New research has shed light on how skewed X chromosome inactivation may be linked to the development of cancer and cardiovascular disease, according to a novel study published by Roberts et al in eLife. Background Because the X chromosome has so many more genes than the Y chromosome, in every cell...
In an externally controlled phase III trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Liau et al found that the addition of an autologous tumor lysate–loaded dendritic cell vaccine (DCVax-L) to standard of care improved survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma and recurrent glioblastoma compared...
In a study reported as a research letter in JAMA, Shahmoradi et al found that the incidence of cervical cancer decreased or remained stable in U.S. women between 2001 and 2019, except for an increase in the 30- to 34-year-old age group in more recent years. As stated by the investigators, “A recent ...
A novel artificial intelligence (AI) blood testing technology—known as DELFI (DNA evaluation of fragments for early interception)—may successfully detect more than 80% of hepatocellular carcinomas, according to a new study published by Foda et al in Cancer Discovery. The findings were also...
More than 1.4 million patients were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020 globally, but the molecular characteristics of the disease remain unexplored for the majority of patients around the world. In the final days of the Movember campaign, which every year in November aims to raise awareness of...
In a phase I dose-escalation and expansion study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Funda Meric-Bernstam, MD, and colleagues found that zanidatamab, a novel bispecific monoclonal antibody directed against two nonoverlapping domains of HER2, showed activity in locally advanced or metastatic...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Yamaguchi et al, an exploratory cohort analysis in a Japanese/South Korean phase II trial (DESTINY-Gastric01) indicated that fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (TDX-d) showed activity in previously treated—but anti-HER2 treatment–naive—patients with...
November is Caregiver Awareness Month, and timely findings from a study published by Amonoo et al in the journal Blood Advances suggested that, among caregivers of patients undergoing a stem cell transplant, how someone approaches coping can influence the levels of anxiety, depression, and poor...
Survivors of pediatric cancer who consumed more total sugar, added sugar, and sugar-sweetened beverages had more aging-related health conditions than survivors who consumed less sugar, according to a new study presented by Lan et al at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Special...
Patients with cancer who are living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection had an increased epigenetic age compared with patients with cancer living without the HIV infection, according to a new study presented by Coghill et al at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)...
There is a 2-decades-long separation between the time I was diagnosed with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in 1996 and my laryngectomy in 2016. The surgery was necessary because of the long-term damage to my larynx from the radiation therapy I received. In 1996, I had a low-grade sore throat...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, Guest Editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with C.S. Pramesh, MS, FRCS, Director of the Tata Memorial Hospital and Professor and Head of Thoracic Surgery at the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, India. Dr. Pramesh is the Convener of the...
Myeloma expert Sarah A. Holstein, MD, PhD, was born and reared in Iowa City, a college town in eastern Iowa along the banks of the Iowa River. “The town itself is small, but it doubles in population when all the college students are present. Both my parents had a PhD in humanities, so I had no...
With longer-term follow-up, adjuvant treatment with osimertinib led to a 77% reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death following complete resection vs placebo-treated patients with EGFR-mutated, stage II to IIIA non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Disease-free survival was improved...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In this installment, Drs. Syed Ali Abutalib and Mrinal M. Patnaik explore the current treatment and prognosis of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. For each quiz question...
Researchers have discovered that patients with type 2 diabetes who develop cancer are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease if they do not undergo routine screenings, according to a new study published by Jansana et al in the European Journal of Cancer. The new findings were also...
Fabrice André, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Oncology at the Gustave Roussy Cancer Center, Villejuif, France, and Chairman of the Biomarker Group at UNICANCER, provided comments on the stage IIA cohort of the PALLAS trial. “The key message from PALLAS1 is there is no signal for efficacy of...
A 3-week course of radiation therapy including a concomitant boost of radiation to the surgical site appears to be as safe and effective as 4 to 6 weeks of radiation therapy given with a sequential boost of radiation for patients with early-stage breast cancer who have a high risk of recurrence....
Colorectal cancer ranks third among cancer deaths in both men and women in the United States, with an estimated 150,000 new cases and 52,000 deaths anticipated in 2022.1 Colorectal cancer rates have declined by approximately 2% per year from 2014 to 2018 in people older than age 50, which is...
In a phase I/II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Eric Bouffet, MD, and colleagues found that trametinib alone or in combination with dabrafenib was safe and showed activity in pediatric patients with BRAF V600–mutant low-grade glioma. Study Details In the international four-part ...
First-line maintenance therapy with olaparib extended survival beyond historical expectations in some women with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer, according to long-term follow-up of two phase III studies presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2022.1,2 Paul...
In a phase II trial (SALV-ENZA) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Phuoc T. Tran, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the addition of enzalutamide to salvage radiotherapy improved freedom from prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression in patients with biochemically recurrent prostate...
In an analysis from a Canadian/U.S. phase III trial (Alliance N107C/CEC.3) reported in JAMA Oncology, Palmer et al found that use of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) vs whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) among patients who had undergone resection of one brain metastasis was associated with better...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Melissa L. Johnson, MD, and colleagues, the pivotal phase III POSEIDON trial has shown significantly improved progression-free and overall survival with the addition of tremelimumab and durvalumab to platinum-based chemotherapy in the first-line...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO, and colleagues, the final overall survival results of the pivotal phase III SOPHIA trial have shown no significant difference between margetuximab-cmkb plus chemotherapy vs trastuzumab plus chemotherapy in previously...
On November 8, 2022, cemiplimab-rwlc was approved for use in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy for first-line treatment of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with no EGFR, ALK, or ROS1aberrations.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was supported by findings in the...
For many patients who have smoldering myeloma, early treatment can slow or delay the disease’s progression to multiple myeloma, according to a new study published by Sklavenitis-Pistofidis et al in Cancer Cell. Investigators demonstrated that changes in immune system cells may indicate which cases...
On September 21, 2022, selpercatinib was granted accelerated approval for adults with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors with RET gene fusion whose disease has progressed on or following prior systemic treatment or who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options.1 On the same day,...
The 2022 State of Lung Cancer report by the American Lung Association revealed that only 5.8% of eligible Americans had been screened for lung cancer in 2021, and some states had screening rates as low as 1%. The 5th annual report highlighted how the toll of lung cancer varied by state and examined ...
On September 2, 2022, durvalumab was approved for use in combination with gemcitabine/cisplatin for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the double-blind TOPAZ-1 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jelinek et al provided evidence that a threshold of ≥ 2% circulating tumor plasma cells (CTCs) defines the presence of plasma cell leukemia (PCL)-like multiple myeloma. As stated by the investigators, “Primary PCL is the most aggressive...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Green et al found that only 1% to 2% of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries aged ≥ 65 years with cancer were enrolled in interventional cancer clinical trials. Study Details The study assessed clinical trial participation among patients...
Immune checkpoint inhibitors are safe and effective for people living with HIV who have metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to data presented by El Zarif et al at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2022 Annual Meeting (Abstract 437). Findings from the first matched...
As reported in The Lancet by Brennan et al, the European phase III EURO EWING 2012 trial found improved event-free survival with a standard U.S. chemotherapy regimen vs a standard European regimen in newly diagnosed patients with Ewing sarcoma. As stated by the investigators, “Internationally, a...
On November 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tremelimumab (Imjudo) in combination with durvalumab (Imfinzi) and platinum-based chemotherapy for adult patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with no EGFR mutations or ALK genomic tumor aberrations. ...
The ASCO Post asked for comment from Glenn J. Hanna, MD, Director of the Center for Salivary and Rare Head and Neck Cancers, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Hanna said it is important to put the findings of KEYNOTE-4121 into context...
Cedars-Sinai Cancer Medical Center recently announced the appointment of Yuan Yuan, MD, PhD, a breast medical oncologist and physician scientist who specializes in triple-negative breast cancer and breast cancer immunotherapy, as Director of Breast Oncology. Finding Cutting-Edge Therapies...
The invited discussant of the post hoc analysis of TROPiCS-02 was Shom Goel, MBBS, PhD, Laboratory Group Leader at the University of Melbourne and a consultant oncologist at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Australia. Dr. Goel noted there remains much to learn about the HER2-low subset of...
In a post hoc analysis of the phase III TROPiCS-02 trial, sacituzumab govitecan-hziy improved efficacy outcomes in HER2-negative immunohistochemistry (IHC) subgroups.1 Results were consistent with those of the intent-to-treat population of hormone receptor–positive/HER2-negative advanced breast...
A new study, published recently in JCO Oncology Practice, found that oncologists have different perspectives on how to select starting doses for patients with metastatic cancer.1 The study shared findings from a 2021 international survey of 367 medical oncologists who treat patients with metastatic ...
After 4 years, a limited course of five cycles of tremelimumab added to durvalumab plus chemotherapy extended overall survival in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with chemotherapy alone, according to an updated exploratory analysis of the phase III POSEIDON...
An updated ASCO guideline recommends lutetium-177–labeled PSMA-617 (LuPSMA), a targeted radioligand therapy, for patients with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have been treated with one prior line of androgen receptor pathway...
As reported in The Lancet by Manali Kamdar, MD, of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, Aurora, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase III TRANSFORM trial has shown significantly improved event-free survival with second-line lisocabtagene maraleucel vs standard-of-care salvage...
For the first time in a multicenter randomized trial, T-cell therapy has been shown to improve outcomes in a solid tumor. In the phase III M14TIL trial, first-line or second-line treatment with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) led to a 50% reduction in disease progression or death from advanced ...
Abstract discussant Anand Devaraj, MD, PhD, Professor in Thoracic Radiology at Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, and Professor of Thoracic Radiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, highlighted the increased risk of second primary tumors among current...
Overall survival results from two trials of abemaciclib in advanced breast cancer were reported at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2022. Both MONARCH 3 and monarcHER previously met their primary endpoints of progression-free survival. The current results for overall...
I don’t know why I am so susceptible to developing lung cancer. Since 2014, I have been diagnosed with both non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer, each occurring in my right lung. I have also been diagnosed with precancerous colon polyps, which necessitated invasive surgery. ...
The results of ECHELON-1 were presented by David J. Straus, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, at the 2022 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies. Dr. Straus said: “It is a great honor and privilege to present updated results...
To achieve its goal of eliminating cervical cancer, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on all countries “to reach and maintain an incidence rate of below 4 per 100,000 women.” Doing so would depend on the following: A total of 90% of girls being fully vaccinated against human...
The treatment paradigm for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) continues to evolve in the first-line setting and beyond, with the availability of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors, the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax, and novel combinations of these agents with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies....