The addition of cabozantinib to nivolumab plus ipilimumab prolonged progression-free survival in untreated intermediate-risk patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to the first results of the phase III COSMIC-313 trial. These findings were presented as a Presidential Symposium ...
Survivors of prostate cancer originally diagnosed with metastatic disease may experience significantly worse health-related quality of life than those diagnosed with early-stage disease and individuals without a cancer history across all domains, according to a new study by Zheng et al published in ...
Recent findings showed that historical housing discrimination may negatively affect contemporary care and outcomes for patients diagnosed with colon cancer, according to a study by Hussaini et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The findings were also presented at the 2022 ASCO Quality Care...
Medulloblastomas may exist in a premalignant form at birth after initially developing during the first or second trimester of pregnancy, according to a new international study published by Hendrikse et al in Nature. As medulloblastomas typically present around age 7, the team’s discovery is the...
In locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), immunotherapy consolidation with the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab improved overall survival in the PACIFIC trial,1 thus leading to its use after chemoradiotherapy as a standard of care. Real-world evidence of durvalumab’s effect on overall and...
Early results from the IMpower010 trial showed an overall survival trend favoring adjuvant atezolizumab vs best supportive care for patients with PD-L1–positive (tumor expression ≥ 1%), stage II–IIIA (UICC/AJCC staging system, 7th ed), resected non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These data were...
Over the past few years, we have seen rapid and dramatic transformation in the therapeutic landscape of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We have had multiple new targeted therapies for newer targets (previously undruggable targets) and better diagnostic strategies to workup patients to realize...
Approximately 6% of patients with stage I to III lung cancer develop second primary lung cancer within 5 years of their initial diagnosis, according to research presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2022 World Conference on Lung Cancer.1 Analysis of data...
Lung cancer screening has been shown to significantly reduce lung cancer mortality, but some management protocols have more benefit than others, according to data presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2022 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC).1 Although the...
Interim results of a phase II study have demonstrated the safety and feasibility of treating elderly and frail patients with locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with the monoclonal antibody durvalumab during and after radiation therapy, without chemotherapy. The results of a...
A common, spontaneous mutation in blood stem cells, which has been linked to a higher risk of blood cancer and cardiovascular disease, may promote these diseases by altering the stem cells’ programming of gene activity and the mix of blood cells they produce, according to a study co-led by...
In a Korean single-institution retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Kim et al found that higher sinoatrial node radiation doses were associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation and poorer survival in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and locally ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ji et al, the HOPE study (Hurria Older Patients [HOPE] with Breast Cancer Study) has shown that older women categorized as robust prior to adjuvant chemotherapy are at risk for clinical decline postchemotherapy, with high baseline levels of the...
In a retrospective analysis from the neoadjuvant I-SPY2 trial reported in JAMA Surgery, Osdoit et al found that among patients with breast cancer achieving pathologic complete response (pCR), there were no significant differences in treatment outcomes according to the presence or absence of...
On September 28, the Lasker Foundation announced the winners of the 2022 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award, the 2022 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award, and the 2022 Lasker~Bloomberg Public Service Award. Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award Richard O. Hynes, PhD, of the...
In a case-control study within the U.S. Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study population reported in JAMA Oncology, Lønning et al found that BRCA1 promoter methylation identified in white blood cells was associated with increased risks of incident triple-negative breast cancer and high-grade serous ...
Marleen Kok, MD, PhD, of The Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, discusses the initial results from the BELLINI trial, which tested whether short-term preoperative nivolumab, either as monotherapy or in combination with low-dose doxorubicin or novel immunotherapy combinations, can induce...
In a study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Li et al identified elements of increasing financial burden associated with the use of high-cost targeted oral anticancer drugs among Medicare patients between 2011 and 2016. The study used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results...
An unhealthy gut triggers changes in normal breast tissue that may help breast cancer metastasize, according to new, early research from the University of Virginia (UVA) Cancer Center published by Feng et al in Cancer Immunology Research. The researchers found that when the gut microbiome is...
State-run Medicaid insurance, expanded in 2014 as part of the Affordable Care Act, has resulted in decreased metastatic cancer incidence rates as well as decreased overall cancer mortality rates, and has averted over 1,000 deaths due to cancer per year. About 12% of the improvements in cancer...
In this installment of the Living a Full Life series, Guest Editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Stanton (“Stan”) L. Gerson, MD, Dean and Senior Vice President for Medical Affairs, School of Medicine, and Acting Director of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center and National Center for...
Despite a significant potential for cure, relapsed and refractory large B-cell lymphomas (LBCL) comprise the most common cause of lymphoma-related mortality. Sequential relapses reflect the limits of repeated exposure to chemotherapy, even when delivered at high doses. More than 30 years ago,...
The incorporation of blood-based measurements—ie, “liquid biopsies”—into imaging assessment may refine the accuracy of prognosis in aggressive lymphomas, as described by David Kurtz, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Division of Oncology, Stanford University Medical Center, in a talk at the 2022...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has announced Loïc Le Marchand, MD, PhD, MPH, as the recipient of the 2022 AACR Distinguished Lectureship on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities. Dr. Le Marchand presented his award lecture, “Translating Multiethnic Epidemiological Research...
The European Society For Medical Oncology (ESMO) launched its annual congress, held September 9–13, 2022, just as this issue of The ASCO Post was going to press. Watch upcoming issues for comprehensive coverage of the live congress, following 2 years of virtual meetings and remote presentations due ...
Lung cancer screening has been shown to significantly reduce lung cancer mortality, but some management protocols have more benefit than others, according to data presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2022 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC).1 Although the...
Early results from the IMpower010 trial showed an overall survival trend favoring adjuvant atezolizumab vs best supportive care for patients with PD-L1–positive (tumor expression ≥ 1%), stage II–IIIA (UICC/AJCC staging system, 7th ed), resected non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These data were...
On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs)1 and overturned Roe v Wade and Planned Parenthood v Casey, which recognized a federal constitutional right to end a pregnancy up to the point of viability. This decision opened the door for states to...
Germline testing may be warranted for all patients with lung cancer, according to research presented during the August 2022 ASCO Plenary Series by Renato G. Martins, MD, MPH, Chair of Hematology Oncology and Palliative Care at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center, Richmond.1 The...
Advances in more effective treatment and early detection diagnostics, coupled with reductions in smoking rates, have resulted in a 32% decline in cancer mortality in the United States since 1991, translating into nearly 3.5 million lives saved, according to the newly released American Association...
September 24 is World Cancer Research Day, an initiative organized by a collaboration of professional societies, research organizations, and other institutions. In advance of the event, the following declaration was published in order to outline the goals of the initiative: Cancer is projected to...
This is Part 1 of Updates in Colorectal Cancer, a four-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this Roundtable. In this video, Drs. Cathy Eng, Arvind Dasari, and Smitha Krishnamurthi discuss the role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in early-stage colon cancer....
In a National Cancer Database analysis reported in JAMA Network Open, Brand et al found that patients with colon cancer who lived farther from their treatment facility and those with no insurance or Medicaid alone were more likely to present with advanced-stage disease. As stated by the...
In a study reported in JAMA Surgery, Childers et al found that only one-third of hospitals with National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer center status were fully compliant with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) price transparency requirements instituted in January 2021....
Approximately 6% of patients with stage I to III lung cancer develop a second primary lung cancer within 5 years of their initial diagnosis, according to research presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2022 World Conference on Lung Cancer.1 Analysis of data...
In a modeling study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Stephanie B. Wheeler, PhD, MPH, and colleagues identified the most cost-effective sequences of single-agent chemotherapy regimens among patients with endocrine-refractory or triple-negative metastatic breast cancer according to prior ...
In a retrospective study reported in JAMA Oncology, Butt et al found significantly higher pretreatment neurofilament light chain levels in patients who did vs did not develop immune effector cell–associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS) after CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy....
Implementing lung cancer screening at four diverse health-care systems resulted in an 8.4% increase in the number of stage I lung cancers detected and a 6.6% decrease in the detection of stage IV disease, according to research published by Vachani et al in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology. The...
Newly released results from the phase III ADAURA trial revealed that osimertinib yielded a 5.5-year median disease-free survival in the postsurgical treatment of patients with EGFR-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and nearly three in four patients treated with adjuvant osimertinib were...
A physician-scientist at City of Hope has identified a novel combination immunotherapy regimen—a triplet therapy consisting of regorafenib, ipilimumab, and nivolumab—that demonstrated significant response in patients with chemotherapy-resistant, microsatellite-stable metastatic colorectal cancer....
On September 12, Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, Board Chair of the Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), made the following statement: “President John F. Kennedy’s historic speech that inspired our nation and an entire generation of Americans to achieve manned space exploration underscored ...
Physicians, care providers, and payers may be preparing for a major shift in early cancer detection that will affect almost every stage of cancer diagnosis and treatment. New data supporting the accuracy of multicancer early detection blood testing, presented by Deb Schrag, MD, FASCO, MPH, at the...
The ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group presented data from PROSPER RCC (EA8143), the first randomized phase III trial of neoadjuvant immunotherapy in patients with kidney cancer, at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2022 (Abstract LBA67). Patients with high-risk renal cell...
On September 9, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved eflapegrastim-xnst injection (Rolvedon)—a long-acting granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) with a novel formulation—to decrease the incidence of infection, as manifested by febrile neutropenia, in adult patients with...
On September 9, the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), together with the European Oncology Nursing Society (EONS), announced the launch of the Europe-wide “Cancer Prevention Across Europe” campaign (PrEvCan) aimed at reducing the burden of cancer. The announcement was made at the opening ...
“I think the biggest innovations of the 21st century will be at the intersection of biology and technology. A new era is beginning!” —Steve Jobs Relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma remains a treatment challenge. Promising responses have been demonstrated with bispecific antibodies, with a...
The numbers are dizzying. The costs of cancer care in the United States are rising so fast that by 2030, it is projected the national cancer-attributable costs will total more than $246 billion, up from $183 billion in 2015—a 34% increase.1 And although the total global economic burden of cancer is ...
A recent study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) reported that nearly 123,000 cancer deaths, or close to 30% of all cancer deaths, were from cigarette smoking in the United States in 2019, leading to more than 2 million person-years of lost life and nearly $21 billion in...
Update: On August 7, 2022, the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a broad climate, tax, and health-care reconciliation bill, with a vote of 51 to 50. During a review of the IRA, the Senate parliamentarian removed provisions from the bill that would have required drug companies to pay...
ASCO has issued a new practice guideline update on the use of biomarkers in the management of metastatic breast cancer.1 The updated guideline revisits recommendations from the 2015 guideline and addresses topics that have emerged since then in the move toward personalized medicine in metastatic...