As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Rosenthal et al, the phase III NRG Oncology RTOG 0521 trial showed that the addition of docetaxel to androgen suppression and radiotherapy improved overall and disease-free survival as well as the distant metastasis rate in patients with high-risk...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Radhakrishnan et al found that the level of involvement of medical oncologists and primary care physicians during initial cancer care in women with early-stage breast cancer affected patients’ preference for provider roles after initial ...
Researchers have shown that selectively destroying cancerous prostate tissue may be as effective as complete prostate removal or radiation therapy, while preserving more sexual and urinary function than these other treatments. The study was published by Wasler et al in the Journal of Vascular and...
Fewer women are assigned to a dense-breast category when evaluated with advanced mammographic screening technologies compared to standard digital mammography, according to a new study published by Gastounioti et al in Radiology. Density Assessment A woman’s breast density is assessed during ...
Wells A. Messersmith, MD, of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, discusses results of recent clinical trials, emerging treatment options, and approaches that may improve outcomes in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.
A new method of determining the sequence of molecules in DNA can be used to detect small fragments of cancerous genetic material in blood samples from patients with lung cancer with a high degree of accuracy, according research published by Li et al in Annals of Oncology. Liquid Biopsies and...
New research published by Dinan et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network provides evidence that genomic recurrence score testing using the 21-gene assay is associated with decreased cancer care costs in real-world practice among certain patients with breast...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Cagney et al found that pachymeningeal seeding was fairly common after neurosurgical resection in patients with brain metastases treated with adjuvant stereotactic radiation. Study Details The study involved 1,188 consecutive patients...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Meric-Bernstam et al, the combination of pertuzumab and trastuzumab showed activity in HER2-amplified metastatic colorectal cancer in the phase IIa multiple basket study MyPathway. The study is evaluating activity of targeted therapies in nonindicated tumor...
Michelle B. Riba, MD, of the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, discusses the prevalence of distress in patients with cancer, the need for a quick and simple screening method to identify patients with distress, and strategies for improving integration of psychosocial care into routine...
Margaret A. Tempero, MD, of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses new adjuvant therapy options for patients with pancreatic cancer, and germline testing, including testing for microsatellite instability/mismatch repair genes as well as molecular analysis of all tumors.
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Rodriguez-Ruiz et al found that a stand-alone artificial intelligence (AI) system had accuracy comparable to an average breast radiologist in detecting breast cancer using digital mammography. Study Details In the retrospective...
As reported by Bates et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, an analysis from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study indicated that radiation doses in conjunction with heart volume exposed to radiation and anthracycline treatment were associated with increased risk of late-onset cardiac disease in...
A treatment previously shown to treat the precancerous skin lesions called actinic keratosis now appears to also reduce the chance that these pretreated lesions will develop into squamous cell carcinoma. In a report published by Rosenberg et al in JCI Insight, researchers found that treatment with...
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted a safety statement on the investigational use of venetoclax in multiple myeloma, and also posted a warning letter against a company for illegally marketing unapproved products labeled as homeopathic. Safety Statement The FDA posted...
Eric Jonasch, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses major findings over the past 12 months in kidney cancer, including combination immunotherapies and trends in surgical oncology.
Matthew A. Gubens, MD, of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses recent updates to the NCCN Guidelines in non–small cell lung cancer, including the use of pembrolizumab as a single agent or in combination based on PD-L1 status, treatment selection in squamous and...
In a Danish study reported in JAMA Surgery, Jørgensen et al found that the nationwide introduction of minimally invasive robotic surgery for early-stage endometrial cancer was associated with a reduction in the incidence of severe complications. The nationwide prospective cohort study...
In a validation study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Terry et al found that the Breast and Ovarian Analysis of Disease Incidence and Carrier Estimation Algorithm model (BOADICEA) and the International Breast Cancer Intervention Study model (IBIS) were the best of 4 models tested for predicting...
A study among epithelial ovarian cancer survivors from 25 cooperative Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup centers in France showed similar quality of life compared to healthy controls who were randomly selected from the electoral rolls, but persistent long-term fatigue. The researchers found depression,...
A study of over 64,000 women of childbearing age in the United States has found that infertility is associated with a higher risk of developing cancer compared to a group of over 3 million women without fertility problems—although the absolute risk is very low, at just 2%. These findings ...
Researchers have found the lower risk of breast cancer associated with multiple pregnancies and breastfeeding in the general population extends to those at the highest risk of breast cancer. These results were published by Terry et al in the JNCI Cancer Spectrum. Methods and Findings The...
A new study published by Zarrinpar et al in Liver International has found that elderly, diabetic, and Hispanic patients with steatohepatitis—fatty liver disease—may have a higher risk of developing liver cancer. Ali Zarrinpar, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Surgery at the...
In the PROPHECY study, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Armstrong et al found that positive findings on 2 assays for circulating tumor cell (CTC) androgen receptor splice variant 7 (AR-V7) were associated with poorer outcomes for abiraterone and enzalutamide therapy in men with...
As reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice by Anderson et al, a study of patients enrolled in Minnesota’s Medical Cannabis Program showed that the use of medical cannabis was associated with improvement in reported symptoms in patients with cancer. The study involved data on 1,120...
In the phase II TBCRC 022 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Freedman et al found that the combination of neratinib and capecitabine was active against brain metastases in women with HER2-positive breast cancer. Modest activity of neratinib monotherapy had been found in previous...
Jyoti D. Patel, MD, of the University of Chicago, discusses immunotherapy for locally advanced NSCLC, selecting patients for these treatments, and the potential toxicities of combination therapies.
Aaron S. Mansfield, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, summarizes a session he moderated on rare thoracic cancers such as mesothelioma and thymic epithelial tumors, as well as novel imaging and treatments in neuroendocrine tumors.
Heather A. Wakelee, MD, of Stanford University, discusses the most recent FDA-approved tyrosine kinase inhibitors that target EGFR and ALK mutations, how these agents fit into the treatment landscape, and the rapidly evolving field of TKI resistance.
Data from post hoc exploratory analyses from the phase III ARIEL3 clinical study of rucaparib in recurrent ovarian cancer was presented during oral plenary and poster sessions at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 50th Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer. These analyses...
Watch upcoming issues of The ASCO Post for news reports from the 2019 Multidisciplinary Thoracic Cancers Symposium, taking place March 14-16, 2019, in San Diego. Watch for reports on these presentations, plus much more. “Improved Overall Survival with Local Consolidative Therapy in...
“We strongly oppose the White House budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2020, which would stall our nation’s progress against cancer and impede access to needed care for the millions of Americans dealing with cancer. The proposal would make drastic, unprecedented cuts to the U.S. Department of...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Douglas Kondziolka, MD, of NYU Langone Health System, and colleagues found that patients undergoing Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery for nonmalignant neurosurgical conditions did not appear to be at long-term increased risk of...
Results from a clinical trial presented by Cibula et al at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 50th Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer showed that a new immunotherapy treatment significantly prolongs survival in women with recurrent ovarian cancer when added to standard...
In a French phase III trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Stéphane Oudard, MD, PhD, of Hôpital Européen Georges Pompidou, and colleagues found that the addition of docetaxel to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) did not improve prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression-free survival in men with...
As reported by Bertrand Tombal, MD, of the Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, and colleagues in The Lancet Oncology, treatment with enzalutamide was associated with clinically meaningful delays in pain progression, symptom worsening, and deterioration in...
Findings from a recent clinical trial presented in a Scientific Plenary session at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 50th Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer revealed that women with recurrent ovarian cancer who received niraparib as maintenance therapy experienced more time...
Most oncologists are comfortable treating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) patients with cancer, according to a survey of 149 oncologists from 45 National Cancer Institute–designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers, but not as confident in their knowledge of the...
A survey of oncologists from National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers found that 95.3% of oncologists who responded are comfortable with treating lesbian, gay, and bisexual patients with cancer, and 82.5% are comfortable treating transgender patients with cancer.1...
At the end of 2015, I was dying. I was just 50 years old and a wife and mother of 2 teenage boys. Twelve years earlier, I had been diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ in my left breast. Despite a modified radical mastectomy and removal of nearly all of the lymph nodes in my left underarm—which ...
BOOKMARK Title: The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight LossAuthor: Jason Fung, MDPublisher: Greystone BooksDate: March 2016Price: $18.95, paperback; 296 pages According to data from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), obesity plays a significant role in developing at least 12 different ...
A recent National Cancer Database study has shown the current standard of care for advanced cervical cancer—external-beam radiation and chemotherapy in combination with brachytherapy—provides significantly higher overall survival over chemoradiation alone. However, the addition of...
The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced recently that New England Cancer Specialists is the newest member of the Dana-Farber Cancer Care Collaborative. Participation in the Collaborative reflects a demonstrated commitment to excellence by meeting a wide array of standards and best practices....
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is accepting candidate nominations for The Sjöberg Prize 2020. The Sjöberg Prize for Cancer Research is awarded to scientists who have made major contributions to our knowledge about disease mechanisms, risk factors, or the treatment or prevention of cancer....
A study by Pierce et al presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology’s (SGO) 50th Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer showed that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination rates in Alabama are highest in counties with high incidence rates of HPV-related cancer (Abstract 13). ...
Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute have announced that medical oncologist/hematologist Nalini Hasija, MD, has joined the statewide practice, which encompasses a network of nearly 100 locations. Dr. Hasija will be seeing patients at the Tampa Cancer Center. Professional Training Dr. ...
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,...
On January 15, 2019, WebMD, an online and print health-care resource for consumers, presented its 2018 Health Heroes Award in New York City to 7 people who are making a difference in oncology care. The honorees include Karen M. Winkfield, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at Wake...
On March 18, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in combination with carboplatin and etoposide for the first-line treatment of adult patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. IMpower133 Approval was based on the IMpower133 study, a...
Two recent publications in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), and the resulting drug approval applications that have already been filed, lead to concern that the basis of medical practice on valid evidence may be corrupted. Each involves statistically shaky analysis leading to a striking...