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...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) is announcing several new updates to the cancer treatment practices listed in the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®). The evidence-based expert consensus recommendations are the most frequently updated guidelines for...
Although liquid biopsies are now helping determine the need for adjuvant therapy in a number of malignancies, they have yet to prove useful in the setting of oropharyngeal carcinoma, according to a prospective pilot study presented at the 2024 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium that...
Investigators may have uncovered new insights into the relationship between behavioral health disorders and cancer surgery outcomes, according to a recent study published by Katayama et al in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. The findings clarified the need for behavioral health...
The American Urological Association (AUA), in partnership with the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO), released new clinical practice guidelines on salvage therapy for patients with prostate cancer. These guidelines were reported on by Morgan...
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...
Investigators have found that U.S. individuals with a history of incarceration may have worse access to and receipt of breast cancer and colorectal cancer screenings compared with those without a history of incarceration, according to a recent study published by Zhao et al in JAMA Health Forum....
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 found that psychological distress may contribute to delayed cancer treatment, according to a recent study published by Frosch et al in Supportive Care in Cancer. Background Prior research has shown that delays in initiating cancer therapy may be increasing, and these delays can...
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...
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...
Invited discussant of the HER2CLIMB-02 trial, Valentina Guarneri, MD, of Padeva Istituto Oncologica Veneto, Italy, hailed these results as important, especially for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and brain metastases. However, she noted, “HER2CLIMB-02 is not likely to challenge the...
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...
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...
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...
Updates of two key phase III trials presented at the 2024 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium showed the benefit of adding a checkpoint inhibitor to standard perioperative chemotherapy with FLOT (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, docetaxel) in locally advanced, resectable gastric and...
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 ...
In a phase II trial (Study G200802) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Palmieri et al found that the novel selective androgen receptor (AR) modulator enobosarm was active in previously treated patients with AR-positive, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic...
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:...
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...
An all-oral regimen for newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) was shown to be “highly effective and safe,” eliminating the need for chemotherapy altogether in many patients, Hong Kong researchers reported at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting &...
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...
Reducing doses and adjusting chemotherapy schedules in older patients with advanced cancer may help improve treatment tolerability without compromising its efficacy, according to a recent study published by Mohamed et al in JAMA Network Open. Background Standard chemotherapy regimens—mostly based...
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...
The ASCO Post obtained comments on the Smart Stop study from Dipenkumar Modi, MD, a medical oncologist and hematologist at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Assistant Professor of Oncology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit. Dr. Modi applauded the investigators for...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will award Steven A. Rosenberg, MD, PhD, Fellow of the AACR Academy, with the 2024 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research during the AACR Annual Meeting, to be held April 5–10 in San Diego. His award lecture will be presented 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 ...
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...
Peter Voorhees, MD, a multiple myeloma specialist at Levine Cancer Institute and Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center, Durham, North Carolina, introduced the plenary presentation of the phase III IsKia trial by Gay et al and further commented on the study for The ASCO...
In the phase III IsKia trial in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, therapy incorporating the CD38-directed monoclonal antibody isatuximab-irfc with a carfilzomib-based regimen led to high rates of minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity at postconsolidation cutoffs, as reported at the 2023...
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...
A novel immunotherapy based on STAb T cells may be more effective at treating multiple myeloma than chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, according to a recent study published by Díez-Alonso et al in Science Translational Medicine. Background Multiple myeloma is the second most common...
Research shows that about half of adults near the end of life in the United States are too ill to participate in decisions about whether to accept life-prolonging treatment,1 requiring family members and other proxies to serve as surrogate decision-makers for their critically ill loved ones....
Patients with soft-tissue sarcoma treated with neoadjuvant immunotherapy had very little residual tumor at the time of surgery and promising long-term survival, according to phase II trial results published by Roland et al in Nature Cancer. Background About 13,000 new cases of soft-tissue...
Plant-based diets may be linked to a lower risk of erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, and other common side effects experienced by patients receiving treatment for prostate cancer, according to a new study published by Loeb et al in Cancer. The findings indicated that nutrition may lead to ...
Sleep apnea may be prevalent among patients who are at higher risk of developing congestive heart failure from cancer therapy, according to new findings presented by Das et al at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Advancing the Cardiovascular Care of the Oncology Patient course. Background...
Physical activity may help lessen the intensity of pain in cancer survivors, according to a recent study published by Swain et al in Cancer. Background Current U.S. guidelines regarding physical activity recommend that individuals receive 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week,...
Low-dose positron-emission mammography (PEM) may provide high sensitivity for detecting breast cancer and significantly reduce the likelihood of false-positive results, according to a recent study published by Freitas et al in Radiology: Imaging Cancer. The innovative breast imaging technique may...
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...
An all-oral regimen for newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) was shown to be “highly effective and safe,” eliminating the need for chemotherapy altogether in many patients, Hong Kong researchers reported at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting &...
Elevated N-terminal pro–brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) levels may be associated with a higher risk of mortality among cancer survivors, according to a recent study published by Cao et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. NT-proBNP—produced in response to the stretching of...
Researchers may have uncovered the factors contributing to hormone therapy resistance in some patients with advanced estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, according to a recent study published by Kingston et al in Cancer Discovery. The findings may indicate drugs currently in development...
Men with high-risk localized prostate cancer had a significant survival benefit when treated with a more intensified regimen of dose-escalated radiation therapy plus long-term androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) vs standard radiation therapy plus ADT, according to long-term follow-up from the...
In a Scandinavian study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tobiasson et al found that individual-patient measurable residual disease (MRD) could be assessed by next-generation sequencing (NGS) and droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) to predict outcomes in patients with...