Despite the fact that there is no history of breast cancer in my family, I didn’t take that good fortune for granted and was diligent about getting my regularly scheduled mammograms and clinical breast exams, which never found any hint of disease. So, it was especially frightening when, while on a...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chang et al identified potential genomic determinants of relapse risk in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). As stated by the investigators, “Although cure rates for childhood ALL exceed 90%, ALL remains a leading cause of cancer...
The rate of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination may be lower among female individuals with mental health issues or neurodevelopmental conditions compared with their peers, according to a recent study published by Hu et al in The Lancet Public Health. Background The HPV vaccine is capable of...
Women with breast cancer during pregnancy may have a good prognosis and a low risk of adverse obstetric and perinatal outcomes, according to three recent studies published by Lundberg et al in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, Gkekos et al in ESMO Open, and Lundberg et al in Acta...
Investigators have found that providing early developmental resources may help reduce the adverse effects of brain tumors and cancer therapy on the academic achievement of young pediatric cancer survivors, according to a recent study published by Somekh et al in the Journal of the National Cancer...
At the 2024 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology Conference, sponsored by Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute, cardiologist-by-training Anant Mandawat, MD, FACC, briefly reviewed how the emerging field of cardio-oncology is blazing a path toward “bigger and bolder cancer care” and offered...
Researchers have uncovered that T-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) may be frequently driven by genetic changes in noncoding portions of the DNA, according to a recent study published by Pölönen et al in Nature. The investigators believe these findings may lead to a paradigm shift in...
In a population-based retrospective cohort study (Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Survivor Study; TYACSS) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sunguc et al identified risks of adverse obstetric outcomes among female survivors of adolescent and young adult cancers in England and Wales. Study Details The...
The advancement of retinoblastoma treatment over the past 15 years may have resulted in a higher likelihood of vision preservation without compromising survival, according to a recent study presented by Kocharian et al at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) Annual Meeting 2024 and...
Iron Dad: A Cancer Survivor’s Story of Discovering Strength, Life, and Love Through Fatherhood by Paul Weigel is an inspiring and deeply moving memoir that transcends the traditional boundaries of parenthood and personal transformation. This story begins with a sense of discontent and a desire for...
Female patients may become pregnant and give birth to healthy children despite treatment-related fertility challenges following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT), according to a recent study published by Sockel et al in Blood. The findings highlighted the need for increased...
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 ...
In a single-center study reported in JAMA Oncology, Blake et al found that surveillance among pediatric patients with cancer predisposition syndromes can result in the early detection of new tumors. As stated by the investigators, “Pediatric oncology patients are increasingly recognized as having...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Gupta et al, the phase III Children’s Oncology Group ARST1431 trial showed no event-free survival benefit with the addition of temsirolimus to chemotherapy in previously untreated children, adolescents, or young adults with intermediate-risk rhabdomyosarcoma....
In an English and Welsh study (The Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Survivor Study) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sunguc et al found that cervical cancer and leukemia survivors have a heightened risk of experiencing several serious obstetric complications. “Therefore, any pregnancy [in these...
Initiating surveillance soon after recognizing a pediatric patient has a genetic predisposition for cancer may improve the identification of early-stage asymptomatic tumors, according to a recent study published by Blake et al in JAMA Oncology. The findings may inform clinical practice following...
Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) is a rare and aggressive hematologic malignancy affecting young children predominately under the age of 4. The disease is caused by mutations that increase RAS signaling output. While about 50% of patients with JMML are cured after undergoing hematopoietic...
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...
Miriam Mutebi, MD, MSc, FACS, was born and reared in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. “The suburb I grew up in (Langata), has seen a lot of development over the past couple of decades. When I was a child, it was a smaller community, where you would go and play at somebody else’s house and have...
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...
ASCO President for the 2024–2025 term, Robin Zon, MD, FACP, FASCO, was born and reared in Cheektowaga, a town in the western part of New York. “Cheektowaga is the Native American name for ‘land of the crabapple tree.’ Western New York was first settled by one of seven tribes belonging to the...
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...
On May 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the RET inhibitor selpercatinib (Retevmo) for pediatric patients aged 2 years and older with the following: Advanced or metastatic medullary thyroid cancer with a RET mutation, as detected by an FDA-approved...
“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.” — John D. Rockefeller 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, explore the ...
The profound progress in cancer care since President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act of 1971 into law is evidenced by the soaring number of cancer survivors since the law went into effect. In the 1970s, there were 3 million cancer survivors1; today, there are more than 18 million, and...
Guest Editor’s Note: Children with cancer and their caregivers face physical and psychosocial challenges during and after treatment. Dance/movement therapy has been used to improve well-being, promote healthy coping, and mitigate the impact of illness, but limited knowledge exists regarding its...
Children’s Cancer Cause, a national advocacy group in pioneering research and innovation for pediatric cancer, announced it is accepting applications for the Survivorship Champion’s Prize. This award is presented to a group, program, or institution that has demonstrated significant advancements in...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® published its first set of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) in 1996, covering eight tumor types. Currently, guidelines are available for more than 60 tumor types, subtypes, and related topics. The NCCN’s 29th Annual Conference...
Researchers have found that allogeneic stem cell transplantation from a haploidentical relative may significantly increase the rate of success in Hispanic patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to a recent study published by Ashouri et al in Leukemia Research. Background In...
In the fall of 2023, Justin Baker, MD, took on the role of Chief of the Division of Quality of Life and Pediatric Palliative Care and Director of the Quality of Life for All Program, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, Stanford, California. He formerly worked at St. Jude Children’s Research...
In an analysis from the Children’s Oncology Group phase III AALL1131 study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Alexander et al found that exposure to propofol was associated with an increased risk of impairment in reaction time/processing speed at 1 year after treatment in children with...
My maternal grandmother, mother, and two of my mother’s sisters were all diagnosed with breast cancer when they were relatively young, so I figured one day, the disease would come for me. Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among Alaska Native women,1 and at a very early age, my...
Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a highly curable disease, but up to 25% of patients will develop relapsed or refractory classical HL. Although most patients achieve complete response following front-line therapy, key unmet clinical needs include reducing the relapse rate, decreasing acute and...
On April 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lutetium Lu-177 dotatate (Lutathera) for pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with somatostatin receptor (SSTR)-positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), including foregut, midgut, and hindgut...
ASCO and Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, will recognize researchers, patient advocates, philanthropists, teachers, and global oncology leaders who have reshaped cancer care around the world with the Society’s highest honors at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting. The 2024 Special Award Recipients...
A genetic variant located on the IKZF1 gene may be responsible for disparities in the risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) among Hispanic and Latino children, according to a recent study published by de Smith et al in Cell Genomics. The findings offer insights into the causes of the disease...
Philip A. Salem, MD, Director Emeritus of Cancer Research at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, was born and reared in Bterram, a village that overlooks the Mediterranean Sea. “I had the most beautiful and blessed childhood, as I lived in a household dominated by a father who believed in the...
When Pat Garcia-Gonzalez’ stepson, Max, was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in 1988 at the age of 14, the Internet was still in its infancy and decades away from the networking resource it has become today. Told that Max would need an allogeneic stem cell transplant to survive, the...
The Cancer Grand Challenges initiative announced it has selected five new global teams that will each receive up to $25 million in funding over the course of 5 years to address four major challenges faced by cancer research. Background In March 2023, the initiative unveiled nine new challenges to...
Investigators may have uncovered the social determinants of health hindering breast cancer screening in the United States, according to a recent systematic review published by Jhumkhawala et al in Frontiers in Public Health. Background Health disparities have consistently been associated with...
Researchers have found that exposure to secondhand smoke during treatment with cisplatin may reduce its effectiveness in patients with head and neck cancer, even if they don’t have a history of smoking, according to a recent study published by Sadhasivam et al in the International Journal of...
ASCO is deeply saddened by the death of oncology luminary, health equity champion, and ASCO Humanitarian Award honoree Edith P. Mitchell, MD, MACP, FCCP, FRCP (London), on January 21, 2024. At the time of her passing, Dr. Mitchell was Director of the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities,...
My family first suspected we might have inherited the BRCA1/2 gene mutation after my father was diagnosed with his third cancer, colorectal cancer, following multiple bouts of squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma beginning in his 30s and later prostate cancer. But the high risk of...
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 ...
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...
Rory M. Shallis, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hematology) at Yale School of Medicine, shared his thoughts on the use of revumenib in histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 2A-rearranged (KMT2A-rearranged) leukemia, as reported in the phase II AUGMENT-101 trial. In an interview with The ASCO...
In heavily pretreated patients with a challenging type of acute leukemia, the menin inhibitor revumenib demonstrated clinically meaningful activity, including high rates of response and measurable residual disease (MRD) negativity, according to the efficacy and safety results of the phase II...
Although overall cancer mortality has continued to decline, resulting in over 4 million fewer deaths in the United States since 1991, increasing incidence for 6 of the top 10 cancers pushed the projected number of new diagnoses to over 2 million (2,001,140) for the first time, according to the...
Researchers may have identified an association between certain types of childhood cancers and cannabis use among pregnant patients, according to a recent study published by Wimberly et al in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. The findings add specificity to the potential harms of...