On January 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved datopotamab deruxtecan-dlnk (Datroway), a TROP-2–directed antibody and topoisomerase inhibitor conjugate, for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative (IHC 0, IHC1+, or...
On January 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted traditional approval to the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor acalabrutinib (Calquence) with bendamustine and rituximab for adults with previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma who are ineligible for autologous hematopoietic stem...
On January 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the KRAS G12C inhibitor sotorasib (Lumakras) with the monoclonal antibody panitumumab (Vectibix) for adult patients with KRAS G12C–mutated metastatic colorectal cancer, as determined by an FDA-approved test, who have received prior ...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) expressed its gratitude to Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, for her outstanding service to the United States during her 14-month tenure as Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Background Dr. Bertagnolli recently announced that she will...
The risk of having children who experience preterm birth and low birth weight—but not birth defects—may be increased among male adolescents and young adults with cancer, according to a recent study published by Murphy et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Background Prior research...
Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and biopsy may speed up the time to correct treatment among patients with a muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Bryan et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Background Usual tests for muscle-invasive...
Adjuvant treatment with the antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) may improve survival in patients with high-risk HER2-positive breast cancer and residual invasive disease, according to long-term findings from the phase III KATHERINE trial published by Geyer et al in The New...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would make cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products minimally or nonaddictive by limiting the level of nicotine in those products. If the rule is finalized, the United States would be the first...
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the United States, but high recurrence rates persist for patients with early-stage disease. A recent study published by Black et al in Nature Medicine has found that even very low traces of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) may be linked to increased...
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer, excluding skin cancer, diagnosed in men and women in the United States. And despite advances in treatment for the disease, which have led to improved survival rates, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States, with...
The RAD51 biomarker may help to tailor treatment strategies in patients with early breast cancer, according to a recent study published by Villacampa et al in Clinical Cancer Research. Background “A key objective of research focused on early-stage breast cancer is to identify biomarkers that can...
Pediatric patients with cancer who have obesity at the time of diagnosis may face an elevated risk of mortality, according to a recent study published by Sassine et al in Cancer. Study Methods and Results In the retrospective study, investigators examined data from the Cancer in Young People in...
Artificial intelligence (AI) could improve screening for cervical cancer, enhancing accuracy and efficiency, according to a recent review article published by Wu et al in Cancer Biology & Medicine. The report, authored by a team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and...
Omitting axillary surgery may be an option for some patients with early-stage breast cancer, according to a study reported by Reimer et al in The New England Journal of Medicine. Previous studies, such as the SOUND trial, have indicated that avoiding an axillary procedure in patients with small...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) announced that the organization participated in a 2-day meeting at the Middle East North Africa (MENA)–NCCN Regional Coordinating Center. Background The MENA-NCCN Regional Coordinating Center is supported by the Ministry of National Guard Health...
A new study examining the use of high-cost drugs among patients with colorectal cancer and non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) found those insured through Medicare Advantage received less expensive cancer drugs compared to others on traditional Medicare. The findings were published by Bradley et al...
Researchers have demonstrated that a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform could aid physicians and patients in assessing the benefit from a particular therapy being tested in a clinical trial, according to a recent study published by Orcutt et al in Nature Medicine. The AI platform may ...
The ORACLE test may be capable of predicting lung cancer survival at the point of diagnosis more effectively than currently used clinical risk factors, according to a recent study published by Biswas et al in Nature Cancer. The findings could help physicians make more informed treatment decisions...
Adjuvant tamoxifen was associated with a reduced risk of 15-year ipsilateral breast cancer recurrence as well as invasive ipsilateral breast cancer recurrence in patients with “good-risk” ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who omitted radiation therapy after breast-conserving surgery, according to a...
In a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Heinzerling et al found that primary lung tumor stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) followed by concurrent mediastinal chemoradiotherapy (with or without adjuvant immunotherapy) was associated with activity in patients with locally advanced...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Filho et al, 12-year follow-up of the CALBG (Alliance) C9741 trial has shown a sustained advantage of adjuvant dose-dense vs conventional chemotherapy in disease-free and overall survival in patients with node-positive breast cancer. Study Details...
A recent study published in Health Data Science, conducted by Fengyu Wen, PhD, MPH, of the Institute of Medical Technology at Peking University Health Science Center; Luxia Zhang, MD, MPH, of the National Institute of Health Data Science at Peking University; and colleagues, revealed significant...
Researchers may have advanced the understanding of genetic alterations in the BRCA2 gene, according to a recent study published by Huang et al in Nature. The findings could improve the accuracy of genetic testing and allow health-care professionals to offer more precise risk assessments and...
A team of scientists from the United Kingdom and the United States has discovered that the activity of macrophages may prove to be useful in predicting whether or not a patient with melanoma will respond to immunotherapy. Their findings, published in JCO Oncology Advances, may help clinicians to...
For women with high-risk, BRCA-positive breast cancer, 1 year of adjuvant treatment with the PARP inhibitor olaparib following primary treatment continued to improve overall survival compared with placebo, according to the third interim analysis of the phase III OlympiA trial presented at the 2024...
Belinda Avalos, MD, Professor of Medicine and a senior advisor to the President of Atrium Health Levine Cancer, will serve as president of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) for a year-long term through December 2025. Overview Dr. Avalos is a physician-scientist with a special clinical...
Regular physical activity prior to a cancer diagnosis may be linked to a lower risk of disease progression and mortality, according to a recent study published by Mabena et al in British Journal of Sports Medicine. The findings revealed that even relatively low levels of physical activity may be...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Scambia et al, the final overall survival results of the phase III SOLO3 trial showed similar outcomes with olaparib vs non–platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with platinum-sensitive BRCA-mutated relapsed ovarian cancer. In the initial report...
Addition of the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib to the current standard of care for first-line maintenance therapy after induction chemotherapy achieved statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in progression-free survival in patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive,...
In a single-institution phase II trial (CAPFISH-3) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Aronson et al found that men with prostate cancer on active surveillance had a significantly reduced Ki67 index on a high omega-3, low omega-6 fatty acid diet with fish oil capsules vs no dietary...
The drug glucarpidase could serve as an antidote to kidney toxicity in patients receiving the chemotherapy agent methotrexate, according to a recent study published by Gupta et al in Blood. Background As a result of its ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier, methotrexate is one of the most...
Patients with early-onset breast cancer (aged 40 or younger at diagnosis) who have BRCA1 and/or BRCA2 pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants had improved overall survival by undergoing risk-reducing surgeries, including bilateral mastectomy and/or salpingo-oophorectomy, according to data...
Treatment with psilocybin may improve mental health issues among patients with cancer when accompanied by psychotherapy and could result in lasting, positive personality changes in patients with alcohol use disorder, according to two recent studies published by Petridis et al in Nature Mental...
Researchers have found that many cases of high-risk nonmetastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer may be more advanced than previously thought, according to a recent study published by Holzgreve et al in JAMA Network Open. Background Prostate-specific membrane antigen–positron-emission tomography ...
A recent study by Demehri et al of Mass General Brigham investigates whether calcipotriol—a vitamin D analog—plus fluorouracil may prevent squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), with benefits lasting 5 years after treatment. This combination therapy is the first to activate specific components of the...
According to research reported at the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, a link seems to exist between hematologic malignancies and dietary components. The speakers said their studies may ultimately lead to dietary interventions that could alter the course of ...
On December 27, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved nivolumab and hyaluronidase-nvhy (Opdivo Qvantig) for subcutaneous injection across approved adult, solid tumor nivolumab indications as monotherapy, monotherapy maintenance following completion of nivolumab plus ipilimumab...
A primary analysis of ZUMA-2, reported at the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, demonstrated durable responses to brexucabtagene autoleucel in patients with Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor–naive mantle cell lymphoma. The findings from cohort 3 of...
This is Part 3 of Personalizing Therapy for Myelofibrosis, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Andrew Kuykendall, Anthony Hunter, and Stephen Oh discuss the management of a transfusion-dependent patient with...
This is Part 2 of Personalizing Therapy for Myelofibrosis, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Andrew Kuykendall, Anthony Hunter, and Stephen Oh discuss the management of a patient with myelofibrosis who develops...
This is Part 1 of Personalizing Therapy for Myelofibrosis, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Andrew Kuykendall, Anthony Hunter, and Stephen Oh discuss the first-line treatment of a newly diagnosed patient with...
First responders who worked at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City were three times more likely to have genetic changes associated with an increased risk of leukemia compared with other first responders or members of the public who were not...
Researchers have examined whether a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-first approach is safe for prostate cancer detection over the long term, according to a recent study published by Hamm et al in JAMA Oncology. Background Several strategies may be deployed for the early detection of prostate...
The addition of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) to systemic therapy with sorafenib may improve progression-free survival and time-to-progression in patients with locally advanced hepatocellular carcinoma compared with sorafenib alone, according to a novel study published by Dawson et al in...
At the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition (Abstract 883), Alexey Danilov, MD, PhD, of the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California, reported that single-agent epcoritamab led...
Researchers have received a $3.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to examine the impact of social networks on the decision-making process among older patients with cancer. Background Many individuals have social networks, which includes those who offer a connection and have similar...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved remestemcel-L-rknd (Ryoncil), an allogeneic bone marrow–derived mesenchymal stromal cell therapy for steroid-refractory acute graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) in pediatric patients 2 months of age and older. The application received Orphan...
ASCO announced the election of Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD, MHCM, FASCO, to lead as its President beginning in June 2026, as well as an additional six ASCO members to serve on its Board of Directors and Nominating Committee. 2026–2027 ASCO President-Elect Dr. Mittendorf, a long-time ASCO...
In the IDENTIFY study, reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Turriff et al found a high incidence of maternal occult cancer associated with unusual or nonreportable prenatal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) findings in fetal aneuploidy screening. Study Details In the ongoing study, performed at the ...
On December 18, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor ensartinib (Ensacove) for adults with ALK-positive locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have not previously received an ALK inhibitor. For full...