As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Chung et al, the phase II KEYNOTE-158 trial showed activity of pembrolizumab in previously treated programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-positive advanced cervical cancer. The study supported the 2018 accelerated approval of pembrolizumab in this...
ASCO and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) have released an update to existing guidelines for the use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents to manage anemia in patients with cancer. The update was simultaneously published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Blood Advances. “The...
A study by Bauman et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found that patients who kept ice chips in their mouths—what the study authors called “oral cryotherapy”—during oxaliplatin infusions reported less trouble with eating and...
Results of a study published by Stearns et al in JAMA Network Open demonstrated a reduction in health-care utilization and cost for patients cancer-related pain using targeted drug delivery and conventional medical management vs conventional medical management alone. The study found...
In a study reported in JAMA Surgery, Dimitrakopoulos et al found two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in noncoding, functional regions of genes that regulate cancer progression. They were associated with survival after resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. The study involved...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Tolaney et al, 7-year follow-up of the phase II Adjuvant Paclitaxel and Trastuzumab trial showed that adjuvant paclitaxel and trastuzumab were associated with “excellent” outcomes in women with small, node-negative HER2-positive breast...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kurian et al found that approximately one-quarter of women with breast cancer and one-third of those with ovarian cancer underwent cancer genetic testing, and that 8% to 15% of those tested had actionable pathogenic variants. Study Details...
In a single-center phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tchekmedyian et al found that the multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor lenvatinib was active in progressive recurrent or metastatic adenoid cystic carcinoma. Study Details In the study, 32 evaluable patients at...
A new study has found that rising rates of liver cancer deaths in the United States have largely been confined to individuals who have received less education—especially among men. Published by Ma et al in Cancer, the findings emphasize the need for enhanced efforts to address the growing...
Recent research suggests that remotely delivering rehabilitation services to patients with advanced cancer may improve their physical function, pain, and quality of life, while allowing them to spend less time in hospitals and nursing homes. These findings were published by Cheville et al in JAMA...
In a study reported in JAMA Network Open, Warren et al quantified incremental costs of first-line cancer treatment failure attributable to continued smoking in patients with cancer. Study Details The study involved development of a model to identify attributable incremental costs of subsequent...
The newest study of America’s radiation oncologist workforce finds that gender and racial gaps have narrowed slightly, although persistent and growing geographic disparities point to a need for more equity in access to radiation therapy care. The survey found that fewer radiation oncologists...
The latest edition of the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) review on recent cancer prevention and early detection efforts has found that although many strategies have been proven to reduce cancer risk, their application has been suboptimal in the United States, especially in socioeconomically...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Lee et al found that an aerobic and resistance exercise intervention reduced Framingham Risk Scores (FRS) for cardiovascular disease among overweight or obese women with early-stage breast cancer. In the single-center trial, 100 women with stage I to III...
In the phase I/II NRG Oncology/RTOG 0813 study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bezjak et al found that five-fraction stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) was associated with relatively low rates of serious treatment-related toxicity and good outcomes in patients with centrally...
In the phase II QUADRA trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Moore et al found that the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor niraparib was active in fourth- or later-line treatment of ovarian cancer, particularly in patients with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD)-positive,...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to erdafitinib (Balversa) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma with susceptible FGFR3 or FGFR2 genetic alterations that has progressed during or following platinum-containing...
Over the past week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted a Fast Track designation to a treatment for metastatic uveal melanoma and received a biologics application for an agent to control anemia. Fast Track Designation for Tebentafusp in Metastatic Uveal Melanoma The FDA granted...
A newly published Mayo Clinic study has found that a presurgery treatment plan for patients with borderline/locally advanced pancreatic cancer undergoing total neoadjuvant therapy may improve outcomes. The findings were published by Truty et al in Annals of Surgery. The study followed 194...
In the Chinese phase III ESO-Shanghai 1 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chen et al found that paclitaxel plus fluorouracil did not significantly prolong overall survival vs standard cisplatin plus fluorouracil in definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (dCRT) for locally...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bayman et al found that prophylactic radiotherapy to the chest wall after diagnostic or therapeutic procedures did not reduce the risk of chest wall metastases in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma. In the open-label,...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Chua et al found that opioid-related hospitalizations among American patients with cancer are rare, increasing at a very low rate, and consist mostly of hospitalization for nonheroin opioid poisoning. The study analyzed trends and risk...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the first-line treatment of patients with stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are not candidates for surgical resection or definitive chemoradiation, or those with metastatic NSCLC....
Yesterday at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, ASCO announced a new task force aimed at reducing disparities and improving outcomes for patients and survivors of cancer who live in rural communities. The new Rural Cancer Care Task Force will identify opportunities to close the care gap and ...
Maintenance immunotherapy did not improve survival in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), according to late-breaking results from the CheckMate 451 study presented today by Owonikoko et al at the European Lung Cancer Congress 2019 (Abstract LBA1_PR). Around 60% to 70% of...
Two studies reported at the European Lung Cancer Congress (ELCC) 2019 provided new insights on the efficacy and safety of immunotherapy in elderly patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although around half of all people newly diagnosed with NSCLC are elderly (Pallis ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Singer et al found that a quality improvement initiative was successful in increasing a radiation oncology department’s efforts in encouraging patients with cancer to cease tobacco use prior to radiation therapy. As noted by the...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Kim and colleagues found that higher levels of stromal tumor–infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) were associated with better outcomes in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy or trastuzumab plus chemotherapy for early-stage...
In the phase III PHOENIX trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Younes et al found that the addition of ibrutinib to R-CHOP (rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) did not improve outcomes in patients with untreated non–germinal center B-cell...
Carson Leslie was a kind, popular, lively teen who loved sports and spending time with his family and friends. He was a devoted student at The Covenant School of Dallas, where he was quarterback on the school’s football team, and he was an active member of Grace Bible Church. He shared a special...
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION for Cancer Research (AACR) recently recognized Raymond N. DuBois, MD, PhD, FAACR, with the 13th Margaret Foti Award for Leadership and Extraordinary Achievements in Cancer Research during the 2019 AACR Annual Meeting in Atlanta. Dr. DuBois is Dean of the College of...
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION for Cancer Research (AACR) recently honored Charles L. Sawyers, MD, FAACR, with the AACR Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship at the 2019 AACR Annual Meeting in Atlanta. The AACR Princess Takamatsu Memorial Lectureship, now in its 13th year, is awarded to a scientist...
BREAST CANCER SCREENING is no longer “just mammography” but involves a growing list of ever more sophisticated techniques that are improving detection, according to Elizabeth Morris, MD, Professor of Radiology, the Larry Norton Chair, and Chief of the Breast Imaging Service at Memorial Sloan...
THE PEZCOLLER FOUNDATION–AMERICAN ASSOCIATION for Cancer Research (AACR) International Award for Extraordinary Achievement in Cancer Research was recently presented to Alberto Mantovani, MD, Professor of Experimental Medicine and Pathophysiology at Humanitas University in Milan, Italy, at the 2019...
THE DISCUSSANT of the abstract was Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, Cancer Center Deputy Director, Chair of the Department of Gynecologic Oncology, and Executive Director of the Center for Immunotherapy, at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York. He emphasized the large number of...
Biologic age—a DNA-based estimate of a person’s age—may be associated with the development of breast cancer, according a report published by Jacob K. Kresovich, PhD, of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and colleagues in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.1...
In 1996, an excruciating sore throat sent me first to my primary care physician and then to an ear, nose, and throat specialist, after a suspicious mass was found on the right side of my throat. A biopsy determined that the tumor was squamous cell neck cancer, and additional tests of my neck,...
IN HIGH-RISK patients with breast cancer and low expression of HER2 (HER2 low), a peptide vaccine targeting HER2, combined with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and given concurrently with trastuzumab, may help to prevent recurrence. Final analysis of a randomized phase...
GUEST EDITOR Integrative Oncology is guest edited by Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine and Chief of Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to...
The early debate over the social and ethical implications of gene therapy led the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee in 1974. However, the risks of human gene therapies were largely unknown until 1999, when a patient died of a massive immune...
THE EMERGENCE of anticancer agents that block immune checkpoints has transformed the field of oncology, leading to durable responses and improvements in overall survival in melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, head/neck squamous cell carcinoma, urothelial bladder cancer, and non–small cell lung cancer....
Arie S. Belldegrun, MD, FACS (right), receives the Keynote Award before delivering his lecture on “Progress in Cell Therapy: A Three-Decade Personal Journey.” Dr. Belldegrun is Surgical Director of the Genitourinary Oncology Department at the University of California, Los Angeles. The award was...
INITIAL DATA from the ongoing, multicenter, first-in-human, phase Ia/Ib dose-escalation and -expansion study suggest that an anti–T-cell immunoglobulin domain and mucin domain–containing molecule 3 (anti–TIM-3) antibody alone or in combination with immune checkpoint blockade could counter intrinsic ...
THE COMBINATION of lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab has demonstrated antitumor activity in patients with advanced urothelial cancer, including patients receiving later-line treatment. Results of a phase Ib/II trial showed an objective response rate of 25% and a median progression-free survival of 5.4...
NEW AGENTS for the treatment of advanced HER2-positive breast cancer should be coming soon to your clinic, according to Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, Director of the Breast Cancer Clinical Research Program and Associate Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of...
HIS HEAD WAS DIFFERENT from those of the other people in line. He bore a matrix of white rows of circular patches on his shaved scalp like a wig. The patches were electrodes, connected by cords to a power supply in a satchel around his shoulder. I was able to make an instant and unfortunate...
Researchers have identified a new potential immunotherapy target in pancreatic cancer, which so far has been notoriously resistant to treatment with immune checkpoint blockade drugs effective against a variety of other cancers. A research team from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center...
As part of The ASCO Post’s continued coverage of the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here is an update on several studies of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) and cellular therapy, as used in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), acute...
The American Association for the Advancement of Science and Science Translational Medicine announced that Cigall Kadoch, PhD, has been chosen for the 2019 Martin and Rose Wachtel Cancer Research Prize. Dr. Kadoch is Assistant Professor of Pediatric Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute;...
On March 18, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in combination with carboplatin and etoposide for the first-line treatment of adult patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. Approval was based on the IMpower133 study (ClinicalTrials.gov...