ASCO AND THE ONCOLOGY COMMUNITY are deeply saddened by the loss of James F. Holland, MD, FASCO, who passed away on March 22, 2018. He was 92. Dr. Holland was a Distinguished Professor of Neoplastic Diseases in the Department of Medicine at the Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Alexander N. Shoushtari, MD, of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues, a single-center experience has shown a very high rate of clinically significant immune-related adverse events with nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) for advanced...
The final overall survival analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-006 trial showed maintained superiority of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) vs ipilimumab (Yervoy) in advanced melanoma. The results were reported by Jacob Schachter, MD, of the Ella Lemelbaum Institute for Melanoma, Sheba Medical Center, Tel...
THE NEUROENDOCRINE Tumor Research Foundation (NETRF) has awarded six new research grants, totaling about $1.85 million, to leading academic institutions around the world. The grants fund clinical, translational, and basic research in the United States, Australia, Switzerland, and the United...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies commonly used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Ting Bao, MD, DABMA, MS, reviews the current data on the use of massage to...
In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Schmitz et al identified four subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCLs) with distinct genetic, epigenetic, and clinical characteristics that may be amenable to different therapeutic approaches. Study Details The study involved...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kerns et al found that approximately 20% of testicular cancer survivors treated with cisplatin-based regimens had high cumulative burden of morbidity (CBM) scores and identified factors associated with risk for increased morbidity. Study...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jonasch et al found evidence that a 2-weeks-on/1-week-off (2/1) schedule of sunitinib (Sutent) might be an option in frontline treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Study Details In the study, 59 patients with previously...
A new study published by Banegas et al in JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network has found that cancer care costs in the United States are higher for people under age 65—and that costs increase with disease stage. Despite the fact that nearly half of new cancer...
On April 18, Calithera Biosciences, Inc, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation to CB-839 in combination with cabozantinib (Cabometyx) for the treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have received one or two prior lines ...
On April 19, Polyphor announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation for its novel immuno-oncology candidate balixafortide (POL6326) in combination with eribulin (Halaven) for the treatment of patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In this installment, Drs. Abutalib and Landgren review the underlying data that shaped the updated International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) diagnostic criteria for...
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends several screening tests for colorectal cancer (CRC) in adults aged 50 to 75, including fecal occult blood testing, sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2017, there were an estimated 95,520 cases ...
Actinic keratoses may show extension down into follicles, not only in cases with full-thickness epidermal atypia (bowenoid actinic keratosis), but also in cases with atypia limited to the epidermal basalis. Previous studies have demonstrated that, in bowenoid actinic keratosis, follicular...
The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) has released the 2018 Community Oncology Practice Impact Report, which tracks data on the changing landscape of cancer care in the United States. It details a decade-long trend of closure and consolidation in the U.S. cancer system that has resulted in a...
A new type of cancer vaccine has yielded promising results in an initial clinical trial conducted at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The personalized vaccine is made from a patient’s own immune ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Sobrero et al, the Italian phase III TOSCA trial did not demonstrate noninferiority of 3 vs 6 months of adjuvant CAPOX (capecitabine plus oxaliplatin) or FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin) in relapse-free survival in stage II or...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Shepshelovich et al found that cancer drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of solid tumors without supporting randomized controlled trials were more likely to have postapproval safety-associated label...
In the Scandinavian phase III CRITICS trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Cats et al found no benefit of postoperative chemoradiotherapy vs chemotherapy among patients with gastric cancer who had received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Compliance with postoperative regimens was poor in both groups....
On April 12, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital launched the St. Jude Cloud, an online data-sharing and collaboration platform that provides researchers access to the world's largest public repository of pediatric cancer genomics data. Developed as a partnership among St. Jude,...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently finalized two guidances to drive the efficient development of next-generation sequencing, which scans a person’s DNA to diagnose genetic diseases, and guide medical treatments. The guidances provide recommendations for designing,...
Pfizer recently announced that the independent data monitoring committee for the phase III ATLAS trial, which is evaluating axitinib (Inlyta) as adjuvant therapy for patients at high risk of recurrent renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after nephrectomy, recommended stopping the trial at a planned interim...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Kutluk Oktay, MD, PhD, of Yale University School of Medicine, and colleagues, ASCO has issued a clinical practice guideline update on fertility preservation in adults and children with cancer. The update was informed by an update panel systematic...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Herr et al found that patients with specific types of primary lymphoid neoplasms were at increased risk of second primary cutaneous melanoma, with the reciprocal association also being observed. Occurrence of second primary...
On April 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved osimertinib (Tagrisso) for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R mutations, as...
Richard Schilsky, MD, Chief Medical Officer, ASCO, speaks during Panel 1: Is the Federal Government a Productive Partner in Cancer Policy? at The Policy, Politics and Law of Cancer, presented by The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School, in collaboration with Smilow Cancer...
A diet high in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables—along with exercise and maintaining a healthy body weight—can improve the 5-year survival rate for patients with stage III colorectal cancer, according to a new report published by Van Blarigan et al in JAMA Oncology. The findings...
On April 9, the phase III KEYNOTE-042 trial evaluating pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as monotherapy for the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC, including nonsquamous or squamous histologies) met its primary endpoint of overall survival (OS). An ...
In a UK study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Bhatnagar et al found that outpatient talc vs placebo administration via indwelling pleural catheter was associated with a higher rate of pleurodesis in patients with malignant pleural effusion. Study Details In the study, a target of ...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wu et al found that crizotinib (Xalkori) was highly active in East Asian patients with ROS1-positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Study Details In the study, 127 patients from 37 sites in China, Japan,...
Nancy Goodman, JD, MPP, Executive Director, Kids V Cancer, speaks during Panel 1: Is the Federal Government a Productive Partner in Cancer Policy? at The Policy, Politics and Law of Cancer, presented by The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School, in collaboration with Smilow...
Nancy Goodman, JD, MPP, Executive Director, Kids V Cancer, speaks during Panel 1: Is the Federal Government a Productive Partner in Cancer Policy? at The Policy, Politics and Law of Cancer, presented by The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School, in collaboration with Smilow...
Nancy Goodman, JD, MPP, Executive Director, Kids V Cancer, speaks during Panel 1: Is the Federal Government a Productive Partner in Cancer Policy? at The Policy, Politics and Law of Cancer, presented by The Solomon Center for Health Law and Policy at Yale Law School, in collaboration with Smilow...
People with stage III colon cancer who regularly eat tree 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.1 Study Findings The study followed 826 participants in the...
Recently, Curant House announced the publication of Healing Hope: Through and Beyond Cancer by Wendy S. Harpham, MD, FACP, a physician-survivor of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and award-winning thought leader in survivorship. In this book (her eighth), Dr. Harpham presents 50 illness-related aphorisms in...
In a pilot study reported at the 2018 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting (Abstract CT079) and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Forde et al, neoadjuvant nivolumab therapy was found to be feasible and active in patients with resectable non–small cell lung...
As reported at the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Meeting & Exposition and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Sattva S. Neelapu, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues, a phase II trial has shown high activity of autologous anti-CD19 chimeric...
Some T cells have excellent memories. These subtypes—known as memory T cells—may explain why some immunotherapies are more effective than others and could potentially lead to researchers designing more effective studies using combination checkpoint blockade treatments, according to...
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for 14% of all lung cancers and is often rapidly resistant to chemotherapy, resulting in poor clinical outcomes. Treatment has changed little for decades, but a study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center offers a potential explanation for...
As reported at the 2018 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting (Abstract CT001) and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Eggermont et al, the phase III EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE 054 trial has shown that adjuvant pembrolizumab (Keytruda) significantly prolonged recurrence-free...
On April 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved fostamatinib disodium hexahydrate (Tavalisse) for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia who have had an insufficient response to a previous treatment. Fostamatinib is an oral spleen ...
I’ll admit it. When I was first asked if I would chair the Cancer Control for Primary Care (CCPC) Course in Bhutan, I immediately exclaimed yes... and then sheepishly went to look up where exactly Bhutan was on a map. For the uninitiated, Bhutan is a country nestled between India and Tibet in the...
The second year of the Quality Payment Program (QPP), established by the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA), began on January 1, 2018. This year, oncology practices face more robust quality reporting requirements to successfully participate in QPP and avoid a financial penalty in...
ASCO is launching ASCO Practice Central, a new website that serves as an online information hub to help oncology professionals navigate a complicated and ever-changing practice environment while providing high-quality patient care. The first ASCO website dedicated to the business of oncology, ASCO...
National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is April 28, 2018. Help ASCO educate patients about how to dispose of unused or expired medications by equipping them with the ASCO Answers fact sheet on Safe Storage and Disposal of Pain Medications. Download a free copy at www.cancer.net/ascoanswers or...
ASCO and ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation are proud to recognize the winners of ASCO’s Special Awards and Conquer Cancer’s Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Awards. The recipients of these awards include researchers, patient advocates, and global oncology leaders who have worked to transform...
DURING THE RECENT American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting in San Diego, The Skin Cancer Foundation hosted a reception to announce the winners of its annual research grant awards. The Skin Cancer Foundation’s grants program provides research funding to support dermatology department research...
THE NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE Cancer Network (NCCN) has updated its Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology for Central Nervous System Cancers (NCCN Guidelines®) to recommend alternating electric field therapy (also known as tumor-treating fields, Optune) in combination with temozolomide as a...
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION for Cancer Research (AACR) recently announced its newly elected class of Fellows of the AACR Academy. The mission of the AACR Academy is to recognize and honor distinguished scientists whose major scientific contributions have propelled significant innovation and progress...
Glioblastoma, a grade 4 astrocytoma, is the most common and most aggressive form of primary brain tumors in adults. The most recent guidance on molecular profiling, diagnostic and prognostic factors, and treatments for newly diagnosed and recurrent diseases was described in the Journal of Oncology ...