“Ask yourself at every moment, ‘Is this necessary?’” —Marcus Aurelius To complement The ASCO Post’s extensive coverage of the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are two important abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on induction and...
Long-term follow-up of the phase III KEYNOTE-590 trial confirms the benefit of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in advanced esophageal cancer. As compared with chemotherapy alone, after a median of follow-up of almost 59 months, patients treated with the chemoimmunotherapy...
Michael Crump, MD, of the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, expressed some concerns about the study presented by Shadman et al in patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). “These data should be interpreted with caution. The patient...
For patients with relapsed large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) in complete remission, outcomes were better after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) than with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in a retrospective analysis of a large database presented at the 2023 American Society of...
he latest findings for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in colorectal cancer were discussed at the 2024 ASCO Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancers Symposium by Aparna R. Parikh, MD, a gastrointestinal oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard...
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has become an established biomarker of measurable or molecular residual disease (MRD) after curative-intent surgery in patients with colorectal cancer. The research focus is now on linking ctDNA to long-term outcomes and using it to guide treatment decisions—which was...
For perspective on CheckMate 8HW, The ASCO Post interviewed Alan P. Venook, MD, FASCO, the Madden Family Distinguished Professor of Medical Oncology and Translational Research at the University of California San Francisco and the Shorenstein Associate Director for Program Development at the Helen...
In the phase III CheckMate 8HW trial, previously untreated patients with microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) nonresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer derived significant benefit from an immunotherapy doublet, with nivolumab plus ipilimumab reducing the...
Invited discussant of KEYNOTE-564, Pedro Barata, MD, MSc, FACP, of the University Hospital Seidman Cancer Center, Cleveland, said the reasons for the disparate results in these two adjuvant trials of checkpoint inhibitors were likely the result of many factors. “Factors such as histology, different ...
In the third prespecified interim analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-564 trial,1 adjuvant treatment with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab significantly improved overall survival compared with placebo in patients with intermediate- or high-risk clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). However, a...
For patients with treatment-naive, locally advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, the addition of two checkpoint inhibitors to chemotherapy significantly improved not only progression-free survival but also overall survival, in the randomized, phase III SKYSCRAPER-08 trial...
A novel MDM2 inhibitor, APG-115 (alrizomadlin), has demonstrated antitumor activity and good tolerability in patients with progressive salivary cancer, particularly adenoid cystic carcinoma, according to data presented by Swiecicki et al at the 2024 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium ...
The Cancer Grand Challenges initiative announced it has selected five new global teams that will each receive up to $25 million in funding over the course of 5 years to address four major challenges faced by cancer research. Background In March 2023, the initiative unveiled nine new challenges to...
Investigators have found that common inherited genetic factors capable of predicting cancer risk in the general population may also help to predict childhood cancer survivors who may be at elevated risk of new cancers later in life, according to a recent study published by Gibson et al in Nature...
On March 7, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the small-molecule BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib (Brukinsa) in combination with the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody obinutuzumab for patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after two or more lines of ...
On March 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. CheckMate 901 Efficacy was evaluated in CheckMate ...
In an Indian single-center phase III trial (D-TORCH) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Santhosh et al found that topical diclofenac gel significantly reduced the risk of capecitabine-associated hand-foot syndrome vs placebo gel in patients with breast or gastrointestinal cancer who were ...
Newly published study results revealed that use of the Breast Cancer Index (BCI) test led to physicians changing their long-term antiestrogen treatment recommendations for 40% of patients with early-stage hormone receptor–positive breast cancer. The results, which suggest that many women may be...
Investigators have uncovered that despite low adoption rates of the 2020 American Cancer Society (ACS) cervical cancer screening guidelines among physicians, a majority of them expressed willingness to utilize the recommendations under certain circumstances, according to a recent study published by ...
Researchers have uncovered distinct alterations in the tumor genome of male patients with breast cancer that may suggest potential therapeutic targets, according to a recent study published by Assaad et al in Modern Pathology. Background Breast cancer in male patients represents less than 1% of all ...
On March 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the CD22-targeted antibody-drug conjugate inotuzumab ozogamicin (Besponsa) for pediatric patients aged 1 year and older with relapsed or refractory CD22-positive B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Study WI203581...
In an analysis reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Gurney et al identified factors associated with an increased risk of myeloid neoplasms after chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Study Details Investigators identified adults who received CAR T-cell therapy between June 2016 ...
In a phase I/II study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Naval Daver, MD, and colleagues found that pivekimab sunirine (IMGN632), a novel CD123-targeting antibody-drug conjugate, showed activity in patients with CD123-positive relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Study Details...
As reported by Marie Plante, MD, and colleagues in The New England Journal of Medicine, the phase III CX.5 SHAPE trial has shown noninferiority of simple vs radical hysterectomy in terms of pelvic recurrence in women with low-risk cervical cancer. Simple hysterectomy was associated with a reduced...
On March 5, the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Jubbonti (denosumab-bbdz, 60 mg/1 mL injection), as an interchangeable biosimilar to U.S.-licensed Prolia (denosumab), and Wyost (denosumab-bbdz, 120 mg/1.7 mL [70 mg/mL] injection), as an interchangeable biosimilar to...
Medical debt is associated with worse health status, more premature deaths, and higher mortality rates in the United States, according to a recent cross-sectional study published by Han et al in JAMA Network Open. Background“Patients are increasingly burdened by high out-of-pocket costs for health...
Investigators may have uncovered differential associations between smoking and DNA methylation across various racial and ethnic groups, according to a recent study published by Huang et al in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The findings could lead to the development of new strategies to...
Postoperative adjuvant therapy—both chemoradiotherapy and radiotherapy alone—for human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma may be safely de-escalated, according to results presented by Thorstad et al at the 2024 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium...
Investigators may have uncovered the social determinants of health hindering breast cancer screening in the United States, according to a recent systematic review published by Jhumkhawala et al in Frontiers in Public Health. Background Health disparities have consistently been associated with...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) is announcing several new updates to the cancer treatment practices listed in the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®). The evidence-based expert consensus recommendations are the most frequently updated guidelines for...
Adding the multikinase inhibitor lenvatinib to the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab as initial therapy for recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma improved response rates and progression-free survival but did not lead to an overall survival advantage over pembrolizumab...
Although liquid biopsies are now helping determine the need for adjuvant therapy in a number of malignancies, they have yet to prove useful in the setting of oropharyngeal carcinoma, according to a prospective pilot study presented at the 2024 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium that...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Woriax et al identified racial/ethnic differences in pathologic complete response rates and overall survival among women with triple-negative breast cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Study Details The study involved data from the...
On March 1, the FDA approved the monoclonal bispecific anti–EGFR-MET antibody amivantamab-vmjw (Rybrevant) in combination with carboplatin and pemetrexed for the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations, as detected by an FDA-approved test....
Non-Hispanic Black patients with locally advanced rectal cancer may experience poorer treatment outcomes independent of the sociodemographic, clinical, and pathologic factors that often influence racial and ethnic disparities in this patient population, according to a recent study published by...
In an analysis reported in JAMA Network Open, Jacob K. Kresovich, PhD, and colleagues identified differences in circulating leukocyte subsets between women who were diagnosed and treated for breast cancer vs those not diagnosed with breast cancer. As stated by the investigators: “Changes in...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gagelmann et al have developed a predictive model (Myeloma CAR-T Relapse [MyCARe] model) for outcomes after B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple...
In a Chinese phase III study reported in JAMA Oncology, Dai et al found that induction chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy alone was noninferior in terms of progression-free survival vs induction chemotherapy followed by concomitant chemoradiotherapy in the first-line treatment of locoregionally...
The American Urological Association (AUA), in partnership with the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO), released new clinical practice guidelines on salvage therapy for patients with prostate cancer. These guidelines were reported on by Morgan...
Researchers have demonstrated that an online genetic education program may encourage patients with a family history of cancer to undertake genetic testing, according to a recent study published by Rodriguez et al in Gastroenterology. Background Although research has shown that an inherited...
In an analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Arrillaga-Romany et al found that single-agent ONC201 (dordaviprone), a first-in-class imipridone, showed activity in recurrent histone 3 (H3) K27M-mutant diffuse midline glioma. As noted by the investigators, “H3 K27M–mutant diffuse...
A new report from the President’s Cancer Panel offers recommendations in five priority areas to accelerate progress toward implementing the National Cancer Plan and achieving the Biden-Harris Administration’s Cancer Moonshot goal of ending cancer as we know it. The report, delivered to President...
In a Singaporean study reported in JAMA Network Open, Yip et al found that survivors of head and neck cancer were at an increased risk of stroke compared with the general population. Study Details The registry-based cross-sectional study involved 9,803 survivors—excluding those with a history of...
Researchers have found that exposure to secondhand smoke during treatment with cisplatin may reduce its effectiveness in patients with head and neck cancer, even if they don’t have a history of smoking, according to a recent study published by Sadhasivam et al in the International Journal of...
Investigators have found that U.S. individuals with a history of incarceration may have worse access to and receipt of breast cancer and colorectal cancer screenings compared with those without a history of incarceration, according to a recent study published by Zhao et al in JAMA Health Forum....
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Camus et al, the final analysis of the phase III Ro-CHOP trial showed no significant progression-free or overall survival benefit with the addition of romidepsin (Ro) to CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) in previously...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Yelena Y. Janjigian, MD, and colleagues, 3-year follow-up of the phase III CheckMate 649 trial has shown the continued benefit of the addition of nivolumab to chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of advanced gastric, gastroesophageal junction,...
In the phase II REVIVE trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Marina Kremyanskaya, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the hepcidin mimetic rusfertide reduced the number of phlebotomies (during a dose-finding phase) and improved response rate vs placebo (during a randomized phase) in ...
In a Dutch study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Neppelenbroek et al found that doxorubicin treatment was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer among adolescent and adult Hodgkin lymphoma survivors. Study Details The study involved a cohort of 1,964 female 5-year Hodgkin...
For the third year in a row, more than 250 leaders in cancer care, including cancer center directors, physicians, scientists, ethicists, journalists, public officials, and patient advocates, gathered at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, to attend the...