Results of the phase III randomized KEYNOTE-355 trial showed that the addition of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab to investigator’s choice of first-line chemotherapy improved progression-free and overall survival in women with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer compared with placebo and...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, of Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, and colleagues found that the addition of the PARP inhibitor veliparib to platinum-based chemotherapy did not improve overall survival in...
In an analysis of the phase III BELINDA trial presented by Bishop et al during the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition (Abstract LBA-6), the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel was not found to improve event-free survival over the...
In the primary analysis of the phase III ZUMA-7 trial, the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy axicabtagene ciloleucel led to a fourfold increase in event-free survival over the standard of care in the second-line treatment of relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma, according to...
For the first-line treatment of newly diagnosed, transplant-eligible patients with multiple myeloma, the achievement of measurable residual disease (MRD) negativity was significantly greater when the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody isatuximab was added to the standard three-drug induction regimen of...
In the phase III AGILE trial, the combination of ivosidenib and azacitidine was found to be superior in treating newly diagnosed patients with IDH1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) compared to azacitidine alone in terms of event-free survival, the study’s primary endpoint. The combination also...
In one of the largest studies to date of the antibody response to vaccination against COVID-19 in people who had been treated for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), patients responded well to two doses of the Moderna mRNA vaccine and saw a pronounced increase in levels ...
The bispecific antibody mosunetuzumab achieved deep and durable remissions as monotherapy in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma who had received two or more prior lines of therapy, according to pivotal results of a phase I/II trial presented at the 2021 American Society of...
The text and photograph here are excerpted from a four-volume series of books titled Oncology: Tumors & Treatment, A Photographic History, The Anesthesia Era 1845–1875 by Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS, and Elizabeth A. Burns. The photograph appears courtesy of Stanley B. Burns, MD, and The Burns...
Our goal with this review of the pivotal years of oncology in Europe is to acknowledge the tremendous contributions of the early leaders in the field and to help young investigators learn from the past to better cope with the inevitable challenges of today and tomorrow. “On ne connaît pas...
Among patients with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer treated with an aromatase inhibitor plus palbociclib, those who displayed a rising ESR1 mutation detected in their blood before disease progression doubled their median progression-free survival following a switch to fulvestrant plus...
Among previously treated patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, those who received pyrotinib plus capecitabine had longer overall survival than those who received lapatinib plus capecitabine, according to updated results from the phase III PHOEBE trial presented by Binghe Xu, MD,...
In the treatment of patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, neither cancer outcomes nor measurable quality of life have yet been shown to differ between surgery- and radiotherapy-based approaches, according to Sue S. Yom, MD, PhD, FASTRO, Professor of ...
“Immunotherapy is now the standard of care in the recurrent metastatic setting,” said Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP, Director of Head and Neck Oncology at Emory University and a specialist in immunotherapy for head and neck cancer. “However, we’re still struggling with the question of which immunotherapy ...
The management of recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck cancer is complex. Historically, patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck with local or regional recurrence were considered for salvage surgery or reirradiation (in high-volume centers or centers of expertise), with an...
Advances intreating breast cancer “increasingly create opportunities to consider where radiation therapy might safely be omitted,” Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, told participants at the 2021 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.1 “But, I would encourage us,” she continued, “not to assume that women who...
The investigational oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) elacestrant significantly decreased the risk of death or disease progression and increased progression-free survival compared with standard-of-care endocrine monotherapy in the second- or third-line setting for postmenopausal...
The investigational oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) elacestrant significantly decreased the risk of death or disease progression and increased progression-free survival compared with standard-of-care endocrine therapy for postmenopausal patients with estrogen receptor...
A next-generation technology that allows the study of protein expression at the single-cell level and the location of the cells within the tumor microenvironment was feasible and provided information on the benefit of adding the immune checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab to chemotherapy as...
Black women had a 3.85-fold increased risk of developing lymphedema following treatment for breast cancer compared to White women, according to the results from a study by Barrio et al being presented at the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract GS4-01). In addition, the researchers...
Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Co-Director of the Comprehensive Breast Cancer Center, commented on the KEYNOTE-355 final analysis1 for The ASCO Post. “We now have a drug with full approval of the U.S. Food and Drug...
The final overall survival results from the KEYNOTE-355 study showed a statistically significant 27% reduction in the risk of death for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer whose tumors were strongly positive for PD-L1, defined as a combined positive score (CPS) of at least 10 and ...
On December 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the adjuvant treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older with stage IIB or IIC melanoma following complete resection. KEYNOTE-716 Efficacy was evaluated in KEYNOTE-716, a...
Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment of metastatic melanoma, but a significant number of patients still fail to respond to anti–PD-1 therapy. The novel combination of sotigalimab, an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody, and the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab could help address this...
A novel vaccine platform administered in combination with pembrolizumab appears to be safe and effective in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), according to data presented by Mark Yarchoan, MD, and colleagues at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2021 Annual Meeting...
On December 2, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved rituximab (Rituxan) in combination with chemotherapy for pediatric patients (≥ 6 months to < 18 years old) with previously untreated, advanced-stage, CD20-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), Burkitt lymphoma,...
Advances in treating breast cancer “increasingly create opportunities to consider where radiation therapy might safely be omitted,” Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, told participants at the 2021 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.1 “But, I would encourage us,” she continued, “not to assume that women who...
In the treatment of patients with advanced melanoma containing BRAF mutations, initial treatment with an immunotherapy combination achieved superior overall survival compared with targeted therapy in the phase III DREAMseq trial, also known as the ECOG-ACRIN EA6134 trial. The results were reported ...
The addition of the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemoradiation has failed to overcome the immunosuppressive microenvironment of pancreatic cancer, according to data presented by Osama E. Rahma, MD, and colleagues at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2021 Annual...
The addition of the LAG-3 protein eftilagimod alpha to paclitaxel led to a significant improvement in overall survival in younger patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, according to data presented by Hans Wildiers, MD, and colleagues at the Society for ...
On November 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved daratumumab and hyaluronidase-fihj (Darzalex Faspro) in combination with carfilzomib (Kyprolis) plus dexamethasone for adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received one to three prior lines of...
In the phase II coopERA Breast Cancer trial, which evaluated two endocrine neoadjuvant therapies in estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer, the oral selective estrogen receptor degrader giredestrant led to a greater reduction in Ki67 level—a measure of cancer cell...
Bortezomib, thalidomide, and dexamethasone (VTd) is an acceptable, effective standard-of-care induction treatment in Europe for patients with newly diagnosed myeloma who are eligible for autologous stem cell transplantation. CASSIOPEIA is a two-part, open-label, randomized, phase III trial in...
Renal cell carcinoma is a common malignancy among men and women in the United States.1 The incidence continues to increase with the ever-increasing use of contemporary medical imaging. Although many patients who present with localized disease are cured with definitive surgery, some patients develop ...
“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” —Mark Twain To complement The ASCO Post’s extensive coverage of the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on novel treatments under study in high-risk multiple myeloma. For...
During an International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) press briefing, Paul Wheatley-Price, MRCP, commented as the patient advocate on the panel. Dr. Wheatley-Price is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, lung cancer disease site lead at Ottawa Hospital...
Low-dose lung cancer screening by computed tomography (CT) is associated with a 16% relative reduction in lung cancer mortality over no lung cancer screening of high-risk individuals, based on a meta-analysis conducted by investigators with the United Kingdom Lung Cancer Screening (UKLS) trial.1...
Updated results from the phase III CheckMate 743 trial support the durable and superior benefits of immunotherapy with nivolumab plus ipilimumab over chemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma.1 In the most recent updated analysis of the...
The ASCO Post has published a wealth of practice-changing studies and news about other advances presented during the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2021. In addition to the biggest news from this international meeting, here are several summaries of interesting study findings...
On November 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved sirolimus protein-bound particles for injectable suspension (albumin-bound; Fyarro) for adult patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumor (PEComa). AMPECT Trial Efficacy ...
Newly identified genetic abnormalities in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), as well as therapies that can target some of those abnormalities, are now available as the landscape for treatment continues to evolve. During the 2021 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Congress: Hematologic...
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) lengthens progression-free survival for patients with advanced lung cancer who have oligoprogression (ie, tumors that have not been fully responsive to systemic chemotherapy or immunotherapy), according to an interim analysis of the CURB oligoprogression...
Invited discussant Elizabeth Nichols, MD, of the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, commented on both the phase II TRIUMPH-T and the phase III MC1635 trials. “There are multiple techniques in use for accelerated partial breast irradiation. Optimal dose and fractionation are...
Two studies reported at the 2021 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting provide evidence in support of the use of accelerated radiation therapies as safe alternatives to standard radiotherapy options following breast-conserving surgery. The phase III MC1635 trial showed...
Newly identified genetic abnormalities in AML have led to novel therapies that can target some of them, as the landscape for treatment continues to evolve. During the 2021 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies, Alice S. Mims MD, presented updates in...
Arm and shoulder disability and pain that some women who have had breast cancer surgery experience as a side effect of their procedure may be reduced by following a physiotherapy-led exercise program, according to a new study published by Bruce et al in The BMJ. The report showed an improvement in...
Although treating patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) remains challenging, some newer therapies on the horizon offer promise, including bispecific antibodies, anti-CD47 antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy,...
On November 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) at intermediate-high or high risk of disease recurrence following nephrectomy or nephrectomy and resection of metastatic lesions....
A digital symptom monitoring system in which patients undergoing cancer treatment could report symptoms through weekly at-home surveys resulted in better symptom control and physical function, as well as improved communication with their medical team, according to results from a study by Basch et...
Patients with BRAF V600–mutated advanced melanoma who received an immunotherapy regimen of nivolumab/ipilimumab followed by targeted therapy with dabrafenib/trametinib experienced greater overall survival (72%) compared with patients receiving the converse sequence (52%). According to the study...