The phase III ZEST clinical trial, designed to evaluate the PARP inhibitor niraparib for the prevention of breast cancer recurrence in patients with circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), failed to accrue enough patients positive for ctDNA, according to results presented at the 2024 San Antonio Breast...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cosibelimab-ipdl (Unloxcyt), a PD-L1–blocking antibody, for adults with metastatic or locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma who are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation therapy. The approval was granted on December 13,...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Knudsen et al found evidence supporting the consideration of extending the rescreening intervals after a negative colonoscopy screening result beyond the currently recommended 10 years, particularly among individuals with a low-risk profile. Study Details The...
Over 40 years ago, I lost my dear sister, Gale, to cancer. She left behind a beautiful 4-year-old daughter and a grieving family. Driven by this profound loss, I was determined to ensure that no other family would face that same heartbreak. That resoluteness led to the founding of Friends of...
Implementing the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Geriatric Surgery Verification program may help to improve postoperative outcomes and preserve independence in older patients with cancer undergoing major abdominal procedures, according to a recent study published by Jimenez et al in the Journal...
For patients with “good-risk” ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who underwent breast-conserving surgery and did not receive radiotherapy, tamoxifen significantly decreased the risk of recurrence in the same breast, according to results presented at the 2024 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium...
Patients with intermediate-risk breast cancer had similar rates of 10-year overall survival whether or not they underwent chest wall irradiation after mastectomy, according to results from the BIG 2-04 MRC SUPREMO clinical trial, presented by Ian Kunkler, MA, MB BChir, of the University of...
Researchers have revealed that high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation may not benefit patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who are in remission following initial treatment, according to new findings presented by Fenske et al at the 2024 American Society of...
Patients with low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who underwent active monitoring and those who received upfront treatment reported comparable physical, emotional, and psychological outcomes, according to results from the COMET trial presented at the 2024 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium...
Among patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), those who underwent active monitoring had similar 2-year invasive ipsilateral breast cancer recurrence rates as those who underwent guideline-concordant treatment, according to results from the...
A follow-up study investigating the coadministration of CD19- and CD22-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in children with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) found the therapy is safe and effective and achieved durable remissions in these patients, ...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Andre et al, interim analysis of the phase III CheckMate 8HW trial has shown that nivolumab plus ipilimumab prolonged progression-free survival vs chemotherapy with or without targeted agents in patients with microsatellite instability–high...
Patients with germline BRCA gene mutations and a history of early-onset breast cancer who underwent a bilateral risk-reducing mastectomy and/or a risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy had lower rates of recurrence, secondary breast and/or ovarian malignancies, and death than those who did not...
Consuming a high-fiber diet after undergoing stem cell transplantation may help to reduce the risk of graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) by cultivating a healthy gut microbiome, according to research presented by Paredes et al at the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting &...
A combination of the oral drugs acalabrutinib and venetoclax may be more effective at improving progression-free survival and minimizing serious adverse events in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) compared with one of two standard multidrug treatment regimens,...
Recent data suggest that a plant-based diet rich in fiber may help to improve the outlook for people with precursor conditions that can lead to multiple myeloma. The research, which involved a 12-week controlled diet with additional health coaching for 20 patients as well as experiments in mice, is ...
Imlunestrant, an investigational next-generation oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD), significantly improved progression-free survival vs standard of care in patients with ESR1-mutated breast cancer, according to data from the phase III EMBER-3 trial, presented by Komal Jhaveri, MD,...
Timothy S. Fenske, MD, of the Medical College of Wisconsin presented an initial report from the ECOG-ACRIN EA4151 phase III randomized trial exploring outcomes of autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (ASCT) in mantle cell lymphoma. The researchers randomized patients in first complete...
A bacterial toxin may accelerate the spread of colorectal cancer to other parts of the body, according to a recent study published by He et al in Cell Host & Microbiome. The findings could pave the way for novel tools to detect metastatic colorectal cancer early and determine which patients may ...
The antibody loncastuximab tesirine may offer a benefit in patients with high-risk follicular lymphoma and marginal zone lymphoma, according to the findings of two clinical trials presented by Alderuccio et al and Lossos et al at the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting &...
The experimental drug rilzabrutinib was well tolerated and generated an increase in platelet counts among some adults with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) who had not experienced lasting improvements with other available ITP treatments, according to the results of a phase III trial. These findings...
An analysis of the results from the ongoing randomized phase III AQUILA study found that daratumumab monotherapy was well tolerated and demonstrated a clinically meaningful and significant benefit in preventing or delaying progression to active multiple myeloma compared with active monitoring in...
A large prospective observational study of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has found that lower socioeconomic status is a barrier to accessing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) but does not affect posttransplant outcomes. Interventions that address financial issues, improve...
Findings from a series of studies conducted in mice, human tissues, and healthy volunteers suggest that a ketogenic diet may enhance the effectiveness of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. The results point to β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), a substance produced when a ketogenic diet is...
The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), an SABCS cosponsor, will honor two researchers for their significant contributions to breast cancer research during the 2024 SABCS. 2024 AACR Distinguished Lectureship in Breast Cancer Research ...
Intense pain on the right side of my lower rib cage, in 2020, sent me first to my chiropractor for relief and then to my primary care provider for tests. Because of the location of the pain, the chiropractor thought I might be having a gallbladder attack, but the results from a urine test showed a ...
The Lindy effect (also known as Lindy’s Law) is a theorized phenomenon by which the future life expectancy of some nonperishable thing, such as a technology or an idea, is proportional to its current age. Thus, the Lindy effect proposes the longer a period something has survived to exist or be used ...
Guest Editor’s Note: The Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) held its 21st International Conference in Costa Mesa, California. The conference theme was “Full Circle Translational Integrative Oncology: From Bedside to Bench and Back.” The Southern California vibe fostered collegiality and...
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this occasional special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Cameroon. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the...
A novel immunotherapy may offer a new option for patients with bladder cancer who no longer respond to bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), according to a study presented on December 5 at the 2024 Society of Urologic Oncology Annual Meeting in Dallas. The therapy, cretostimogene grenadenorepvec, is an...
Over the past decade, ASCO has focused its resources on advancing health equity for sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals with cancer. In 2017, the Society published a position statement “Strategies for Reducing Cancer Health Disparities Among Sexual and Gender Minority Populations,” which...
Improvements in cancer prevention and screening have averted more deaths from five cancer types combined over the past 45 years than treatment advances, according to a modeling study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study, published by Goddard et al in JAMA...
A self-pay, artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced breast cancer screening program could help improve breast cancer detection rates, according to new findings presented by Sorensen et al at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2024 Annual Meeting (Abstract R5B-SPBR-4). Background Despite ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted accelerated approval to zanidatamab-hrii (Ziihera), a bispecific HER2-directed antibody, for previously treated, unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive (IHC 3+) biliary tract cancer, as detected by an FDA-approved test. The FDA also...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently has approved an oral solution of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, imatinib mesylate, called Imkeldi, to treat certain types of leukemia and other cancers. The new solution is an advanced liquid formulation of imatinib designed to provide dosing...
Durvalumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, has shown activity in treating a wide range of cancers and has been proposed as a potentially safer and more effective option than cetuximab, according to Loren K. Mell, MD, Professor and Vice Chair of Clinical and Translational Research at University of ...
Two weeks after the 2024 election, the Presidency and 119th Congress are coming into focus, with nearly all races called. Republican Donald Trump was elected President, and Republicans regained control of the U.S. Senate (53–47) and maintained control in the House of Representatives (218–212 at...
The soaring number of cancer survivors since the National Cancer Act of 1971 was enacted into law provides a snapshot of the profound progress made against cancer over the past half-century: 3 million survivors in the 1970s,1 compared to more than 18 million today, and that number is expected to...
On December 4, 2024, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved durvalumab (Imfinzi) for adults with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) whose disease has not progressed following concurrent platinum-based chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Efficacy was evaluated in ADRIATIC...
In a French phase II trial (MGMT-NET) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Walter et al found evidence of activity of alkylating agent–based therapy among patients who have neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) with MGMT-deficient (dMGMT) status. Study Details In the multicenter open-label trial,...
At the 2024 JADPRO Live event, which is held annually for advanced practitioners in oncology, high-risk myelofibrosis was a featured topic. “The treatment landscape has developed so much that JADPRO asked us to present our talks on the main stage this year,” said Julie Huynh-Lu, PA-C, Supervisor...
Targeting certain bacterial strains linked to cancer with treatments or vaccines may help to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer, urothelial carcinoma, and prostate cancer, according to a novel study published by Mäklin et al in The Lancet Microbiome. Background The bacterium Escherichia coli is...
A recent nationwide survey has confirmed that prior authorization may cause treatment delays, abandoned treatments, hospitalizations, and deaths among patients with cancer, according to an executive summary published by the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). The findings may reinforce ...
The results of the HARMOny study published in JACC: CardioOncology by Beekman et al did not reveal a long-term adverse effect of prophylactic surgical menopause on the development of coronary artery calcium—a marker of cardiovascular disease risk—in women with a high familial risk of ovarian...
Based on the phase III E3F05 trial, conducted by the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (ECOG-ACRIN), the combination of radiation therapy and temozolomide appeared to be more effective than radiotherapy alone in the treatment of low-grade gliomas. The trial followed 172 patients for more than 10...
“Artificial intelligence [AI] will be used in all aspects of [lung cancer] screening…, and it continues to get better,” commented topic overview speaker David F. Yankelevitz, MD, Professor of Radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, at the Quantitative Imaging Workshop...
Worldwide, more than a billion people have obesity—including 650 million adults, 340 million adolescents, and 39 million children1—a rate that has nearly doubled since 1980.2 In the United States alone, about two out of three adults are overweight or have obesity, and one out of three have...
Adding chemoradiation to perioperative chemotherapy improves pathologic complete response rates in patients with resectable gastric cancer but does not extend overall survival, according to data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 20241 and published...
In the phase III IMROZ trial, the addition of the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody isatuximab-irfc to bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRd) was more effective than VRd alone as initial therapy in patients ≤ 80 years with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma ineligible for transplant,...
New research has shown that postmenopausal women with low-risk tumors have a long-term benefit for at least 20 years, whereas the benefit was more short-term for younger women with similar tumor characteristics who had not yet gone through menopause. The results were reported in the Journal of the ...