The European Intergroup for Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma/Children’s Oncology Group (EICNHL/COG) recently reported a significant improvement in event-free survival among children and adolescents (aged 6 months to 18 years) with high-risk mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) following the...
In a European Intergroup for Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma/Children’s Oncology Group phase III trial, reported in TheNew England Journal of Medicine, -Véronique Minard-Colin, MD, PhD, of Gustave Roussy, Université Paris-Saclay, Villejuif, France, and colleagues found that the addition of rituximab ...
On October 16, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to venetoclax (Venclexta) in combination with azacitidine, decitabine, or low-dose cytarabine for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in adults aged 75 or older or who have comorbidities precluding...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) has published new guidelines to help older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and their health-care providers make critical care decisions, including if and how to proceed with cancer treatment and the need for blood transfusions for those in hospice...
In the treatment of adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), use of newer antibodies and de-intensification of chemotherapy have greatly improved outcomes, according to Hagop Kantarjian, MD, FASCO, who has been very involved in much of the research in ALL treatment. Dr. Kantarjian, Professor ...
Dafna Bar-Sagi, PhD, of New York University Langone Medical Center, summarizes a panel discussion she moderated on skills the cancer research community brings to bear on the coronavirus pandemic, how the influx of funding will affect future priorities, and ways to capitalize on the surge of...
Population-wide screening for genetic variants linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancers may be cost-effective in women between the ages of 20 and 35, according to a study published by Guzauskas et al in JAMA Network Open. However, screening for older women was not cost-effective, the...
People of color diagnosed with lung cancer face worse outcomes compared to White Americans, according to the American Lung Association’s third annual State of Lung Cancer report. The 2020 State of Lung Cancer report tracks the toll of lung cancer by state, and for the first time, this year’s report ...
In a study (Life After Stopping TKIs; LAST) reported in JAMA Oncology, Atallah et al found that stopping tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy in patients with controlled chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was associated with maintenance of major molecular response and achievement of treatment-free...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology, Prat et al have developed a prognostic risk score model—HER2DX—that can be used to identify patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer who might be candidates for escalated or de-escalated systemic treatment. As stated by the investigators, “In...
A new study by Tsay et al sheds light on the role the lung microbiome may play in lung cancer pathogenesis and prognosis. According to the study’s findings, enrichment of the lungs with oral commensal microbes was associated with advanced-stage disease, worse prognosis, and tumor progression....
On November 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first COVID-19 diagnostic test for self-testing at home. The Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit, which provides rapid results, is a molecular (real-time loop mediated amplification...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designations to novel agents in the treatment of liver and pancreatic cancers. Fast Track Designation for SRF388 in Liver Cancer The FDA granted Fast Track designation to SRF388 for the treatment of patients with...
In a 7-year follow-up of the phase III CALGB 40601/Alliance neoadjuvant trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Fernandez-Martinez et al found that paclitaxel combined with trastuzumab/lapatinib was associated with improved survival outcomes vs paclitaxel/trastuzumab in women with...
In a Chinese phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Zhu et al found that the addition of irinotecan to neoadjuvant capecitabine chemoradiation (CapIriRT)—with irinotecan dosing guided by UGT1A1 genotype—followed by capecitabine/irinotecan (XELIRI) significantly improved...
In a Canadian prospective cohort study (SENTOR) reported in JAMA Surgery, Cusimano et al found that sentinel lymph node biopsy showed “acceptable diagnostic accuracy” compared with lymphadenectomy in detecting nodal metastatic disease in patients with intermediate- and high-grade endometrial...
Deaths from cancer accounted for more than 4 million potential years of life lost in 2017, according to a study published by Minkyo Song, MD, PhD, and colleagues in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. While the cancer types with the highest death rates per capita accounted for the...
On November 13, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with locally recurrent unresectable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer whose tumors express PD-L1...
This week, we’re focusing on lung cancer—first, with a report on how therapy-related adverse events experienced by patients with lung cancer treated with immunotherapy may help to predict survival outcomes; and second, with a video about disparities in certain populations when it comes to lung...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Shaji K. Kumar, MD, and colleagues, the phase III BELLINI trial has shown that the addition of venetoclax to bortezomib/dexamethasone significantly prolonged progression-free survival in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma but was associated...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies sometimes used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, focus on the role of virtual...
A portion of patients with cancer may be less likely to enroll in a clinical trial due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. According to a report published as a research letter by Mark E. Fleury, PhD, and colleagues in JAMA Oncology, nearly one in five patients with cancer surveyed said the...
In a phase Ib study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Courtney D. DiNardo, MD, and colleagues found that the combination of ivosidenib and azacitidine produced a high response rate in patients with newly diagnosed isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1)-mutant acute myeloid leukemia...
In the French phase III STIC CTC trial reported in JAMA Oncology, François-Clément Bidard, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that choice of first-line chemotherapy vs endocrine therapy in hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer based on circulating tumor cell count...
Studies have shown that utilizing a PARP inhibitor in the management of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and BRCA1/2 mutation is clinically beneficial. New research published by Wu et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network sought to determine whether such...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Parker et al found that Gamma Knife radiosurgery was associated with high local control and tumor regression rates in patients with uveal melanoma or intraocular metastases. As stated by the investigators, “Gamma [K]nife...
In a Japanese phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kenmotsu et al found that adjuvant irinotecan/cisplatin did not improve relapse-free survival vs etoposide/cisplatin in patients with completely resected, pathologic stage I–IIIA, high-grade neuroendocrine carcinoma of the...
In a study reported as a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Brajcich et al found that higher-rated surgical technical skill was associated with significantly improved long-term survival in patients undergoing surgery for colon cancer. Study Details In the study, surgeons were recruited from the...
William R. Sellers, MD, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Co-Chair of the EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer, commented: “This study is a good example of how our increasing ability to study the human genome easily and in...
Two common genetic variants appear to be linked to toxicity induced by bevacizumab, researchers reported at the 32nd European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)–National Cancer Institute (NCI)–American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Symposium on Molecular Targets and...
Mary Pasquinelli, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, of the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Science System, discusses proposed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force lung cancer screening guidelines, which show race and gender disparities, and how modifying these recommendations with a risk prediction...
Therese Marie Mulvey, MD, FASCO, Director of Quality Safety and Value at the Massachusetts General Hospital North Shore Cancer Center, Boston, told The ASCO Post that this “provocative and elegant” study underscores the importance of listening to patients. “Baseline patient-reported symptoms are...
Fatigue could be an important baseline stratification factor for cancer treatment, according to data presented during the 2020 ASCO Quality Care Symposium.1 An analysis of four SWOG treatment trials has found an association between patient fatigue and outcomes in advanced cancer. Data from the...
A new study published by Stacey A. Fedewa, PhD, and colleagues in JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that state-level lung cancer screening rates were not aligned with the national lung cancer burden. The report provides the first population-based state-level screening data for...
In a phase II trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Mariotti et al found that the addition of the indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) pathway inhibitor indoximod to a taxane did not improve progression-free survival in first-line treatment of patients with metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer. As...
In a study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Anand P. Jillella, MD, and colleagues found that physician education on the main causes of death during induction treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)—and comanagement of cases with expert physicians—resulted in a low early mortality rate...
In a United Arab Emirates single-institution study reported as a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Al-Shamsi et al found a high rate of COVID-19 infection among asymptomatic patients with solid tumors undergoing cancer treatment. Study Details The study included 109 patients receiving treatment for ...
Launched in 2018 at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, the Integrative Oncology Scholars Program has trained 50 oncology professionals in evidence-based complementary therapies in the treatment of patients with cancer. Another 50 trainees are expected to complete the program by ...
James L. Mulshine, MD, of Rush University Medical Center, offers an overview of the 2020 Quantitative Imaging Workshop, whose mission is to leverage the use of CT to speed early detection and improve the management of lung cancer and other thoracic diseases.
In states that have expanded Medicaid availability as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), mortality rates for three major types of cancer are significantly lower than in states that have not expanded their Medicaid, according to findings from a new study published by Miranda B. Lam, MD, MBA, and ...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Philip M. Poortmans, PhD, and colleagues, 15-year outcomes of the phase III EORTC 22922/10925 trial show continued reductions in both breast cancer mortality and recurrence with postsurgery internal mammary and medial supraclavicular (IM-MS) lymph node chain...
In a Chinese phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gao et al found that prophylactic recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) and minimal-dose decitabine reduced the risk of relapse vs no intervention among patients with high-risk, minimal residual...
In a Dutch study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Blok et al found a significant association between an increased number of cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy and a reduced risk of metachronous contralateral testicular cancer. As noted by the investigators, patients with testicular...
Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation® announced the 2020 recipients of the Conquer Cancer–Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research Career Pathway Grants in Symptom Management. The Career Pathway Grants in Symptom Management are awarded to recruit and retain young physician-scientists...
The COVID-19 pandemic has made 2020 a challenging year for everyone, including cancer care providers, many of whom have had difficulty obtaining personal protective equipment (PPE) for their patients and staff during the pandemic. To help ease this burden on its members, ASCO partnered with Project ...
In a comment letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) expressed significant concerns that provisions in the 2021 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) proposed rule have the potential to undermine access to...
Kimberly Irvine was used to taking care of the people she loved. Conquering breast cancer—twice—forced the young mom to learn how to take care of herself in a whole new way. In the Your Stories episode “Being Your Own Advocate,” she shares with fellow philanthropist Riccardo Braglia, Board Member, ...
Cancer.Net provides a variety of tools and resources for caregivers, including the ASCO Answers Guide to Caregiving. This guide includes: Practical tips for supporting a patient with cancer Advice for talking with family and the health-care team Convenient symptom and medication trackers And...
As the world continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, ASCO is committed to providing the most current information and resources to its members and the larger oncology community to help ensure that patients with cancer receive high-quality care. Here, members of the ASCO International Affairs...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has announced the 2020–2021 class of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-AACR Oncology Educational Fellows. This is the first year of the fellowship, a joint initiative of the Oncology Center of Excellence at the FDA and the AACR. The...