Although so-called liquid biopsies are now helping to determine the need for adjuvant therapy for a number of malignancies, oropharyngeal carcinoma is not yet one of them, according to a prospective pilot study from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. The investigators evaluated the use of...
The addition of a checkpoint inhibitor to standard chemotherapy as first-line treatment of advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer not only reduced the risk of disease progression but improved overall survival, particularly for the mismatch repair–deficient/microsatellite instability–high...
Although KRAS was once considered an untargetable mutation, KRAS inhibitors are now approved for the treatment of KRAS-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and are emerging as a potential option for the treatment of KRAS G12C–mutated colorectal cancer in combination with other therapies....
My maternal grandmother, mother, and two of my mother’s sisters were all diagnosed with breast cancer when they were relatively young, so I figured one day, the disease would come for me. Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among Alaska Native women,1 and at a very early age, my...
In a UK-based prospective cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Turtle et al found that among patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 infection, those receiving cancer treatment had a higher rate of in-hospital mortality vs those without a cancer diagnosis. Study Details The study included...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pegulicianine (Lumisight) for adult patients with breast cancer to assist in the intraoperative detection of cancerous tissue within the resection cavity following removal of the primary specimen during lumpectomy. Pegulicianine is a...
Researchers may have uncovered how the long-term daily use of aspirin may help prevent the development and progression of colorectal cancer, according to a recent study published by De Simoni et al in Cancer. Study Methods and Results In the recent study, the researchers collected the tissue...
On April 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the type II RAF inhibitor tovorafenib (Ojemda) for patients 6 months of age and older with relapsed or refractory pediatric low-grade glioma harboring a BRAF fusion or rearrangement or BRAF V600 mutation. This...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Barker et al found that induction treatment with vismodegib followed by concurrent treatment with vismodegib and curative-intent radiation therapy showed efficacy in patients with locally advanced unresectable basal cell carcinoma. ...
On April 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved nogapendekin alfa inbakicept-pmln (Anktiva) with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) for adults with BCG-unresponsive non–muscle invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ with or without papillary tumors. QUILT-3.032 Trial Efficacy...
A neoadjuvant chemohormonal therapy combination may offer extended control of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in patients with locally advanced prostate cancer compared with hormonal therapy alone, according to a recent study published by Qian et al in The Journal of Urology. Background...
This is Part 1 of Treatment Options for Relapsed/Refractory Follicular Lymphoma: What Comes Next, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Andrew M. Evens, L. Elizabeth Budde, and Carla Casulo discuss the second-line...
In the single-center phase II Natalie trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Jimenez et al found that cabozantinib was active in patients with unresectable and progressive metastatic pheochromocytomas or paragangliomas (MPPGs). As stated by the investigators: “Up to 50% of MPPGs are associated with ...
Following a healthy diet may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in female breast cancer survivors, according to a recent study published by Ergas et al in JNCI Cancer Spectrum. Background Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of non–breast cancer–related mortality among...
On April 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the tyrosine kinase inhibitor alectinib (Alecensa) for adjuvant treatment after tumor resection in patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as detected by an FDA-approved test. Alectinib is an orally...
A novel MDM2 inhibitor has demonstrated antitumor activity in progressive salivary cancer, particularly adenoid cystic carcinoma, according to data presented at the 2024 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium. Results of the phase I/II trial showed an overall response rate of 13% and a...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cao et al found that U.S. adult cancer survivors had higher levels of mobility disability and self-care disability than adults without a cancer diagnosis. Study Details The study focused on data from 47,768 adult cancer survivors (aged ≥ 18...
Pain, a debilitating consequence of cancer and its treatments, is highly prevalent among patients with advanced cancer.1 Often persistent and undertreated, it is associated with poor functional and emotional well-being and typically occurs along with insomnia and fatigue.2 The use of opioids,...
Researchers may have uncovered the mechanisms behind conventional immunotherapy resistance as well as the efficacy of adoptive therapy in metastatic uveal melanoma, according to a recent study published by Leonard-Murali et al in Nature Communications. The findings demonstrated the potential to...
Investigators have uncovered persistent inequities in breast cancer that may systematically leave many patients behind in spite of recent improvements in research, treatment, and survival, according to a recent report from The Lancet Breast Cancer Commission. These findings were published by Coles...
Success stories in research, advocacy, and education from low- and middle-income countries deserve international recognition to motivate the next generation of researchers and practitioners and enrich global oncology. I recently had the privilege to speak with Ouissam Al Jarroudi, MD, about her...
In the phase II PHERGain trial reported in The Lancet, Pérez-García et al found that a positron-emission tomography (PET)-based, pathologic complete response (pCR)-adapted treatment strategy produced “excellent” 3-year invasive disease–free survival results in patients with HER2-positive early...
In a single-center phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Campbell et al found that cabozantinib monotherapy showed activity in adult patients with advanced adrenocortical carcinoma. Study Details In the trial, 18 patients enrolled at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Yi-Long Wu, MD, and colleagues, the phase III ALINA trial has shown significantly improved disease-free survival with adjuvant alectinib vs platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with resected ALK-positive NSCLC. Study Details In the...
The combination of immunotherapy, targeted therapy, and chemotherapy could be the new standard first-line treatment of patients with high-grade, advanced ovarian cancer with BRCA wild-type, homologous recombination deficiency (HRD)-positive tumors, according to data presented during the Society of...
Investigators have uncovered genetic variants that may predispose certain female patients to prevalent or persistent human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and increase their risk of developing cervical cancer, according to a recent study published by Adebamowo et al in the European Journal of Human ...
In a pooled analysis of data from clinical trials in the ACCENT/IDEA databases reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Claire Gallois, MD, and colleagues found that patients aged ≥ 70 years receiving oxaliplatin-based adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer had a similar time to...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by de Boniface et al, the phase III SENOMAC trial showed noninferiority in recurrence-free survival with sentinel node biopsy alone vs completion axillary node dissection in patients with breast cancer and sentinel node metastases. Study Details In ...
Long-term exposure to radon gas may be associated with a rise in nonsmoking lung cancer cases, according to a recent consumer survey conducted on behalf of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center–Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC–James)....
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by L. Elizabeth Budde, MD, PhD, and colleagues, extended follow-up of the dose-escalation phase of a phase I/II trial showed that the CD20 x CD3 T-cell–engaging bispecific antibody mosunetuzumab-axgb—given as an off-the-shelf fixed-duration outpatient ...
Researchers have found that a novel urine biomarker test may effectively halve the number of cystoscopies necessary in high-risk patients with bladder cancer, according to recent findings presented by Dreyer et al at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress 2024. The research also...
Undergoing a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test every 5 years may be adequate for screening low-risk men for prostate cancer, according to recent findings presented by Albers et al at the European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress 2024 and simultaneously published in European Urology....
In a Canadian study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sheila N. Garland, PhD, and colleagues found that virtually delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) improved perceived cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) vs waiting list controls in cancer survivors. Study ...
In a retrospective study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kittai et al found that anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy showed activity in previously treated patients with Richter transformation. Study Details In the study, 69 patients who received CAR T-cell therapy ...
Certain proteogenomic signatures in the prostate cancers of men of African and European ancestries were associated with higher risk of metastasis and/or recurrence of the disease, according to a study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024 (Abstract...
The novel poly-ADP ribose polymerase-1 (PARP1)-selective inhibitor saruparib demonstrated early efficacy and a favorable safety profile in patients with homologous recombination repair (HRR)-deficient breast cancer, according to new findings presented by Yap et al at the American Association for...
TG4050, a personalized neoantigen vaccine, induced tumor-specific immune responses and led to low rates of disease relapse in patients with surgically resected human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC), according to results reported at the American Association...
SYNC-T—an investigational therapy that combines a device-induced vaccination at the tumor site with an intratumoral infusion of a multitarget biologic drug—led to numerous clinical responses in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, according to results reported at the...
An adjuvant treatment regimen that included autogene cevumeran, an investigational individualized neoantigen-specific mRNA vaccine, induced durable and functional T-cell responses that were associated with a reduced risk of disease recurrence in certain patients with resectable pancreatic cancer,...
The PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody cadonilimab plus chemotherapy improved progression-free and overall survival in patients with untreated, HER2-negative, locally advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer—including those with PD-L1–low tumors—compared with...
On April 5, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ciltacabtagene autoleucel (Carvykti) for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior line of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor and an immunomodulatory agent, and...
The combination of the antibody-drug conjugate mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx and the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab showed notable activity in patients with recurrent or persistent microsatellite-stable endometrial cancer, according to new findings presented by Porter et al at the...
Adding a personalized antitumor vaccine to the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab may be safe and about twice as effective at shrinking tumors in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma compared with pembrolizumab alone, according to new findings presented by Yarchoan et al at the American Association for ...
According to recent studies, the incidence of early-onset cancers—often defined as those diagnosed in individuals younger than age 50—is on the rise, and not just in the United States but globally as well. Research shows that between 1990 and 2019, the global incidence of early-onset cancer...
In 1992, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) instituted its Accelerated Approval regulations, which allow drugs that treat serious conditions and fill an unmet need to be approved early based on a surrogate endpoint. However, any drug approved under this pathway is still required to undergo ...
Two recent studies have offered new insights into the treatment of muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma following cystectomy, according to findings presented by Powles et al and Galsky et al at the European Association of Urology Congress 2024. The research could allow physicians to target...
Researchers have identified microbiota signatures that are associated with KRAS mutations in patients with colorectal cancer, according to a recent study published by Huang et al in Microbiology Spectrum. The findings suggest that gut microbes may serve as a noninvasive biomarker for subtypes of...
In a single-center phase I/II study (LOKON001) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Musher et al found that treatment with an oncolytic virus–based immunostimulatory gene therapy (LOAd703) plus chemotherapy was feasible and safe in patients with unresectable or metastatic pancreatic ductal...
A study published by Brieghel et al in Blood Advances showed that among patients in Denmark who had slow-growing chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with no symptoms and a low risk for ever needing treatment, those who stopped seeing their doctors for specialized follow-up had fewer hospital visits, ...
A Medicare policy requiring shared decision-making between primary care physicians and patients regarding whether to proceed with lung cancer screening may require further examination, according to a recent study published by Kale et al in the Annals of Family Medicine. The findings indicated that...