Ensuring that people with cancer understand how cancer treatment could affect their fertility and what options are available for preserving fertility were widely recognized as top priorities by attendees of the 2016 Oncofertility Conference in Chicago. As detailed at the conference, means of...
“One of the most challenging oncologic situations that I face as a clinician is the diagnosis of breast cancer in a young pregnant patient,” Jacqueline Jeruss, MD, PhD, Director of the Breast Care Center at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, told the more than 250...
An antiretroviral drug that is used for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) demonstrated strong activity when combined with bortezomib (Velcade) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma in a small multicenter phase II study presented at the 2016 American Society of Hematology (ASH)...
Response rates of 90% to 100% were achieved in early studies evaluating the combination of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) and nivolumab (Opdivo) in relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma. The findings were presented at the 2016 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting &...
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy continues to have impressive showings in patients with aggressive hematologic malignancies and no other good treatment options. Interim results of the pivotal phase II ZUMA-1 trial, the first multicenter trial of the experimental CAR T-cell therapy...
The ASCO Post asked Philip McCarthy, MD, Professor of Oncology and Internal Medicine at Roswell Park Cancer, Buffalo, and Director of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Center there, to comment on these study findings. He first addressed the need to study earlier intervention for smoldering ...
High-risk patients with smoldering multiple myeloma responded to a regimen of elotuzumab (Empliciti), lenalidomide (Revlimid), and dexamethasone, in a multicenter phase II study led by Irene Ghobrial, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston.1 “The high response rates among this patient...
Each year, The ASCO Post asks Jame Abraham, MD, Director of the Breast Oncology Program at Taussig Cancer Institute and Co-Director of the Cleveland Clinic Comprehensive Breast Cancer Program, to give his picks for the most important research presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium....
Results of the ONO-4538-12 trial demonstrated that nivolumab (Opdivo) significantly reduced the risk of death by 37% (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.63; P < .0001) in patients with previously treated advanced gastric cancer refractory to or intolerant of standard therapy, a condition without current ...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Kerlikowske et al identified risk factors for estrogen receptor–positive and –negative breast cancer using data from the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium. The analysis included 1,279,443 women, aged 35 to 74...
The antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan (IMMU-132) produced high objective response rates, many of them quite durable, in a multicenter study of heavily pretreated patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, presented at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.1 Trop-2 is ...
In a phase III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Hickish et al found that treatment with MABp1, an antibody that targets interleukin 1α and exhibits antitumor activity, was associated with improvement in the composite outcome of stabilizing/improving lean body mass and debilitating...
For patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), osimertinib (Tagrisso) demonstrated clinically superior efficacy over pemetrexed (Alimta) plus a platinum agent, with a 70% reduction in the risk of disease progression, according to the...
We know from chaos theory that even if you had a perfect model of the world, you’d need infinite precision in order to predict future events. —Nassim Nicholas Taleb The term “precision oncology” is used to describe diverse strategies in cancer medicine ranging from the use of targeted therapies...
Precision medicine has advanced to the point where it can now impact the care of a majority of children with brain tumors, a new study by investigators at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center suggests. In the largest clinical study to date of genetic abnormalities in...
Lenalidomide (Revlimid), a cornerstone of therapy for multiple myeloma in the modern era, is making headway as maintenance therapy in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Separate phase III studies presented at the 2016 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition showed...
In a phase Ib study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Seymour et al found that the combination of the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax (Venclexta) and the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab (Rituxan) was highly active in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia...
In a phase III trial (NETTER-1) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Strosberg et al found that the addition of the targeted radiotherapeutic agent lutetium Lu-177 dotatate to octreotide long-acting repeatable (LAR) (Sandostatin LAR) significantly improved progression-free...
Scientists have been able to validate the recently proposed five-tiered system of Gleason grade grouping using population-based data. The study, led by Grace Lu-Yao, PhD, MPH, Associate Director for Population Science at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University and Vice...
Phase I clinical trial data published by Moulder-Thompson et al in Clinical Cancer Research reported that the investigational anticancer agent tucatinib (formerly ONT-380) showed 'notable activity' in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer with . The 50 women treated had disease...
As reported by Plimack et al in The Lancet Oncology, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) has shown activity in patients in the locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma cohort included in the phase Ib KEYNOTE-012 trial. Study Details In the study, 33 patients with locally advanced or metastatic...
Real-world data from a large observational study suggests that omitting surgery in strictly selected patients with a clinical complete response does not compromise outcomes in rectal cancer. The 3-year survival rate among patients who received “watch-and-wait” care after initial cancer...
A new analysis of the CALGB 80405 (Alliance) trial suggests that people with metastatic colorectal cancer who are more physically active fare better than those who are less active. In a large clinical trial, patients who at the time of starting chemotherapy reported engaging in physical activity...
Findings from a federally funded clinical trial—CALGB 80803 (Alliance)—point to a new way to improve the outlook for patients with esophageal cancer: using positron-emission tomography (PET) scans to assess tumor response to initial chemotherapy may allow doctors to tailor further...
In a phase II trial (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group–American College of Radiology Imaging Network Cancer Research Group E3205) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Garg et al found that the addition of cetuximab (Erbitux) to definitive chemoradiotherapy appeared to reduce the...
Moore et al found that mirvetuximab soravtansine (also known as IMGN853)—an antibody-drug conjugate targeting folate receptor alpha (FRα)—is active in FRα-positive platinum-resistant ovarian cancer, according to a phase I expansion cohort study reported in the Journal of...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gibson et al found that clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential at the time of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in patients with lymphoma was associated with an increased risk of poorer outcomes. Study Details In the...
A team of University of South Carolina scientists led by Carolyn Banister, PhD, and Phillip Buckhaults, PhD, identified a new subtype of cervical cancer that, like most cervical cancers, is triggered by human papillomavirus (HPV), but whose growth is not directed by the virus, suggesting that...
As some national guidelines now recommend against routine prostate cancer screening, the overall rate of men receiving treatment for the disease declined 42% between 2007 and 2012, a new study published by Borza et al in Health Affairs found. The decline reflects efforts to decrease overdiagnosis...
On January 9, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) and granted Priority Review for atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who are ineligible for cisplatin...
The final results of the international phase III ORCHARD study, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by van Imhoff et al, showed no difference in progression-free survival with the addition of ofatumumab (Arzerra) vs rituximab (Rituxan) to cisplatin, cytarabine, and dexamethasone (O-DHAP vs ...
In the phase III SWOG S0777 trial reported in The Lancet, Durie et al found that adding bortezomib (Velcade) to lenalidomide (Revlimid)/dexamethasone improved progression-free and overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed myeloma who were not planned for immediate autologous stem cell...
Depending on the type of treatment older patients with lung cancer receive, they can spend an average of 1 in 3 days interacting with the health-care system in the first 60 days after surgery or radiation therapy, according to a study by Yale researchers. These findings were published by Presley in ...
In an analysis in the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group (ACOSOG) Z1031 Trial/Alliance reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ellis et al found that switching to chemotherapy in patients with elevated Ki67 levels after 2 to 4 weeks of neoadjuvant aromatase inhibitor therapy resulted ...
A large international survey on sun exposure behaviors and skin cancer detection found there are many imperfections and geographic disparities in primary and secondary prevention of skin cancer. This information could help inform future awareness campaigns developed to address the global need to...
New research from the University of Wisconsin (UW) Carbone Cancer Center has clarified the mechanisms involved in a common growth pathway implicated in many solid tumor types and could lead to better outcomes for patients with head and neck, lung, and triple-negative breast cancer,...
Findings from the National Institutes of Health Pediatric and Wildtype Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GISTs) Clinic, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Weldon et al, indicate that more extensive or serial resections are not associated with improvement in event-free survival in...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Temel et al found that early integration of palliative care resulted in better quality of life and reduced depression in patients with newly diagnosed incurable lung or noncolorectal gastrointestinal cancer. Outcomes differed by cancer type. ...
Mutations that have been linked to endometrial cancer can be found in the uterine lavage fluid of pre- and postmenopausal women both with and without detectable cancer, according to a study published by Nair et al in PLOS Medicine. “Today, there are no effective screening methods for...
On January 4, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review status for the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for regorafenib (Stivarga) tablets for the second-line systemic treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in the United States. “Liver cancer is ...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Pearlman et al found that 16% of patients with early-onset colorectal cancer had germline cancer susceptibility mutations, with a wide array of such mutations being identified. The study involved 450 patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer at age < 50...
In a new study published by Jagsi et al in JAMA Surgery, nearly half of patients with early-stage breast cancer considered having double mastectomy, and one in six received it—including many who were at low risk of developing a second breast cancer. Many patients who chose double...
Despite many successes in treating pediatric cancer, young children remain at high risk for developing severe, long-lasting impairments in their brain, heart, and other vital organs from chemotherapy and radiation treatments. In adults, however, these tissues are relatively spared. This disparity, ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gray et al found that most people receiving cancer-related data through direct-to-consumer personal genomic testing tended not to change health or screening behaviors when an elevated risk was identified. The study involved baseline and...
In a phase III METLung trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Spigel et al found that adding the MET inhibitor onartuzumab to erlotinib (Tarceva) was of no benefit in patients with MET-positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had progressed after platinum-based...
Maintenance olaparib (Lynparza) appeared to be associated with an overall survival benefit vs placebo in women with platinum-sensitive serous ovarian cancer and BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations, according to an updated analysis of a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology by Jonathan A. Ledermann,...
A large population-based observational study by Xabier García-Albéniz, MD, PhD, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues evaluating the effectiveness and safety of screening colonoscopy for the prevention of colorectal cancer in people aged 70 to 74 and 75 to 79 has found...
In a phase II Canadian Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium Study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lassaletta et al found that vinblastine monotherapy was associated with response or stable disease in most children with chemotherapy-naive low-grade glioma. Vinblastine monotherapy has shown ...
Twenty-five years ago, I was a physically fit woman of 45 in training to run a marathon, which had been a lifelong goal. I was feeling fine and had no hint of the illness that would nearly take my life and has forever changed it. While ramping up to go the 26.2-mile distance, I decided to have a...
A study finding that there is no clear cutoff age to stop breast cancer screening has received national coverage in newspapers and CNN as well as in health and medical publications. “I am glad this is catching fire, because it really needs to be out there,” Cindy S. Lee, MD, the study’s lead...