“Inequities are a major obstacle in delivering safe, timely, respectful, and affordable cancer care globally,” commented moderator John Varallo, MD, MPH, FACOG, of the Global Surgery Foundation, at the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) World Cancer Congress (WCC) 2024 in Geneva.1...
In a phase II trial (IMbrave151) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Macarulla et al found that atezolizumab/bevacizumab plus chemotherapy produced a “modest” improvement in progression-free survival vs atezolizumab/placebo plus chemotherapy in first-line treatment of patients with...
In a phase II trial (SERENA-2) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Oliveira et al found that the next-generation oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) camizestrant improved progression-free survival vs fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative...
On May 16, 2024, tarlatamab-dlle (Imdelltra) was granted accelerated approval for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.1 Tarlatamab is a bispecific delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3)-directed CD3 T-cell engager. Supporting Efficacy...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Surgery, Sakowitz et al found that R0 resection was more commonly achieved in patients with stage I to III thymic tumors who received surgery at high-volume centers (HVCs) for thymectomy in the United States. Study Details and Results The study...
In an English study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Allen et al found that patients with breast cancer harboring BRCA1/BRCA2 pathogenic variants were at high risk of second primary cancers. Study Details and Results The study involved follow-up of 25,811 females and 480 males...
Researchers from the Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the David Geffen School of Medicine, and the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) were awarded a $2.5 million grant from the independent charitable organization Bristol Myers Squibb...
Attendees at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 heard the results of many positive clinical trials that will advance the field of cancer treatment. However, a few late-stage trials of promising adjuvant therapies unexpectedly reported negative results. The ASCO Post...
The addition of the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab to standard neoadjuvant gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy has demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in survival compared with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cisplatin-eligible patients with muscle-invasive bladder...
The annual Global Cardio-Oncology Summit (GCOS) was held September 22 to 24 in Minneapolis, with 430 health-care professionals attending from 20 countries. The Summit brings together health-care professionals from diverse disciplines including members of the International Cardio-Oncology...
At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024, the Eyes to the Future Presidential Symposium showcased innovative approaches in personalized medicine, immunotherapy resistance, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pathology analysis. These presentations, focusing on the...
The use of measurable (or minimal) residual disease (MRD) status to guide treatment in multiple myeloma has become a topic of intense interest. Phase III studies presented at the Plenary Session of the 2024 International Myeloma Society Annual Meeting moved MRD status ever closer to validation in...
Presurgical treatment with the novel drug vidutolimod and the PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab may improve tumor control in patients with stage III cutaneous melanoma, according to a recent study published by Davar et al in Cancer Cell. The findings provided insights that could help advance...
Researchers have discovered a novel strategy to detect cancer cells with a liquid biopsy designed to be simpler, quicker, and more informational compared with current methods, according to a recent study published by Walker et al in Small. Background Current methods for detecting cancer cells may...
Quitting smoking within 6 months of receiving a cancer diagnosis could add an average of 2 years to a patient’s life, according to a recent study published by Cinciripini et al in JAMA Oncology. The findings demonstrated a broad survival benefit of using evidence-based smoking cessation to help...
Just weeks or even days or hours away from death, the majority of conscious terminally ill patients often experience growth and meaning in their lives and the absence of fear through end-of-life dreams and visions, according to research by Christopher W. Kerr, MD, PhD. Dr. Kerr is Chief Executive...
Because colonoscopies and more established stool-based tests are more effective at detecting early cancers and precancerous polyps compared with emerging blood-based tests, their long-term impact is projected to be substantially greater than that of blood-based tests, according to a recent study...
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,...
A new lung cancer screening initiative may help to overcome barriers to care among low-income, uninsured, and minority patients residing in Central Texas, according to a recent study published by Pignone et al in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The findings represented a critical step...
Using computational tools, researchers have developed a novel method to assess which patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer may benefit from immunotherapy, according to a recent study published by Arulraj et al in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)....
Aumolertinib, a third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has shown efficacy as maintenance therapy for patients with unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR mutations, according to data presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer...
In a phase II study (OLIE) reported in JAMA Oncology, Gaspar et al found that the addition of lenvatinib to ifosfamide/etoposide did not significantly improve progression-free survival in children or young adults with relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma. Study Details In the global open-label...
ASCO’s 2022 State of the Oncology Workforce in America report presented a dismal picture of the representation of Hispanic/Latinx oncologists in the field. According to the report, despite initiatives aimed at increasing diversity in the nearly 13,400 oncology workforce, which includes about 36%...
Patients with newly diagnosed hormone receptor–negative, HER2-positive breast cancer were more likely to receive timely, guideline-concordant treatment and experience longer survival in states participating in Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, according to a recent study published...
A newly described stage of lymph node–like structures, known as tertiary lymphoid structures, identified in hepatic tumors following presurgical immunotherapy may be vital to successfully treating patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Shu et al in Nature...
In a phase I clinical trial (SURF301) investigating the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) oral inhibitor TYRA-300 in patients with advanced bladder cancer, the drug showed early antitumor activity and produced lower rates of significant adverse events compared with pan-FGFR inhibitors....
Researchers have demonstrated that anti–PD-L1 immunotherapy combined with mutation-directed targeted therapy may improve overall survival in patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Cabanillas et al in JAMA Oncology. Background Anaplastic thyroid...
The ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group and Caris Life Sciences announced a new multiyear research collaboration that will begin with the interrogation of the TAILORx trial. Background Breast cancer remains the most common cancer type in the United States, with approximately 310,720 new cases per...
Researchers may have uncovered how urothelial carcinoma originates and progresses, according to a novel study published by Nguyen et al in Nature. The findings provided insights into the biology of urothelial carcinoma and may point to new therapeutic strategies for this difficult-to-treat cancer...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by van As et al, the phase III PACE-B trial has shown noninferiority of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) vs conventionally fractionated radiotherapy in biochemical or clinical failure in patients with low- to intermediate-risk localized...
Guest Editor’s Note: Advances in cancer treatments have led to an increase in survival rates, but the quality of life is often diminished during survivorship. Because modifiable personal behavior contributes to health-care outcomes, interventions that support healthy behaviors may improve health...
In the neoadjuvant I-SPY2.2 trial, a treatment strategy including the antibody-drug conjugate datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd), partnered with the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab, yielded a high pathologic complete response rate, especially in immune-positive and “all-negative” subtypes.1...
In a Dutch study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Westerveld et al identified long-term risks of subsequent neoplasms in 5-year survivors of childhood neuroblastoma. Study Details The study included data from 563 survivors in the Dutch Childhood Cancer Survivor Study–LATER cohort...
A 3-week moderately hypofractionated radiotherapy regimen has been found to be noninferior to the 5-week fractionation when irradiating nodal areas in patients with breast cancer, according to data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024.1 The 5-year results of...
The University of Arizona Health Sciences announced that 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 the mammogram....
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may help patients with rectal cancer avoid invasive surgery and its potentially lifelong side effects, according to a recent study published by Williams et al in Radiology. Background “After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for rectal cancer, patients are...
OCE Insights is an occasional department developed for The ASCO Post by members of the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this installment, the OCE’s Steven Clark Cunningham, MD, MLA, FACS, Clinical Reviewer on the Gastrointestinal Cancers Team, ...
Although significant progress has been made against cancer, especially in the United States, which has seen the overall death rate from cancer fall by 33% over the past 3 decades, translating into averting an estimated 3.8 million deaths from the disease,1 progress worldwide has not been as...
In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.”1 The warning came decades after the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen, which is the highest risk group, and also includes...
On September 23, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act of 2024 (H.R. 5526), which would make permanent a waiver put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed Medicare patients to receive medications dispensed by in-office pharmacies...
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...
Investigators have highlighted a critical connection between heart failure and cancer, demonstrating how shared mechanisms may contribute to the incidence and progression of both diseases, according to a recent scientific statement published by Bloom et al in the Journal of Cardiac Failure....
Listening to music may accelerate postsurgical recovery, according to recent findings presented by Raees et al at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2024. Background “When patients wake up after surgery, sometimes they feel really scared and don’t know where they are,”...
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 rare but challenging subset of lung cancer cases. According to data presented at the...
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...
In the phase Ib FORT-2 trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Sweis et al found that the combination of the pan-FGFR inhibitor rogaratinib and atezolizumab was active in cisplatin-ineligible patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer overexpressing FGFR mRNA. Study Details The study...
Implementing the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Geriatric Surgery Verification program may reduce rates of postsurgical mortality and increase the proportion of patients with documentation standards such as advanced care directives, according to two new studies presented by Horattas et al and...
Researchers have found that financial fallout can follow patients with cancer and their families as financial bankruptcy, lower credit scores, and other types of financial challenges in the years following a cancer diagnosis, according to two new studies presented by Gomez-Mayorga et al and...
On October 18, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved zolbetuximab-clzb (Vyloy), a claudin 18.2 (CLDN18.2)-directed cytolytic antibody, with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy, for the first-line treatment of adults with locally advanced unresectable or...
Although improving cancer screening participation in the United States is central to the country’s national goals for reducing disability and death, currently, participation is lagging behind the Healthy People 2030 targets set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A study by the...