On April 1, danicopan (Voydeya) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as add-on therapy to ravulizumab-cwvz or eculizumab for the treatment of extravascular hemolysis (EVH) in adults with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH). VOYDEYA is a first-in-class, oral, Factor D...
Of 58 million people worldwide living with hepatitis C virus (HCV), one-sixth of them are found in sub-Saharan Africa.1 Yet, in that region, direct access to diagnostic testing and treatment is limited to less than 5%. HCV carries significant downstream implications including cirrhosis (30%–46%), ...
Artificial intelligence (AI)—computational analytics with routine imaging via radiology or pathology—can advance precision medicine in breast cancer, specifically by predicting response to therapy and calculating prognosis, according to a pioneer in the field, Anant Madabhushi, PhD, of Emory...
A Medicare policy requiring shared decision-making between primary care physicians and patients regarding whether to proceed with lung cancer screening may require further examination, according to a recent study published by Kale et al in the Annals of Family Medicine. The findings indicated that...
New findings authored by Joseph M. Unger, PhD, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology using Commission on Cancer data showed that when all types of cancer research studies are considered, at least one in five people with cancer in the United States—or 21.9%—participate in some form of...
Microwave ablation may offer comparable progression-free survival rates and fewer complications in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma compared with surgical resection, according to a recent study published by Zhao et al in Radiology. Background Papillary thyroid carcinoma—the most common...
This is Part 1 of Addressing Unmet Needs in Myelofibrosis, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. John Mascarenhas, Gabriela Hobbs, and Abdulraheem Yacoub discuss the management of treatment-emergent anemia in a...
Heather McArthur, MD, MPH, of UT Southwestern Medical Center, discusses phase III findings from the KEYNOTE-756 trial, which shows that adding pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy increases pathologic complete response (pCR) rates in patients with early-stage, high-risk, estrogen...
ASCO and Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, will recognize researchers, patient advocates, philanthropists, teachers, and global oncology leaders who have reshaped cancer care around the world with the Society’s highest honors at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting. The 2024 Special Award Recipients...
Investigators have found that combining a prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan with a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) density test may help diagnose clinically significant prostate cancer and avoid unnecessary biopsies, according to a recent systematic review and meta-analysis published...
The risk of certain types of cancer may be higher in patients currently or previously diagnosed with tuberculosis, according to new findings to be presented by Kim et al at the upcoming 2024 European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) annual congress. Background...
There is much debate about the necessity of treating women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) with surgery or radiotherapy.1,2 It is disconcerting to many that patients with DCIS are treated in the same way as are women with early-stage invasive breast cancer. Many patients with DCIS have...
Researchers surveyed oncologists for their perspectives on how artificial intelligence (AI) may be responsibly integrated into some aspects of cancer care as well as how to protect patients from the hidden biases of AI, according to a recent study published by Hantel et al in JAMA Network Open....
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Mark K. Buyyounouski, MD, MS, and colleagues, the phase III NRG-GU003 trial showed noninferiority of hypofractionated postprostatectomy radiotherapy (HYPORT) vs conventionally fractionated postprostatectomy radiotherapy (COPORT) for genitourinary (GU) and...
Nearly 21,000 new cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are diagnosed each year in the United States, about 80% of which occur in individuals aged 60 years and older. The cancer has the highest mortality rate among the different types of leukemia, and, in 2024, it is predicted that about 11,220...
In a Danish single-institution phase III trial (MyHealth) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Saltbæk et al found that nurse-led individualized follow-up was associated with significantly better breast cancer–specific quality of life compared with usual care after completion of primary...
A genetic variant located on the IKZF1 gene may be responsible for disparities in the risk of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) among Hispanic and Latino children, according to a recent study published by de Smith et al in Cell Genomics. The findings offer insights into the causes of the disease...
Researchers have found that venetoclax in combination with azacitidine may be effective at treating patients with multiple myeloma, according to a recent study published by Flanagan et al in Haematologica. Background Despite recent advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma, the disease remains ...
Matthew A. Powell, MD, of the Washington University School of Medicine, discusses phase III findings from the RUBY trial, which shows dostarlimab-gxly plus chemotherapy improves overall survival in patients with primary advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, regardless of mismatch repair status. ...
The composition of the gut microbiome may reveal distinct signatures associated with race, ethnicity, and age of onset in patients with colorectal cancer, according to a recent study published by Hein et al in the Journal of Immunotherapy and Precision Oncology. The findings provide insights into...
Researchers have found that a specific subtype of Fusobacterium nucleatum may be capable of growing within colorectal cancer, driving cancer progression, and leading to poorer outcomes following colorectal cancer treatment, according to a recent study published by Zepeda-Rivera et al in Nature. The ...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Dennis Slamon, MD, PhD, and colleagues, interim analysis of the phase III NATALEE trial has shown improved invasive disease–free survival with the addition of adjuvant ribociclib to a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor (NSAI) in patients with...
Researchers have found that a low-dose radiotherapy boost in addition to whole-breast radiotherapy may prevent local recurrence in young patients with breast cancer, according to new findings presented by Bosma et al at the 2024 European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC) (Abstract 4LBA) and...
Extensive removal of the lymph nodes may be safely avoided in patients with breast cancer that has metastasized to the axillary nodes if treatment is tailored to their response to therapies such as chemotherapy prior to surgery, according to new findings presented by van Hemert et al at the 2024...
A combined positron-emission tomography–magnetic resonance imaging (PET-MRI) scanning technique could improve the treatment of some patients with early-stage breast cancer, according to new findings presented by Di Micco et al at the 2024 European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC) (Abstract 9) and...
About 8 years ago, I was just a few years into menopause when I noticed blood in my urine. It wasn’t accompanied by pain, frequent urination, or any other troubling symptoms, so initially I wasn’t too concerned. But when I started passing pieces of tissue, I became alarmed and made an appointment...
Guest Editor’s Note: Psychological distress is highly prevalent in cancer populations throughout the disease trajectory. Integrative modalities are being increasingly used for managing the associated symptoms. In this article, Joke Bradt, PhD, MT-BC, summarizes the latest joint guideline published ...
In Kathy Giusti’s empowering and deeply personal book Fatal to Fearless: 12 Steps to Beating Cancer in a Broken Medical System (HarperCollins, 2024), she details the shock of being diagnosed with multiple myeloma, in 1996, at the age of 37. Told she had 3 years to live, the book recounts how Ms....
In 1996, at the age of 37, Kathy Giusti was diagnosed with the incurable blood cancer multiple myeloma and told she had about 3 years to live. In the mid-1990s, effective therapies for this second most common blood cancer were nearly nonexistent. Standard of care for myeloma consisted of oral...
It is currently acknowledged that hypofractionated radiotherapy, an increasingly favored approach in prostate cancer treatment, delivers higher radiation doses over fewer sessions compared with conventional fractionation schedules. This approach is supported by the recognition that prostate cancer ...
Mary McCormack, PhD, MBBS, of University College London Hospitals, NHS Foundation Trust, discusses the global health issue of cervical cancer and a way forward. Phase III findings from the GCIG INTERLACE trial showed that induction chemotherapy with weekly paclitaxel and carboplatin before...
On March 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved safety labeling changes for fluorouracil injection products. This effort was a collaboration between the FDA’s Office of Generic Drugs and the Oncology Center of Excellence. Fluorouracil injection was initially approved in 1962. The...
The addition of atezolizumab to postsurgery chemotherapy may not benefit patients with triple-negative breast cancer, according to findings recently presented by McArthur et al at the 2024 European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC; Abstract 1LBA). Background Triple-negative breast cancer is often...
A novel genetic test may predict how patients with triple-negative early-stage breast cancer will respond to immunotherapy, according to new findings presented by Wolf et al at the 2024 European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC) (Abstract 2LBA). The research may help patients who are unlikely to...
The addition of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab to chemotherapy prior to and following surgery may lead to improved outcomes in patients with breast cancer regardless of their age or menopausal status, according to new findings presented by Cardoso et al at the 2024 European Breast Cancer...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Kater et al, the phase IIIb VENICE-1 trial has shown activity of venetoclax monotherapy in adult patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia, including those with prior B-cell receptor–associated kinase (BCR) inhibitor treatment. Study...
The combination of the small molecule inhibitor of VEGFR fruquintinib and the chemotherapy paclitaxel presents a potential new second-line treatment of patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, according to data presented during the ASCO Plenary Series: February...
ASCO has released a new guideline on the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer in resource-constrained settings, where maximal setting–recommended treatments are not available.1 The guideline, designed for clinicians, policymakers, and patients, provides stratified recommendations...
W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, took the helm as the 17th Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), on December 18, 2023. A renowned kidney cancer expert and influential leader in cancer research and patient care, Dr. Rathmell was selected by...
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and lumbar puncture may not always be necessary for diagnosing and managing a serious neurologic complication associated with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, according to a new study published by Mauget et al in Blood Advances. Findings further...
In a news release issued by ASCO earlier this month, the society reported that The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) was calling on President Biden to continue to prioritize access to high-quality, equitable cancer care in his State of the Union address. Specifically, the cancer care...
Adjuvant use of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab achieved a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in disease-free survival in patients with high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma vs observation after surgical resection, according to an interim analysis of the phase ...
Combination immunotherapy with the anti–PD-L1 monoclonal antibody durvalumab and other novel agents seemed to outperform durvalumab alone in the neoadjuvant setting for early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center,...
The combination of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor cabozantinib (multiple targets, including MET, AXL, VEGFR2, RET, and FLT ) plus the monoclonal antibody atezolizumab achieved statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival compared with second-line novel hormonal therapy in...
Managing patients with lung cancer in the current era of an increasing array of systemic treatments has become a complex balancing act of trying to improve outcomes and survival from a cancer perspective while taking the necessary treatment and monitoring steps for cardioprotection. With few...
The combination of avelumab and axitinib may be effective in patients with mismatch repair–proficient recurrent or persistent endometrial cancer, according to new findings presented by Lee et al at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 2024 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer. Background...
Monitoring circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) levels with liquid biopsies could help physicians accurately assess treatment responses and predict future prognoses in patients with operable esophageal or gastroesophageal junction cancer receiving an immunotherapy doublet, according to a recent study...
Brian M. Slomovitz, MD, of Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, discusses additional phase III data from the innovaTV 301 trial, which showed that in patients with previously treated recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, tisotumab vedotin-tftv was more efficacious than chemotherapy as...
In the BLUE-C study—reported in The New England Journal of Medicine—Imperiale et al found that a next-generation multitarget stool DNA test showed high sensitivity for colorectal cancer and high specificity for advanced neoplasia compared with colonoscopy screening. Study Details The U.S....
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) announced that its members have elected Lillian L. Siu, MD, FRCPC, FASCO, FAACR, as the 2024–2025 President-Elect of the AACR. Professional and Research Background Dr. Siu currently serves as Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto; as ...