ASCO’S TARGETED Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) Study now provides a full list of patient cohort expansions and closures on its website. Based on treatment responses in stage I, patient cohorts are either expanded to stage II for further study and identification of a signal or...
John V. Cox, DO, FASCO, of the Parkland Hospital and Health System/University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, has served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP) since 2008. As a member of the journal’s inaugural Editorial Board, he has seen the publication evolve...
ASCO will recognize Douglas W. Blayney, MD, FASCO, medical oncologist and Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, with the Joseph V. Simone Award and Lecture for Excellence in Quality and Safety in the Care of Patients with Cancer. Dr. Blayney will be presented with the award at the...
For the third year, the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) is supporting the ASCO/American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Workshop on Methods in Clinical Cancer Research, to take place July 18–August 3, 2018, at Vail Mountain Marriott Resort in Vail, Colorado. Celebrating its ...
FORMAL DISCUSSANT of this trial, John V. Heymach, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, also was optimistic about these early findings. “This is a proof-of-concept study showing this approach is safe. Only modest activity was observed with standard [Response...
A NOVEL APPROACH using two doses of nivolumab (Opdivo) prior to surgery achieved major pathologic responses in 45% of patients with resectable stages I to IIIA non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the results of a small Stand Up 2 Cancer–Cancer Research Institute Dream Team study...
THE NUMBER of opioids prescribed after surgery for gynecologic cancer decreased significantly after implementation of an ultra-restrictive opioid prescription protocol, with no apparent negative effect on patient satisfaction or pain, according to research presented by Jaron Mark, MD, and...
PATIENTS UNDERGOING minimally invasive radical hysterectomy for early cervical cancer had higher rates of disease recurrence and worse disease-free, progression-free, and overall survival than did women who had the open approach, according to results from the phase III LACC trial, presented by...
PRETREATMENT CLINICAL findings may predict early treatment discontinuation in patients with ovarian cancer receiving checkpoint blockade immunotherapy agents. Data presented by MD candidate Julia L. Boland at the 2018 Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer revealed that...
THE QUANTITY of original research presented at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) Annual Conference has been growing, and at the 2018 meeting, 121 researchers presented their work. The ASCO Post captured some of the findings for this report. Blood Markers Correlate With Anti–PD-1...
USE OF THE FOLFIRINOX regimen (fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) was associated with a 4.9-month improvement in overall survival compared to gemcitabine/ nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) in the neoadjuvant treatment of resectable and borderline-resectable pancreatic head...
IN A PILOT study of recurrent glioma, 26% of patients treated with the optimal dose of vocimagene amiretroprepvec (aka Toca 511), a novel oncolytic virus therapy, achieved durable, long-term responses and remained alive 3 or more years later. This outcome far exceeded “historical benchmarks” for...
NEW RESEARCH suggests that current genetic testing guidelines for breast cancer are far too restrictive, excluding nearly half of high-risk patients. According to a pair of studies presented at the 2018 American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) Annual Meeting, women with breast cancer who did not ...
A STUDY OF local recurrence rates following lumpectomy has shown significant improvement in patients receiving modern, multimodal therapies, suggesting breast-conserving surgery may be an option for more patients with breast cancer, according to data presented at the 2018 American Society of Breast ...
A FEDERALLY FUNDED randomized study demonstrated that use of geriatric assessment in the routine care of older adults with advanced cancer significantly improved doctor-patient communication about age-related concerns as well as patient satisfaction with the communication. The study was presented...
“PRECISION MEDICINE is driving the most exciting and powerful advances in cancer care today, particularly in lung cancer. It’s encouraging to see that next-generation genetic testing tools can help physicians and their patients get the crucial genomic information needed to make treatment decisions, ...
AN ECONOMIC model comparing different types of genetic testing in metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) found using next-generation sequencing to test for all known lung cancer–related gene changes at the time of diagnosis was less costly and faster than sequentially testing one or a...
AN ANALYSIS of 1,800 lung cancer screening sites nationwide found that only 1.9% of more than 7 million eligible current and former heavy smokers were screened for lung cancer in 2016, despite U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and ASCO screening recommendations. Results from this...
A RANDOMIZED clinical trial evaluating the use of mobile and sensor technology to remotely monitor symptoms in patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancer found that use of this technology reduced the severity of symptoms related to cancer and its treatment compared with usual...
“THIS STUDY represents a true milestone in the field of lung cancer. For the first time, the vast majority of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can receive immunotherapy with pembrolizumab (Keytruda),” said ASCO expert John Heymach, MD, PhD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston,...
IMMUNOTHERAPY WITH pembrolizumab (Keytruda) improved overall survival compared with investigator’s choice of platinum-based chemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the KEYNOTE-042 trial. Median overall survival was improved by 4 to 8...
Dr. Hayes, ASCO President 2016–2017, is Professor of Internal Medicine; Stuart B. Padnos Professor in Breast Cancer; and Clinical Director of the Breast Oncology Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor. AS I COMPLETE my 3-year term as ASCO President, I am...
LISA CAREY, MD, the Richardson and Marilyn Jacobs Preyer Distinguished Professor in Breast Cancer Research at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, commented as the invited discussant for TAILORx, and Dawn L. Hershman, MD, FASCO, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology and Leader of the...
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED results of the phase III TAILORx study are in—and they indicate that the vast majority of patients with “intermediate-risk” early-stage breast cancer can forgo chemotherapy. “Our study shows that chemotherapy may be avoided in about 70% of women with hormone...
On June 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to venetoclax (Venclexta) for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), with or without 17p deletion, who have received at least one prior therapy. MURANO Approval was based ...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
In a phase II trial reported in JAMA Oncology by Debra L. Richardson, MD, of Stephenson Cancer Center, Oklahoma University Health Science Center, and colleagues, the addition of pazopanib (Votrient) to paclitaxel did not improve progression-free survival among women with persistent or recurrent...
Elderly patients with stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) showed improved overall survival when treated with chemoradiation compared with definitive radiation alone, according to findings published by Eric D. Miller, MD, PhD, of The Ohio State University, Columbus, and colleagues in the...
A Norwegian population–based cohort study indicated that the use of warfarin was associated with a reduced risk of cancer overall and site-specific cancers among patients aged > 50 years. The findings were reported in JAMA Internal Medicine by Haaland et al. As noted by the investigators,...
Ulixertinib (BVD-523) is an ERK1/2 kinase inhibitor with potent preclinical activity in BRAF- and RAS-mutant cell lines. Now, a multicenter phase I study investigating its safety and efficacy in the treatment of patients with advanced solid tumors has found that ulixertinib has an acceptable...
In the fall of 2015, I was feeling great. At age 37, I had just completed running my fourth half-marathon and regularly hiked trails near my home in Arlington, Texas, to stay fit in-between races. The only symptom that foretold what was in my future was some light watery discharge I was...
Colon cancer survivors who followed guidelines for healthy eating, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying physically active had higher 5-year survival rates than those who did not adhere to those guidelines, according to a study among 992 patients treated with stage III colon cancer.1 The 5-year ...
Following guidelines for proper nutrition, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying physically active may improve survival among patients treated for colon cancer, according to the results of a study with nearly 1,000 patients followed for a median of 7 years.1 “The study suggests that if...
The text and photographs on this page are excerpted from a four-volume series of books titled Oncology: Tumors & Treatment, A Photographic History, by Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS, and Elizabeth A. Burns. The photos below are from the volume titled “The X-Ray Era: 1901–1915.” The photographs...
Results from RELEVANCE, a phase III, randomized, open-label, international clinical study conducted in partnership with the Lymphoma Academic Research Organisation (LYSARC), were presented by Fowler et al at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 7005). This study evaluated the investigational...
Data presented by Clarke et al at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 5003) showed clinical improvement in median radiologic progression-free survival with olaparib (Lynparza) in combination with abiraterone (Yonsa, Zytiga) compared to abiraterone monotherapy, a current standard of care, in...
Results from KEYNOTE-407, a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase III study evaluating pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with carboplatin/paclitaxel or carboplatin/nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) as first-line treatment for metastatic squamous non–small cell lung cancer...
Underrecognized and inadequately managed, insomnia is a significant burden for many cancer survivors. Often persistent over several years following diagnosis and treatment, sleep problems negatively affect quality of life and elevate the risk of depression and anxiety. In this installment of The...
The Colorectal Cancer Alliance has opened its third annual international survey of young-onset colorectal cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers, with the intent of learning about and tracking the medical and psychosocial experiences of this often overlooked group, which comprises 11% of...
BOOKMARK Title: The Group: Seven Widowed Fathers Reimagine LifeAuthors: Donald L. Rosenstein, MD, and Justin M. Yopp, PhDPublisher: Oxford University PressPublication Date: January 2018Price: $28.95; hardcover, 192 pages Looking back, the cancer advocacy movement took shape in two waves: the first ...
On May 4, 2018, dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) in combination was granted approval for treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic anaplastic thyroid cancer with BRAF V600E mutation and no satisfactory locoregional treatment options.1-3 Dabrafenib is not indicated for ...
Many patients with follicular lymphoma relapse within 2 years of initial therapy, and for a number of these individuals, hematopoietic cell transplantation is a good treatment option. Transplant, however, both autologous and allogeneic, is vastly underutilized in these patients, according to Mehdi ...
For over a decade, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been the standard first-line agents in the management of patients with advanced or metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma.1-3 Historically, phase III trials of first-line VEGF therapies included...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Robert J. Motzer, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues, the phase III CheckMate 214 trial has shown an overall survival advantage with nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) vs sunitinib (Sutent) in patients with...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Caroline Robert, MD, PhD, of Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France, and colleagues, a high proportion of patients with metastatic melanoma achieving a complete response on pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in the phase Ib KEYNOTE-001 trial maintained...
As reported in The Lancet by Pagès et al, an international collaboration has validated the consensus Immunoscore for colon cancer as a predictive tool for recurrence of disease. Study Details An international consortium of 14 centers in 13 countries, led by the Society for Immunotherapy of ...
For patients with multiple myeloma who have been treated with lenalidome (Revlimid) but have relapsed and not responded to other therapy, a three-drug combination can significantly extend the time in which the disease is held in check. The findings of the phase III OPTIMISMM trial were presented by ...
Interim results from cohort A of KEYNOTE-427, a phase II trial evaluating pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as first-line treatment for advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC), were presented by McDermott et al at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 4500). Interim data showed an overall response...
Overall survival (OS) data from the ARCHER 1050 trial evaluating dacomitinib as a first-line treatment for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR-activating mutations compared to gefitinib showed a median OS of 34.1 months for patients...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, O’Connor et al found that anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) agents rapidly reached eligible patients after U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. The study also showed that real-world patients were...