In a retrospective case series reported in JAMA Network Open, Hashmi et al found that more than one-third of pediatric patients receiving treatment for newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoblastic lymphoma (ALL/LL) developed COVID-19 infection during a recent 2-year period. Study...
In a long-term analysis of the EORTC 10041/BIG 03-04 MINDACT trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Alaeikhanehshir et al found that the 70-gene signature was not independently predictive of locoregional recurrence among women undergoing breast-conserving surgery for early breast...
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...
The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy ciltacabtagene autoleucel may offer benefit in patients with multiple myeloma who experienced disease progression or relapse following initial therapy, according to new findings presented by Hillengass et al at the 2024 Tandem Meetings:...
Under the leadership of preeminent U.S. cancer center directors, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) recently announced the formation of an innovative initiative, the AACR Cancer Centers Alliance. The Alliance will bring together the nation’s cancer centers, with the goal of...
Guest Editor’s Note: The use of mistletoe extract to support systemic therapy and improve quality of life for patients with cancer, though common, remains controversial. Promising results have been reported, but largely in trials that were not placebo-controlled nor properly randomized. In this...
ASCO is deeply saddened by the death of oncology luminary, health equity champion, and ASCO Humanitarian Award honoree Edith P. Mitchell, MD, MACP, FCCP, FRCP (London), on January 21, 2024. At the time of her passing, Dr. Mitchell was Director of the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities,...
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...
Invited discussant Lisa Pickering, PhD, FRCP, Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, considered belzutifan to be a major advance in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). “LITESPARK-005 met both its primary endpoints of progression-free survival and overall response...
Belzutifan is a first-in-class, oral hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α inhibitor, and active HIF-2α is a key oncogenic driver in clear cell renal cancer. The manufacturer has filed a new drug application for the treatment of adults with RCC who experienced disease progression after PD-1/PD-L1– and...
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...
Patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma derived significant benefit from the addition of the monoclonal antibody durvalumab and the angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab to transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), which alone has been a standard of care for 20 years. Investigators of the...
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 ...
Adding the radioligand lutetium-177 dotatate (Lu-177 dotatate) to standard therapy almost tripled the median progression-free survival in patients with untreated, high-grade, gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in the randomized phase III NETTER-2 study, researchers reported at the 2024...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in JAMA Network Open, Bindels et al found no difference in overall pain response rates between stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and conventional external-beam radiotherapy (cEBRT) in terms of relief of pain for patients with painful bone...
In a single-center retrospective study reported as a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Zang et al found that high tumor mutational burden (TMB) was associated with better outcomes of checkpoint inhibition in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Study Details The study...
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...
As reported by Katims et al in JAMA Oncology, long-term follow-up of a single-center phase II study showed benefit with two induction courses of bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) without maintenance in patients with high-risk non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer. The strategy markedly reduced the number ...
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:...
ASCO has released a guideline rapid recommendation update addressing radiotracers used for prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron-emission tomography (PET) diagnostic imaging for selecting patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) to receive...
On January 17, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its rule requiring federal health plans—including Medicare Advantage plans, Medicaid plans, and Qualified Health Plans (QHP) on Federally Facilitated Exchanges (FFEs)—to establish an electronic prior authorization process...
New diagnoses of six major cancer types in the United States fell abruptly in early 2020, coinciding with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to findings from part 2 of the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer.1 The volume of pathology reports also declined sharply...
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 &...
On February 20, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the supplemental biologics license application for teclistamab-cqyv (Tecvayli) for a reduced dosing frequency of 1.5 mg/kg every 2 weeks in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have achieved and maintained a...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Charles E. Geyer Jr, MD, and colleagues, long-term follow-up of the ABC trials (USOR 06-090, NSABP B-46-I/USOR 07132, and NSABP B-49 [NRG Oncology]) showed that noninferiority of adjuvant nonanthracycline therapy was not demonstrated vs...
In a Dutch study (HONEY) reported in JAMA Oncology, van der Molen et al found that patients with breast cancer and late local toxic effects after adjuvant radiotherapy who completed hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) had reductions in pain and fibrosis. However, only a minority of patients offered...
In a Canadian study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Oberoi et al found that adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer were at an increased risk of mental disorders compared with cancer-free matched population-based and sibling cohorts. Study Details The retrospective...
Investigators may have identified colorectal cancer screening programs in Latin America, according to a recent systematic review and meta-analysis published by Montalvan-Sanchez et al in JAMA Network Open. Background Colorectal cancer—the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality...
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...
In patients with resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), perioperative treatment with the checkpoint inhibitor tislelizumab plus platinum-doublet chemotherapy led to a statistically significant benefit in event-free survival and a favorable trend for overall survival, investigators for the...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Alison Jane Birtle, MD, MBBS, MRCP, FRCR, and colleagues, final results of the UK-based phase III POUT trial showed survival benefits with adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy vs surveillance after radical nephroureterectomy in patients with upper...
In a Swedish study reported in JAMA Oncology, Rodriguez et al identified characteristics of interval breast cancers—those diagnosed between two screening examinations—compared with screen-detected cancers on the basis of analysis of rare germline genetic deleterious protein-truncating variants. As...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Stewart et al found that U.S. veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars with moderate/severe or penetrating traumatic brain injury (TBI) were at an increased risk of brain cancer compared to those without TBI. Study Details The study...
Investigators have found that risk-reducing mastectomy decreases the risk of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis and the likelihood of mortality in female patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic variants, according to a recent study published by Metcalfe et al in the British Journal of Cancer....
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 a study reported in JAMA, Wang et al found that individuals with a weight loss of more than 10% during the prior 2 years had a higher risk of cancer diagnosis over the subsequent 12 months vs those with no weight loss. Study Details The retrospective cohort analysis included women aged at least...
On February 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved osimertinib (Tagrisso) with platinum-based chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have EGFR exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R mutations, as detected by an...
On February 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to lifileucel (Amtagvi), a tumor-derived autologous T-cell immunotherapy, for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma who were previously treated with a PD-1 blocking antibody, or, if they have...
Researchers have found that neoadjuvant chemotherapy may be safe and effective in patients with locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Rose et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The findings may help address a critical gap in...
Researchers have found that ablative stereotactic magnetic resonance (MR)-guided adaptive radiation therapy may improve local control and overall survival in patients with borderline resectable and locally advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, according to a recent study published by Chuong et ...
On February 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted traditional approval to the kinase inhibitor tepotinib (Tepmetko) for adult patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) exon 14–skipping alterations. The agent is...
Two experts in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) discussed the findings on the combination of venetoclax plus azacitidine in the treatment of higher-risk MDS with The ASCO Post. David A. Sallman, MD, Assistant Member in the Department of Malignant Hematology, Moffit Cancer Center, Tampa, provided...
For the treatment of high-risk, treatment-naive myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), the regimen of venetoclax plus azacitidine led to high response rates, durable responses, and encouraging overall survival, in a phase Ib study reported at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting...
Prithviraj Bose, MD, Professor in the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, shared his thoughts on MANIFEST-2 and TRANSFORM-1 with The ASCO Post. While both were international phase III trials that showed similar benefits with two different...
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...
A four-drug targeted therapy regimen proved safe and effective as the first-line treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), achieving a 100% response rate after four cycles, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, reported at the 2023 American Society...