A high proportion of patients with colorectal cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa may receive no treatment or inadequate treatment, regardless of the disease’s curability, according to a recent study published by Hämmerl et al in JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The new findings ...
The addition of anlotinib to immunochemotherapy has achieved the historically longest progression-free survival and overall survival in the first-line setting of extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, according to data presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2023...
The integration of immunotherapy with traditional chemoradiotherapy has significantly increased pathologic complete response rates in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to data presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2023 World Conference on...
The antibody-drug conjugate ifinatamab deruxtecan has demonstrated “robust and durable efficacy” in patients with heavily pretreated small cell lung cancer, according to a subset analysis of the DS7300-A-J101 trial presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2023 World...
First-line treatment with osimertinib plus platinum-based chemotherapy achieved a statistically significant and clinically meaningful progression-free survival improvement compared with osimertinib alone in patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non–small cell lung...
Gerard A. Silvestri, MD, MS, the Hillenbrand Professor of Thoracic Oncology at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, praised the investigators of the Taiwan National Lung Cancer Screening Program for their accomplishment. “It’s incredible that they screened almost 50,000...
The management of lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies has evolved significantly over the past decade. Thanks to many scientific advancements in the field, new therapeutic options, and improvements in screening and early detection, more patients are being cured, and many others are living...
On September 26, 2023, bosutinib (Bosulif) was approved for pediatric patients aged 1 year and older with chronic-phase Philadelphia chromosome–positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) that is newly diagnosed or resistant or intolerant to prior therapy.1 New capsule dosage form strengths of 50 mg...
For many years, researchers around the world have been exploring the connections between cancer treatments and the heart—better known as cardio-oncology. However, many oncologists may be less familiar with this emerging field and what they might need to know in terms of heart health to keep their...
Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of clonal hematopoietic stem cell disorders that are characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis, resulting in cytopenias, and they carry a risk of progression to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In 2022, the fifth edition of the World Health ...
Greater understanding of biological disease factors in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has led to more effective and personalized treatment options. At the 2023 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies,1 Rebecca Olin, MD, MSCE, of UCSF Helen Diller Family...
Low-dose radiotherapy in combination with the monoclonal antibody durvalumab and chemotherapy as neoadjuvant therapy was well tolerated in patients with potentially resectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a small study conducted in China and presented at the...
A novel treatment approach to squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may improve the prognosis for patients with previously limited treatment options, according to data presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer.1 Findings from ...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Eric Bouffet, MD, of the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, and colleagues, a phase II trial has shown a significant improvement in objective response rate and other efficacy outcomes with first-line dabrafenib plus trametinib vs standard...
In a phase I study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Scott T. Tagawa, MD, MS, FASCO, FACP, and colleagues determined the recommended phase II dose and described preliminary activity of actinium-225–J591—an anti–prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) monoclonal antibody (J591)...
In a retrospective study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hodder et al found that blinatumomab was effective as a toxicity-sparing alternative to first-line intensive chemotherapy in children and young persons with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who were...
As reported in The Lancet by Chu et al, a phase III trial conducted in Canada, Italy, and France showed that the addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy improved survival in previously untreated patients with advanced pleural mesothelioma. Study Details In the multicenter open-label trial, 440...
An ASCO Rapid Recommendation Update advises oncologists to avoid the use of triple combination therapy for the management of metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC).1 The new guidance, which updates recommendations from the original 2022 guideline, reflects findings from a phase III,...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Fred Saad, MD, of the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal, and colleagues, the final prespecified overall survival analysis of the phase III PROpel trial has shown no significant benefit with the addition of first-line olaparib to abiraterone in...
In the global randomized phase III CANOVA study, venetoclax plus dexamethasone (VenDex) demonstrated numerically longer progression-free survival compared with pomalidomide and dexamethasone (PomDex) in patients with t(11;14)-positive relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, though the difference...
In a major development in the treatment of breast cancer, short-course, or hypofractionated, radiation therapy has demonstrated comparable outcomes to conventional postmastectomy radiation therapy while reducing treatment breaks and financial toxicity, according to data presented at the 2023...
Research on the advances in radiation modeling presented by Rebecca M. Howell, PhD, at the 2023 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting may provide insights into the late cardiac effects of survivors of childhood cancer in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS).1 Dr....
Resource-sparing hypofractionated radiation therapy could offer an invaluable alternative for treating head and neck cancer, especially for patients in low- and middle-income countries, according to data presented during the Plenary Session at the 2023 American Society for Radiation Oncology...
The addition of durvalumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy led to higher rates of R0 resections and posed no apparent impediments to successful surgery for resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to findings from the randomized phase III AEGEAN trial presented at the International...
A secondary analysis from the phase III SWOG S0931 EVEREST trial found that adjuvant everolimus given to patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma at very high risk of recurrence after nephrectomy produced a statistically significant improvement in recurrence-free survival compared with placebo ...
Benjamin Besse, MD, PhD, of the Gustave Roussy Cancer Centre, discusses new findings on AZD7789, which targets PD-1 and TIM-3, in patients with stage IIIB–IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with previous anti–PD-L1 therapy. This bispecific antibody showed manageable safety and preliminary...
The invited discussant Krishnansu Tewari, MD, Professor in the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of California, Irvine, called innovaTV 301 a “practice-changing study” that should result in full approval of tisotumab vedotin-tftv in the United States “and, importantly, will...
In the global randomized open-label phase III innovaTV 301/ENGOT-cx12/GOG-3057 trial, treatment with the antibody-drug conjugate tisotumab vedotin-tftv resulted in a statistically significant 30% reduction in the risk of death in patients previously treated for recurrent or metastatic cervical...
The remarkable progress in medical research—primarily supported by federal investments in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI)—over the past 3 decades, coupled with advances in prevention and early detection, has led to a 33% reduction in cancer...
Invited discussant of the DUO-E trial, Domenica Lorusso, MD, PhD, commented: “Looking at the data, it’s clear to me that we are entering a new era of clinical research” in endometrial cancer. Patient populations are becoming molecularly refined, which will pave the way for more highly personalized ...
In the phase III DUO-E trial, a first-line treatment regimen that includes chemotherapy plus the checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab followed by maintenance durvalumab, with or without the PARP inhibitor olaparib, significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with advanced or recurrent...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued recommendations for patient-centered strategies for performing partial-breast irradiation in patients with early-stage invasive breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The new clinical guidelines were published by Shaitelman et al ...
On November 16, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved capivasertib (Truqap) with fulvestrant for adult patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer with one or more PIK3CA/AKT1/PTEN alterations, as detected by an...
In a UK phase II trial (PRISM) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vasudev and colleagues found that ipilimumab given every 12 weeks vs every 3 weeks in combination with nivolumab resulted in a significantly reduced rate of treatment-related grade ≥ 3 adverse events in treatment-naive...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Niemann et al, the 4-year follow-up of the phase III GLOW trial has shown a continued progression-free survival benefit with fixed-duration ibrutinib/venetoclax vs chlorambucil/obinutuzumab in the first-line treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in patients ...
Two phase III trials presented at a Presidential Symposium during the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2023 showed an overall survival benefit for patients with advanced urothelial cancer. The results from both studies were hailed as practice-changing. The EV-302/KEYNOTE-A39...
Individuals who experience occupational exposure to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation may have a high rate of nonmelanoma skin cancer incidence and mortality, according to a recent study published by Pega et al in Environment International. These findings highlighted the large and increasing burden...
The invited discussant of TROPION-Breast01, Sarat Chandarlapaty, MD, PhD, Member of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, said the results suggest datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) may be a good treatment option for a subset of patients,...
The TROP-2–directed antibody-drug conjugate datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) significantly improved progression-free survival over standard chemotherapy in the TROPION-Breast01 trial involving patients with previously treated, hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, unresectable and/or...
In a 5-year follow-up of the phase II OPRA trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Verheij et al found that many patients receiving total neoadjuvant therapy for rectal adenocarcinoma remained free of the need for total mesorectal excision. Study Details In the U.S. multicenter trial,...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Planchard et al, the phase III FLAURA2 trial has shown superior progression-free survival with osimertinib plus platinum-based chemotherapy vs osimertinib alone in the first-line treatment of EGFR-mutant advanced non–small cell lung cancer...
Early findings from the phase II EDGE-Gastric trial indicate the potential for two novel agents to make a difference in advanced gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, according to findings reported at the ASCO Plenary Series: November 2023 Session by Yelena Y. Janjigian, MD, Chief of the...
Investigators have found that patients with breast cancer who have insufficient levels of vitamin D prior to initiating treatment with paclitaxel may be more likely to experience peripheral neuropathy, according to a recent study published by Chen et al in JNCCN–Journal of the National...
The management of ovarian cancer remains challenging within health-care systems worldwide. Recently, clinical and translational research on ovarian cancer has led to promising advances that have improved the survival outcomes of women diagnosed with this aggressive gynecologic cancer. These...
On November 7, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revised the existing indication of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with trastuzumab, fluoropyrimidine, and platinum-containing chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic...
Remarkable progress has been made in the treatment of lung cancer in the past 10 to 15 years; it is therefore not surprising that lung cancer mortality in the United States is declining consistently, at the rate of 2% to 4% annually in recent years. Long-term survival is possible even for patients...
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-to-3 decision, essentially overturned affirmative action in college admissions, which had allowed, since 1978, for colleges and universities to consider race as a factor in student admissions.1 The ruling will impact enrollment decisions at public...
Real-world outcomes often fall short of those achieved in clinical trials, but this is apparently not so for patients receiving chemoradiotherapy plus consolidation with durvalumab in unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The robust results achieved in the phase III PACIFIC...
In a phase III trial (LUNAR) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ticiana Leal, MD, Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University, and colleagues found that the addition of Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) therapy to standard systemic therapy improved overall survival in patients with metastatic...
On October 25, 2023, ASCO announced the launch of its new flagship quality program ASCO Certified™, with the goal of ensuring that every patient with cancer has access to high-quality, patient-centered, coordinated cancer care.1 The program, which officially launched on October 27, 2023, to...