In a phase II trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Eric Bouffet, MD, and colleagues found that the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib produced a higher objective response rate vs standard chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of pediatric patients with low-grade glioma...
In a European phase II trial (EMN12/HOVON-129) reported in The Lancet Oncology, van de Donk et al found that the incorporation of carfilzomib and lenalidomide into induction, consolidation, and maintenance therapies was associated with good outcomes in both younger and older patients with primary...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Goto et al, primary results of the phase II DESTINY-Lung02 trial have shown activity of fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) in patients with HER2-mutant metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) previously treated with platinum-containing...
This is Part 3 of Ovarian Function Suppression in Breast Cancer, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this Roundtable. In this video, Drs. Jame Abraham, Erin Roesch, and Azka Ali discuss the management of a patient with de novo metastatic estrogen...
In patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR mutations, the role of immune checkpoint inhibitors following disease progression with tyrosine kinase inhibitors has been unclear. Several studies reported at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2023 ...
In a phase II trial (MC1631) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Robert W. Mutter, MD, and colleagues found that the 24-month complication rate associated with hypofractionated proton postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) was not noninferior to standard fractionated PMRT in patients undergoing mastectomy ...
The management of sarcoma presents several challenges because of its rarity and diverse subtypes, making accurate diagnosis and specialized treatment crucial. A multidisciplinary approach involving various experts from different cancer specialties is the optimal strategy to improve survival and...
In the summer of 2012, I was living my dream. At 28 years old, I had gone from an impoverished childhood in South Central Los Angeles to the high life in the city of Los Angeles. Unable to afford to go to college, an after-school program helped launch me into a career in the hospitality industry. I ...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, the Jerald L. & Carolynn J. Varner Professor of Surgical Oncology & Global Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, spoke with Héber Salvador, MD, PhD,...
Adam Wolfe, MD, PhD, a radiation oncologist at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, has received a $583,200 grant from the American Cancer Society (ACS) to study radiation resistance in pancreatic cancer, a lethal disease with the highest...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Gil Morgan, MD, a clinical oncologist formerly at the Division of Medical and Radiation Oncology at Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden and now full-time Director of the OncoAlert...
In the phase III EORTC-55994 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kenter et al found no significant difference in overall survival with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery vs standard concomitant chemoradiotherapy in patients with stage IB2 to IIB cervical cancer. Study...
In a 5-year analysis of the Japanese phase III JIPANG trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kenmotsu et al found no significant differences in overall or recurrence-free survival with adjuvant pemetrexed/cisplatin vs vinorelbine/cisplatin in patients with stage II–IIIA nonsquamous...
In a phase Ib study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Naval G. Daver, MD, and colleagues found that the combination of the anti-CD47 antibody magrolimab and azacitidine was active in previously untreated patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who were ineligible for intensive...
The Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) and ASCO have partnered to develop a new guideline on integrative oncology care of symptoms of anxiety and depression in adults with cancer. The guideline reviews the evidence for a range of integrative approaches, including mindfulness-based...
ASCO recently released a new rapid recommendation update that addresses the use of olanzapine to treat cancer-related cachexia, a topic originally addressed in its 2020 guideline on the management of cancer cachexia in adults with advanced cancer.1,2 At that time, there was insufficient evidence to ...
On August 9, 2023, the bispecific GPRC5D (G protein–coupled receptor, class C, group 5)-directed CD3 T-cell engager talquetamab-tgvs was granted accelerated approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at...
On August 11, 2023, the fixed-dose combination of the PARP inhibitor niraparib and the CYP17 inhibitor abiraterone acetate plus prednisone was approved for patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious BRCA-mutated castration-resistant prostate cancer, as determined by a U.S. Food and Drug...
The HER2-targeting bispecific antibody zanidatamab generated rapid and durable responses in patients with HER2-amplified, locally advanced, unresectable or metastatic biliary tract cancer previously treated with gemcitabine, investigators from the global phase IIb HERIZON-BTC-01 study reported at...
The addition of the monoclonal antibody atezolizumab to the tyrosine kinase inhibitor cabozantinib failed to improve progression-free survival and overall survival vs cabozantinib alone in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (previously treated with an immune checkpoint inhibitor) in the...
The 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting again demonstrated the Society’s commitment to improving cancer care for all older adults. Pertinent questions related to treatment and management in this population were addressed in educational and oral abstract sessions, clinical science symposia, and case-based...
In the phase II HERTHENA-Lung01 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Helena Yu, MD, and colleagues found that patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DXd), a new anti-HER3 antibody-drug conjugate, showed activity in patients with EGFR-mutated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)...
Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia is a rare and incurable low-grade B-cell lymphoproliferative disease defined by specific genotypic subtypes that have implications for treatment response and long-term outcomes. Treatment—and there is no established standard—is mainly focused on controlling symptoms...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many medical specialties became familiar with supply chain interruptions resulting in drug, equipment, and personnel scarcity. Intensive care unit beds, staff, and essential medicines were at times in short supply. The federal government, individual states, and...
Cancer—and the quest to accelerate more effective treatments and potential cures for all life-threatening diseases—has perhaps shaped the life of financier Michael Milken more than his legendary career on Wall Street. In the early 1970s, Mr. Milken’s mother-in-law was diagnosed with metastatic...
In a phase II trial (KEYNOTE-B61) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Laurence Albiges, MD, PhD, of Gustave Roussy, Paris–Saclay University, Villejuif, France, and colleagues found that first-line pembrolizumab plus lenvatinib produced durable responses in patients with advanced non–clear cell renal...
As reported in The Lancet by Zev A. Wainberg, MD, and colleagues, the phase III NAPOLI-3 trial has shown a modest but significant improvement in overall survival with first-line NALIRIFOX (liposomal irinotecan, oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and fluorouracil) vs nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine in patients ...
In the LEANer study, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Tara Sanft, MD, and colleagues, researchers found that an exercise and nutrition intervention did not improve relative dose intensity (RDI) among patients receiving neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer, but did...
As reported by Fred Saad, MD, and colleagues in The Lancet Oncology, the final prespecified overall survival analysis of the phase III PROpel trial showed no significant benefit with the addition of first-line olaparib to abiraterone in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer...
In an analysis from the Canadian Cancer Trials Group MA.32 study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pamela Goodwin, MD, MSc, FRCPC, FASCO, and colleagues found that adjuvant metformin did not reduce the risk of new primary invasive cancers vs placebo in patients with early breast cancer. ...
In a phase Ib/II study (innovaTV 205/GOG-3024/ENGOT-cx8) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ignace B. Vergote, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that tisotumab vedotin-tftv combined with carboplatin or pembrolizumab showed activity in both treatment-naive and previously treated patients with ...
In the phase III PIVOT IO 001 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Adi Diab, MD, and colleagues found that the addition of bempegaldesleukin, a pegylated interleukin-2 cytokine prodrug, to nivolumab did not improve treatment outcomes in previously untreated patients with advanced...
In a single-institution phase II study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Cytryn et al found that the combination of regorafenib, nivolumab, and FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin) showed activity as a first-line treatment regimen for patients with HER2-negative metastatic...
On September 13, during a meeting of the Cancer Cabinet, President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden announced a $240 million investment to accelerate advances in cancer-related projects, with the aim of improving treatments and reducing cancer mortality over the next 25 years. The funding,...
In an interim analysis of a small phase I study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Chiesa et al found that base-edited CAR7 T cells were active in pediatric patients with relapsed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). As stated by the investigators: “Cytidine deamination that is...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Cash et al, 10-year follow-up of the Children’s Oncology Group Study AEWS0031 has shown a maintained event-free survival benefit with interval-compressed chemotherapy vs standard-timing chemotherapy in patients with localized Ewing sarcoma....
The combination of benmelstobart, anlotinib, and chemotherapy may be effective at improving median progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer compared with placebo and chemotherapy, according to findings presented by Cheng et al at the...
The remarkable progress in medical research—primarily supported by federal investments in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI)—over the past 3 decades, coupled with advances in cancer prevention and early detection, has led to a 33% reduction in cancer...
The oral KRAS G12C inhibitor adagrasib may offer durable clinical activity, with a median overall survival of 14.1 months and a 2-year survival rate of about 33%, in patients with KRAS G12C–mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to findings presented by Gadgeel et al at the...
In a phase II trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Chen et al found that atezolizumab produced durable responses in patients with advanced alveolar soft-part sarcoma. As stated by the investigators: “Alveolar soft-part sarcoma is a rare soft-tissue sarcoma with a poor prognosis...
In the phase III DARS study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Nutting et al found that dysphagia-optimized intensity-modulated radiotherapy (DO-IMRT) was associated with improved patient-reported swallowing function vs standard IMRT in newly diagnosed patients with head and neck cancer. Study...
Head and neck cancer specialist Priyanka Bhateja, MD, Assistant Professor in the Division of Medical Oncology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, was encouraged by the findings of the Quarterback trial. As she noted in her comments for The ASCO Post, human papillomavirus...
De-escalation of chemoradiotherapy after induction chemotherapy yields excellent oncologic outcomes in patients with high-risk oropharyngeal cancer associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV). Results of the nonrandomized phase II Quarterback trial suggest that this subset of patients may be...
Discussing this study in her Highlights of the Day at the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting was Barbara Burtness, MD, the Anthony N. Brady Professor of Medicine and Chief Translational Research Officer at Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut. She noted that the premise of the FRAIL-IMMUNE trial...
As a first-line treatment of recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab plus weekly carboplatin and paclitaxel provided clinically significant efficacy in the phase II FRAIL-IMMUNE (GORTEC 2018-03) trial.1 This regimen may prove to be an effective...
In patients with N2 and N3 nasopharyngeal carcinoma, adjuvant treatment with concurrent gemcitabine and cisplatin significantly improved progression-free survival, with acceptable toxicity, over fluorouracil plus cisplatin, according to a phase III trial reported from Sun Yat-sen University Cancer...
The addition of the PD-1 inhibitor sintilimab to standard induction chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy resulted in a significant improvement in 3-year event-free survival, a manageable safety profile, and comparable quality of life in high-risk, locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma vs standard ...
Head and neck cancers comprise approximately 4% of all new cancer diagnoses globally and represent approximately 110,000 new cancer diagnoses and 17,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States. Head and neck cancers are a heterogenous group of malignancies where prognosis and treatment varies...
The first-in-class agent xevinapant (also known as Debio 1143), given with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, significantly improved overall survival in a phase II study of 96 patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.1 “This is the first study in decades to improve...
The invited discussant of the VERSATILE-002 and CUE-101-01 trials, Erminia Massarelli, MD, PhD, MS, said both are examples of a growing interest in evaluating immunotherapeutic strategies and treatment sequences in early-stage head and neck squamous cell cancer as well as in metastatic disease. Dr. ...