Although the optimal approach to maintenance is not definitive in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have undergone chemotherapy-based induction with anti–endothelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) agents, the phase II VALENTINO trial showed that anti-EGFR maintenance therapy with...
In June 2018, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was approved for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer with disease progression on or after chemotherapy whose tumors express programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1; combined positive score [CPS] ≥ 1), as determined by a U.S....
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) will present the 2018 William Dameshek Prize to Ross L. Levine, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medical College, for his discoveries in the field of leukemia and myeloproliferative neoplasms during the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting ...
In an analysis from the GeparQuinto trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Peter A. Fasching, MD, of Erlangen University Hospital, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, and colleagues found that the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy increased the...
The information contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies focused on prostate cancer. These trials are studying bone marrow transplant, gene therapy, checkpoint inhibitor treatment, radiation therapy techniques, antibody therapies, and...
Moxetumomab pasudotox produced deep and durable responses in a heavily pretreated population of patients with hairy cell leukemia, with the ability to eradicate minimal residual disease. The drug showed a favorable safety profile with less bone marrow suppression than with purine nucleoside analog...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. On June 13, 2018, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was granted...
In elderly patients with untreated acute myeloid leukemia (AML), venetoclax (Venclexta), given at a 400-mg dose, with an azacitidine backbone led to durable responses with a tolerable safety profile, according to data from a phase Ib dose-escalation and -expansion study. Response rates were high...
My male colleagues sometimes broach the topic of #MeToo or sexual harassment in medicine by saying how uncomfortable it makes them. Ah, yes. How uncomfortable the sexual harassment I have faced for years makes you. I casually bring up microaggressions—subtle verbal or nonverbal slights against...
The treatment of triple-negative breast cancer remains a clinical challenge with no single validated target, though numerous pathways are druggable and are being investigated. In the subset of BRCA-mutated triple-negative breast cancer, the approval of the first poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)...
A retrospective study led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health found that survivors of human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers have a high incidence of developing second ...
Compared with placebo, cabozantinib (Cabometyx) significantly improved overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who were previously treated with sorafenib (Nexavar), with no new safety signals, according to data from the phase III CELESTIAL ...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Wang et al identified frequency and types of fatal toxic effects in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Study Details The study involved analysis of fatal immune checkpoint inhibitor–associated toxic...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Tabernero et al, the phase III JACOB trial showed no significant overall survival benefit of adding pertuzumab (Perjeta) to trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus chemotherapy in first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced a series of critical and historic enforcement actions related to the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes to children. In the largest coordinated enforcement effort in the its history, the agency issued more than 1,300 warning...
Recently, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) updated its Clinical Practice Guidelines to include new recommendations for cabozantinib (Cabometyx) tablets. With the updates, cabozantinib is recommended by the NCCN for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma regardless...
In a single-center analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Peyton et al found that neoadjuvant dose-dense methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (ddMVAC) produced better outcomes than other standard neoadjuvant regimens in patients undergoing radical cystectomy for muscle-invasive...
A high incidence of clinically diagnosed infections in the first year of life among children who later developed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has led researchers to propose that children with ALL are born with a dysregulated immune function, resulting in a more vigorous reaction to infections ...
Survey results released by the Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) show that general awareness about lung cancer has improved significantly over the past decade, with 94% of the public reporting familiarity with lung cancer. Despite this change in overall perspective, findings also indicate that lung cancer ...
A group of men with especially aggressive prostate cancer may respond unusually well to immunotherapy, according to a study published by Rodrigues et al in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The research offers the possibility of effective treatment, with clinical trials already underway. An...
In a long-term follow-up of a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Godfrey et al found that the addition of cytoreductive therapy with hydroxycarbamide to aspirin did not improve outcomes in patients with essential thrombocythemia aged 40 to 59 years without high-risk features or...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved moxetumomab pasudotox-tdfk (Lumoxiti) injection for intravenous use for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory hairy cell leukemia (HCL) who have received at least two prior systemic therapies, including treatment with...
A research team from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has discovered a way to use computed tomography (CT) imaging to assess kidney tumors that test positive for the biomarker CD117 and accurately determine—before surgery—whether the tumor is benign or malignant. Their findings...
In a retrospective single-institution analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Calaway et al found that the addition of bleomycin to etoposide/cisplatin did not appear to increase risk of pulmonary or postoperative morbidity after postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection ...
In a Danish study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Beau et al used different models to assess the effects of screening on breast cancer mortality, finding a 20% reduction among patients diagnosed during the recommended screening age range. As noted by the investigators, the study was...
Nearly 350 organizations—including medical societies and oncology treatments centers—are advocating for robust, sustained, and predictable annual funding increases for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) during the 6th annual Rally for Medical Research Hill Day, taking place...
Bleeding in patients treated with anticoagulants may indicate an increased probability of cancer, according to late-breaking results from the COMPASS trial presented at the 2018 European Society of Cardiology Congress. Principal investigator John Eikelboom, MD, of the Population Health Research...
Case studies have reported a high prevalence of methotrexate subacute neurotoxicity among Hispanic adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), suggesting sensitivity to methotrexate therapy may differ by race and ethnicity. Now, a prospective study in pediatric patients with ALL has found...
Recent research and genomic studies have revealed a number of genes that accumulate somatic mutations and alterations in estrogen receptor (ER)–positive breast cancer. However, while a few alterations are quite common and relatively well-understood, many genes are mutated in less than 5% of...
A new study suggests chemotherapy may cause acute amenorrhea, leading to early menopause in women with lung cancer. The study is the first to comment on amenorrhea rates in women younger than 50, concluding that women with lung cancer who desire future fertility should be educated about risks and...
In a Chinese single-institution study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wang et al found that station 4L lymph node (LN) dissection was associated with improved outcome in patients with primary cancer of the left lung. Study Details The retrospective analysis included 657 patients...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Randy A. Taplitz, MD, of UC San Diego Health, and colleagues, ASCO and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) have updated their joint guideline on antimicrobial prophylaxis for adult patients with immunosuppression associated with...
ON SEPTEMBER 25–26, oncology care providers from across the United States will head to Capitol Hill to participate in the 3rd annual ASCO Advocacy Summit. Over 2 days, ASCO volunteer advocates will meet with members of Congress and their staff to educate them on critical issues affecting patients...
Research grants are vital to the success of academic research and researchers apply for these grants at all stages of their career. This makes writing stand-out grant applications an incredibly valuable skill for clinical investigators—and an intimidating task for first-time grant applicants....
Cory Wiegert has been named Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CancerLinQ LLC, a wholly owned nonprofit subsidiary of ASCO. Mr. Wiegert, a proven expert in building and successfully launching innovative technology solutions, began his new role on August 13, 2018, and is overseeing the continued...
ASCO offers a portfolio of prestigious leadership training opportunities for those who are ready to take the next step in their careers. This includes the Leadership Development Program (LDP), a program that began in 2009 and was created to teach mid-career oncologists leadership skills and help...
The information contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies focused on targeted therapy in thyroid cancer. These trials are studying immunosuppressants, combination therapies, tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment, mitigation of treatment side...
The tumultuous history of modern South Africa has numerous stories that lie beneath the surface of the sociopolitical headlines, such as the story of lung cancer expert Leora Horn, MD. “I was born and reared in Johannesburg, South Africa, a second-generation African family. In 1987, because of the...
Male breast cancer is a rare and understudied malignancy when compared with female breast cancer, with conflicting literature on survival outcomes in men and women. The ASCO Post spoke recently with breast cancer expert Sharon Giordano, MD, MPH, FASCO, Professor at The University of Texas MD...
Patients with advanced cancer often get more aggressive treatment than they want because too few oncologists elicit their end-of-life treatment preferences.1,2 In response to this problem, leading associations, including ASCO3,4 and the Institute of Medicine,5 have called for more advance care...
BRIAN C. CAPELL, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has received a Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator Award. He plans to use the $450,000 research grant to study epigenetic targets in the skin to develop more effective...
As the population continues to age, the interplay between aging and cancer increasingly shows cancer to be a disease of older people. By the year 2030, there will be an increased incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in older individuals.1 The median age of patients diagnosed with diffuse large...
USING THE National Cancer Database, Bhatt et al1 recently reported that of the 61,775 adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), those who received chemotherapy from 2003 to 2011 lived longer than those who, in those same years, did not; the study is reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post....
IN A STUDY of National Cancer Database data reported in Blood Advances, Vijaya Raj Bhatt, MD, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and colleagues found that 25% of patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) did not receive initial chemotherapy, despite evidence that...
THREE SCIENTISTS whose work in immuno-oncology has led to a revolutionary way to treat cancer have been announced as the recipients of the 2018 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research. The awardees were chosen to receive the 2018 Albany Prize for their research in...
IMMUNE CHECKPOINT inhibitors represent a giant step forward in the treatment of many cancers, and as these agents have “come of age” in the past few years, so has the collective understanding of their potential for causing adverse events. Although checkpoint inhibitors are known to be associated...
IN PATIENTS with unresectable or metastatic melanoma, adding epacadostat to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) did not result in greater clinical benefit over pembrolizumab alone, according to data from the phase III ECHO-301/KEYNOTE-252 study. These results were originally presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual...
THE U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) issued the following approvals and prescribing information revisions in August 2018. Lenvatinib Approved for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma THE FDA approved lenvatinib (Lenvima) for the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable...
IN PATIENTS with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, nimotuzumab—a humanized monoclonal antibody against the epidermal growth factor receptor—in combination with cisplatin and radiotherapy was superior to cisplatin and radiotherapy alone in improving progression-free...
AS MORE is learned about the genomic landscape in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, clinicians are grappling with how to apply this information in the clinic. At the 2018 Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference, Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, helped them understand this emerging area.1 Dr. Zelenetz is Professor of...