Attendees at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 heard the results of many positive clinical trials that will advance the field of cancer treatment. However, a few late-stage trials of promising adjuvant therapies unexpectedly reported negative results. The ASCO Post...
The addition of the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab to standard neoadjuvant gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy has demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in survival compared with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cisplatin-eligible patients with muscle-invasive bladder...
The annual Global Cardio-Oncology Summit (GCOS) was held September 22 to 24 in Minneapolis, with 430 health-care professionals attending from 20 countries. The Summit brings together health-care professionals from diverse disciplines including members of the International Cardio-Oncology...
Just weeks or even days or hours away from death, the majority of conscious terminally ill patients often experience growth and meaning in their lives and the absence of fear through end-of-life dreams and visions, according to research by Christopher W. Kerr, MD, PhD. Dr. Kerr is Chief Executive...
Aumolertinib, a third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has shown efficacy as maintenance therapy for patients with unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR mutations, according to data presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer...
Guest Editor’s Note: Advances in cancer treatments have led to an increase in survival rates, but the quality of life is often diminished during survivorship. Because modifiable personal behavior contributes to health-care outcomes, interventions that support healthy behaviors may improve health...
In the neoadjuvant I-SPY2.2 trial, a treatment strategy including the antibody-drug conjugate datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd), partnered with the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab, yielded a high pathologic complete response rate, especially in immune-positive and “all-negative” subtypes.1...
OCE Insights is an occasional department developed for The ASCO Post by members of the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this installment, the OCE’s Steven Clark Cunningham, MD, MLA, FACS, Clinical Reviewer on the Gastrointestinal Cancers Team, ...
An examination of patient-level data from the phase III CheckMate 816 and CheckMate 77T trials supports the perioperative use of the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab plus chemotherapy, as compared with the neoadjuvant use of nivolumab plus chemotherapy without adjuvant therapy, in resectable non–small...
Neoadjuvant therapy for patients with resectable stage III melanoma has recently emerged as a better approach than resection plus adjuvant therapy. At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024, updates of pivotal neoadjuvant studies demonstrated the long-standing benefit of...
Researchers have identified genetic risk factors that may contribute to prostate cancer in a diverse group of African men, according to a recent study published by Janivara et al in Nature Genetics. The findings could uncover new treatment options in this patient population. Background Certain...
For women with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer, KEYNOTE-522 changed the treatment paradigm several years ago. Support for neoadjuvant use of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab, was bolstered by the positive overall survival analysis...
ASCO has issued a rapid update to its guideline on the management of stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), based on the results of the phase III LAURA trial, which was presented at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting and published simultaneously in The New England Journal of Medicine.1,2 The...
Late-breaking findings from the phase IIIb/IV, open-label DESTINY-Breast12 trial support the use of the antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer and brain metastases who have experienced disease progression on at least...
In the multiarm phase II NeoCOAST-2 trial, neoadjuvant treatment with datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) plus the monoclonal antibody durvalumab and single-agent platinum chemotherapy led to promising rates of pathologic complete and major pathologic responses in patients with early-stage non–small...
OCE Insights is an occasional department developed for The ASCO Post by members of the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this installment, the OCE’s Steven Clark Cunningham, MD, MLA, FACS, Clinical Reviewer on the Gastrointestinal Cancers Team, ...
It is not often that the oncology community looks to the Supreme Court to forecast its future. In 2024, two decisions seemingly unrelated to health care were issued that are likely to have a monumental impact on oncology care delivery. The Court’s rulings—on June 28, Loper Bright Enterprises et ...
The combination of the EGFR-MET bispecific antibody amivantamab-vmjw and the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor lazertinib continues to demonstrate superior efficacy compared with the kinase inhibitor osimertinib alone in the first-line treatment of EGFR-mutant advanced non–small cell lung cancer...
The results from a phase Ib/II study of a five-drug targeted therapy regimen—venetoclax, ibrutinib, prednisone, obinutuzumab, and lenalidomide (ViPOR)—in the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) showed the treatment produced durable remissions and potential...
Multicancer early detection (MCED) tests are beginning to enter clinical practice, but how useful will they be? “This is an exciting field, with many competing technologies. MCED assays will be coming across your desk in the near future if they haven’t already. But they are not a panacea. They are ...
Medical oncology had a turbulent beginning, as we explained in part 1 of this commentary published in the September 25, 2024, issue of The ASCO Post. And although no other specialty we know of struggled as much, with perseverance and time, it had become a stable specialty of internal medicine by...
Medical oncology had a turbulent beginning. No other specialty we know of struggled as much. But by 1980, it had become a stable specialty of internal medicine and was off and running—with the major problem of how to marshal available resources to freely test the myriad opportunities presented by ...
In a phase III study conducted in China, the bispecific antibody ivonescimab demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival compared with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab as a first-line treatment of PD-L1–positive advanced non–small...
Despite the fact that there is no history of breast cancer in my family, I didn’t take that good fortune for granted and was diligent about getting my regularly scheduled mammograms and clinical breast exams, which never found any hint of disease. So, it was especially frightening when, while on a...
In patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer, the addition of atezolizumab to standard adjuvant chemotherapy provided no benefit over chemotherapy alone in the final analysis of the phase III ALEXANDRA/IMpassion030 trial. The results were presented at the 2024 European Breast Cancer...
The combination of nivolumab plus gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy achieved high response rates and durable responses and improved overall survival and progression-free survival compared with gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy alone in patients with urothelial carcinoma and clinical evidence of...
For relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, there are three available bispecific antibodies—two that target B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and one that targets G protein–coupled receptor class C group 5 member D (GPRC5D). Which is the preferred target? This question was addressed at the 2024...
Combining Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibition with chemoimmunotherapy induction significantly extended progression-free survival for older patients with mantle cell lymphoma, and there was also a trend toward improvement on the overall survival benefit, according to data presented during the...
Growing awareness of the benefits of palliative care in patients with cancer has prompted ASCO to update its recommendations for clinicians, patients, caregivers, and health-care organizations on integrating palliative care in oncology.1 The updated guideline reinforces prior recommendations in the ...
At the 2024 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology Conference, sponsored by Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute, cardiologist-by-training Anant Mandawat, MD, FACC, briefly reviewed how the emerging field of cardio-oncology is blazing a path toward “bigger and bolder cancer care” and offered...
Endometrial cancer is most frequently diagnosed among women aged 55 to 65, with a median age at diagnosis of 64 years.1 In epidemiologic studies, women diagnosed with endometrial cancer at an older age are more likely to have high-grade disease, aggressive histology, deep myometrial invasion, lower ...
Is the optimal first-line treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) monotherapy with a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor or some combination regimen? This clinical question was explored by two speakers at the 2024 Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference, sponsored by the University of...
Georgina V. Long, MD, PhD, of the Melanoma Institute Australia and the University of Sydney, and colleagues reported the final follow-up analysis of the phase III COMBI-AD trial at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 9500) and published their findings in The New England Journal of Medicine.1...
Most patients with extranodal marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) are overtreated, according to Emanuele Zucca, MD, of the Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland and Institute of Oncology Research in Bellinzona and the Università della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano. “Aggressive therapy is not needed in...
A novel treatment regimen with the bispecific antibody glofitamab has demonstrated improvements in survival outcomes for patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), according to data presented at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2024 Congress.1 The phase III ...
Guest Editor’s Note: Chemotherapy and its side effects can lead to decreased physical activity and poor diet quality, resulting in unfavorable changes in physical functioning and quality of life. However, adopting healthy behaviors during cancer treatments can be challenging because of physical,...
The phase III ESOPEC trial, conducted in Germany, compared two regimens for locally advanced esophageal cancer and found an overall survival benefit with the perioperative FLOT protocol over the neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy CROSS regimen. The results were presented during the Plenary Session of...
In newly diagnosed, transplant-ineligible patients with multiple myeloma, treatment with the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody isatuximab plus bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRd) led to a 40% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death and “deep and sustained responses,” almost...
In patients with triple-negative early breast cancer deemed to be at high risk for recurrence, 1 year of adjuvant avelumab did not significantly improve disease-free survival but did significantly improve overall survival and risk of distant disease–free survival events. The results from the...
The antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab tirumotecan extended overall survival as well as progression-free survival vs chemotherapy in patients with previously treated triple-negative breast cancer, according to the results of OptiTROP-Breast01, a phase III study presented at the 2024 ASCO Annual...
Second-line therapy with the KRAS inhibitor adagrasib modestly improved progression-free survival and objective response rate over docetaxel in previously treated patients with advanced KRAS G12C–mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the primary analysis of the phase III...
Recent phase III findings support the antibody-drug conjugate belantamab mafodotin-blmf as a treatment option for patients with multiple myeloma in early relapse. Belantamab mafodotin is an antibody-drug conjugate targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) expressed on multiple myeloma cells,...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Dennis Slamon, MD, PhD, of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues, interim analysis of the phase III NATALEE trial has shown improved invasive disease–free survival with the addition of...
An ASCO guideline update offers new recommendations on systemic treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), based on promising findings from several recent randomized controlled trials as well as the approval of new first- and second-line immunotherapy combinations.1 “This guideline...
The highly anticipated ENGOT-en9/LEAP-001 trial in endometrial cancer has missed both its primary endpoints. At the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2024 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer, the study investigators reported no significant benefit in progression-free survival or overall survival...
Results of the phase III NADINA trial support a new standard of care for the treatment of resectable macroscopic stage III melanoma. Treatment with preoperative ipilimumab plus nivolumab followed by total lymph node dissection, with adjuvant therapy guided by depth of response, led to a highly...
A little more than 12 months ago, the first major cardio-oncology guidelines were published by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 The extensive document embodied the immense progress of this subspecialty over its short existence. In reaching this milestone, it is worth considering what...
Osimertinib significantly improved progression-free survival compared with placebo in patients with unresectable stage III EGFR-mutated non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following definitive chemoradiotherapy. These findings of the phase III LAURA trial suggest that osimertinib may become a new...
Deputy Editor of The ASCO Post, Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, recently spoke with gynecologic cancer expert Sharmila K. Makhija, MD, MBA, about her journey to her current position as Founding Dean and Chief Executive Officer of the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, Bentonville, Arkansas. Raised by...
Like many young boys, David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, loved sports and dreamed about playing college football. He attained that dream, but along the way, family tragedy and a personal battle with a life-threatening disease reshaped his worldview and accelerated his ambitions as a...