Cancer and its treatments often contribute to burdensome symptoms that negatively impact patients’ quality of life and treatment outcomes, including fatigue, anxiety, and depression.1 Many patients experience multiple symptoms concurrently2 that can disrupt their treatments and lead to unplanned...
Investigators have found that the consumption of plant-based oils instead of butter may provide beneficial health effects and potentially reduce the risk of premature mortality, according to recent findings presented at the American Heart Association Epidemiology, Prevention, Lifestyle &...
Breast cancer mortality rates may have stopped declining in women older than 74 years and younger than 40 years, according to a recent study published by Monticciolo and Hendrick in the Journal of Breast Imaging. Background Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality among ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Matteo Lambertini, MD, and colleagues identified clinical characteristics of breast cancer in young women carrying germline pathogenic variants in BRCA1 vs BRCA2 and examined the effect of prediagnostic BRCA testing on outcomes. Study...
Among the high-quality abstract presentations at the 2024 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), a few always stand out as particularly meritorious. Each year, The ASCO Post asks our Deputy Editor, breast cancer specialist Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, to give us his picks. Dr. Abraham is Chairman...
Investigators have found that nearly 50% of patients with advanced cancer may receive potentially aggressive treatment at the expense of supportive care, despite considerable efforts to improve the quality of end-of-life care in the United States, according to a recent study published by Kwon et al ...
Physical activity may help colorectal cancer survivors achieve long-term survival rates comparable to those of individuals in the general population, according to a recent study published by Brown et al in Cancer. Background Patients with colorectal cancer often face higher rates of premature...
Although the cancer mortality rate among Black patients in the United States has dropped over the past 30 years, this patient population may continue to experience a disproportionately elevated cancer burden compared with other patient populations, according to a recent study published by Saka et...
Digital technology may help to safely reduce the amount of time some patients with cancer spend receiving care—also referred to as “time toxicity”—according to a recent study published by Bange et al in NEJM Catalyst. Background Patients with cancer often spend a large amount of time on activities...
“Care more particularly for the individual patient than for the special features of the disease.”—Sir William Osler Chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) is the most common leukemia in the Western hemisphere. The majority of patients who require treatment are older than ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved vimseltinib (Romvimza), a kinase inhibitor, for adults with symptomatic tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT) for which surgical resection will potentially cause worsening functional limitation or severe morbidity. MOTION Trial Efficacy was...
The interference of gut bacteria could explain the ineffectiveness of immune checkpoint therapy in some patients with ovarian cancer, according to a recent study published by McGinty et al in Cancer Immunology Research. Background There are over 10,000 ovarian cancer–related deaths in the United...
Long-term yogurt intake may protect against the development of colorectal cancer through changes in the gut microbiome, according to a recent study published by Ugai et al in Gut Microbes. Background Yogurt—which contains live strains of bacteria—is thought to protect against many types of...
A novel blood test may aid physicians in the earlier detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and potentially improve survival rates for the disease, according to a recent study published by Montoya et al in Science Translational Medicine. Background Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the...
The findings in the American Cancer Society (ACS) annual report, Cancer Statistics, 2025,1 showed a mixed trend in cancer incidence and mortality rates. Although cancer mortality declined by 34% from 1991 to 2022 in the United States—largely because of smoking reductions, earlier detection, and...
Although national guidelines, including ASCO’s palliative care guideline,1 call for the early integration of palliative and oncology care for patients with advanced cancer, only 36% of those with a very poor prognosis and 18% of those with a poor prognosis receive palliative care services.2 The...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) in combination with lenalidomide and a rituximab product for adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL)—including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified, DLBCL ...
Kidney transplantation using donor organs carrying the Epstein-Barr virus may increase the risk of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder among recipients who have never been exposed to the virus, according to a recent study published by Potluri et al in the Annals of Internal Medicine....
On February 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mirdametinib (Gomekli), a kinase inhibitor, for adult and pediatric patients aged 2 years and older with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) who have symptomatic plexiform neurofibromas (PN) not amenable to complete resection. ReNeu Trial...
In JCO Oncology Advances, Schenkel et al published the results of an ASCO survey measuring professional well-being, satisfaction, and the effect of both on career plans among oncologists in the United States. The analysis revealed a higher rate of burnout compared with that observed a decade ago....
A record-breaking number of abstracts were submitted for the 2024 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, and nearly 8,000 were accepted. The ASCO Post strives to provide in-depth coverage of those with the greatest impact. Here, we offer snapshots of others of...
Investigators have found that although fewer patients may be diagnosed with and dying from cancer in Appalachia, cancer incidence and mortality rates remain substantially higher compared with elsewhere in the United States, according to a recent study published by Burus et al in the Journal of the...
Researchers have found that inhibiting the S6K2 gene could be an effective strategy for managing treatment-resistant melanoma, according to a recent study published by Lipchick et al in Science Translational Medicine. Background Cases of melanoma—the deadliest type of skin cancer—are currently...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Abboud et al found that the incidence of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs) has increased in many organ sites during recent years in the United States. Study Details In the study, age-adjusted GEP-NETs incidence rates...
The incidence of advanced prostate cancer rose and the mortality rate plateaued in most regions across the state of California following the decision to cease routinely screening all men for the disease, according to a recent study published by Van Blarigan et al in JAMA Network Open. The findings...
Oral fecal microbiota transplantation may be a feasible and safe option to prevent graft-vs-host disease in patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing allogeneic stem cell transplant (ASCT), according to a recent report published by Reddi et al in Nature Communications. The findings built on ...
In a German phase III trial (ESOPEC) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Hoeppner et al found that perioperative chemotherapy with fluorouracil/leucovorin/oxaliplatin/docetaxel (FLOT) improved overall survival vs preoperative chemoradiotherapy in patients undergoing surgery for locally ...
First-line treatment with the targeted therapies encorafenib and cetuximab plus a modified leucovorin, fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin (mFOLFOX6) chemotherapy regimen may be effective in patients with BRAF V600E–mutated metastatic colorectal cancer, according to recent findings presented by Kopetz et ...
In a Childhood Cancer Survivor Study analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Rotz et al found that adult survivors of childhood cancers had a twofold increased risk of developing melanoma compared with the general population. Additionally, those with an invasive melanoma had a more...
In a Chinese phase II study (C-Brain) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Xu et al found that brain radiotherapy in combination with camrelizumab and platinum-doublet chemotherapy produced “promising” results in patients with previously untreated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with brain...
Active monitoring appears to be a safe strategy for the management of some patients with low-risk ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), proving noninferior to guideline-concordant management of this patient population (ie, surgery with or without radiation therapy). After 2 years, the rate of invasive...
The findings in the American Cancer Society’s annual report, Cancer Statistics, 2025, show a mixed trend in cancer incidence and mortality rates. While cancer mortality declined by 34% from 1991 to 2022 in the United States—largely due to smoking reductions, earlier detection, and improved...
Guest Editor’s Note: With growing evidence indicating that regular physical activity helps control cancer symptoms, oncology guidelines recommend exercise before, during, and after cancer treatment. Observational data also demonstrate a promising association between physical activity and favorable...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would make cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products minimally or nonaddictive by limiting the level of nicotine in those products. If the rule is finalized, the United States would be the first...
Investigators may have uncovered an association between manufactured per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) levels in drinking water and the incidence of certain digestive, endocrine, lung, oral, and pharyngeal cancers, according to a novel study published by Li et al in the Journal of Exposure ...
Omitting axillary surgery may be an option for some patients with early-stage breast cancer, according to a study reported by Reimer et al in The New England Journal of Medicine. Previous studies, such as the SOUND trial, have indicated that avoiding an axillary procedure in patients with small...
In a phase II trial (RETAIN 1) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Geynisman et al found that risk-adapted active surveillance following neoadjuvant chemotherapy was associated with a high rate of metastasis-free survival in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Study Details In ...
A genetic mutation long believed to drive the development of esophageal cancer may play a protective role early in the disease, according to a recent study published by Ganguli et al in Nature Cancer. The findings could help physicians identify which patients are at greater risk of developing...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Sung et al, analysis of international population-based cancer registry data indicate an increase in incidence of colorectal cancer among younger persons (age < 50 years) in a majority of countries and territories examined. Study Details Colorectal cancer...
First responders who worked at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City were three times more likely to have genetic changes associated with an increased risk of leukemia compared with other first responders or members of the public who were not...
Long-term follow-up of patients in ZUMA-2 cohorts 1 and 2 showed that 39% of patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma were alive after 5 years; patients in these cohorts received brexucabtagene autoleucel, the only chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy to have 5-year...
A combination of the oral drugs acalabrutinib and venetoclax may be more effective at improving progression-free survival and minimizing serious adverse events in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) compared with one of two standard multidrug treatment regimens,...
Recent data suggest that a plant-based diet rich in fiber may help to improve the outlook for people with precursor conditions that can lead to multiple myeloma. The research, which involved a 12-week controlled diet with additional health coaching for 20 patients as well as experiments in mice, is ...
A bacterial toxin may accelerate the spread of colorectal cancer to other parts of the body, according to a recent study published by He et al in Cell Host & Microbiome. The findings could pave the way for novel tools to detect metastatic colorectal cancer early and determine which patients may ...
The experimental drug rilzabrutinib was well tolerated and generated an increase in platelet counts among some adults with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) who had not experienced lasting improvements with other available ITP treatments, according to the results of a phase III trial. These findings...
An analysis of the results from the ongoing randomized phase III AQUILA study found that daratumumab monotherapy was well tolerated and demonstrated a clinically meaningful and significant benefit in preventing or delaying progression to active multiple myeloma compared with active monitoring in...
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this occasional special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Cameroon. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the...
In the phase III IMROZ trial, the addition of the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody isatuximab-irfc to bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRd) was more effective than VRd alone as initial therapy in patients ≤ 80 years with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma ineligible for transplant,...
In the phase III CEPHEUS trial,1 the achievement of undetectable measurable residual disease (or MRD negativity)—the primary endpoint—was met by 61% of patients with transplant-ineligible or deferred newly diagnosed multiple myeloma treated with the monoclonal antibody daratumumab plus bortezomib, ...
In the final per-protocol analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-811 trial, an overall survival benefit was shown by adding the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab to trastuzumab and chemotherapy in treatment-naive, unresectable, HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.1...