Americans have become less aware that the human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical cancer in recent years, according to survey data presented by Adjei Boakye et al at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023 (Abstract 4210 /11). Survey respondents also showed low...
Monotherapy with pembrolizumab led to clinical responses in 89% of patients with unresectable metastatic desmoplastic melanoma, according to results from the phase II S1512 clinical trial presented by Kendra et al at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023 (Abstract...
mRNA-4157/V940, a personalized mRNA-based cancer vaccine, in combination with the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab improved recurrence-free survival compared with pembrolizumab alone in patients with high-risk melanoma, and clinical benefit was observed regardless of tumor mutational...
Treatment-naive patients with resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received neoadjuvant durvalumab plus chemotherapy and adjuvant durvalumab monotherapy had improved event-free survival and pathologic complete response compared with those who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone,...
Shannon N. Westin, MD, MPH, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses results from the NOW study, which showed that neoadjuvant olaparib is feasible and has a good safety profile in patients with mutated, advanced-stage ovarian cancer. Even in patients with stage IV disease,...
In a trial (MEDIASTrial) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bousema et al found that immediate lung tumor resection after negative systematic endosonography was noninferior to confirmatory mediastinoscopy in the detection of unforeseen N2 disease in patients with non–small cell lung...
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) announced that it has helped launch the randomized phase III Pragmatica-Lung trial examining the efficacy of ramucirumab plus pembrolizumab in treating patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The new study is one of the first NCI-supported...
A new survey of Hispanic adults residing in Indiana may present a snapshot of their cancer-related knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors and provide guidance for the future development of tailored cancer screening messaging and prevention strategies, according to a study published by Espinoza-Gutarra...
Hereditary cancer syndromes are caused by a pathogenic variant in cancer susceptibility genes, which overall account for approximately 10% of all cancers. Carriers of pathogenic variants are at an increased risk of developing cancer during their lifetime. Genomic cancer risk assessment makes it...
Researchers have found that the novel intravesical chemotherapy delivery system TAR-200 may be safe and effective for patients with advanced muscle-invasive bladder cancer who are medically unfit for standard treatment, according to a new study published by Tyson et al in The Journal of Urology....
Researchers have found that responses to PD-1 inhibitor treatment in patients with advanced melanoma may depend on whether they had received previous treatment with CTLA-4 inhibitors, according to a new study published by Campbell et al in Cancer Cell. “In our large set of data, features that have...
Researchers have developed a novel combination therapy approach to help patients with KMT2A-mutated acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML) overcome resistance to bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) inhibitors without adding toxicity, according to a novel study...
Researchers have provided strong evidence that a healthy lifestyle may significantly reduce mortality in adults who have survived pediatric cancer, according to a new study published by Dixon et al in The Lancet. The findings are among the first to reveal that the specific primary causes of...
Researchers have revealed that the number of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, the state of necrosis, and mutations to the tumor-suppressor gene PBRM1 form a biomarker signature that may predict how patients with renal cell carcinoma will respond to immunotherapy, according to a novel study published ...
In this installment of our Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Kelly M. McMasters, MD, PhD, who, for the past 27 years, has directed a basic and translational science lab studying adenovirus-mediated cancer gene therapy and melanoma biomarkers....
The questions I am challenged to answer are twofold: (1) Should you attend the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting? (2) If you attend, how is your time best spent? Most people agree scientific conferences are important venues for cancer researchers and clinicians to share and discuss research findings,...
Penile cancer is a rare disease with an incidence that is rising globally. Driven by a goal to offer clinicians and patients guidance on the management of this rare condition, ASCO collaborated with the European Association of Urology (EAU) to develop new guidelines on its diagnosis and treatment....
Here is how Dr. Sharma summed up the current state of neoadjuvant therapy in triple-negative breast cancer: The addition of an immune checkpoint inhibitor to neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves long-term outcomes. This strategy can produce a modest improvement in pathologic complete response and a...
Although advances in radiation therapy have rendered this treatment modality more tolerable, they have not completely eliminated the burden of radiation-related toxicity. In an ideal setting, clinicians would be able to identify patients whose risk of recurrence is sufficiently low that they can...
The management of early-stage triple-negative breast cancer has been evolving at a fast pace, thanks largely to the discovery that immune checkpoint blockade can be effective in this subtype. At the 2023 Miami Breast Cancer Conference, Priyanka Sharma, MD, Professor of Medicine, University of...
Moderator of the press conference at the 2023 International Conference on Surgical Cancer Care, Callisia N. Clarke, MD, MS, FACS, FSSO, Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin, highlighted the significance of the 80% response rates to neoadjuvant immunotherapy in primary...
Here are some brief reports from the 2023 ASCO Genitourinary (GU) Cancers Symposium that we hope are of interest. They include real-world evidence about the use of avelumab maintenance in metastatic urothelial carcinoma, data on the feasibility of sequencing radium-223 and Lu-177–PSMA-617 in...
Researchers have demonstrated that patients with low-grade lymphomatoid granulomatosis who were treated with the immunotherapy interferon alfa-2b may survive for a median of 20 years after diagnosis, according to a novel study published by Melani et al in The Lancet Haematology. The findings...
Specially trained oncology infusion room nurses may be capable of improving advance care planning for patients with advanced cancer at the end of life, according to a new study published by Cohen et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. Background “Advance care planning...
A health disparity is typically defined as involving a differential in health outcomes between some groups of patients and other groups, for example, between White and Black patients, in which some groups fare better than others. Health inequities are commonly defined as health differences that...
Jordan McPherson, PharmD, MS, BCOP, of the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, summarizes a case-based panel discussion on best practices in caring for patients with immune-related adverse events. He focuses on pneumonitis, which can occur with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, ...
Researchers found that 20% of patients attending breast cancer screening appointments were likely to skip additional testing after abnormal findings on their mammograms if there was a deductible or copayment involved, according to a new study published by Ngo et al in Radiology. Background...
Researchers have discovered that pathologic complete responses may be associated with improved survival outcomes for patients with localized soft-tissue sarcoma who received preoperative chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy, according to a novel study published by Wang et al in JAMA Oncology. The new...
Since 2010, investigators have discovered that the number of patients with prostate cancer in the United States who are choosing active surveillance over surgery or radiation therapy may be rapidly increasing, according to a new study published by Al Awamlh et al in JAMA Internal Medicine....
Investigators revealed that the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT may help improve health outcomes for patients with cirrhosis and hepatic cancer by providing easy-to-understand information about basic knowledge, lifestyle modifications, and treatment options for these conditions,...
The inaugural MD Anderson Clinical Education Symposium on Immunotherapy Toxicity Management (IOTOX) welcomed more than 250 international attendees, both virtually and in person at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston on December 3, 2022. The symposium focused on bringing the ...
“Providing hope when there is little to hope for is hard,” noted Hyman B. Muss, MD, Professor of Medicine and the Mary Jones Hudson Distinguished Professor of Geriatric Oncology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. At the 2023 Miami...
Patients with hematologic malignancies may experience a significant improvement in their reported quality of life 6 months after receiving chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, according to a new study published by Johnson et al in Blood Advances. Background Although CAR T-cell therapy...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Kim N. Chi, MD, and colleagues, the phase III MAGNITUDE trial showed that the addition of niraparib to abiraterone acetate and prednisone improved radiographic progression–free survival as first-line treatment in patients with metastatic...
In a European study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sauta et al found that the recently devised Molecular International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-M) had improved prognostic ability vs the standard Revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R) in patients with...
Researchers have found that a novel approach to administer intrathecal and intravenous nivolumab has proven safe and improved survival in a subset of patients who developed leptomeningeal disease from metastatic melanoma, according to a new study published by Glitza Olivia et al in Nature ...
Researchers have revealed the potential mechanisms contributing to treatment resistance in patients with melanoma at the end of life, according to a new study published by Spain et al in Cancer Discovery. “These results present the most detailed picture yet of what melanoma looks like at the final...
Time-related and financial burdens may be detrimental to the quality of life of patients with gynecologic cancer as well as cancer survivors, according to the findings from two new studies presented by Ackroyd et al and Adjei et al at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2023 Annual Meeting on ...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Tang et al found that the use of the subcutaneous route for administering medications and fluids in patients with cancer was highly predominant in a Canadian center, whereas use of the intravenous (IV) route was nearly universal in a U.S....
Treatment with the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib prior to surgical intervention and chemotherapy has demonstrated the potential for favorable surgical options, manageable adverse events, and positive health outcomes in patients with ovarian cancer who have a germline...
Patients who have a mental illness, neuropsychiatric disability, or substance use disorder may be less likely to undergo gynecological smear tests and may have over twice the risk of developing cervical cancer, according to a new study published by Hu et al in The Lancet Public Health. The findings ...
In a cohort study reported in a research letter in JAMA Surgery, Minami et al found that frailty status worsened in a sizable proportion of older patients receiving locoregional therapy—including lumpectomy or mastectomy—for early-stage breast cancer. Baseline robust status and mastectomy were...
Obesity may spur DNA damage in the breast tissue of patients who carry BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, possibly contributing to breast cancer development in patients who are already at a higher risk of the disease, according to a new study published by Bhardwaj et al in Science Translational Medicine....
Patients with early-stage esophageal adenocarcinoma from lower-income households may be significantly less likely to receive a potentially life-saving treatment and may be more likely to die from the disease, according to a new study published by Geng et al in Clinical Gastroenterology and...
On March 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance, Clinical Trial Considerations to Support Accelerated Approval of Oncology Therapeutics, regarding clinical trial design considerations to support accelerated approval applications. The accelerated approval pathway is...
Cancer is a leading cause of death in every country worldwide.1 In 2020, almost 10 million people died of cancer, a number that is expected to rise to 16.3 million by 2040.2 In addition, cancer incidence continues to grow, driven by an aging and growing population and changes in the prevalence and...
March is widely recognized worldwide as Colorectal Cancer Awareness month. Several advocacy groups and professional organizations recognize Colorectal Cancer Awareness month by promoting screening for eligible individuals and working to increase awareness. Here, the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, an...
The addition of abiraterone acetate and apalutamide to standard of care gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist for 6 months and radiation therapy failed to improve progression-free survival and metastasis-free survival after prostatectomy compared to bicalutamide plus a GnRH agonist and...
Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease has been with me since I was 5 years old, when a benign tumor was found on the optic nerve of my left eye, leaving me blind in that eye. But I didn’t get an official diagnosis of the disease until 2011, when I was 20. By then, it was like a light switch had turned...
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...