A substantial number of patients with brain metastases who experience cognitive side effects after radiation therapy may fully regain cognitive function, according to recent findings presented by Cherng et al at the 2024 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 150). ...
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 accelerated course of postmastectomy radiation therapy may not increase complications in patients with breast cancer undergoing breast reconstruction, according to recent findings presented by Poppe et al at the 2024 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 1) and ...
Distinguished Service Awards were presented to Kwun Fong, MBBS, PhD, FRACP; Claudia Henschke, MD, PhD; Erik Thunnissen, MD, PhD; and Julie Brahmer, MD, MSc, FASCO, during the 2024 International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) World Conference on Lung Cancer. Adi F. Gazdar IASLC...
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 American Cancer Society (ACS) recently released Breast Cancer Statistics, 2024, the organization’s biennial update on breast cancer occurrence and trends in the United States. The new report finds breast cancer mortality rates overall have dropped by 44% since 1989, averting approximately...
Deintensified treatment involving a lower radiation dose and immunotherapy in place of chemotherapy may not perform as well as a more rigorous chemoradiation treatment approach in patients with early-stage human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer, according to new findings...
Two types of contemporary radiation therapy—proton-beam therapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy—may provide comparable rates of tumor control with no differences in patient-reported quality of life among patients with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer, according to new findings...
Findings of a multi-institutional phase III trial indicated that people with limited-stage small cell lung cancer may benefit from the addition of immunotherapy to chemoradiotherapy, but not if both treatments are given simultaneously, new research finds. The results suggest that the timing of when ...
Investigators have uncovered a higher risk for strokes, heart attacks, and hospital admissions for heart failure in older cancer survivors, according to a recent study published by Muhandiramge et al in Cancer. Background Although advances in cancer treatment have led to decreased mortality rates...
Investigators have identified a substantial increase in the proportion of U.S. patients with cancer participating in clinical trials sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry over the past decade compared with those supported by the federal government, according to findings recently presented by...
Advancing surgical and pathologic techniques may improve overall survival rates in high-risk patients with lung cancer, according to new findings presented by Akinbobola et al at the 2024 ASCO Quality Care Symposium (Abstract 278). Background “Over the past 15 years, a quality improvement...
Communication between health-care providers and older patients with cancer regarding the significance of physical activity may help reduce the risk of falls during cancer therapy, according to new findings presented by Lu and Zheng at the 2024 ASCO Quality Care Symposium (Abstract 224). Background...
On September 27, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted traditional approval to selpercatinib (Retevmo) for adult and pediatric patients aged 2 years and older with advanced or metastatic medullary thyroid cancer with a RET mutation, as detected by an FDA-approved test, who require...
A community and academic partnership may provide effective education about the risks of radon, testing for radon, mitigating radon in homes with high levels of the chemical, and reducing the risk of developing lung cancer among Native community members residing in Wisconsin, according to new...
Researchers have found that olanzapine may be more effective in controlling severe nausea and improving the quality of life in patients with cancer who are undergoing treatment with chemotherapy, according to new findings presented by Peppone et al at the 2024 ASCO Quality Care Symposium (Abstract...
A study by Ganz et al assessed quality-of-life outcomes following whole- or partial-breast radiation in patients with breast cancer who underwent lumpectomy. The researchers published their findings in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Study Methods and Results In the NRG Oncology...
West African genetic ancestry may be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer among men residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods but not among those residing in more affluent neighborhoods, according to a recent study published by Pichardo et al in JAMA Network Open. The findings...
A study conducted by Kaitlyn Lapen, MD, a radiation oncologist resident at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues evaluated the financial challenges adolescent and young adults (AYA) survivors experience during and after treatment. They found that more than half (54%) of these...
A retrospective study of AYA patients with cancer enrolled in the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill’s AYA Cancer Program, which aims to address these challenges, were more likely to receive guideline-recommended care, including clinical trial enrollment, fertility counseling, and...
On September 25, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved osimertinib (Tagrisso) for adults with locally advanced, unresectable (stage III) non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has not progressed during or after concurrent or sequential platinum-based chemoradiation therapy. These ...
The alternative use of the monoclonal antibody cetuximab during the shortage of cisplatin in the treatment of head and neck cancer resulted in a 16% total cost increase, leading to a 144-fold increase in costs at the administrative level, impacting payer costs and patient cost-sharing amounts,...
Treatment with the immunotherapy agent pembrolizumab may nearly double the length that patients with high-risk, muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma are cancer free following surgical removal of the bladder, according to a recent study published by Apolo et al in The New England Journal of...
Black patients with triple-negative breast cancer may receive immunotherapy at lower rates than White patients, according to new findings presented by Freeman et al at the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic...
World Cancer Day is marked every year on September 24 and seeks to raise awareness of the importance of cancer research as a key driver of advances in prevention and therapeutic strategies that increase survival and reduce the global cancer burden. This year, World Cancer Research Day focuses on...
Symptoms related to sexual health may be associated with decreased adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy among Black women with early-stage breast cancer, according to new findings presented by Anderson et al at the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference on the Science of ...
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has increased guideline-concordant care for colorectal cancer among non-White patients, those from rural areas, and those from the most deprived neighborhoods in Pennsylvania, according to new findings presented by Kudaravalli et al at the 2024 American Association for ...
On September 20, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the monoclonal antibody isatuximab-irfc (Sarclisa) in combination with bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone for adults with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are not eligible for autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT)....
At the age of 75, I’m just happy to still be here and be able to continue to contribute to my musical community. When I was diagnosed with Merkel cell carcinoma in 2021, I had never heard of the cancer and didn’t realize how aggressive and deadly it is. It was especially surprising to get such a...
Maeve Lowery, MD, discusses the results of the phase II DUBHE-H-308 trial, which evaluated QL1706—a bifunctional antibody consisting of iparomlimab and tuvonralimab—plus bevacizumab and/or chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (Abstract LBA38).
Rachna T. Shroff, MD, MS, FASCO, was the discussant for a phase III trial presented at the ESMO Congress 2024 evaluating the efficacy and safety of anlotinib plus penpulimab vs sorafenib as first-line therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (Abstract LBA40).
ASCO will recognize Ethan Basch, MD, MSc, FASCO, a medical oncologist and Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina, with the Joseph Simone Quality Care Award and Lecture at the 2024 ASCO Quality Care Symposium. This year’s meeting will be held in San Francisco and online on...
Cabozantinib may be effective at improving progression-free survival in patients with previously treated neuroendocrine tumors, according to recent findings presented by Chan et al at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 (Abstract 1141O) and simultaneously published in The ...
Researchers have found that about 50% of patients with metastatic melanoma treated with a combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab experienced cancer-free survival of 10 years or longer, according to a recent study published by Wolchok et al in The New England Journal of Medicine. Background In...
On September 19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved amivantamab-vmjw (Rybrevant) with carboplatin and pemetrexed for adults with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R...
ASCO has released its first clinical practice guideline focused specifically on the management of locally advanced rectal cancer.1 “Rectal cancer, and especially locally advanced rectal cancer, is a complex disease that requires individualized approaches using multimodality therapies to have the...
Clinical trials are now demonstrating the value of immune checkpoint inhibitors as neoadjuvant therapy in certain subsets of patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO, described this newer approach—specifically, which subsets of patients may...
Investigators have found that Black women may have a higher risk of dying from all subtypes of breast cancer compared with White women, according to a recent study published by Torres et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The findings demonstrated that higher mortality rates among Black women...
Researchers have identified thousands of genetic changes in a gene that may increase the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers, according to a recent study published by Olvera-León et al in Cell. The findings may pave the way for better risk assessment and more personalized care. ...
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 ...
On September 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy as first-line treatment of unresectable advanced or metastatic malignant pleural mesothelioma. Efficacy and Safety Efficacy was investigated in KEYNOTE-483...
On September 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft guidance to provide sponsors with recommendations for conducting multiregional clinical trials in support of applications for drugs intended to treat cancer, according to a notice published in the Federal Register....
Researchers have found that 80% of patients with previously treated or relapsed/refractory advanced-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)—including both accelerated or myeloid blast phases of the disease—or Philadelphia chromosome–positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may have achieved a bone marrow ...
Josep M. Llovet, MD, PhD, presented the results of the LEAP-012 trial during the Presidential Symposium I at the ESMO Congress 2024 (Abstract LBA3). In this brief summary, Dr. Llovet talks further about how management of hepatocellular carcinoma differs across stages.
Josep M. Llovet, MD, PhD, presented the results of the phase III LEAP-012 trial, which evaluated the addition of lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab to transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), during the Presidential Symposium I at the ESMO Congress 2024 (Abstract LBA3). For more insights into the...
Retifanlimab plus platinum-based chemotherapy may benefit patients with squamous cell anal carcinoma, according to new findings presented by Rao et al at a presidential symposium at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 (Abstract LBA2). Background The incidence of squamous...
Results from the multicenter double-blind randomized phase III SOLARIS trial (Alliance A021703) showed that the addition of high-dose vitamin D3 to standard treatment did not improve progression-free survival vs standard-dose vitamin D3 in patients with untreated metastatic colorectal cancer. The...
The novel antibody-drug conjugate puxitatug samrotecan may have a manageable safety profile consistent with similar antibody-drug conjugates and demonstrated initial efficacy in patients with heavily pretreated advanced or metastatic solid tumors, according to new findings presented by...
Positive results from the phase III NIAGARA trial showed perioperative treatment with the PD-L1 blocker durvalumab in combination with neoadjuvant chemotherapy demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in the primary endpoint of event-free survival and the key...