Researchers have found that the novel targeted therapy zolbetuximab in combination with a standard chemotherapy may extend survival in patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma and overexpression of the claudin-18 isoform 2 protein (CLDN18.2), according to a novel...
In an analysis from a phase II European trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Jens Huober, MD, and colleagues found no difference in overall survival with pertuzumab/trastuzumab, with or without chemotherapy, followed by second-line ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) in patients with HER2-positive...
In a study from the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program reported in JAMA Network Open, Shi et al found that alcohol consumption and risky drinking behaviors were common among patients with a cancer diagnosis, including patients currently receiving treatment for their cancer....
Investigators have demonstrated that bariatric surgery may be associated with a lower incidence of all-cancer and obesity-related cancer among female patients, according to a recent study published by Adams et al in Obesity. The new findings also suggested cancer mortality was significantly reduced ...
Researchers have developed a personalized calculator that may be capable of predicting the reduced risk of early recurrence in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Chen et al in eGastroenterology. Background Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common...
In a German prospective registry study (SenTa) reported in JAMA Surgery, Kuemmel et al found that targeted axillary dissection alone after neoadjuvant systemic therapy was associated with outcomes similar to those obtained with targeted axillary dissection plus axillary lymph node dissection in...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Slovin et al found that concomitant abiraterone acetate plus prednisone (AAP) and cabazitaxel appeared to produce better outcomes than AAP followed by cabazitaxel upon disease progression in patients with metastatic...
Several recent studies have shown an increasingly disturbing trend: the incidence of early-onset cancers—those diagnosed in individuals younger than age 50—is on the rise, and not just in the United States but globally as well. Worldwide, in 2019, there were a reported 1.19 million new cases of...
A new ASCO guideline rapid update provides updated recommendations for the management of stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These updated recommendations made by the ASCO expert panel cover treatment options for patients with resected disease and specific genetic mutations as well as...
Researchers may have discovered how to prevent the cellular-cleaning protein ABCG2 from removing chemotherapeutics from tumor cells, according to a recent study published by Gose et al in Nature Communications. These research findings may improve future cancer therapeutics. Background Most new...
In a Canadian study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wilkinson et al found that breast cancer screening was associated with greater 10-year breast cancer net survival among women aged 40 to 49 living in jurisdictions including mammography screening programs for this age group, compared ...
Researchers may have identified how the TET2 gene may fuel rapid cancer growth in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a recent study published by Li et al in Cell Stem Cell. Background AML is distinguished by the rapid division and metastasis of immature leukemia stem cells....
Patients with pancreatic cancer who were treated with the benzodiazepine lorazepam had shorter progression-free survival periods than patients who were not, according to study results published by Cornwell et al in Clinical Cancer Research. In contrast, patients who were treated with the...
Researchers have identified genes that may be associated with breast cancer and could eventually be included in tests to identify high-risk patients, according to a recent study published by Wilcox et al in Nature Genetics. Background Currently, genetic tests for breast cancer consider a few genes...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Özgüroğlu et al, extended follow-up of the phase III EMPOWER-Lung 1 trial has shown continued benefit in overall and progression-free survival with first-line cemiplimab-rwlc vs chemotherapy in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with...
Platinum resistance occurs in almost all patients whose ovarian cancer recurs. Single-agent chemotherapies are commonly used in this setting, but outcomes are generally poor, leaving a large unmet need for effective treatment. At the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2023 Annual Meeting on...
“Any protocol that involves cisplatin or carboplatin as part of a study is on hold because of the chemotherapy shortage,” Mark J. Ratain, MD, FASCO, Chief Hospital Pharmacologist, University of Chicago Medicine, said in an interview with The ASCO Post. “Many times, our clinical trials are building...
Grim, grimmer, and grinding are among the terms reported in the press to describe the current chemotherapy shortage.1,2 And, “it is not going away,” Mark J. Ratain, MD, FASCO, Chief Hospital Pharmacologist, University of Chicago Medicine, told The ASCO Post. “This is a progressive problem like...
New approaches are offering hope for better outcomes in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, according to Suchita Pakkala, MD, of Emory University’s Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta. She shared her thoughts on using PARP inhibitors and antibody-drug conjugates at the 2023 Debates and...
Researchers have discovered that ipilimumab in combination with nivolumab may be an effective second-line therapy in patients with PD-1 blockade–refractory metastatic melanoma, according to a recent study published by VanderWalde et al in Nature Medicine. These findings demonstrated the combination ...
Long-molecule scars may help identify patients with BRCA1- and BRCA2-deficient cancer types, according to a recent study published by Setton et al in Nature. Background Once DNA is damaged by toxins, radiation, or normal cell division, human cells must continually fix DNA breaks to survive. When...
Investigators may have uncovered the impact of the 2014 and 2015 Medicaid expansion on cancer clinical trial participation, according to a recent study published by Unger et al in JAMA Oncology. The new findings suggested that Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...
In a U.S. retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Sebastian et al found that treatment at a high-volume radiation facility was associated with improved overall survival among men with very high–risk prostate cancer receiving curative-intent radiotherapy with androgen-deprivation...
Pancreatic cancer has the poorest 5-year survival rate (12.5%) relative to all other cancers. In 2023, about 64,050 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and approximately 50,550 will die of the disease. A retrospective study investigating the impact of palliative care medicine on the...
Continued breast cancer screening after age 70 may be associated with a greater incidence of asymptomatic cancer, according to a recent study published by Richman et al in the Annals of Internal Medicine. These new findings suggested that overdiagnosis may be prevalent among older female patients....
Investigators have identified a need for strong coordination between clinicians and skilled pathologists to ensure accurate, timely diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The study findings were recently published by Gorak et al in Blood Advances. Background MDS—a collection of chronic...
Researchers have identified a cell metabolism process found in male patients with West African ancestry who have diabetes and metastatic prostate cancer that could potentially lead to improved testing and treatments for Black patients with both diseases. The findings by Shuck et al were presented...
In a study (STOP-CA) reported in JAMA, Neilan et al found that atorvastatin reduced the risk of decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in patients receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy for the treatment of lymphoma. Study Details In the U.S.-Canadian double-blind trial, 300...
In a Canadian retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Castelo et al found that a greater interval between date of presentation and treatment initiation was not associated with an increased risk of poorer survival among patients with colorectal cancer diagnosed before age 50. The...
Researchers have found that the new PENK methylation (mePENK) test could potentially pave the way for a breakthrough in early bladder cancer detection in patients with hematuria, according to a novel study published by Oh et al in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. The findings could reduce the...
Prostate-specific membrane antigen positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PSMA PET/CT) imaging may help physicians diagnose advanced disease and select the appropriate therapeutic interventions in patients aged 80 years or older with suspected prostate cancer, according to a recent study ...
Formal discussant of the CheckMate 274 trial, Michiel S. Van der Heijden, MD, PhD, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, said it is an “important” study. “In looking at these results, one should consider the goal of adjuvant therapy in this setting. Is overtreatment of patients cured by surgery...
“Clinically, the implications [of the THOR trial] are clear in that all metastatic urothelial cancers should be tested for FGFR mutations,” stated invited discussant Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, of Yale School of Medicine. “This should be done at the beginning of treatment for metastatic disease, as it...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Karim Fizazi, MD, PhD, of Gustave Roussy Institute, Paris-Saclay University, and colleagues, the phase III TRITON3 trial has shown significantly improved progression-free survival with rucaparib vs physician-selected single-agent therapy in the...
Medical oncologist Monica Chatwal, MD, of Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, commented on the take-home points from the ARASENS trial. “The ARASENS trial continues to show a survival benefit for a triplet therapy approach in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer with androgen-deprivation ...
The addition of the androgen receptor inhibitor darolutamide to androgen-deprivation therapy and docetaxel reduced the risk of death by 30% compared with androgen-deprivation therapy plus docetaxel in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, according to a post hoc analysis of...
The results of recent trials of PARP (poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase) inhibitor plus second-generation androgen receptor inhibitor combinations have had varying results in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. Some trials suggest the benefit is confined to those with BRCA mutations and/or...
Presented here are summaries of three abstracts from the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting that are pertinent for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The first two focus on men with homologous recombinant repair (HRR) gene alterations, including BRCA1/2. In the first study,...
“Hats off to the investigators for the first comparison of triplet to doublet in advanced renal cell carcinoma. This is also the first results using a contemporary control group. The study met its primary endpoint,” said Sumanta K. Pal, MD, FASCO, Co-Director of the Kidney Cancer Program, City of...
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 ...
The 3-year follow-up of the phase III CheckMate 9ER trial demonstrates superior outcomes with the combination of nivolumab plus cabozantinib vs the former standard-of-care sunitinib as first-line treatment of advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma.1 These benefits were achieved with the...
David A. Braun, MD, PhD, of Yale Cancer Center, was the formal discussant of the abstract on the 4-year follow-up of the CLEAR trial. “We have made remarkable progress [in advanced renal cell carcinoma] and are now in the combination era of immunotherapy-based therapy and immunotherapy-based...
It is an exciting time in the development of new treatments for urologic cancers. There have been a number of major changes both in advanced disease and in the perioperative setting over the past year. Urothelial and Bladder Cancers In urothelial cancer, at last, we have randomized data supporting...
On August 14, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to elranatamab-bcmm (Elrexfio), a bispecific B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed CD3 T-cell engager, for adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior...
Over the past year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval to several novel drugs and new indications for older therapeutic agents used in hematologic oncology. Glofitamab for DLBCL On June 15, 2023, the FDA granted accelerated approval to glofitamab-gxbm (Columvi) for...
Insights on findings from the phase II MonumenTAL-1 trial1 were offered by Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH, Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, and Medical Director of the Winship Data and Technology Applications Shared Resource, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School ...
In the phase I/II MonumenTAL-1 trial, the novel bispecific antibody talquetamab produced responses in more than 70% of heavily pretreated patients with multiple myeloma.1 Of note, the safety profile confirmed results of the phase I portion of the study (recently published in TheNew England Journal...
Urvi A. Shah, MD, Assistant Attending at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, moderated the session where the MagnetisMM trial updates1,2 were reported and was interviewed by The ASCO Post. Elranatamab vs Teclistamab Dr. Shah noted...
Ciara L. Freeman, MD, PhD, Assistant Member, Department of Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, was impressed with the CARTITUDE-4 findings. She said “treaters and patients” will be “watching this space” to see how the results change the...
Compared with the standard of care for relapsed multiple myeloma, a single infusion of ciltacabtagene autoleucel was associated with a significant 74% reduction in the risk of disease progression in patients with lenalidomide-refractory multiple myeloma after one to three relapses, the phase III...