 9 days before I turned 19 and soon after I had completed my sophomore year at college, I was diagnosed with aggressive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. But getting to the diagnosis was a tortuous process. I had been feeling fatigued and losing weight for several weeks prior to the...
For patients with cancer and cancer survivors, sexual dysfunction and reproductive health concerns are often the elephant in the exam room—a significant quality-of-life issue that both patients and clinicians struggle to discuss openly and effectively. At the recent NCCN Policy Summit on Sexual and ...
Acupuncture may be effective at reducing the hormonal side effects of endocrine therapy in women with breast cancer, according to a recent study published by Lu et al in Cancer. Background Although endocrine therapy—which is capable of blocking the hormone signaling that drive some types of...
Craig Jordan, CMG, OBE, PhD, DSc, FMedSci, a pioneering scientist whose innovative work in breast cancer research has saved countless lives and will continue to impact the field for generations to come, died on June 9, according to a news release from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer...
Facing mortality can be a paralyzing experience for some people, but for others, it may ignite a passion to accelerate life. One such person is Kathy Giusti, cofounder of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), where she served as Chief Executive Officer and President for nearly 20 years....
Several years ago, a visit to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, so fascinated and inspired Mace L. Rothenberg, MD, FASCO, about the history of flight, he wondered why there was not a similar museum showcasing the past and present achievements in science and medicine. The result...
Deputy Editor of The ASCO Post, Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, recently spoke with gynecologic cancer expert Sharmila K. Makhija, MD, MBA, about her journey to her current position as Founding Dean and Chief Executive Officer of the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, Bentonville, Arkansas. Raised by...
Like many young boys, David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, loved sports and dreamed about playing college football. He attained that dream, but along the way, family tragedy and a personal battle with a life-threatening disease reshaped his worldview and accelerated his ambitions as a...
Genitourinary cancer expert Toni K. Choueiri, MD, FASCO, was born in 1975 in Beirut, Lebanon, the year a devastating civil war erupted, lasted for 15 years, and cost the lives of some 150,000 individuals and also led to the exodus of almost 1 million people from Lebanon. “People with the financial...
Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, was born and reared in Kerala, a tropical state in southwestern India. Situated on the Malabar Coast, Kerala was named as one of the ten paradises of the world by National Geographic Traveler. “Along with its natural beauty, Kerala is a true melting pot. Over centuries,...
Lymphoma expert Jane N. Winter, MD, grew up on the south shore of Long Island in New York. “My dad sold cars in my great uncle’s dealership after a failed foray into business after World War II. My mom graduated high school at 16 to go to work to help support her family. When my younger brother...
An investigational noninvasive exosome-based liquid biopsy shows potential for early detection of pancreatic cancer, an important unmet need, according to research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024.1 When combined with the biomarker CA 19-9, the...
An ASCO volunteer for nearly 30 years, Robin T. Zon, MD, FACP, FASCO, is humbled and honored to be elected ASCO’s 61st President, effective during the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting, May 31 to June 4, 2024, in Chicago and online. Dr. Zon began her 4-year term in June 2023 as President-Elect and will...
The field of oncology is experiencing a revolution driven by artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Artificial intelligence tools are already being used in medical imaging analysis, treatment planning, and even patient counseling. These advancements hold immense promise for earlier cancer...
Evidence from a small early trial called COBALT-RCC provides proof of concept for use of an allogeneic off-the-shelf CD70-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy called CTX130 in patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). CTX130 is engineered using gene-editing...
On May 15, Roche announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of its human papillomavirus (HPV) self-collection solution—one of the first of such tests available in the United States. Screening for HPV can help identify women who are at risk of developing cervical cancer so that...
A recent survey by ASCO measuring postpandemic burnout among oncologists in the United States shows that professional satisfaction and work-life balance have significantly deteriorated over the past decade, with 59% of respondents reporting one or more symptoms of burnout, compared with 34% in...
The rate of survival following autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation may have increased among all racial and ethnic groups, but disparities may still exist among some patient groups, according to a recent study published by Khera et al in Blood Advances. Background Autologous ...
Investigators have uncovered persistent racial and social disparities that may impede access to autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation for some patients with multiple myeloma, according to a recent study published by Esteghamat et al in Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma & Leukemia. Background...
Success stories in research, advocacy, and education from low- and middle-income countries deserve international recognition to motivate the next generation of researchers and practitioners and enrich global oncology. I recently had the privilege to speak with Ouissam Al Jarroudi, MD, about her...
An investigational exosome-based liquid biopsy accurately detected 97% of stage I to II pancreatic cancers when combined with the biomarker CA 19-9, according to research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024 (Abstract 3899). “Pancreatic cancer is one...
An adjuvant treatment regimen that included autogene cevumeran, an investigational individualized neoantigen-specific mRNA vaccine, induced durable and functional T-cell responses that were associated with a reduced risk of disease recurrence in certain patients with resectable pancreatic cancer,...
The combination of the antibody-drug conjugate mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx and the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab showed notable activity in patients with recurrent or persistent microsatellite-stable endometrial cancer, according to new findings presented by Porter et al at the...
Researchers surveyed oncologists for their perspectives on how artificial intelligence (AI) may be responsibly integrated into some aspects of cancer care as well as how to protect patients from the hidden biases of AI, according to a recent study published by Hantel et al in JAMA Network Open....
In 1996, at the age of 37, Kathy Giusti was diagnosed with the incurable blood cancer multiple myeloma and told she had about 3 years to live. In the mid-1990s, effective therapies for this second most common blood cancer were nearly nonexistent. Standard of care for myeloma consisted of oral...
The combination of avelumab and axitinib may be effective in patients with mismatch repair–proficient recurrent or persistent endometrial cancer, according to new findings presented by Lee et al at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 2024 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer. Background...
Targeting two brain tumor–associated proteins with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy may reduce solid tumor growth in patients with recurrent glioblastoma, according to results from a phase I trial published by Bagley et al in Nature Medicine. The findings suggest that the new...
ASCO in partnership with the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) has released a new guideline addressing recommendations in germline testing in patients with breast cancer.1 The guideline provides oncologists with a framework for how to approach germline testing and recommendations for who should be ...
Investigators have found that common inherited genetic factors capable of predicting cancer risk in the general population may also help to predict childhood cancer survivors who may be at elevated risk of new cancers later in life, according to a recent study published by Gibson et al in Nature...
Researchers have found that psychological distress may contribute to delayed cancer treatment, according to a recent study published by Frosch et al in Supportive Care in Cancer. Background Prior research has shown that delays in initiating cancer therapy may be increasing, and these delays can...
About 4 years ago, I [Jo Cavallo] wrote about the death of my brother Dom from multiple myeloma in 2011 and my subsequent enrollment in the PROMISE trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03689595). My goal for enrolling in the study was twofold: to honor Dom and others with the cancer and to make ...
In a press briefing at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, Cynthia E. Dunbar, MD, ASH Secretary and Chief of the Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, Intramural Research Program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, offered her thoughts on...
Over the past 2 years, my family and I have experienced firsthand the challenges of cancer. In the spring of 2021, my mother was diagnosed with stage IIB pancreatic cancer. She died in mid-2023 after developing metastatic disease, including peritoneal carcinomatosis. The experience has caused me to ...
In January 2021, two of us wrote in these pages about our field’s pressing need to pivot away from identifying and deploying the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) when it comes to targeted oncology therapies.1 We argued that, instead, one should be looking for the “optimal dose”—the dose that best...
The development of any type of secondary cancer following chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy may be rare, according to a recent study published by Ghilardi et al in Nature Medicine. Background Secondary cancers, including T-cell lymphomas, are known risks of cancer treatments such as...
Decisions regarding the rationing of chemotherapy are commonplace in many countries around the world—including those where patients must pay for chemotherapy out of pocket—and increasingly so in cancer settings that treat both well-off and socioeconomically disadvantaged patients. However, these...
In a press briefing at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, Cynthia E. Dunbar, MD, ASH Secretary and Chief of the Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, Intramural Research Program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, offered her thoughts on...
The road to my breast cancer diagnosis in 2018 was long and tortuous. For 3 years leading up to the diagnosis, I had imaging scans and tissue biopsies every 3 months because of suspicious masses in my breasts. The uncertainty was so destabilizing that I was in a constant state of emotional unrest....
In this installment of The ASCO Post ’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Naoto T. Ueno, MD, PhD, FACP, Director of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. Along with his duties leading the cancer center, Dr. Ueno leads translational breast cancer research...
In May 2023, The ASCO Post launched a new feature, View From the Top: The Future of Cancer Care Delivery, which explores how leaders in oncology are developing strategies to ensure continued innovative oncology care in an ever-changing health-care environment. In this installment, Guest Editor Jame ...
Investigators analyzed cells within triple-negative breast cancers before and after radiation therapy combined with pembrolizumab and identified three patient groups with different responses to the treatment. Their study, published by Shiao et al in Cancer Cell, found that for some patients with...
Data presented at the 2023 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition suggest that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy remains a viable option for patients who have lymphoma that goes into remission before the cell therapy begins (Abstract 615). While the findings do not answer the...
For patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) who have an early relapse or whose cancer doesn’t respond to first-line treatment, randomized trials have shown that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is superior to the historical standard of care, which included additional chemotherapy...
Although significant progress has been made to reduce the gap in health outcomes of minority or underserved patients, meaningful steps forward still need to be made to improve health disparities. Countless studies have shown, in general, that affluent White individuals have better health outcomes...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Nina Shah, MD, Global Head of Multiple Myeloma Clinical Development and Strategy, Hematology, Oncology Research and Development at AstraZeneca. She is a hematologist who specializes in...
Researchers have uncovered that the regular consumption of navy beans may help modulate markers linked to obesity and disease and improve the gut microbiome in colorectal cancer survivors, according to a novel study published by Zhang et al in eBioMedicine. Background Obesity, poor diet, and...
Zofia Piotrowska, MD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, noted that MARIPOSA and MARIPOSA-2 are “two well-designed, randomized phase III trials, each meeting its primary endpoints and representing important advances for patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer.”...
Guest Editor’s Note: The Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) held its 20th international conference in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The conference focused on the theme “Integrative Oncology as Standard of Care: The Time Is Now.” The mood was festive, and the weather cooperated with warm temperatures, ...