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...
Total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) followed by rectal surgery is the standard of care in proficient mismatch repair (pMMR) locally advanced rectal cancer, but studies are finding that patients with clinical complete response may often avoid surgery and be followed “nonoperatively.” In the first...
Spiritual beliefs and a historically based distrust of clinical research may influence Black patients’ decisions about whether to participate in cancer trials, according to new findings presented by Gomez et al at the 2024 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting (Abstract...
A radiopharmaceutical therapy has demonstrated early efficacy in patients with difficult-to-treat meningioma, according to new findings presented by Merrell et al at the 2024 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 2) and simultaneously published in the...
A common mutation in the KRAS gene seems to be associated with improved overall survival in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma compared with other variants, in part because the mutation appears to lead to less invasiveness and weaker biological activity, according to a recent study published in...
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, ...
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 ...
An updated overall survival analysis of the phase III HIMALAYA study, now at 5 years, confirms the benefit for the STRIDE regimen of the monoclonal antibodies durvalumab plus tremelimumab in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.1 [The STRIDE regimen consists of a single priming dose of...
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...
As reported in The Lancet by Morris et al, the phase III PSMAfore trial has shown improved progression-free survival with lutetium-177–labeled PSMA-617 (LuPSMA) vs change in androgen receptor pathway inhibitor (ARPI) in taxane-naive patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer...
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 ...
Adding the immune checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab, with or without the monoclonal antibody oleclumab, to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) significantly improved pathologic complete response rates in patients with high-risk hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast ...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has always prided itself on its commitment to evidence-based, expert consensus–driven recommendations for cancer care, with a special focus on breaking down the barriers that contribute to disparities in outcomes across all patients with cancer. With ...
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...
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...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Chan et al, the multicenter phase III CABINET trial has shown significantly improved progression-free survival with the multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor cabozantinib vs a placebo in previously treated patients with progressive, advanced...
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 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...
In the phase III ENGOT-cx11/GOG-3047/KEYNOTE-A18 trial presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024, the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab plus chemoradiotherapy, with pembrolizumab continued as monotherapy, improved overall survival in previously untreated, high-risk...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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. ...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Habib et al found that adjuvant chemotherapy benefited some groups of patients with resected intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN)-derived pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), but that overtreatment and...
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 ...
The AACR Cancer Progress Report 2024, released on September 18, showcases the extraordinary progress being made against cancer. The report highlights continuing reductions in mortality, which has fallen by 33% between 1991 and 2021, translating into more than 4 million deaths averted from cancer,...
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 ...
A preliminary report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) revealed that, in 2020, 5.5 million men worldwide died from cancer, leading to 1.41 million new paternal orphans. The average age of the children at paternal death was 12 years old. The study by Guida et al is being...