Combining the kinase inhibitor ibrutinib (Imbruvica) with an investigational personalized cellular therapy known as CTL119 can lead to complete remission in patients with high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University...
As new treatment decision-making tools make their way toward and into the clinic, oncologists are getting a sense of how they may affect clinical practice—and beginning to look farther down the road. “What do you see ahead for clinicians?” asked Christian Downs, JD, Executive Director of the...
ASCO President Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, released the following statement today: “ASCO congratulates Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, on the announcement of his continued service as the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A renowned researcher and skilled administrator, Dr....
As reported at the recent ASCO Annual Meeting and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Peters et al, the phase III ALEX trial has shown improvement in progression-free survival with alectinib (Alecensa) vs crizotinib (Xalkori) in the first-line treatment of advanced ALK-positive...
The blend of bacteria in the digestive tract of metastatic melanoma patients is associated with disease progression or delay in patients treated with immunotherapy, reported Wargo et al at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 3008). Their study of fecal samples from 105 patients treated with...
On June 2, the European Commission (EC) approved nivolumab (Opdivo) for the treatment of locally advanced unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma in adults after failure of prior platinum-containing therapy. This makes nivolumab the first immuno-oncology agent approved in the European Union ...
“The results of this trial are promising but need to be reproduced in the United States and other countries before clear recommendations can be made. There are adjuvant studies such as ALCHEMIST underway to test this strategy in U.S. patients,” said Trever Bivona, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of...
Adjuvant therapy with gefitinib (Iressa), an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted agent, was more successful at preventing recurrence than standard-of-care chemotherapy, in a phase III study of patients with EGFR-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).1 Gefitinib extended...
By adding an experimental drug to a standard chemotherapy regimen, a subset of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer had a significantly longer period before the cancer progressed as compared with those who received the standard treatment, according to a phase II clinical trial led by an...
Being transparent about the cost of cancer treatments with patients has been increasingly recommended to help minimize financial harm and improve care, but what's preventing or derailing those conversations is less understood. New findings from Penn Medicine that identified several barriers and key ...
David H. Henry, MD, of Pennsylvania Oncology Hematology Associates, and Ruben A. Mesa, MD, of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, discuss phase III study findings on momelotinib vs ruxolitinib in JAK inhibitor–naive patients with myelofibrosis. (Abstract 7000)
Among patients with cancer, as many as 53% of emergency department visits that do not require admission could be avoided with better symptom management and greater availability of outpatient care tailored to their needs, according to a new study from Fred Hutchinson Cancer...
Younger patients with colon cancer appear to have more than three times as many mutations in their tumors as older patients, which could lead to more effective treatment decisions, according to researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. In a new study, they found that tumor...
ASCO’s Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) Study continues to expand and now has more than 300 participants enrolled on study drug, more than 100 sites, new partnerships, and a revised protocol to lower the age of eligibility. “We are very pleased with the...
A retrospective biomarker analysis of the phase III GOG-0218 trial indicated a higher tumor microvessel density was associated with progression-free and overall survival benefit with bevacizumab (Avastin) vs placebo plus front-line chemotherapy in patients with ovarian cancer. These findings were...
A randomized phase II trial (Children’s Oncology Group [COG] ANBL1221) has resulted in the selection of dinutuximab (Unituxin) plus irinotecan/temozolomide as a regimen to be further evaluated in the treatment of pediatric patients with refractory or relapsed neuroblastoma. Study results were ...
Combined testing for urinary PCA3 and TMPRSS2:ERG (T2:ERG) RNA may increase accuracy in identifying the risk for aggressive early prostate cancer, according to a study reported in JAMA Oncology by Sanda et al in the EDRN-PCA3 Study Group. Study Details The study involved 516 development cohort...
In a single-site experience reported in The Lancet Oncology by Shaverdian et al, patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the phase I KEYNOTE-001 trial of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) were found to have better outcomes if they had received prior radiotherapy. Study Details...
Daniel Heng, MD, MPH, of the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and the University of Calgary, and Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of the City of Hope, discuss key findings presented at ASCO: adjuvant pazopanib vs placebo after nephrectomy in patients with locally advanced disease (the PROTECT Trial), and adjuvant...
Eric Jonasch, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the largest prospective VHL disease-specific therapeutic trial performed to date, and the data that show pazopanib resulted in significant and sustained disease control for the majority of patients enrolled on the...
Bernard J. Escudier, MD, of Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus, and Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of City of Hope, discuss phase III study findings on adjuvant sunitinib used to treat high-risk renal cell carcinoma, which validate the 16-gene Recurrence Score in patients with stage III disease. (Abstract 4508)
Tanya B. Dorff, MD, of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of the City of Hope, discuss two key presentations on prostate cancer: findings on adding abiraterone for men with high-risk prostate cancer starting long-term androgen-deprivation therapy, and an...
Neeraj Agarwal, MD, of Huntsman Cancer Institute, and Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of the City of Hope, examine the study findings on androgen-deprivation therapy with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone or placebos in newly diagnosed high-risk metastatic hormone-naive prostate cancer. (Abstract LBA3)
Lisa A. Carey, MD, of the University of North Carolina, and Mark E. Robson, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discuss phase III study findings on olaparib monotherapy vs chemotherapy for patients with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer and a germline BRCA mutation. (Abstract LBA4)
Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of City of Hope, and Toni K. Choueiri, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, exchange views on the key papers in renal cell carcinoma presented at ASCO’s 2017 nonprostate GU oral abstract session. (Abstracts 4504, 4505, 4506, 4507, 4508)
Solange Peters, MD, PhD, of the University of Lausanne, who has been a driving force in ESMO’s efforts to promote women in oncology, talks with Mary Gospodarowicz, MD, of Princess Margaret Hospital, a recipient of the 2017 Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award.
Findings from a phase III clinical trial point to a potential new treatment for patients newly diagnosed with advanced, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Compared to the EGFR inhibitor gefitinib (Iressa), one of the standard targeted...
Malignant pleural mesothelioma is a rare cancer, but its incidence has been rising. This cancer is usually associated with asbestos exposure, and patients have a median life expectancy of only 13 to 15 months. All patients relapse despite initial chemotherapy, more than 50% of them within 6 months...
Solange Peters, MD, PhD, of the University of Lausanne, examines the study findings on nivolumab ± ipilimumab in advanced small cell lung cancer, in the first report of a randomized expansion cohort. (Abstract 8503)
Elizabeth J. Shpall, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and recipient of the 2017 Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award, discusses promoting women in oncology with Nina Shah, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, the protégé who nominated Dr. Shpall for this ...
Gunter von Minckwitz, MD, of the German Breast Group, discusses study findings on a randomized comparison of chemotherapy, trastuzumab, and placebo vs chemotherapy, trastuzumab, and pertuzumab as adjuvant therapy in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer. (Abstract LBA500)
Taofeek K. Owonikoko, MD, PhD, of Emory University, discusses study findings on cisplatin and etoposide in combination with veliparib or placebo for extensive stage small cell lung cancer. (Abstract 8505)
Matthew D. Hellmann, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses study findings on nivolumab ± ipilimumab in advanced small cell lung cancer, in the first report of a randomized expansion cohort. (Abstract 8503)
Primo Lara, MD, of the University of California, Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses three top abstracts on treating advanced renal cell carcinoma with epacadostat, pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, bevacizumab, sunitinib, or pazopanib. (Abstracts 4505, 4507, 4515)
David I. Quinn, MBBS, PhD, of the University of Southern California, gives his expert perspective on the planned survival analysis from a phase III open-label study of pembrolizumab vs paclitaxel, docetaxel, or vinflunine in recurrent, advanced urothelial cancer. (Abstract 4501)
Dean F. Bajorin, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Peter H. O’Donnell, MD, of The University of Chicago Medical Center, discuss their study findings on treating advanced urothelial cancer with pembrolizumab, paclitaxel, docetaxel, or vinflunine. (Abstracts 4501 and 4502)
In an early clinical trial, 33 out of 35 (94%) patients had clinical remission of multiple myeloma upon receiving immunotherapy with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting B-cell maturation protein, or BCMA. Most patients had only mild side effects. The study was presented by Fan et al...
Findings from a phase III clinical trial point to a more effective initial treatment for patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Compared to the current standard of care, crizotinib (Xalkori), the newer ALK inhibitor alectinib (Alecensa) halted cancer growth for a...
As reported in the Plenary Session at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Robson et al, the phase III OlympiAD trial showed that the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) prolonged progression-free survival vs standard therapy in...
A phase III clinical trial of 4,805 women with HER2-positive breast cancer suggests the addition of a second HER2-targeted medicine, pertuzumab (Perjeta), to standard-of-care trastuzumab (Herceptin) after surgery may improve outcomes, although the benefit is modest. The study was presented by von...
As reported in the Plenary Session at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Fizazi et al, the phase III LATITUDE trial has shown that the addition of abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) and prednisone to androgen-deprivation therapy resulted in marked improvements in...
Julie Vose, MD, MBA, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, discusses two hematologic abstracts: results from the OPTIMAL>60 study on radiotherapy to bulky disease PET-negative after immunochemotherapy in elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; and an analysis of autologous...
Julie Vose, MD, MBA, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Clifford A. Hudis, MD, ASCO’s current CEO, discuss the state of cancer care and the challenges that lie ahead.
Julie Vose, MD, MBA, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Bruce E. Johnson, MD, of the Lowe Center for Thoracic Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discuss Dr. Johnson’s upcoming tenure as ASCO President and his goals for the year ahead.
Lee S. Schwartzberg, MD, of West Cancer Center, reports on this past year’s progress of the ACCC initiative to speed adoption of immunotherapeutics in community practices.
Xuesong Han, PhD, of the American Cancer Society, discusses the Affordable Care Act and her study findings showing how implementation of the law is associated with a shift to early-stage diagnosis for all screenable cancers except prostate cancer (likely due to Task Force recommendations against...
Salah-Eddin Al-Batran, MD, of the Institute of Clinical Cancer Research Krankenhaus Nordwest, discusses phase III study findings on perioperative chemotherapy with docetaxel, oxaliplatin, and fluorouracil/leucovorin vs epirubicin, cisplatin, and fluorouracil or capecitabine for resectable gastric...
Axel Grothey, MD, of the Mayo Clinic Rochester, discusses study findings on shortening the duration of adjuvant oxaliplatin-based therapy, linked to neurotoxicity, for patients with stage III colon cancer. (Abstract LBA1)
Daniel A. Goldstein, MD, of Emory University and Rabin Medical Center, discusses his study findings that show nearly $1 billion in savings when patients receive personal weight-based doses instead of a predetermined fixed dose for treatment of PD-L1-positive non–small cell lung cancer. (Abstract...
Ann-Lii Cheng, MD, PhD, of the National Taiwan University Hospital, discusses phase III study findings on lenvatinib vs sorafenib in first-line treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. (Abstract 4001)