In a phase III trial (Cancer and Leukemia Group B 10603 [RATIFY]/Alliance) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Stone et al found that the addition of midostaurin (Rydapt) to standard chemotherapy improved overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia with...
For patients with colorectal cancer that has metastasized to the liver, having a primary tumor on the left side as opposed to the right side of the colon is known to be a significant advantage in terms of treatment response. But a new study, presented by van Hazel et al at the European Society for...
On July 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared the expanded use of a cooling cap, DigniCap Cooling System, to reduce hair loss during chemotherapy. This is the first cooling cap cleared by the agency for use in cancer patients with solid tumors. “We are pleased to expand the...
On June 29, the European Commission approved expanding the use of ceritinib (Zykadia) to include the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors are anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)–positive. Approval follows a positive opinion granted...
Clinical data on an investigational immuno-oncology drug pegilodecakin (PEGylated human interleukin-10, also known as AM0010) was presented by Hecht et al at the ESMO 19th World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer in Barcelona, Spain (Abstract O-004). Pegilodecakin is being evaluated in an ongoing...
Preliminary results from patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma enrolled in a phase I study of the investigational anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibody BGB-A317 in advanced solid tumors were presented by Yen et al at the ESMO 19th World Congress on Gastrointestinal...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unveiled a strategic plan to eliminate the agency’s existing Orphan Drug designation request backlog and ensure continued timely response to all new requests for designation with firm deadlines. The agency’s Orphan Drug Modernization...
On June 27, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took two new, important steps to increase competition in the market for prescription drugs and facilitate entry of lower-cost alternatives. The agency published a list of off-patent, off-exclusivity branded drugs without approved generics, and ...
A simple blood test could improve treatment for more than one in six patients with stage II colon cancer, suggests new research from the Mayo Clinic. Researchers also discovered that many patients who could benefit from the test likely aren’t receiving it. These findings were published by...
Data from two phase I/II clinical trials evaluating ixazomib (Ninlaro) in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma was presented at the 2017 European Hematology Association (EHA) Annual Meeting (Abstracts S408, S780). Both studies evaluated ixazomib plus lenalidomide (Revlimid) and...
Extended follow-up data demonstrated responses from nivolumab (Opdivo) in adult patients with relapsed or progressed classical Hodgkin lymphoma after autologous stem-cell transplant (ASCT), irrespective of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) therapy history. Results from the phase II CheckMate-205 study ...
Updated results from the ELIANA clinical trial demonstrated CTL019 (tisagenlecleucel) remission rates are maintained at 6 months in relapsed/refractory pediatric and young adult patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). These data from this pivotal trial of CTL019 show that 83% (52...
As the economics and management of health care change, it has become essential for the clinician to evolve as well in order to navigate these changing waters. Whether you are a medical student, a senior oncologist, or an advanced practice provider, the necessity is the same: understanding the...
In the phase II BIRCH trial, atezolizumab (Tecentriq) was found to produce higher response rates as first-line or subsequent therapy in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with higher levels of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. Study findings were...
Several breast cancer experts weighed in on the findings of the APHINITY trial. At an ASCO press briefing, Harold Burstein, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and breast cancer specialist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, pointed out that investigators estimated a ...
The results of the long-awaited APHINITY trial are in, and although the phase III study met its primary endpoint, it failed to establish dual HER2 blockade as the optimal adjuvant treatment for early HER2-positive breast cancer. After 3 years of follow-up, the addition of pertuzumab (Perjeta) to...
The joint American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP), College of American Pathologists (CAP), Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), and ASCO guideline reported by Sepulveda et al, and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, represents a collaboration of three pathology societies and ASCO ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Antonia R. Sepulveda, MD, PhD, of Columbia University, and colleagues, a joint guideline on the use of molecular biomarkers for evaluation of colorectal cancer has been developed by an expert panel from the American Society for Clinical Pathology...
According to Srikala S. Sridhar, MD, MSc, FRCPC, of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada, “It’s an exciting time in the field of urothelial cancer,” thanks to the emergence of new therapies such as the immune checkpoint inhibitors and other approaches that aim to improve both...
Accelerating the discovery of targeted cancer therapies requires defining the targets present in individual tumors, and there are two main ways to do this, David B. Solit, MD, told participants at the inaugural OncoSET Symposium: Emerging Approaches to Precision Medicine in Chicago.1 The...
Commenting on the studies of CAR T cells in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) thus far, Susan O’Brien, MD, of the University of California at Irvine, said: “Some people are disappointed in the results, but the problem is there was too much hype to begin with. The first article on CAR T published...
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a hot area of research and development in hematologic malignancies and, more recently, some solid tumors. Results have been particularly good in acute lymphocytic leukemia, and one or more CAR T-cell products may be getting close to approval by the ...
ASCO spokespersons at the press briefing lauded the results with larotrectinib and called for broader testing for tropomyosin receptor kinase fusions. The data for larotrectinib “bring us into a new era where treatment is truly based on mutation, not location,” said Sumanta Kumar Pal, MD, a...
Richard S. Finn, MD, of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, commented on MONARCH 2 and the field of cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibition in general in an interview with The ASCO Post. “MONARCH 2 is confirmatory for the role of CDK4/6 inhibition in estrogen...
In the treatment of metastatic estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer, a highly significant 45% reduction in progression was achieved with abemaciclib, combined with fulvestrant (Faslodex), in the global phase III MONARCH 2 trial, reported at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting by George W. Sledge, MD,...
The addition of abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) plus prednisolone/prednisone to standard androgen-deprivation therapy improves survival in men starting treatment for locally advanced or metastatic, hormone--naive prostate cancer, according to the results of two potentially practice-changing studies...
“No man is an island entire of itself; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind. And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.” —John Donne (1624) This statement is almost certainly true—and sadly in a negative way not just for the UK but for...
Formal discussant of the trial, Monika K. Krzyzanowska, MD, MPH, of the Princess Margaret Cancer Center in Toronto, Canada, commented on this trial assessing patient-reported outcomes for symptom monitoring. “This abstract is relevant to all of us, regardless of what cancers we treat or where we...
According to Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) data, more than 260,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States in 2016, most of whom were diagnosed with early-stage (stage I or II) disease. For this demographic, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network®...
There is considerable scope to develop digital resources by means of which teenagers and young adults living with cancer can receive information and connect with both professionals and fellow patients. Such tools could help them gain different perspectives on treatment and survivorship, said Esha...
Western Connecticut Health Network (WCHN) has announced the launch of a 3-year research study that will investigate the link between new-onset diabetes and pancreatic cancer. The main goal is to detect the often lethal cancer at a curable stage. The study was developed by a team of physicians and...
Patients with stage III colon cancer considered at low risk for recurrence may be treated effectively—and incur less neurotoxicity—with 3 months of an oxaliplatin-based regimen as compared with the standard 6 months, according to the results of the International Duration Evaluation of Adjuvant...
Fifteen years ago, my internist advised me to lose weight. But after seeing the yo-yo effects of dieting on friends and colleagues, I knew I would find the process of losing weight and gaining it back frustrating, so I ignored my physician’s advice. It wasn’t until I was diagnosed late this past...
A draft recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) advises that for men aged 55 to 69, the decision to be screened for prostate cancer should be an individual one, based on the man’s own values and priorities and discussions with a clinician about the potential benefits...
For a man aged 55 to 69 years, the decision to be screened for prostate cancer should be an individual one, based on the man’s own values and priorities and discussions with a clinician about the potential benefits and harms of screening, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) advised in ...
The emerging field of molecular pathology focuses on the study and diagnosis of disease through the examination of genes and gene activity within organs and tissues. This information has transformed our thinking about the biologic diversity of breast cancers and has enhanced our treatment...
After undergoing nearly 5 years of intensive medical training, IBM’s Watson for Oncology cognitive computing system is starting to make good on its promise to accelerate personalized care for patients with cancer. The system has been trained by oncologists at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center ...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies commonly used by patients with cancer. In this installment, authors Ting Bao, MD, DABMA, MS, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, present the case...
In both inpatient and outpatient medical settings, the physician-patient communication process can become more difficult as a disease progresses. Conflicts due to a misunderstanding of therapeutic goals and/or a patient’s values can slowly arise over time among patients, their surrogates, and...
MANY FACTORS can influence treatment decisions patients make concerning their cancer care. These include safety, efficacy, and cost, among other concerns. Recently, CancerCare, a national organization dedicated to providing assistance at no cost to anyone affected by cancer, established the...
Three years ago, early results from the U.S. Intergroup C10403 trial,1 which evaluated the effectiveness of treating adolescent and young adults (AYAs) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) using an intensive pediatric regimen, showed significant improvement in event-free and overall survival...
I recently saw a patient in our survivorship clinic. She was treated at age 15 years for Hodgkin lymphoma and is now in her early 50s. During the prior 2 decades, she had developed both bilateral breast cancer and thyroid cancer, as well as multiple basal cell carcinomas, all occurring within her...
DREXEL UNIVERSITY has recognized the Chief Executive Officer of ASCO, Clifford A. Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO, as a Drexel 100 member. Created in 1992 to celebrate Drexel’s centennial, inductees to the Drexel 100 are university alums celebrated for their significant contributions to their respective...
Three-year follow-up data from the phase III RAY study in patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma were presented at the 14th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML) in Lugano, Switzerland. These results demonstrated that the subset of patients treated with ibrutinib...
Data from the TRANSCEND trial of JCAR017 in relapsed and refractory aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) was presented at the 2017 International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML) in Lugano, Switzerland. JCAR017 is Juno Therapeutics’ investigative chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) ...
An interim analysis of MAGNIFY, a phase IIIb, randomized, open-label, multicenter study of the R2 combination regimen (lenalidomide [Revlimid] plus rituximab [Rituxan]) in patients with relapsed or refractory marginal zone lymphoma, was presented at the International Conference on Malignant...
An updated interim analysis from an ongoing phase I/II clinical trial evaluating brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) and nivolumab (Opdivo) in relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma was presented at the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML) in Lugano, Switzerland (Abstract...
A phase III equivalence trial has shown comparable pathologic complete response rates with the proposed trastuzumab biosimilar CT-P6 vs reference trastuzumab (Herceptin) in neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer. The study was reported by Stebbing et al in The Lancet Oncology....
Positive interim efficacy data from an ongoing phase II clinical trial of tazemetostat, a first-in-class, oral enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) inhibitor, as a single-agent treatment for relapsed or refractory patients with follicular lymphoma or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) grouped by...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Morrow et al found that the rates of surgery after initial lumpectomy for stage I or II breast cancer have decreased with dissemination of guidelines advocating a minimal negative surgical margin. A 2014 consensus statement of the Society of Surgical Oncology...