ASCO and Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, will recognize researchers, patient advocates, philanthropists, teachers, and global oncology leaders who have reshaped cancer care around the world with the Society’s highest honors at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting. The 2024 Special Award Recipients...
Investigators have found that combining a prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density test may help diagnose clinically significant prostate cancer and avoid unnecessary biopsies, according to a recent systematic review and meta-analysis published...
In the phase II acelERA BC trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Miguel Martín, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the selective estrogen receptor (ER) antagonist and degrader giredestrant did not significantly improve progression-free survival vs physician’s choice of endocrine...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Leonard J. Appleman, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase II ECOG-ACRIN E2810 trial showed no significant improvement in disease-free survival with pazopanib vs placebo in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma with no evidence of disease...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Egbert F. Smit, MD, and colleagues, primary analysis in the HER2-overexpressing unresectable or metastatic non–small cell cancer (NSCLC) cohorts of the phase II DESTINY-Lung01 trial show activity of fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) in this setting. Prior ...
There is much debate about the necessity of treating women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with surgery or radiotherapy.1,2 It is disconcerting to many that patients with DCIS are treated in the same way as are women with early-stage invasive breast cancer. Many patients with DCIS have...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Sorin et al found that neoadjuvant chemoimmunotherapy was associated with better outcomes than neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Study Details A search of published studies reported...
Prolonged use of selected progestogen agents may be associated with an increased risk of developing intracranial meningioma, according to a recent study published by Roland et al in the BMJ. Background Progestogens are similar to the natural hormone progesterone, which are widely used in menopausal ...
Nearly 21,000 new cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are diagnosed each year in the United States, about 80% of which occur in individuals aged 60 years and older. The cancer has the highest mortality rate among the different types of leukemia, and, in 2024, it is predicted that about 11,220...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Domenica Lorusso, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III ENGOT-cx11/GOG-3047/KEYNOTE-A18 trial has shown that the addition of pembrolizumab to chemoradiotherapy improved progression-free survival in patients with newly diagnosed, high-risk, locally advanced...
On March 6, 2024, inotuzumab ozogamicin (Besponsa) was approved for pediatric patients aged 1 year or older with relapsed or refractory CD22-positive B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the ITCC-059 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov...
On March 1, 2024, amivantamab-vmjw (Rybrevant) was approved for use with carboplatin and pemetrexed for first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations, as detected by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved...
On December 13, 2023, eflornithine (Iwilfin), an ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor, was approved for adult and pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma with at least a partial response to prior multiagent, multimodality therapy including anti-GD2 immunotherapy. This represents the first U.S. ...
On December 14, 2023, the hypoxia-inducible factor inhibitor belzutifan (Welireg) was approved for patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma with disease progression on previous treatment with a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor and a vascular endothelial...
On January 12, 2024, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was approved for use with chemoradiotherapy for treatment of patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) 2014 stage III–IVA cervical cancer.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the double-blind...
In an analysis of two trials (SCOT and IDEA-HORG) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Domingo et al identified the predictive value of Immunoscore for disease-free survival in patients with stage III colorectal cancer treated with adjuvant mFOLFOX6 (modified fluorouracil, leucovorin, and...
In a report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Francois-Xavier Mahon, MD, PhD, and colleagues provided the final analysis of the European Stop Kinase Inhibitors (EURO-SKI) study. The trial evaluated the effect of stopping tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment in patients with chronic myeloid...
Statistically significant and clinically meaningful overall survival results from Part 1 and progression-free survival results from Part 2 of the RUBY/ENGOT-EN6/GOG3031/NSGO phase III trial in adult patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer were presented in a late-breaking...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Dennis Slamon, MD, PhD, and colleagues, interim analysis of the phase III NATALEE trial has shown improved invasive disease–free survival with the addition of adjuvant ribociclib to a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor (NSAI) in patients with...
On March 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx (Elahere) for adult patients with folate receptor–alpha (FRα)-positive, platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, who have received one to three prior systemic ...
About 8 years ago, I was just a few years into menopause when I noticed blood in my urine. It wasn’t accompanied by pain, frequent urination, or any other troubling symptoms, so initially I wasn’t too concerned. But when I started passing pieces of tissue, I became alarmed and made an appointment...
Guest Editor’s Note: Psychological distress is highly prevalent in cancer populations throughout the disease trajectory. Integrative modalities are being increasingly used for managing the associated symptoms. In this article, Joke Bradt, PhD, MT-BC, summarizes the latest joint guideline published ...
On October 13, 2023, nivolumab was approved for adjuvant treatment of completely resected stage IIB/C melanoma in patients aged 12 years and older.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the double-blind CheckMate 76K trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04099251), in which...
On February 16, 2024, lifileucel (Amtagvi), a tumor-derived autologous T-cell immunotherapy, was granted accelerated approval for adults with unresectable or metastatic melanoma previously treated with a PD-1–blocking antibody, and if BRAF V600 mutation–positive, a BRAF inhibitor with or without a...
Although more than 85% of childhood cancer survivors will achieve a 5-year survival,1 that does not tell the whole tale for these individuals who move into adulthood. They are at excess risk of late mortality, even 40 years out from a cancer diagnosis, from non–cancer-related causes,1 and related...
On December 15, 2023, enfortumab vedotin-ejfv (Padcev) in combination with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was approved for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the open-label EV-302 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov...
On January 19, 2024, erdafitinib (Balversa) was approved for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma with susceptible FGFR3 genetic alterations, as determined by a U.S. Food & Drug Administration–approved companion diagnostic test, whose disease has progressed on or...
In Kathy Giusti’s empowering and deeply personal book Fatal to Fearless: 12 Steps to Beating Cancer in a Broken Medical System (HarperCollins, 2024), she details the shock of being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, in 1996, at the age of 37. Told she had 3 years to live, the book recounts how Ms....
In 1996, at the age of 37, Kathy Giusti was diagnosed with the incurable blood cancer multiple myeloma and told she had about 3 years to live. In the mid-1990s, effective therapies for this second most common blood cancer were nearly nonexistent. Standard of care for myeloma consisted of oral...
In patients with resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), perioperative treatment involving the checkpoint inhibitor tislelizumab led to a statistically significant benefit in event-free survival and a favorable trend for overall survival, investigators for the phase III RATIONALE-315 trial...
In the phase III MORPHO trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mark J. Levis, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the FLT3 inhibitor gilteritinib showed activity as post–allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) maintenance among patients with FLT3-ITD–mutated acute myeloid...
Taking part in an exercise program may improve pain, fatigue, and quality of life in patients with metastatic breast cancer, according to recent findings presented by Hiensch et al at the 2024 European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC; Abstract 1). Background “Although there’s been quite a lot of...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Kater et al, the phase IIIb VENICE-1 trial has shown activity of venetoclax monotherapy in adult patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia, including those with prior B-cell receptor–associated kinase (BCR) inhibitor treatment. Study...
The combination of the small molecule inhibitor of VEGFR fruquintinib and the chemotherapy paclitaxel presents a potential new second-line treatment of patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, according to data presented during the ASCO Plenary Series: February...
ASCO has released a new guideline on the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer in resource-constrained settings, where maximal setting–recommended treatments are not available.1 The guideline, designed for clinicians, policymakers, and patients, provides stratified recommendations...
On February 13, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved liposomal irinotecan (Onivyde) for use with oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin in the first-line treatment of metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on the open-label NAPOLI 3...
The optimal management of high-risk prostate cancer remains a topic of ongoing investigation. The quest for therapy that maximizes cancer control while minimizing toxicity is constant. Over the past decade, there has been mounting evidence that the addition of a brachytherapy boost to external-beam ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kwak et al found that prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels ≥ 0.1 ng/mL within 6 months after completion of radiotherapy were prognostic for poorer outcomes in patients with localized prostate cancer who did or did not also receive...
Adjuvant use of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab achieved a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in disease-free survival in patients with high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma vs observation after surgical resection, according to an interim analysis of the phase ...
“The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade….” —Sir William Osler Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) accounts for approximately 5% to 7% of all lymphomas; the median age of patients with MCL is between 60 and 70 years. This lymphoma is generally considered incurable. Median survival in retrospective...
With a 5-year overall survival of close to 90% in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), there have been large treatment shifts over the past decade in this disease, which now includes “more disciplines than it did before,” commented medical oncologist Danielle Shafer, DO, of Inova Schar Cancer...
The combination of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor cabozantinib (multiple targets, including MET, AXL, VEGFR2, RET, and FLT ) plus the monoclonal antibody atezolizumab achieved statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival compared with second-line novel hormonal therapy in...
On November 15, 2023, repotrectinib (Augtyro) was approved for locally advanced or metastatic ROS1 fusion–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).1 This is the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval that includes patients with ROS1-positive NSCLC who have previously received a ROS1...
On February 16, 2024, osimertinib (Tagrisso) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administraton (FDA) with pemetrexed and platinum-based chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with tumors having EGFR exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R...
Managing patients with lung cancer in the current era of an increasing array of systemic treatments has become a complex balancing act of trying to improve outcomes and survival from a cancer perspective while taking the necessary treatment and monitoring steps for cardioprotection. With few...
On March 19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the multitarget kinase inhibitor (Iclusig) with chemotherapy for adult patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome–positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). PhALLCON Efficacy was evaluated in...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Jason J. Luke, MD, FACP, and colleagues, the final prespecified analysis of distant metastasis–free survival in the phase III KEYNOTE-716 trial showed continued benefit with adjuvant pembrolizumab vs placebo in patients with resected stage IIB or...
Marcin R. Dzienis, MBBS, of Australia’s Gold Coast University Hospital, discusses the final analysis of KEYNOTE-B10, a phase IV study in which patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) received a first-line combination regimen of pembrolizumab plus...
In an analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Daniel E. Spratt, MD, and colleagues found that treatment with relugolix was associated with rapid achievement of sustained castration in patients with localized or advanced prostate cancer who were also receiving radiotherapy. Study Details The analysis...
The artificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbot ChatGPT version 3.4 may correctly answer a majority of the common genetic counseling questions related to gynecologic oncology, according to new findings presented by Patel et al at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 2024 Annual Meeting on...