In recognition of continuing issues with the process of melanocytic pathology assessments, an expert panel of three dermatopathologists—with assistance from an expert team of researchers—has developed and now revised the Melanocytic Pathology Assessment Tool and Hierarchy for Diagnosis schema...
Researchers have discovered that severe inflammation may weaken the body’s ability to kill cancerous blood cells in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a new study published by Lasry et al in Nature Cancer. With bone marrow samples from 20 adults and 22 children with AML, the...
Research shows that pain is a common byproduct of cancer and its treatment, with approximately 55% of patients undergoing active treatment experiencing pain, and more than 66% of patients with advanced disease experiencing pain. According to the ASCO guideline on the use of opioids for adults with...
Fewer cases of melanoma were observed among individuals who regularly took vitamin D supplements than among those who did not take the supplements, according to a new study published by Kanasuo et al in Melanoma Research. Researchers also found that individuals taking vitamin D supplements...
Researchers have identified unique molecular features responsible for the development and progression of metastatic breast cancer, according to a novel study published by Garcia-Recio et al in Nature Cancer. They discovered that one of the key features involves changes in the immune system that are ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Erker et al identified factors associated with better postrelapse survival among infants and young children with medulloblastoma relapsing after initial craniospinal irradiation (CSI)-sparing curative-intent treatment. These factors included...
The adoptive T-cell receptor therapy afamitresgene autoleucel—which targets the MAGE-A4 cancer antigen—achieved clinically significant results for patients with multiple solid tumor types in a phase I clinical trial, according to a novel study published by Hong et al in Nature Medicine. Initial...
Researchers have found that measuring the activation of immune system B cells may be more effective than measuring the activation of either T cells or tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in predicting whether patients with HER2-positive breast cancer will respond to treatment. These findings were ...
Investigators recently examined prostate cancer screening among primary care providers and found that screening tests were frequently used—even when they provide little value to patients, according to a new study published by Gillette et al in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine....
On January 4, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved FoundationOne Liquid CDx to be used as a companion diagnostic to identify patients with ROS1-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or NTRK fusion–positive solid tumors who do not have a tissue sample available and may be...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jayasekera et al identified the benefits and harms of using risk-reducing medication in addition to screening in patients with high-risk, estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. As stated by the investigators, “Recent studies,...
Researchers have performed the first postmarkert analysis of a novel delivery system of mitomycin—a gel formation, also known as UGN-101—to treat upper tract urothelial cancers, according to a novel study published by Woldu et al in Urologic Oncology. Their findings showcase how the treatment is...
Seth Wander, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Mass General Cancer Center, Boston, commented on the findings of the EMERALD trial. “We have seen a large amount of new data emerging related to elacestrant and other novel SERDs [selective estrogen receptor degraders]. Despite initial expectations based...
Elacestrant—an investigational oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD)—achieved longer progression-free survival vs standard-of-care endocrine monotherapy as second- or third-line therapy in patients with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer in the ...
Positive results were announced from the phase III IMerge trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02598661) evaluating the first-in-class telomerase inhibitor imetelstat in patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) who are relapsed, refractory, or ineligible for...
In an analysis from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Friedman et al found low rates of late mortality and subsequent malignant neoplasms in survivors of neuroblastoma treated in infancy. The risk of severe chronic health conditions decreased during...
World Cancer Day 2023 is now only 1 month away! Led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and organized annually on February 4, World Cancer Day is a global initiative to improve awareness and knowledge of cancer risks and better prevent, detect, and treat the disease. World Cancer...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Prudence A. Francis, MD, and colleagues, 12-year results of the phase III SOFT trial show a maintained disease-free survival benefit with the addition of ovarian function suppression to adjuvant tamoxifen in premenopausal patients with hormone...
In a Canadian phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Behroozian et al found that the use of Mepitel film—a silicone-based polyurethane film dressing—significantly reduced the incidence of grade 2 or 3 acute radiation dermatitis vs usual care in at-risk women receiving...
ASCO recently released an updated position statement on drug repository programs. The update shifts ASCO’s position to allow donation of oral cancer drug treatments in an open distribution system—which are drugs that have left the supply chain and have been dispensed to patients. ASCO’s previous...
Prior authorization is harming individuals with cancer, according to new survey results from ASCO. The survey found that prior authorization delays necessary care, worsens cancer care outcomes, and diverts clinicians from caring for their patients. Nearly all survey participants reported a patient...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and ASCO recently released a joint policy statement outlining the latest research on the use of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and recommendations for regulating these products to protect public health. The...
On November 14, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx accelerated approval for patients with folate receptor alpha (FRα)-positive, platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who have received one to three...
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center recently announced that Eyal Gottlieb, PhD, has been named the institution’s Vice President for Research. In this role, Dr. Gottlieb will oversee laboratory science departments leading innovative discovery and translational research across a variety ...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In the concluding half of this two-part installment, which began in our November 25 issue, Drs. Syed Ali Abutalib and Mrinal M. Patnaik continue to explore the current...
Diarrhea in patients with cancer is a well-known phenomenon with clear guidelines for prevention and management. However, it remains a condition with poorly explored consequences and a lack of sufficient and fast-acting treatments. In a webinar presented by members of the Multinational Association...
After a 4-year in-person hiatus because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the World Cancer Congress, hosted by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), held its first hybrid in-person and virtual meeting in October in Geneva. The conference brought together more than 2,000 attendees from...
As the population of women at increased risk for breast cancer grows, with an estimated 140,000 high-risk lesions diagnosed each year, “the landscape for surgical excision of high-risk lesions continues to evolve,” Melissa Pilewskie, MD, reported at the 2022 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium in...
“Risk-reducing bilateral mastectomy allows a woman with a high-penetrance breast cancer-causing mutation to avoid an encounter with the experience of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment,” Seema A. Khan, MD, MPH, stated at the 2022 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.1 For these women, by avoiding...
Cell therapy with tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) may address an important unmet need for patients with difficult-to-treat melanoma after disease progression on immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to data presented during the 2022 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual ...
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the world, and nowhere more so than in the health-care arena. Significant changes happened almost overnight in the delivery of medical care to focus on the safety and convenience of patients, staff, and providers. Although pilot efforts to integrate telemedicine...
Just days before the publication of the 2022 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer on October 27, 2022,1 which showed a continued downward trend in cancer deaths, Karen Knudsen, MBA, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of the American Cancer Society (ACS), joined the First Lady Dr. Jill...
According to findings from the phase II RIGHT Choice trial, many premenopausal patients with metastatic hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer experiencing visceral crisis are best treated with first-line ribociclib plus endocrine therapy rather than with chemotherapy.1 Ribociclib,...
On December 21, Foundation Medicine, Inc, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its FoundationOne Liquid CDx as a companion diagnostic to identify patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have EGFR exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R substitutions...
On September 20, 2022, sodium thiosulfate was approved to reduce the risk of ototoxicity associated with cisplatin in pediatric patients (aged ≥ 1 month) with localized, nonmetastatic solid tumors.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the multicenter open-label SIOPEL 6...
On May 25, 2022, ivosidenib was approved for use in combination with azacitidine for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia with a susceptible IDH1 mutation, as detected by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved test, in patients aged 75 or older or in those who have comorbidities precluding...
Lali Medina-Kauwe, PhD, former Co-Leader of the Cancer Biology Program in Cedars-Sinai Cancer, assumed a new role as Associate Director for Basic Research. The Cancer Biology Program will now be led by Dolores Di Vizio, MD, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in ...
“I was in bed in the surgical wing of Duke University Hospital when the doctor popped his head in and smiled apologetically before flicking on the fluorescent lights. It was 4:00 AM, the end of my second night in the hospital, but nobody sleeps in the conventional sense,” writes Kate Bowler in the...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Stephen R.D. Johnston, MD, PhD, and colleagues, an interim analysis of overall survival in the phase III monarchE trial has shown no significant benefit with the addition of adjuvant abemaciclib to endocrine therapy in patients with hormone receptor–positive,...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the targeted imaging agent pafolacianine (Cytalux) for use in lung cancer surgery. This injectable diagnostic binds to cancerous tissue and glows when stimulated by near-infrared light, making it easier for surgeons to remove tumors...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies sometimes used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Yen Nien (Jason) Hou, PharmD, DiplOM, LAc, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, focus on ...
Gladys Magaly Rodriguez, MD, was born in Piedras Negras, Mexico, a city situated along the banks of the Rio Grande. At age 6, her family immigrated to Eagle Pass, Texas, a border town of some 30,000 people that is predominantly Latinx and Spanish speaking. “Even though I lived and attended school...
On November 10, 2022, tremelimu-mab in combination with durvalumab and platinum-based chemotherapy was approved for patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with no sensitizing EGFR mutation or ALK genomic tumor aberrations.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was supported by...
On November 10, 2022, brentuximab vedotin was approved for use in combination with doxorubicin, vincristine, etoposide, prednisone, and cyclophosphamide for pediatric patients aged ≥ 2 years with previously untreated high-risk classical Hodgkin lymphoma.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was...
On December 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved nadofaragene firadenovec-vncg (Adstiladrin), a nonreplicating adenoviral vector–based gene therapy indicated for the treatment of adult patients with high-risk bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive non–muscle-invasive...
In a European cohort study (EPI-CT) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Hauptmann et al found an increased risk of brain cancer with increasing brain radiation dose among children and young adults who had undergone computed tomography (CT) scans. Study Details The study used pooled data from nine...
In the Canadian 5C study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Puts et al found that a geriatric assessment and management intervention did not improve quality of life, unplanned health-care use, mortality, or toxicity compared with usual care in patients aged 70 years or older with cancer. ...
On December 14, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved updated labeling for capecitabine tablets (Xeloda) under Project Renewal, an Oncology Center of Excellence initiative aimed at updating labeling information for certain older oncology drugs to ensure information is clinically...
On December 14, U.S. Representative Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced the Comprehensive Cancer Survivorship Act (CCSA)—legislation that will address...
Investigators revealed that the travel time to the nearest mammography facility may be long for a considerable proportion of patients in the United States, particularly affecting more than 50% of patients in the rural areas of 28 states, according to a new study published by Wiese et al in the...