Advances in treating breast cancer “increasingly create opportunities to consider where radiation therapy might safely be omitted,” Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, told participants at the 2021 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.1 “But, I would encourage us,” she continued, “not to assume that women who...
HER2-targeted chimeric antigen receptor macrophages (CAR-M) could be the next cell therapies to treat advanced solid tumors overexpressing HER2, according to data presented by Kim A. Reiss, MD, and colleagues at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2021 Annual Meeting (Abstract 951)....
Longer-term follow-up of the global phase III monarchE trial showed an increasing benefit for adding abemaciclib to endocrine therapy in the adjuvant treatment of early high-risk hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, regardless of Ki67 index. The latest findings were reported at a ...
In the phase II coopERA Breast Cancer trial, which evaluated two endocrine neoadjuvant therapies in estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer, the oral selective estrogen receptor degrader giredestrant led to a greater reduction in Ki67 level—a measure of cancer cell...
Tools that make it easier for patients to access care and for their physicians to monitor their health status have also emerged with the advent of digital resources. In the closing panel of the NCCN Policy Summit, participants described tools developed by their own organizations to improve quality...
Artificial intelligence, digital therapeutics, telehealth, biometric monitoring: the terms alone are enough to suggest that cancer care is entering a new age, one characterized by tools and practices based on technologic innovation. To explore the impact of these new tools, the National...
National surveys consistently show that spirituality and religion are important components in the lives of most Americans, with more than 90% of adults expressing a belief in God and more than 70% identifying religion as one of the most important influences in their lives.1 Studies also show that...
Invited discussant of CheckMate 743, Pilar Garrido, MD, PhD, pointed out there has been little progress in treating patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma over the past 15 years, and there are limited therapeutic options. Dr. Garrido is Associate Professor of Medical Oncology at Universidad...
The ASCO Post has published a wealth of practice-changing studies and news about other advances presented during the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2021. In addition to the biggest news from this international meeting, here are several summaries of interesting study findings...
Newly identified genetic abnormalities in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), as well as therapies that can target some of those abnormalities, are now available as the landscape for treatment continues to evolve. During the 2021 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Congress: Hematologic...
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) lengthens progression-free survival for patients with advanced lung cancer who have oligoprogression (ie, tumors that have not been fully responsive to systemic chemotherapy or immunotherapy), according to an interim analysis of the CURB oligoprogression...
Invited discussant Elizabeth Nichols, MD, of the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, Baltimore, commented on both the phase II TRIUMPH-T and the phase III MC1635 trials. “There are multiple techniques in use for accelerated partial breast irradiation. Optimal dose and fractionation are...
Two studies reported at the 2021 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting provide evidence in support of the use of accelerated radiation therapies as safe alternatives to standard radiotherapy options following breast-conserving surgery. The phase III MC1635 trial showed...
Sophia C. Kamran, MD, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, commented on the NRG Oncology GU003 study at a press conference where this abstract was discussed. Dr. Kamran was not involved in this trial. “This is a potentially practice-changing study in an area ...
Newly identified genetic abnormalities in AML have led to novel therapies that can target some of them, as the landscape for treatment continues to evolve. During the 2021 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies, Alice S. Mims MD, presented updates in...
In the international phase III EPOCH trial, patients with colorectal liver metastases who experienced disease progression on first-line therapy derived significant benefit from treatment with transarterial yttrium Y-90 radioembolization in combination with systemic chemotherapy, according to Mary...
Although patients with multiple myeloma can respond to initial treatment, once a patient has had three or four different types of therapy, and the disease is deemed relapsed or refractory, treatment becomes more complicated. This is related to both clinical characteristics, as patients may develop...
“Regarding Dr. Nguyen’s study, genomic classifiers are here. They are the future of our field for personalized prostate cancer therapy,” stated Sophia C. Kamran, MD, Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, speaking at a press conference where this abstract was...
Sophia C. Kamran, MD, a radiation oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the RTOG 0815 study, commented: “The results of RTOG 0815 demonstrate that in the setting of contemporary dose-escalated...
Most children and adolescents with cancer have mild COVID-19 disease and make a full recovery, a new study by Haeusler et al in the European Journal of Cancer has found. But pediatric patients with cancer and underlying health conditions, severe infections, and low white blood cell counts were...
Patients with two out of the three most common types of advanced breast cancer now have an average survival time of at least 5 years, according to a panel of experts at the Advanced Breast Cancer Sixth International Consensus Conference (ABC6), which was held virtually this year. The Advanced...
About 10 years ago, on a flight to Detroit, while returning from the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, I had a conversation with Lori Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, radiation oncologist at the University of Michigan, who went on to become ASCO President for the 2020–2021 term. I recall inviting her...
The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) has announced the recipients of the 2021 LCRF Research Grant on Disparities in Lung Cancer, awarding $300,000 in research grants for projects focused on disparities in lung cancer. This funding mechanism will provide $150,000 over a period of 2 years...
The invited discussant of BrighTNess,1 Monica Arnedos, MD, PhD, Head of the Breast Cancer Research Program at the Institut Bergonié in Bordeaux, France, said the findings add to growing support for using carboplatin in triple-negative breast cancer, but their clinical application could be...
In patients with early resectable triple-negative breast cancer, not only did the addition of carboplatin to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy improve pathologic complete response rates, it also improved 4-year event-free survival, regardless of BRCA status, according to the latest analysis of the...
Women Leaders in Oncology has named Pamela Kunz, MD, the 2021 Woman Oncologist of the Year. Dr. Kunz is Associate Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology), Director of the Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center, Chief of GI Medical Oncology, and Vice...
Individuals with solid tumors had an appropriate, protective immune response to vaccination against SARS–CoV-2, at least with the mRNA-1273 vaccine, and side effects were no more common than in the general population, according to a large Dutch study.1 The study was reported during the European...
Mary Pasquinelli, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, was the recipient of this year’s James L. Mulshine, MD, National Leadership Award presented during the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s Quantitative Imaging Workshop held virtually earlier in November. Dr. Pasquinelli is a nurse practitioner in the Division of...
Invited discussant of the study on medication nonadherence, Michaela A. Dinan, PhD, Co-Leader of Cancer Prevention and Control at Yale Cancer Center and Associate Professor of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, in Connecticut, noted that the CAHPS survey data provide...
Approximately 1 in 10 long-term survivors of cancer fails to take medications as prescribed due to financial hardship, according to research presented at the 2021 ASCO Quality Care Symposium.1 However, indirect health-care costs—not drug copays—may be responsible, the study investigators ...
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, MD, honored the late Henrietta Lacks with a WHO Director-General’s award, recognizing her world-changing legacy. Ms. Lacks, a Black American woman, died of cervical cancer 70 years ago, on October 4, 1951. While she...
Alice S. Mims, MD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the many positive changes over the past 5 years in treating patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia in the upfront setting. She also details future directions, including further combining therapies...
The Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center–Jefferson Health (SKCC) has named Marcia Brose, MD, PhD, FASCO, as Vice Chair of Medical Oncology and SKCC Regional Chief of Cancer Services at Jefferson Torresdale Hospital in Northeast Philadelphia. Dr. Brose’s areas of expertise include thyroid cancer, rare...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recognized the recipients of its 2021 Gold Medal awards and other honors at the 63rd ASTRO Annual Meeting, held October 24 to 27 in Chicago. ASTRO Gold Medal Colleen A.F. Lawton, MD, FASTRO, and Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, received the Gold ...
Fox Chase Cancer Center recently announced the hiring of Teresa Y. Lee, MD, PhD, as Assistant Professor. Dr. Lee will focus on caring for patients with sarcoma and head and neck cancer. Dr. Lee began her tenure at Fox Chase following her completion of a hematology/oncology fellowship at Thomas...
Adjuvant immunotherapy with atezolizumab after standard chemotherapy improved disease-free survival and time to locoregional and distant relapse compared with best supportive care in prespecified subgroups of patients with stage II to IIIA non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to an...
Treatment with arginine, an amino acid, enhanced the effectiveness of radiation therapy in patients with cancer and brain metastases in a proof-of-concept, randomized clinical trial published by Marullo et al in Science Advances. The recently published paper reported the results of administering...
A “big problem, maybe the major one,” with risk-reducing medications for breast cancer is low uptake among women at high risk of breast cancer,” Seema A. Khan, MD, told participants at the 2021 Annual Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.1 Dr. Khan is Professor of Surgery and the Bluhm Family...
Risk-reducing medications for breast cancer may be effective for many women, and recently reported and ongoing trials have led to improvements in their tolerability and safety, Seema A. Khan, MD, reported at the 2021 Annual Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium (virtual).1 Dr. Khan is Professor of...
The invited discussant of the FIRSTMAPP study, Rocio Garcia-Carbonero, MD, of Hospital Universitario 12 de Octubre, Madrid, emphasized that pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma are rare tumors, and once they become metastatic, which is even more rare, there are few treatment options. “This is very...
The invited discussant of the study on out-of-pocket costs of cancer care, Michaela A. Dinan, PhD, Co-Leader of Cancer Prevention and Control at Yale Cancer Center and Associate Professor of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, Connecticut, underscored the study’s key...
Rising cost-sharing requirements from private insurance have exacerbated the financial burden for patients with cancer, according to research presented at the 2021 ASCO Quality Care Symposium.1 Analysis of claims data on the four most prevalent cancers in the United States—female breast,...
The invited discussant of this study on patient-reported outcomes, Areej El-Jawahri, MD, Associate Director of Cancer Outcomes Research and Education Program and Director of Bone Marrow Transplant Survivorship Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, said these findings underscore the importance...
According to data presented during the 2021 ASCO Quality Care Symposium,1 1-month changes in patient-reported outcomes may predict treatment response and survival outcomes in patients with advanced gastrointestinal cancers. The results of a prospective study of 159 patients with metastatic...
Findings from a novel telemedicine effort to screen patients for lung cancer screening during the COVID-19 pandemic show that virtual single-visit screenings may be just as effective as single-visit screenings done in person, according to a study presented by Magarinos et al at the American College ...
The novel WEE1 inhibitor adavosertib, given after induction chemotherapy, yielded a 65% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death compared with active monitoring in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and TP53/RAS mutations, according to the randomized phase II FOCUS4-C trial....
“KRAS G12C inhibitors as monotherapy yield a relatively low overall response rate, but when you combine them with an EGFR [epidermal growth factor receptor] inhibitor, the response rate is nearly double,” said Federica Di Nicolantonio, MD, PhD, Professor of Oncology at the University of Turin in...
A study presented by Manning et al at the 2021 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 53) showed that interventions to help Black patients overcome obstacles to completion of treatment can impact disparities in survival outcomes between Black and White patients...
Although overall cancer cases are declining, they are on the rise in older adolescents and young adults (AYAs). Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) recently announced the establishment of the Lisa and Scott Stuart Center for Adolescent and Young Adult Cancers (the Stuart Center), expanding ...
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center recently appointed Caroline Chung, MD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology and Diagnostic Radiology, the new Vice President and Chief Data Officer (CDO). As the institution’s first-ever CDO, Dr. Chung will be responsible for shaping MD...