ASCO and ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation proudly recognize the winners of ASCO’s Special Awards, the Society's highest honors, and Conquer Cancer's Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Awards. The recipients of these awards have worked to transform cancer care around the world. ASCO...
ASCO President Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, FASCO, issued the following statement earlier this week: 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...
A new survey of radiation oncologists points to a sharp decline in the use of prophylactic cranial irradiation for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), indicating a rapid change in standard practice for the disease following the 2017 publication of a major clinical trial by...
A new clinical trial found that exposing patients to tailored versions of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN®) Guidelines for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may help drive smoking cessation, testing for potential biomarkers and, for early-stage disease, more...
A new analysis of patients treated with local consolidative therapy for oligometastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) found that the intensive treatment approach is associated with improved overall survival. Local consolidative therapy—consisting of radiation therapy or...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ready et al, the phase II CheckMate 568 trial has shown that higher tumor mutational burden is associated with response, irrespective of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in first-line nivolumab plus low-dose ipilimumab treatment of ...
Today, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex M. Azar II appointed Norman E. Sharpless, MD, to be the acting Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). He will be replacing the current FDA Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, MD, who announced his resignation on March 5....
In a French phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Balleyguier et al found that the addition of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to standard radiologic evaluation did not improve surgical reintervention rates in women with ductal carcinoma in situ undergoing...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved trastuzumab-qyyp (Trazimera), a biosimilar to trastuzumab (Herceptin), for the treatment of human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)-overexpressing breast cancer and HER2-overexpressing metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal...
Researchers have found that some commercial cancer cell lines used for laboratory studies have mislabeled ancestry when it comes to minorities. These findings were published by Hooker et al in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. “A lack of diversity is prevalent in every level...
Nearly half of all childhood cancers are not being diagnosed globally, according to a new modeling study published by Ward et al in The Lancet Oncology. “Our model suggests that nearly one in two children with cancer are never diagnosed and may die untreated,” said lead...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, McKay et al found a trend toward improved pathologic response or minimal residual disease with the addition of neoadjuvant abiraterone and prednisone to enzalutamide and leuprolide prior to radical prostatectomy in patients with...
In a UK population-based cohort study (Teenage and Young Adult Cancer Survivor Study) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Bright et al found that subsequent primary neoplasms were most common in survivors of adolescent and young adult (AYA) breast, cervical, and testicular cancers, as well as Hodgkin...
In the phase IIIb/IV CheckMate 511 study reported by Lebbé et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a regimen of nivolumab at 3 mg/kg plus ipilimumab at 1 mg/kg (NIVO3+IPI1) was found to significantly reduce the incidence of treatment-related grade 3 to 5 adverse events compared with...
There is a plethora of educational books for patients with cancer and their families; advocates and patients themselves write most. Books in this genre often have a difficult time distilling the hard science of oncology into a lay-friendly narrative that keeps the reader engaged from cover to...
In an interim analysis of a prospective cohort study (IOTA5) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Wouter Froyman, MD, and colleagues found that the risk of malignancy and acute complications is low when adnexal masses with benign ultrasound findings are managed conservatively. In the study, patients...
In a prospective cohort clinical trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Constance D. Lehman, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that multiple factors, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings, played a role in conversion to mastectomy among women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who were...
In a patient-level meta-analysis reported in The Lancet, the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group found that an increased dose intensity of adjuvant taxane and anthracycline chemotherapy in early breast cancer was associated with a decreased risk of recurrence and death from breast...
MY BREAST CANCER was probably a decade in the making, although I only became aware that there might be a problem in 2014, when I noticed some slight pain in my left breast. A routine mammogram and ultrasound found benign cysts in my dense breasts, which most likely explained the pain, I was told,...
AS PART of The ASCO Post’s continued coverage of the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here is an update on several different studies on new therapeutics in non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs), including follicular lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), ...
ON FEBRUARY 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved trifluridine/tipiracil tablets (Lonsurf)—a fixed combination of trifluridine, a nucleoside metabolic inhibitor, and tipiracil, a thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor—for adult patients with metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to atezolizumab (Tecentriq) plus nanoparticle albumin-bound (nab)-paclitaxel (Abraxane) for the treatment of adults with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic, programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-positive ...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies sometimes used by patients with cancer. Gary Deng, MD, PhD, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, explore the use of omega-3 fatty acids, which have...
JUST 2 MONTHS before Congress passed what to this day is America’s most sweeping anticancer legislation, President Richard Nixon came to Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland, to declare his administration’s historic commitment to the fight. “I have come here today for the purpose of making an...
ROY L. SILVERSTEIN, MD, an expert in platelet and vascular cell biology, as well as clinical nonmalignant hematology and thrombosis, will serve as President of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) for a 1-year term through December 2019. Dr. Silverstein is Chairman of the Department of...
Prosecuting health-care fraud is a top priority for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and other federal government agencies.1,2 After all, the government earns a $6 return for every $1 that it spends on enforcement. In December 2018, the DOJ announced that it had obtained more than $2.5 billion...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. On January 14, 2019, cabozantinib was approved for the...
THE TREATMENT approaches for multiple myeloma, both newly diagnosed and relapsed disease, continue to undergo major transformation as new agents and combinations are being introduced.1 This change has been driven by the introduction of novel drug classes such as monoclonal antibodies, as well as...
AS REPORTED in The New England Journal of Medicine by Meletios A. Dimopoulos, MD, of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and colleagues, the phase II ELOQUENT-3 trial has shown that the addition of elotuzumab to pomalidomide and dexamethasone significantly prolonged...
RECENTLY, THE American Society of Hematology (ASH) submitted feedback on draft recommendations for reforming Maintenance of Certification (MOC) to a commission appointed by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and other entities. The “Vision Commission” released a report of its draft...
The findings of the National Lung Screening Trial (NLST), reported in 2011, revealed that participants who received low-dose helical computed tomography (CT) scans had a 20% lower risk of dying of lung cancer than participants who received standard chest x-rays. Despite these results,...
MICHIANA HEMATOLOGY Oncology has announced that Robin Zon, MD, FACP, FASCO, has been elected President by its shareholders. In her new role as President, Dr. Zon will oversee and maintain leadership of the practice. Dr. Zon is a member of ASCO and was awarded Fellow status; with ASCO, she served...
THE U.S. PREVENTIVE Services Task Force (Task Force) announced the addition of two new members: Michael Cabana, MD, MA, MPH, and Lori Pbert, PhD. Both were appointed to serve 4-year terms, which began in January 2019. Dr. Cabana is Professor of Pediatrics, Epidemiology, and Biostatistics and a...
Shortages of essential chemotherapy drugs for children undergoing cancer treatment have been an increasingly frequent obstacle for patients and hospitals in the United States. These shortages can result in increased medication errors, delayed administration of life-saving therapy, inferior...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) has published a new book of patient information that explains prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for squamous cell skin cancer. Squamous cell and basal cell skin cancers are responsible for about 5 million annual incidents of nonmelanoma...
A qualitative study yielded nine patient-driven recommendations across circumstances that include changes to insurance, supportive services, and financial assistance to reduce long-term, breast cancer–related economic burden. The study was published by Dean et al in Cancer. Unique...
In a modeling study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Simms et al detailed the preventive effects on cervical cancer that could be achieved by scaled-up human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and cervical screening efforts with the aim of disease elimination. The major modeling projections are...
A study evaluating a prognostic signature derived from integrating tumor budding, lymphocyte infiltration, and their spatial relationship has found that the method could more accurately stratify patients with stage II colorectal cancer at high risk for disease-specific death compared with...
The presence of nevi is an established risk factor for melanoma. In light of this, researchers examined the association between the presence of nevi on extremities and the risk of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers. Their findings were published by Wei et al in the Journal of the American...
A single dose of a programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor before resection for melanoma may predict clinical outcomes for patients. Researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania—who documented this finding in the largest cohort of patients to be...
Men with early-stage testicular cancer can safely receive one course of adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy without it having a long-term effect on their reproductive potential, according to a study published by Weibring et al in Annals of Oncology. Although it is known already that several...
In a report from the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, McNeer et al found that hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) did not improve outcomes in pediatric patients with hypodiploid B-lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). Study Details The study was a...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology by Nicolosi et al, it was found that 17% of men with prostate cancer had likely deleterious germline genetic variants, and that many of these men would not have been considered candidates for genetic testing. Study Details The study involved data from 3,607...
In the international phase III LION study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Harter et al found that lymphadenectomy did not improve progression-free or overall survival vs no lymphadenectomy in women with advanced ovarian cancer. Study Details The trial enrolled 647 women with...
On March 5, 2019, Scott Gottlieb, MD, announced his resignation as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a post he began in 2017. Dr. Gottlieb’s resignation will be effective next month. In a resignation letter to Alex M. Azar II, Secretary of Health and Human Services ...
The FDA recently issued announcements on a Fast Track designation, a Priority Review, two supplemental new drug applications, an investigational new drug application, and a marketing clearance. The agency also released a safety communication on cancer-related surgery. Fast Track Designation for...
Kentucky has been one of the most successful states in reducing its uninsured rate, which happened in part through the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion that took effect on January 1, 2014. In the past, Kentucky has reported low rates of colorectal cancer screening, and has ranked ...
While artificial intelligence (AI) systems for skin cancer detection have shown promise in research settings, there is still a lot of work to be done before the technology is appropriate for real-world use. This was the topic of a scientific session at the 2019 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) ...
In a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Salloum et al found that changes in medulloblastoma therapy over 3 decades that have improved survival have also increased risk for subsequent neoplasms and debilitating health conditions. As noted...
In a German phase III trial (CeTeG/NOA–09) reported in The Lancet, Herrlinger et al found that the addition of adjuvant lomustine to temozolomide and radiotherapy improved overall survival in newly diagnosed glioblastoma with methylated MGMT promoter. The researchers noted that findings...