The level of genomic alterations in genes associated with the oncogenesis of specific solid tumor types is being investigated in patients that have demonstrated an exceptional response to currently approved targeted therapies, researchers announced at the International Congress on Targeted...
WAFIK S. EL-DEIRY, MD, PhD, FACP, Deputy Cancer Center Director for Translational Research, and Co-Leader of the Molecular Therapeutics Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, shared his thoughts on these findings with The ASCO Post. In essence, Dr. El-Deiry suggested the comparison does ...
THE OPTIMAL treatment sequence for two approved agents in metastatic colorectal cancer may be regorafenib (Stivarga) before cetuximab (Erbitux), according to results from the small randomized Japanese REVERCE trial presented at the 2018 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.1 Giving regorafenib...
AN INVESTIGATIONAL TOOL called ColotypeR classifies colon cancers by molecular subtype and creates a subtype-specific risk of recurrence, according to research. Developers of the tool say it will be able to guide treatment decisions. Colon cancer is highly heterogeneous in prognosis and response to ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Gannavarapu et al found that substantial unintentional weight loss prior to treatment is common among patients with cancer across stages of disease and is associated with poorer outcome. Study Details The retrospective cohort study included ...
A study examining prevalence estimates of colorectal cancer screening at the county level in the United States has found that the country is far behind reaching the goal of screening 80% of adults aged 50 and older for colorectal cancer by 2018, which is supported by the National Colorectal Cancer...
People with stage III colon cancer who regularly eat nuts are at significantly lower risk of cancer recurrence and mortality than those who don’t, according to findings published by Fadelu et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Findings The study followed 826 participants in the CALGB...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) has released new NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) intended to help make sure people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) who are diagnosed with cancer receive safe, necessary treatment. According to ...
OBESE PATIENTS with metastatic melanoma who are treated with targeted or immune therapies live significantly longer than those with a normal body mass index (BMI), according to a study published in The Lancet Oncology of 1,918 patients in 6 independent clinical cohorts.1 This effect—referred to as ...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Kleppe et al found that a novel marker for chromatin organization in tumor cell nuclei was associated with outcome in a variety of cancer types. Study Details In the study, machine learning algorithms analyzed chromatin organization in 461,000 images of ...
David Baraghoshi, of the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, discusses an assessment of cardiovascular risk more than 10 years after diagnosis for colorectal cancer survivors compared with a cancer-free general population cohort (Abstract 113).
When Yelak Biru was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1995, he and his physicians had one main posttreatment goal: to detect and treat any relapse early and to prolong survival as long as possible with the limited drugs available. Then, in the early 2000s, came newer treatments. Myeloma survival...
In a discussion of the study, Douglas Corley, MD, PhD, of the Division of Research at Kaiser Permanente, San Francisco Medical Center, California, said it remains unclear whether blood tests can improve the early detection of cancer, though such an approach would be welcomed. “We are getting closer ...
Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in the blood had an accuracy of up to 88% in detecting colorectal cancer and 84% in identifying adenomas, in a study from Taiwan presented at the 2018 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium by Wen-Sy Tsai, MD, of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taipei.1 “The study ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Overman et al, findings in the nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) cohort of the CheckMate-142 study indicate a high response rate and durable responses with the combination in previously treated patients with DNA mismatch...
Preliminary results from the phase II portion of the TiNivo study, a phase Ib/II multicenter trial of oral tivozanib in combination with intravenous (IV) nivolumab (Opdivo) for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were presented by Escudier et al at the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers...
A follow-up study to a randomized clinical trial reveals that exercising during adjuvant chemotherapy helps people engage in more physical activity years later. Four years later, people with breast or colon cancer who had participated in an 18-week exercise program while receiving chemotherapy...
STEPHEN LEONG, MD, of the University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center, Aurora, discussed the RAINFALL findings at the symposium, commenting, “The study did meet its primary endpoint of progression-free survival; however, it was disappointing not to see a benefit in overall survival or...
DISCUSSANT ZSOFIA KINGA STADLER, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, found the nivolumab (Opdivo)/ipilimumab (Yervoy) combination results very encouraging but was also impressed with the monotherapy arm. Both approaches are significant advances in treatment, she said. “The treatment of ...
IN THE FIRST REPORT of the full cohort of CheckMate-142, nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) led to a 1-year overall survival rate of 85% in previously treated patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who have DNA mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) or microsatellite instability–high...
Neil Johnson, PhD Richard Pomerantz, PhD Vasily Studitsky, PhD Italo Tempera, PhD Kuang-Yi Wen, PhD The Fox Chase Cancer Center is pleased to announce the first winners of its new privately funded pilot project grants. The program supports cutting-edge...
On May 23, 2017, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was granted accelerated approval for treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) solid tumors progressing following prior treatment and who have no...
This past September, Olivier Elemento, PhD, Associate Director of the Institute for Computational Biomedicine and Director of the Laboratory of Cancer Systems Biology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, was named Director of Weill Cornell’s Englander Institute for Precision Medicine. In this...
As reported by Aparicio et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a French phase III trial (PRODIGE 9) showed no benefit of maintenance bevacizumab (Avastin) during postinduction chemotherapy-free intervals in metastatic colorectal cancer. Study Details In the open-label trial, 491 patients from ...
In a phase IIa multiple-basket study (MyPathway) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hainsworth et al found that agents targeting specific molecular alterations produced responses in tumors outside of current labeling for the agents, with high response rates being observed in some tumor...
Researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) and GeneDx, a genetic testing company, have identified two new genetic mutations associated with breast cancer: MSH6 and PMS2. The researchers’ study—published by Roberts et al in Genetics in Medicine—suggests that...
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers developed a single blood test that screens for eight common cancer types and also helps identify the location of the cancer. The test, called CancerSEEK, is a unique noninvasive, multianalyte test that simultaneously evaluates levels of eight cancer...
This past December, nearly 400 medical professionals from a variety of fields—including medical oncology, palliative care, science, nursing, social work, and psychology—and 23 countries traveled to Atlanta, to attend the 2nd Global Adolescent & Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Congress. The 3-day...
Nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) led to a 1-year overall survival rate of 85% in previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer patients with DNA mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) or microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) tumors. These data were presented in the first report ...
Updated results were recently reported from the 30 patient safety lead-in of the phase III BEACON CRC trial evaluating the triplet combination of encorafenib (a BRAF inhibitor), binimetinib (an MEK inhibitor), and cetuximab (Erbitux, an anti–EGFR antibody) in patients with BRAF-mutant...
THE CANCER death rate dropped 1.7% from 2014 to 2015, continuing a drop that began in 1991 and has reached 26%, resulting in nearly 2.4 million fewer cancer deaths during that time. The data are reported in “Cancer Statistics, 2018,” the American Cancer Society’s comprehensive annual report on...
GIVE YOUR PATIENTS ASCO-approved information on diagnosis, treatment, side effects, and the psychosocial impact of cancer. Cancer.Net is ASCO’s patient information website, and it offers fact sheets and comprehensive, patient-friendly ASCO Answers guides. These easy-to-read materials cover breast, ...
Mark Saunders, MD, PhD, of Christie Hospital, discusses study findings on tumor sidedness and the influence of chemotherapy duration on disease-free survival (Abstract 558).
Thierry André, MD, of Hôpital Saint-Antoine, and Michael J. Overman, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discuss findings from their respective CheckMate-142 studies on nivolumab and ipilimumab in patients with DNA mismatch repair–deficient/microsatellite instability–high...
“There is huge potential to positively influence a patient’s experience and outcomes” by addressing concerns about sexual function after cancer treatment early in the course of treatment planning, Stacy Tessler Lindau, MD, MA, stated in her keynote address at the 11th Annual Oncofertility...
A new study has found that a test that identifies circulating tumor cells (CTCs) present in the bloodstream can detect colorectal cancer at an early stage, with accuracy ranging from 84% to 88%. Most prior studies using CTCs have been able to detect late-stage colorectal cancer, and this study is...
Increasing use of a potentially life-saving treatment for metastatic cancer is leaving too many vulnerable patients behind, according to a new study from Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital published by Kann et al in JNCCN – Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The...
The cancer death rate dropped 1.7% from 2014 to 2015, continuing a drop that began in 1991 and has reached 26%, resulting in nearly 2.4 million fewer cancer deaths during that time. The data is reported in “Cancer Statistics, 2018,” the American Cancer Society’s...
Having valued communications from ASCO since its birth, I was disappointed by the Society’s position on alcohol consumption and cancer risk, as published in a recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO)1 and summarized in the November 25 issue of The ASCO Post. The statement seems to me ...
Results from the C SCANS (Colorectal Cancer: Sarcopenia, Cancer, and Near-Term Survival) study indicate that prediagnosis systemic inflammation and at-diagnosis sarcopenia are associated with an increased mortality risk in patients with nonmetastatic colorectal cancer. The findings were reported...
A meta-analysis of three randomized trials (FOXFIRE, SIRFLOX, and FOXFIRE-Global) indicates no overall survival benefit of adding first-line selective internal radiotherapy to chemotherapy in patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer. The findings were reported by Wasan and colleagues...
In a research letter to JAMA, Rebecca L. Siegel, MPH, of the American Cancer Society, and colleagues reported that overall colorectal cancer mortality rates have declined in the United States between 1970 and 2004 in patients aged 20 to 54 years. Between 2004 and 2014, colorectal cancer mortality...
The Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai has been honored with a 3-year accreditation with commendation from the American College of Surgeons (ACS). The accreditation is recognized by the National Cancer Institute, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Joint...
As researchers learn more about the natural history of cancers, as more drugs are effective for more types of the disease, and as the number and complexity of combination therapies increase, the more important it is that new drugs and permutations of old ones be available to patients. The U.S. Food ...
ASCO’s Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) Study has expanded four cohorts for enrollment of additional participants and continues to grow, with more than 500 participants and 16 therapies now available. The TAPUR Study is designed to identify signals of activity of...
SINCE 2003, every iteration of the American Cancer Society’s Nutrition Guidelines for Cancer Survivors has advocated for a plant-based diet with ample quantities of whole grains, as well as vegetables and fruits.1-3 This recommendation has been based primarily on data that such foods play in...
IN A STUDY reported in JAMA Oncology, Mingyang Song, MD, ScD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues found that higher fiber intake after diagnosis of nonmetastatic colorectal cancer is associated with improved colorectal cancer–specific and overall survival.1 ...
An additional 5 years of aromatase inhibitor therapy after 5 years of adjuvant endocrine therapy failed to improve disease-free survival compared with an additional 2 years of aromatase inhibitor therapy in postmenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer, according to the results ...
A study using California Cancer Registry data showed that survival improvements in patients with cancer between 1997 and 2014 have largely been limited to those with private or Medicare insurance. These findings were reported in JAMA Oncology by Libby et al. Study Details The study involved...
In the Asian phase III TERRA trial, trifluridine/tipiracil (Lonsurf) produced a significant improvement in overall survival vs placebo among patients with metastatic colorectal cancer refractory or intolerant of standard chemotherapies with or without exposure to biologic therapies. These findings...