As more patients with cancer have their tumors genomically profiled and more therapies targeting genomic alterations enter clinical trials, the task of connecting patients with trials for which they are eligible can be especially challenging. The novel computer platform MatchMiner, developed by the ...
In the past year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved four treatment options for patients with breast cancer, which are summarized herein. T-DXd for HER2-Low Breast Cancer On August 5, 2022, the FDA approved fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu; T-DXd) for adult patients with...
S. M. Qasim Hussaini, MD, of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Hospital, discusses findings from a nationwide study of the association between living in areas with discriminatory mortgage practices from the 1930s with present-day access to quality colon cancer care. The...
Populations in U.S. counties defined as more vulnerable based on social factors—including socioeconomic status and racial and ethnic minority status—may be significantly less likely to receive timely breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screenings, according to a recent study published by Bauer...
Following a Mediterranean diet rich in fiber, monounsaturated fatty acids, and polyphenols may be associated with improved immunotherapy response rates and progression-free survival in patients with advanced melanoma, according to a recent study presented at the United European Gastroenterology...
Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans may miss the detection of some pancreatic cancer tumors, narrowing the window for life-saving curative surgery, according to new research presented at the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Week 2022 (Abstract OP192). The...
Sandra L. Wong, MD, of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, discusses her study findings showing that when patients with cancer who have had surgery reported severe symptoms via an electronic patient-reported outcomes questionnaire at six cancer centers, it appeared to be beneficial without...
Qinjin Fan, PhD, of the American Cancer Society, explores the question of how mortgage discrimination is linked to lower rates of guideline-concordant care for patients with non–small cell lung cancer. This study highlights the critical need to understand the pathways through which mortgage denials ...
The cost of cancer treatment may negatively impact the physical and mental health of survivors who are living in poverty, according to a recent study published by Coughlin et al in the Journal of Oncology Practice. The findings provide important information about the impact social determinants may...
Although breast cancer death rates dropped by 43% from 1989 to 2020, Black women continue to be 40% more likely to die of the disease, despite a lower incidence, according to findings outlined in the American Cancer Society’s report Breast Cancer Statistics, 2022, and a companion study published by ...
Kelly Dooley, MD, PhD, MPH, has been appointed Addison B. Scoville Jr. Professor of Medicine and Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases in the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). Dr. Dooley comes to Vanderbilt from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in...
In the more than 7 months since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, cancer care for Ukrainian citizens has changed dramatically. Ukraine was once a country able to provide its approximately 160,000 newly diagnosed patients with cancer each year with modern diagnostic methods, including...
Sarah Cannon, the Cancer Institute of HCA Healthcare, announced recently that Stephen A. Strickland, Jr, MD, MSCI, has been named the Director of Leukemia Research for the Transplant & Cellular Therapy Network. In this role, Dr. Strickland provides scientific leadership and oversees Sarah...
Paula M. Fracasso, MD, PhD, FACP, has joined Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Massey Cancer Center and VCU Health as Deputy Director of the cancer center and Senior Vice President of the cancer service line at VCU Health. The cancer service line is a collaborative model designed to fulfill...
Scott M. Welford, PhD, Professor and Biology Division Chief in Radiation Oncology at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, will lead the center’s Tumor Biology Research Program with Wael El-Rifai, MD, PhD, Associate Director of Basic Science at ...
Shaji K. Kumar, MD, an expert in multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathies, has been appointed to the position of Editor-in-Chief of The Hematologist: ASH News and Reports, the official member news magazine of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). As the seventh Editor-in-Chief of the...
Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, FASCO, recently joined Emory School of Medicine as Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Jagsi was formerly the Newman Family Professor, Deputy Chair, and Residency Program Director in the Department of Radiation Oncology and Director of the Center for...
Following an extensive national search, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, has appointed Cristina R. Ferrone, MD, as Chair of the Department of Surgery. Currently Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Office of Clinical Careers for Massachusetts General...
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 data showed that Medicaid expansion may be associated with increased use of palliative care among newly diagnosed individuals with stage IV cancer, although overall usage of palliative care was low. In addition, the increase after Medicaid expansion varied by cancer type, according to a...
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...
Joannie M. Ivory, MD, MSPH, of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discusses ways to raise the number of Black patients with cancer who take part in clinical trials. More successful accrual may be linked to conducting trials where Black patients live and designing studies to recruit a...
Changchuan Jiang, MD, MPH, of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the lack of transportation as a potentially modifiable barrier to care for patients with cancer. Timely intervention may reduce visits to hospital emergency departments, lower costs, and improve outcomes (Abstract 70).
Young women who are cancer survivors may be at a much higher risk of sexual problems, including loss of libido and discomfort, according to research published by Wettergren et al in the journal Acta Oncologica. The study also suggests that cancer type and intensity of treatment may influence the...
New research showed that cancer survivors who delayed care due to a lack of transportation were more likely to use the emergency room (ER), according to the study published by Jiang et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. They also had the highest risks of all-cause and cancer-specific...
Findings reported by researchers from the American Cancer Society (ACS) and Johns Hopkins University showed that area-level mortgage discrimination may be adversely associated with receipt of guideline-concordant care among patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the United States,...
Christopher E. Jensen, MD, of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine, talks about older adults with acute myeloid leukemia who receive high-intensity chemotherapy. Although they may live longer, much of their survival gains may be spent engaged in oncology care (Abstract 376).
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...
An advanced software tool for analyzing DNA sequences from tumor samples has uncovered new, likely cancer-driving genes. In a study, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers designed the software, known as CSVDriver, to map and analyze the locations of large mutations, known as structural variants, in...
Three thoracic oncologists were named co-chairs of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), which will take place September 9–12 in Singapore. Co-chairs work with IASLC to plan the annual research meeting, select program track...
Concurrent chemoradiation therapy followed by durvalumab has become the standard of care in patients with unresectable, locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), based on the PACIFIC trial.1 However, clinical trials have predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and they evaluate...
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...
Abstract discussant Jacek Jassem, MD, of the Medical University of Gdansk, Poland, underscored smoking as the most important cause of lung cancer, noting that between 85% and 90% of patients with lung cancer are current or former smokers. “Lung cancer screening, which has recently become standard...
Despite significant advancements in cancer therapy, the number-one stopper of lung cancer remains the most basic intervention: quitting smoking. Unfortunately, for long-term smokers, that intervention can sometimes be the most challenging. According to data presented during the International...
Abstract discussant Anand Devaraj, MD, PhD, Professor in Thoracic Radiology at Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, and Professor of Thoracic Radiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, highlighted the increased risk of second primary tumors among current...
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...
Abstract discussant Anand Devaraj, MD, PhD, a thoracic radiologist at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals, and Professor of Thoracic Radiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, noted that both the Nederlands-Leuvens Longkanker Screenings Onderzoek (NELSON) trial...
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...
The first discussant of the NADIM II study, Corinne Faivre-Finn, MD, PhD, Professor of Thoracic Radiation Oncology, University of Manchester, and Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England, called the results “very impressive” but noted that...
In patients with resectable, stage IIIA non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the addition of neoadjuvant nivolumab to platinum-based chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival compared with neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone, according to data presented by Mariano Provencio, MD, PhD, at the...
Discussant of the exploratory analysis of the POSEIDON trial, Chia Puey Ling, MBBS, MMed, MRCP, FRACP, PhD, a medical oncologist at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore, noted that although 30% of the mutation-evaluable population had KRAS mutations, only a small percentage of patients had co-mutated...
The addition of the CTLA-4 inhibitor tremelimumab to durvalumab and chemotherapy in the first-line setting has already demonstrated an overall survival and progression-free survival benefit vs chemotherapy alone in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). According to data...
Dawn L. Hershman, MD, of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, discusses findings that showed substantial variability in clinicians’ adherence to prescribing primary prophylactic colony stimulating factors in a pragmatic trial. Although the ability to opt out of the intervention...
Justin M. Barnes, MD, of the Washington University School of Medicine, discusses the ways in which Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act seems to affect distant diagnoses and cancer deaths per year, the differences in the impact of expansion between Black and White patients in the United ...
Barbara Eichhorst, MD, of the German CLL Study Group and the University of Cologne, discusses phase III findings from the GAIA/CLL13 trial, which showed that time-limited treatment with venetoclax, obinutzumab, and ibrutinib or venetoclax plus obinutzumab improved progression-free survival compared ...
John B.A.G. Haanen, MD, PhD, of The Netherlands Cancer Institute, discusses recent phase III findings, which show that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) improve progression-free survival compared with ipilimumab by 50% in patients with advanced melanoma after not responding to anti–PD-1...
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...
It may soon be possible to identify group 4 medulloblastomas from more aggressive group 3 tumors. Research based on a little-explored part of RNA that creates proteins may lead to the development of better-targeted therapies, according to investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center....
On September 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to futibatinib (Lytgobi) for adults with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma harboring fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) gene fusions or...