Health-related quality of life was preserved during maintenance olaparib in patients with BRCA 1/2-positive pancreatic cancer, as evidenced by a low symptom burden over time.1 POLO investigators reported their findings in posters presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Other...
Christopher M. Booth, MD, the invited discussant of the BEACON CRC quality-of-life findings, applauded the investigators for choosing overall survival and quality of life as endpoints in a trial that benefits a “vulnerable patient population with unmet needs.” Patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic...
For patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer harboring BRAF V600E mutations, the phase III BEACON CRC study showed the benefit for combining two or three targeted agents vs the standard of care.1 With further follow-up, the study has now also shown a benefit for the triplet and ...
Positive findings on the potential benefit of molecularly targeted drugs in patients with advanced colorectal cancer were presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, validating the purpose of ASCO’s Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) study.1-3 TAPUR, the first...
This past January, the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium was held in San Francisco. More than 3,600 individuals attended and more than 900 abstracts and posters were presented. Among the highlights presented at the meeting and reported in the pages of The ASCO Post, several studies in...
An analysis of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Yan et al found that adherence to Children’s Oncology Group (COG) recommended surveillance for second malignant neoplasms and cardiac dysfunction in high-risk childhood cancer survivors is ...
In the Italian phase III TRIBE2 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Cremolini et al found that reintroduction of FOLFOXIRI (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan) plus bevacizumab after progression on upfront treatment with the regimen was associated with improved...
The staff of The ASCO Post recognizes the steady flow of news on the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. Here, we've compiled a list of links to articles and resources on the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have a report you'd like to share, please e-mail it to us at editor@ascopost.com. Direct From ASCO:...
The ASCO Post has reported on the pivotal trials presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in several issues. Featured here are the findings of several additional abstracts worthy of mention. Intermittent Oxaliplatin in Stage II or III Colon Cancer As adjuvant treatment for stage II...
The burden of colorectal cancer is shifting to younger individuals as incidence increases in young adults and declines in older age groups, according to Colorectal Cancer Statistics 2020. The median age of diagnosis dropped from 72 in 2001–2002 to 66 in 2015–2016. This finding and other data were...
The Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer has found that cancer death rates continued to decline from 2001 to 2017 in the United States for all cancer sites combined. The report was published by Hensley et al in the journal Cancer. The annual report is a collaborative effort among the ...
The 5-year survival rate for adolescents and young adults with cancer has significantly improved from 1975 to 2005 in the United States overall, but this was not the case for all types of cancer, according to a report published by Anderson et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. “We ...
According to research published by Andrea Hayes-Jordan, MD, FACS, and colleagues in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, children and young adults with colon cancer are more likely to have shorter overall survival and recurrence-free survival than middle-aged adults. In a...
When the landmark report from the Institute of Medicine, From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition, was published in 2006, there were 10 million cancer survivors in the United States.1 Meant to raise awareness of the medical, functional, and psychosocial consequences of a cancer...
The National Pancreas Foundation has named Rush University Medical Center as a National Center of Excellence for Pancreatic Cancer, a designation given to hospitals that have demonstrated the multidisciplinary approach, social support, and advanced research resources needed to successfully treat...
Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FSCT, FASCO, ASCO’s Chief Medical Officer and a gastrointestinal oncologist himself, was pleased to see the TAPUR study bearing fruit among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. “Colorectal cancer is a very common disease, but we have not made much progress in...
New data presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium are validating the purpose of ASCO’s Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) study, a multibasket trial that matches patients’ genomic alterations to commercially available targeted therapies. The aim is to learn...
Citing the landmark tumor-agnostic approval of pembrolizumab for patients with microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H)/deficient DNA mismatch repair (dMMR) tumors and the approval of nivolumab/ipilimumab in MSI-H/dMMR colorectal cancer, Vamsi Velcheti, MD, and Hossein Borghaei, DO, MS, discuss the...
Over the past week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to a combination therapy in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL); gave Fast Track designations for treatments in T-cell lymphoma and adenoid cystic carcinoma; granted Orphan Drug designation to an agent for the ...
The best approach for surgeons to identify malnourished patients with cancer before they have major oncologic surgery may be specifically related to the type of cancer the patient has, according to researchers who found that common definitions of malnutrition do not apply equally to all cancers in...
In posters presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, POLO investigators reported that health-related quality of life was preserved during maintenance olaparib in patients with BRCA 1/2-positive pancreatic cancer, as evidenced by a low symptom burden over time.1 Other studies...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Petrelli et al, noninferiority in relapse-free survival for 3 vs 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy was not established among patients with resected high-risk stage II colorectal cancer in the Italian phase III TOSCA trial. A potential regimen effect was observed,...
New research suggests that regular exercise may improve the well-being of African American cancer survivors, but most survivors do not meet current recommendations for physical activity. The findings were published by Jennifer Beebe-Dimmer, MPH, PhD, and colleagues in the journal Cancer. Because...
ASCO Answers patient education materials have everything you need to stock your practice for cancer awareness month in March. From comprehensive guides to single-page fact sheets, ASCO Answers is your go-to resource for trusted oncologist-approved patient education. Check out the following popular...
The Prevent Cancer Foundation® has announced the funding of eight new United States–based researchers and four new cancer prevention and early detection projects in low- or middle-income countries. Research grants and fellowships awarded this year will increase cancer prevention and early detection ...
With the motto of “leaving no one behind,” 420 delegates from 40 countries and 61 faculty members from 19 countries attended the Annual Meeting of the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) in Geneva on November 14–16, 2019. SIOG serves as a platform to discuss a myriad of aspects...
A noninvasive, blood-based, cell-free DNA test focused on the presence of DNA methylation appears to be highly sensitive in detecting gastrointestinal cancers and may pinpoint the tissue of origin in the vast majority of these cancers.1 The assay was developed based on findings from the...
We’ll start off by discussing results from the I-SPY 2 trial on the efficacy of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in HER2-negative breast cancer. Then, we’ll move on to a report covering racial disparities in diagnostic and treatment technology as related to outcomes in patients with colorectal...
Hematologist/oncologist Rami K. Daya, MD, will lead a team of cancer experts at New York University (NYU)/Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center’s new multidisciplinary, ambulatory location in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. As Director of Medical Oncology at NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn, he will oversee all...
Positive findings from three Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) study cohorts on the potential benefit of molecularly targeted drugs in patients with advanced colorectal cancer were presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.1-3 The TAPUR study is the first...
Patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer “pose clinical challenges for us every day,” said Christopher M. Booth, MD, Professor of Medical Oncology and the Canada Research Chair in Population Cancer Care at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, the invited discussant of the...
For patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer harboring BRAF V600E mutations, the phase III BEACON-CRC study showed the benefit for combining two or three targeted agents vs the standard of care.1 The study has now also shown a benefit for the triplet and doublet in maintaining ...
In a study published by Frankenfeld et al in Cancer Epidemiology, researchers found racial disparities in how the presence of cancer-related diagnostic and treatment technology is related to colorectal cancer patient outcomes in Georgia. The findings suggest that the hospital capacity and...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Bridgewater et al, the phase III New EPOC trial has shown that the addition of perioperative cetuximab to chemotherapy was associated with significantly poorer overall survival in patients with KRAS wild-type resectable colorectal cancer liver metastases. An...
A report published by Biller et al in Cancer Prevention Research provides new details about a recently discovered condition in which childhood cancer survivors develop numerous colorectal polyps, despite not having a hereditary susceptibility to the condition. The condition—known as...
In a Danish phase II study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Per Pfeiffer, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the addition of bevacizumab to trifluridine/tipiracil, also known as TAS-102, significantly improved progression-free survival among patients with chemorefractory metastatic colorectal...
This week, we’ll be featuring three researchers discussing findings presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium: Dr. Scott Kopetz, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses quality-of-life results from the BEACON CRC trial in BRAF V600E–mutated colorectal cancer;...
The gaming community showed their support to the oncology community by donating proceeds throughout a 10th Anniversary celebration of a week-long, 24-hour, speedrunning marathon. The charity event, Awesome Games Done Quick (AGDQ), concluded on January 12, 2020, raising a total of $3.13 million, the ...
A year-by-year age analysis of colorectal cancer rates among adults in the United States has found a 46% increase in new diagnoses from ages 49 to 50, indicating that many latent cases of the disease are likely going undiagnosed until routine screenings begin at 50, according to a new study by...
Unlike ASCO’s Annual Meeting, symposia, and conferences, which highlight the current scientific advances in specific cancers and how they are improving cancer outcomes for the more than 18.1 million people worldwide diagnosed with cancer each year,1 ASCO Breakthrough: A Global Summit for Oncology...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Aurelien Marabelle, MD, PhD, of Gustave Roussy, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Villejuif, and colleagues, the phase II KEYNOTE-158 trial has shown robust activity of pembrolizumab in patients with noncolorectal high...
The 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium took place last weekend, and this week, we’ll take a deeper dive into findings in pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer. We’ll also review the FDA approval of tazemetostat in epithelioid sarcoma.
In a study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Kerrigan et al found that patient-reported outcomes (PROs), obtained by using the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System–Cancer (PROMIS-Ca) Bank, may be prognostic for outcomes in patients with advanced...
Advanced-stage cancer diagnoses declined following health insurance expansion in Massachusetts, likely due to increased access to screening and diagnostic services that identified cancers earlier, according to new research published by Sabik et al in the journal Medical Care. The analysis...
Thibaud Kössler, MD, PhD, of Geneva University Hospital, discusses the first trial to study the efficacy and safety of anti–PD-1 immunotherapy plus short-course radiotherapy in localized microsatellite-stable rectal cancer. The study explores whether a gene signature can predict sensitivity to...
Eyal Meiri, MD, of the Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southeastern Regional Medical Center, discusses his findings on heavily pretreated patients with colorectal cancer with high tumor mutational burden. Monotherapy with pembrolizumab showed antitumor activity, which merits further study to ...
Franck Pagès, MD, PhD, of the Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, discusses study findings from the prospective IDEA France cohort study of patients with stage III colon cancer treated with mFOLFOX6. The study showed that patients with an intermediate or high Immunoscore seemed to benefit from 6...
Van K. Morris, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the COBRA study, which is examining circulating tumor DNA and its ability to predict whether patients with resected stage IIA colon cancer may benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy (Abstract TPS261).
Heinz-Josef Lenz, MD, of USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses how treating microsatellite instability–high/DNA mismatch repair–deficient metastatic colorectal cancer with nivolumab once every 2 weeks plus low-dose ipilimumab every 6 weeks may represent a new option for patients...
A population-based study investigating the risk of inpatient hospitalizations among adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors compared with their siblings and those in the general population found that the AYA survivors had nearly double the risk of being hospitalized than the matched...