The Cancer Grand Challenges initiative announced it has selected five new global teams that will each receive up to $25 million in funding over the course of 5 years to address four major challenges faced by cancer research. Background In March 2023, the initiative unveiled nine new challenges to...
Investigators have found that common inherited genetic factors capable of predicting cancer risk in the general population may also help to predict childhood cancer survivors who may be at elevated risk of new cancers later in life, according to a recent study published by Gibson et al in Nature...
Investigators have uncovered that despite low adoption rates of the 2020 American Cancer Society (ACS) cervical cancer screening guidelines among physicians, a majority of them expressed willingness to utilize the recommendations under certain circumstances, according to a recent study published by ...
Investigators may have uncovered differential associations between smoking and DNA methylation across various racial and ethnic groups, according to a recent study published by Huang et al in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The findings could lead to the development of new strategies to...
The established dual HER2 blockade of pertuzumab and trastuzumab may be an effective treatment for patients with several types of HER2-amplified cancers, according to a study published by Connolly et al in Clinical Cancer Research. Background HER2 receptors control how cells grow and divide. The...
Adding the multikinase inhibitor lenvatinib to the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab as initial therapy for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma improved response rates and progression-free survival but did not lead to an overall survival advantage over pembrolizumab...
Researchers have demonstrated that an online genetic education program may encourage patients with a family history of cancer to undertake genetic testing, according to a recent study published by Rodriguez et al in Gastroenterology. Background Although research has shown that an inherited...
A new report from the President’s Cancer Panel offers recommendations in five priority areas to accelerate progress toward implementing the National Cancer Plan and achieving the Biden-Harris Administration’s Cancer Moonshot goal of ending cancer as we know it. The report, delivered to President...
Researchers have found that exposure to secondhand smoke during treatment with cisplatin may reduce its effectiveness in patients with head and neck cancer, even if they don’t have a history of smoking, according to a recent study published by Sadhasivam et al in the International Journal of...
For the third year in a row, more than 250 leaders in cancer care, including cancer center directors, physicians, scientists, ethicists, journalists, public officials, and patient advocates, gathered at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, to attend the...
Researchers have identified a set of 140 genes that may help predict disease-free survival in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with a combination of immunotherapy and low-dose radiation, according to a recent study published by Altorki et al in Cell Reports Medicine. The...
Studies presented at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) significantly moved the needle forward in our treatment of breast cancer. We are increasingly learning how to stratify risk, so we can optimize therapy and minimize our patients’ exposure to treatments that will not be...
Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, commented on the findings of the PREFERABLE-EFFECT trial: “This is a wonderful study about what has been obvious to all of us—exercise improves quality of life. Most oncologists probably recommend it, but not necessarily in the structured and rigorous way this study did. We...
Although current ASCO guidelines recommend exercise for patients with breast cancer during adjuvant therapy with curative intent, the guidelines state that more study is needed regarding the effects of exercise for patients with metastatic breast cancer. The results of the PREFERABLE-EFFECT trial...
It may be possible for some patients with breast cancer to avoid adjuvant regional nodal irradiation safely, according to the results of the NRG Oncology/NSABP B-51/RTOG 1304 clinical trial presented at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.1 These findings particularly apply to patients...
Investigators used low recurrence scores on a genomic assay as guidance for selection of favorable-risk patients, and they found most postmenopausal patients (aged 50–69) with stage I hormone receptor–positive breast cancer who omitted adjuvant radiation therapy but continued endocrine therapy for...
At a median follow-up of 8.4 years, adjuvant use of ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) continued to improve invasive disease–free survival and overall survival compared with trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer with residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant therapy. These ...
Invasive disease–free survival continued to be significantly improved for patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, early-stage breast cancer who received the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib plus a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor compared with a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor alone....
The addition of inavolisib to first-line treatment with palbociclib plus fulvestrant more than doubled progression-free survival in patients with recurrent PIK3CA-mutated, hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, according to a late-breaking primary analysis of the phase III ...
Adding the antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) to the HER2-targeted agent tucatinib extended progression-free survival by about 2 months vs treatment with T-DM1 alone among patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, according to...
Investigators have found that the families of subfertile men may have a higher risk of developing certain types of cancers at younger ages compared with the families of fertile men, according to a recent study published by Ramsay et al in Human Reproduction. Background Previous research has shown...
Guest Editor’s Note: The use of mistletoe extract to support systemic therapy and improve quality of life for patients with cancer, though common, remains controversial. Promising results have been reported, but largely in trials that were not placebo-controlled nor properly randomized. In this...
My family first suspected we might have inherited the BRCA1/2 gene mutation after my father was diagnosed with his third cancer, colorectal cancer, following multiple bouts of squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma beginning in his 30s and later prostate cancer. But the high risk of...
Belzutifan is a first-in-class, oral hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α inhibitor, and active HIF-2α is a key oncogenic driver in clear cell renal cancer. The manufacturer has filed a new drug application for the treatment of adults with RCC who experienced disease progression after PD-1/PD-L1– and...
Investigators used low recurrence scores on a genomic assay as guidance for selection of favorable-risk patients, and they found most postmenopausal patients (aged 50–69) with stage I hormone receptor–positive breast cancer who omitted adjuvant radiation therapy but continued endocrine therapy for...
Patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma derived significant benefit from the addition of the monoclonal antibody durvalumab and the angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab to transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), which alone has been a standard of care for 20 years. Investigators of the...
About 4 years ago, I [Jo Cavallo] wrote about the death of my brother Dom from multiple myeloma in 2011 and my subsequent enrollment in the PROMISE trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03689595). My goal for enrolling in the study was twofold: to honor Dom and others with the cancer and to make ...
Adding the radioligand lutetium-177 dotatate (Lu-177 dotatate) to standard therapy almost tripled the median progression-free survival in patients with untreated, high-grade, gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in the randomized phase III NETTER-2 study, researchers reported at the 2024...
In a single-center retrospective study reported as a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Zang et al found that high tumor mutational burden (TMB) was associated with better outcomes of checkpoint inhibition in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Study Details The study...
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched the Cancer Screening Research Network, a clinical trials network to evaluate emerging cancer screening technologies. The new network will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative by investigating how to identify cancer ...
Preventive use of the oral antibiotic vancomycin may be effective at reducing the risk of Clostridioides difficile infections but may increase the risk of gram-negative bacteremia in stem cell transplant recipients, according to new findings presented by Vartanov et al at the 2024 Tandem Meetings:...
ASCO has released a guideline rapid recommendation update addressing radiotracers used for prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron-emission tomography (PET) diagnostic imaging for selecting patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) to receive...
Aaron T. Gerds, MD, MS, Assistant Professor of Hematology and Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio, served as a press briefing moderator at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition. He was enthusiastic about the potential for an all-oral AAA...
Investigators may have identified colorectal cancer screening programs in Latin America, according to a recent systematic review and meta-analysis published by Montalvan-Sanchez et al in JAMA Network Open. Background Colorectal cancer—the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality...
Investigators have found that annual breast cancer screening beginning at age 40 and continuing to at least 79 may result in the greatest reduction in mortality with minimal risks, according to a recent study published by Monticciolo et al in Radiology. Background Breast cancer is the second most...
In patients with resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), perioperative treatment with the checkpoint inhibitor tislelizumab plus platinum-doublet chemotherapy led to a statistically significant benefit in event-free survival and a favorable trend for overall survival, investigators for the...
Two experts in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) discussed the findings on the combination of venetoclax plus azacitidine in the treatment of higher-risk MDS with The ASCO Post. David A. Sallman, MD, Assistant Member in the Department of Malignant Hematology, Moffit Cancer Center, Tampa, provided...
For the treatment of high-risk, treatment-naive myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), the regimen of venetoclax plus azacitidine led to high response rates, durable responses, and encouraging overall survival, in a phase Ib study reported at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting...
Prithviraj Bose, MD, Professor in the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, shared his thoughts on MANIFEST-2 and TRANSFORM-1 with The ASCO Post. While both were international phase III trials that showed similar benefits with two different...
In two international phase III trials in myelofibrosis, drugs given in combination with the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor ruxolitinib in JAK inhibitor–naive patients significantly improved outcomes vs ruxolitinib alone. Both studies were presented at the 2023 American Society of Hematology Annual...
Session co-moderator Carla Casulo, MD, offered her thoughts on the response-adapted use of ultra-low–dose radiotherapy in gastric MALT (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue) lymphoma, as reported by the investigators from MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Casulo is Associate Professor of Medicine and...
In a press briefing at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, Cynthia E. Dunbar, MD, ASH Secretary and Chief of the Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, Intramural Research Program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, offered her thoughts on...
At the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, researchers from Emory University presented a real-world comparison of the largest cohort of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma consecutively treated with either bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone ...
Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH, Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University, and Dan Vogl, MD, MSCE, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, shared their thoughts on the PERSEUS trial for The ASCO Post. Dr. Nooka noted that ...
Hordes of classical and malignant hematologists returned to the tranquil city of San Diego for the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition this past December. The packed agenda lit the Gaslight District up with neuron-searing data, creating an environment for...
Thoughts on the study by Othman et al were provided by William G. Blum, MD, Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine and Director of the Acute Leukemia Program at Winship Cancer Institute, and Mikkael Sekeres, MD, MS, Professor of...
In patients with NPM1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the presence of molecular measurable residual disease (MRD) in the peripheral blood following induction chemotherapy can aid decision-making about postremission therapy. More specifically, MRD status in the peripheral blood can identify...
The addition of the CD38 monoclonal antibody daratumumab to a standard regimen for patients with newly diagnosed transplant-eligible multiple myeloma significantly prolonged progression-free survival vs standard treatment in the phase III PERSEUS trial. The study was reported as a late-breaking...
Among Black patients with prostate cancer, racial representation may be a key factor affecting their trust in websites offering information on the disease, according to a recent study published by Loeb et al in The Journal of Urology. Background Black men may have higher rates of prostate cancer...
A novel three-drug combination achieved notable responses in patients with advanced HER2-negative breast cancer, according to new research published by Roussos Torres et al in Nature Cancer. The regimen included a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor combined with two types of checkpoint...