Functional precision medicine—in which information is obtained from direct perturbations of tumor-derived living cells that enable immediate translatable, personalized data to guide patient therapy—has its roots dating back more than 50 years.1 However, advances in two- and three-dimensional...
The multicenter phase III -CARMEN-LC03 trial did not meet its dual primary endpoints of progression-free and overall survival with the CEACAM5-directed antibody-drug conjugate tusamitamab ravtansine vs standard chemotherapy with docetaxel in previously treated patients with advanced nonsquamous...
Researchers have found that in healthy women, some breast cells that otherwise appear normal may contain chromosome abnormalities typically associated with invasive breast cancer, according to a recent study published by Lin et al in Nature. The findings challenged conventional thinking on the...
The p53-MDM2 inhibitor siremadlin given with the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib showed activity in a subset of patients with well-differentiated/dedifferentiated liposarcomas enrolled in the biology-driven adaptive phase II MEGAMOST Ribociclib/HDM201 basket trial.1 MEGAMOST was designed to evaluate...
Firmonertinib (AST2818; formerly furmonertinib), a novel EGFR inhibitor, has shown activity and tolerability in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR P loop and aC-helix compressing (PACC) mutations, according to data presented at the International Association for ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted accelerated approval to zanidatamab-hrii (Ziihera), a bispecific HER2-directed antibody, for previously treated, unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive (IHC 3+) biliary tract cancer, as detected by an FDA-approved test. The FDA also approved ...
Georgina V. Long, PhD, MBBS, FRACP, of Melanoma Institute Australia and Royal North Shore and Mater Hospitals, The University of Sydney, and colleagues shared their findings from a pooled analysis of long-term outcomes in advanced melanoma reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1 They found...
An international, multidisciplinary team of neuro-oncology researchers and physicians has developed new clinical practice recommendations for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) methods to more accurately diagnose, monitor, and treat patients with brain cancer. The guidelines were described in...
Investigators have found that firefighters may face occupational exposures to multiple chemicals that could increase their risk of developing breast cancer, according to a recent study published by Cardona et al in Toxics. Background Prior research has revealed that firefighters have significantly...
Question: Based on NATALEE and monarchE data, is there still a need for neoadjuvant chemotherapy in hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer? Answer: In monarchE trial, the CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib combined with endocrine therapy demonstrated long-term efficacy in...
Investigators have found that among all cancer survivors, male adolescents and young adults (AYAs) may have the highest rate of suicide-related mortality, according to a recent study published by Matsuo et al in JAMA Network Open. Cancer is becoming more common among young patients, and cancer...
“While clinical trials emphasize improvement in cure rates for patients with advanced classical Hodgkin lymphoma, an important goal is reducing the potential long-term effects of treatment,” commented Iris Isufi, MD, of the Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut, and ...
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with vs without the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab conferred a higher pathologic complete response rate and long-term event-free survival benefit in Asian patients with resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the global phase III CheckMate 816 trial. At the...
The University of Cincinnati Cancer Center announced the launch of a new study funded by a $2.3 million National Cancer Institute (NCI) grant to develop a novel technique to visualize where genetically modified immune cells go after being administered in patients with cancer. Background During...
Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered computational program that may be capable of predicting the activity of thousands of genes within tumor cells based on standard microscopy images of a biopsy, according to a recent study published by Pizurica et al in Nature...
A recent analysis of pancreatic cancer data in young adults (aged 15–39) has found that although there is an increase in incidence, the mortality rate remains stable. According to Patel et al, who published their findings in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the rise in incidence is primarily due to ...
The treatment landscape for patients with prostate cancer, especially individuals with advanced disease, has dramatically changed in recent years. However, aside from drug or hormonal therapies, other targets to treat prostate cancer are still necessary to prolong life and slow the progression of...
A phase II clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of a triple combination of radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy in patients with unresectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma found that the therapy was effective in shrinking tumors, allowing for surgery, and ...
Presurgical treatment with the novel drug vidutolimod and the PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab may improve outcomes in patients with stage III cutaneous melanoma, according to a recent study published by Davar et al in Cancer Cell. The findings supported the development of vidutolimod for...
Researchers may have uncovered a novel strategy to detect cancer cells with a liquid biopsy that’s designed to be simpler, faster, and more informational than current methods, according to a recent study published by Walker et al in the nanoscience publication Small. Study Methods and Results In...
In a phase II/III trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Sarkaria et al found that the addition of veliparib to temozolomide did not improve overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma with MGMT promoter hypermethylation. Study Details In the double-blind Alliance for Clinical Trials...
Recent advances in urothelial carcinoma treatments may offer a path to curative care for more patients, including those with high-risk localized, muscle-invasive disease, according to an editorial published by Milowsky in The New England Journal of Medicine. The findings indicated that...
Just 50% of patients with early-onset cancers may report discussing fertility preservation options with their physicians prior to receiving oncology treatments, according to a recent study published by Keller et al in JAMA Network Open. Background “From an early-onset cancer diagnosis through to...
In addition to our in-depth analysis of important clinical trials presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024, there is always room for more coverage from The ASCO Post, including these brief summaries of other presentations of interest. They focus on a potential...
“Cancer in young adults is more complicated in part [because of the risk of] infertility and premature menopause,” commented Ann H. Partridge, MD, MPH, FASCO, Interim Chair, Department of Medical Oncology; the Eric P. Winer, MD Chair in Breast Cancer Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and ...
In a prospective analysis reported in JAMA Network Open, Patel et al found that long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was poorer among patients with prostate cancer who received postprostatectomy radiotherapy vs those who did not, with little difference observed among patients with early ...
Researchers have found that combining the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab with standard chemotherapy may improve treatment outcomes in patients with small cell bladder cancer and small cell/neuroendocrine prostate cancer, according to a recent study published by Gu et al in Cell Reports Medicine....
Beyond the physical toll of the disease and its treatments, cancer often presents a host of legal and social issues that can significantly worsen a patient’s well-being and treatment outcomes. This column explains how medical-legal partnerships can offer a powerful tool to address these challenges ...
Caris Life Sciences announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved MI Cancer Seek for use as a companion diagnostic assay to identify patients with cancer who may benefit from targeted therapies. Caris Life Sciences is a next-generation artificial intelligence techbio...
Researchers have uncovered insights into a novel investigational vaccine aimed at preventing triple-negative breast cancer. The findings by Rhoades et al were presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2024 Annual Meeting (Abstract 631) and simultaneously published in the Journal...
Researchers have assessed the efficacy of targeting the CD47 protein combined with traditional immunotherapy drugs in patients with colorectal cancer, with a recent study published by Arai et al in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. The findings indicated that the combination approach could...
The novel trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2)-directed antibody-drug conjugate datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) vs docetaxel conferred a numerical improvement in overall survival in previously treated patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the phase III,...
The multicenter phase III CARMEN-LC03 trial did not meet its dual primary endpoints of progression-free and overall survival with the CEACAM5-directed antibody-drug conjugate tusamitamab ravtansine vs standard chemotherapy with docetaxel in previously treated patients with advanced nonsquamous...
Two novel oral HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors have demonstrated promising efficacy in patients with HER2-mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), potentially transforming the treatment landscape for this challenging subset of lung cancer cases. According to data presented at the International...
Firmonertinib (AST2818; formerly furmonertinib), a novel EGFR inhibitor, has shown activity and tolerability in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR P loop and aC-helix compressing (PACC) mutations, according to data presented at the International Association for ...
The combination of the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor osimertinib and the MET inhibitor savolitinib has demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements compared with osimertinib alone as a first-line treatment of patients with de novo MET-aberrant, EGFR-mutant advanced non–small cell lung cancer...
The combination of the EGFR-MET bispecific antibody amivantamab-vmjw and the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor lazertinib continues to demonstrate superior efficacy compared with the kinase inhibitor osimertinib alone in the first-line treatment of EGFR-mutant advanced non–small cell lung cancer...
In a phase III study conducted in China, the bispecific antibody (targeting both PD-1 and the vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF]) ivonescimab was compared with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab as first-line treatment of PD-L1–positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Ivonescimab ...
At the 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), more than 7,000 clinicians and scientists gathered in San Diego in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). In this supplement to The ASCO Post, we review impactful abstracts from...
In a single-institution phase II study reported in JAMA Oncology, Sehgal et al found evidence of activity of nivolumab plus ipilimumab in patients with aggressive thyroid carcinoma. Study Details In the trial, 49 evaluable patients enrolled at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute between October 2017 and...
Guest Editor’s Note: Oncology guidelines recommend prehabilitation exercises to minimize postoperative complications. However, the COVID-19 pandemic imposed severe restrictions on patient access to in-person exercise programs offered by hospitals and clinics. In this article, Dr. Krupali Desai...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) introduced expanded NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) to account for the advanced understanding of hereditary cancer risk in breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers. The new guidelines followed the recent...
Investigators have uncovered a potential link between the availability and use of tanning beds and the rising rates of melanoma in New England, according to a recent study published by Wei et al in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. The findings may provide critical insights to inform public ...
Researchers may have uncovered the immune basis for the development of myocarditis in patients with cancer receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to a recent study published by Blum et al in Nature. The findings revealed changes in specific types of immune and stromal cells in the heart...
Researchers may have developed ultrasensitive, nanoscale sensors that distinguished a key change in the chemistry of the breath of patients with lung cancer, according to a recent study published by Cheng et al in ACS Sensors. Background Individuals breathe out many gases, such as water vapor and...
The studies summarized below were reported online over the past month in The ASCO Post, generating a high number of visitors. For comprehensive news of these studies and more, visit ASCOPost.com. Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Phase III KEYNOTE-522 The phase III KEYNOTE-522 trial has...
The University of Arizona Health Sciences announced it has received a $3.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health to continue testing a novel imaging method for breast cancer detection that could provide an alternative to mammography. According...
In a recent issue of The New York Times, Barron Lerner discussed Betty Ford’s breast cancer diagnosis in 1974.1 He described the state of the art of breast cancer treatment at the time and how her diagnosis accelerated the uptake of screening across the country. But her cancer was not...
Researchers have provided new insights into acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and its resistance to venetoclax, according to a recent study published by Sango et al in Nature. Although AML is a rare disease, approximately 20,800 U.S. patients will be diagnosed in 2024, according to the American Cancer...
Researchers have identified genes that breast cancer cells may use to survive in the bloodstream after escaping the low-oxygen regions of a tumor, according to a novel study published by Godet et al in Nature Communications. Each of the genes may serve as a potential therapeutic target to prevent...