PENILE CANCER is rare, outcomes remain poor, and there are few data from randomized trials to guide treatment decisions. However, in the small phase II VinCaP study, presented at the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, 45.5% of patients with advanced or metastatic penile cancer had a clinical...
Nicholas D. James, MBBS, PhD, of University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, discusses study findings on the addition of docetaxel to first-line hormone therapy in prostate cancer, an analysis focusing on cost-effectiveness and long-term and quality-adjusted survival (Abstract 162).
In the POSH study in the UK population reported in The Lancet Oncology, Copson et al found women with young-onset breast cancer who carry a germline BRCA mutation have survival similar to noncarriers, and BRCA-mutation carriers vs noncarriers with triple-negative breast cancer may have an early...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sekhar and colleagues found that the increasing proportion of lymph node–positive disease associated with enhanced detection techniques has led to nodal stage migration in anal cancer, which may reduce prognostic discrimination on the basis of lymph...
The phase III ALTERNATIVE trial has shown progression-free survival benefit with the addition of lapatinib (Tykerb) to trastuzumab (Herceptin) and an aromatase inhibitor among postmenopausal women with HER2-positive, hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer. These findings were...
FRONT-LINE TREATMENT of advanced Hodgkin lymphoma with brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) plus doxorubicin/ vinblastine/dacarbazine (A+AVD) achieved superior outcomes compared with the standard four-drug regimen of doxorubicin/bleomycin/vinblastine/dacarbazine (ABVD). The substitution of brentuximab...
In a phase III trial, patients with acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a rare blood clotting disorder, who received the investigational drug caplacizumab showed significant improvements in the time it took to normalization of their platelet count compared to those receiving a...
Nicholas C. Turner, MD, PhD, of The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust, discusses the challenges of treating metastatic breast cancer and how liquid biopsies can serve as a guide to genetic phenotypes.
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Song et al found that higher fiber intake after diagnosis of nonmetastatic colorectal cancer is associated with improved colorectal cancer–specific and overall survival. The benefit was also observed with a higher intake of whole grains. Study Details...
According to Alberto Sobrero, MD, Head of Medical Oncology at Ospedale San Martino in Genova, Italy, the results of the pivotal IDEA trial, which evaluated the optimal duration of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage III colon cancer, were not clear to clinicians.1 The combined analysis of six...
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 Congress, held in Madrid, featured important news including at least seven practice-changing or potentially practice-changing trials, which are covered in recent issues of The ASCO Post. Here we present additional highlights of studies in breast ...
Patients with chordoma—a rare bone cancer of the skull and spine—could be helped by existing treatments, suggest scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, University College London Cancer Institute, and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust. In the largest...
The phase III Checkmate 238 trial has shown improved recurrence-free survival with adjuvant nivolumab (Opdivo) vs ipilimumab (Yervoy) in patients with resected advanced melanoma. The findings were reported by Weber and colleagues in The New England Journal of Medicine. Study Details In the...
At the time this article was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dr. Danaher was practicing at Monash -University, -Melbourne, Australia; Drs. Brand and Mack, at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston; Dr. Pickard, at the Imperial College -Healthcare NHS Trust, London; and Dr. Berry,...
Overall survival outcomes in the phase III CheckMate 067 trial indicate improved survival with nivolumab (Opdivo)/ipilimumab (Yervoy) vs ipilimumab and with nivolumab vs ipilimumab in patients with previously untreated advanced melanoma. These findings were reported in The New England Journal of...
In the UK-Swiss phase III GeDDiS trial, the combination of gemcitabine and docetaxel did not significantly improve progression-free survival vs doxorubicin in first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic soft-tissue sarcoma. Findings were reported in The Lancet Oncology by Seddon et al....
A new tool to identify patients who would benefit from early palliative care was presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 Congress in Madrid (Abstract LBA54_PR). The so-called “Triggers” tool, developed by the London Cancer Alliance to help clinicians in the...
Caucasian women with ovarian cancer can safely stick to the standard every-3-week dosing schedule for paclitaxel rather than boosting up to a weekly dose-dense regimen, according to results of the phase III ICON8 trial presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 Congress in...
Andrew R. Clamp, PhD, of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, discusses his phase III study findings on dose-dense chemotherapy integration in first-line treatment of epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal carcinoma (Abstract 929O).
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sekhar et al found that the increasing proportion of lymph node–positive disease associated with enhanced detection techniques has led to nodal stage migration in anal cancer, which may reduce prognostic discrimination on the basis of lymph node...
A UK phase III trial (UK MRC OE05) has shown no significant survival benefit of extended and intensified neoadjuvant chemotherapy with epirubicin, cisplatin, and capecitabine vs standard cisplatin/fluorouracil followed by resection in patients with esophageal adenocarcinoma. The findings were...
Administering a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan and a blood test to patients with metastatic colorectal cancer may help to select those who would benefit from a targeted cancer treatment, a new study published by Khan et al in Gutreported. Researchers found that after only 2 weeks on the...
Janowitz et al have developed a new model for estimating glomerular filtration rate (GFR) that improves accuracy compared with chromium-51 (51Cr) EDTA excretion measurements and accuracy of carboplatin dosing compared with other published models in cancer patients. Their findings were reported in...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Larkin et al, the phase III CheckMate 037 trial has shown no difference in overall survival with nivolumab (Opdivo) vs investigator’s choice of chemotherapy in ipilimumab (Yervoy)-refractory advanced melanoma. More chemotherapy patients never ...
There is considerable scope to develop digital resources by means of which teenagers and young adults living with cancer can receive information and connect with both professionals and fellow patients. Such tools could help them gain different perspectives on treatment and survivorship, said Esha...
On April 28, 2017, the European Commission approved nivolumab (Opdivo) as monotherapy for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) in adults with disease progression on or after platinum-based therapy. Nivolumab is the first and only immuno-oncology treatment that has...
Detection of EGFR mutations in circulating tumor (ct) DNA from plasma samples can be accomplished using the cobas platform, according to findings presented by Kumar et al at the 2017 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) (Abstract 95PD). Assays of ctDNA offer a noninvasive method of finding EGFR...
A late-breaking subanalysis of the phase III CONVERT trial presented by Gomes et al at the 2017 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) shows that white blood cell–boosting drugs are safe during concurrent chemoradiotherapy of small cell lung cancer (SCLC, Abstract LBA2_PR). “The...
On April 28, the European Commission approved nivolumab (Opdivo) as monotherapy for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) in adults with disease progression on or after platinum-based therapy. Nivolumab is the first and only immuno-oncology treatment that has...
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO (CCF) is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2017 CCF Merit Awards in Gastrointestinal Cancers, Cancer Survivorship, Genitourinary Cancers, Immuno-Oncology, and Quality Care. The following 65 young researchers, recognized for the scientific merit of their ...
In a phase III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Tamas Hickish, MD, of Poole Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Dorset, England, and colleagues found that treatment with MABp1, an antibody that targets interleukin 1α and exhibits antitumor activity, was associated with improvement in the composite ...
Researchers from the School of Health Sciences at the University of Surrey, Guildford, United Kingdom, have completed the first-ever systematic review of cancer survivors’ experience of online and telephone telehealth interventions in cancer care, according to a recent study reported by Anna Cox,...
In the UK Medical Research Council ST03 phase II/III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Cunningham et al found that adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to perioperative chemotherapy did not improve survival in patients with operable esophagogastric cancer and may have been associated with impaired...
Researchers from the School of Health Sciences at the University of Surrey have completed the first-ever systematic review of cancer survivors’ experience of online and telephone telehealth interventions in cancer care, a new study by Cox et al in the Journal of Medical Internet...
A test that measures the levels of five chemicals in the breath has shown promising results for the detection of cancers of the esophagus and stomach in a large patient trial presented by Markar et al at the 2017 European Cancer Congress (Abstract 6LBA). Together, stomach and esophageal...
In a phase III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Hickish et al found that treatment with MABp1, an antibody that targets interleukin 1α and exhibits antitumor activity, was associated with improvement in the composite outcome of stabilizing/improving lean body mass and debilitating...
Stephen R.D. Johnston, MBBS, PhD, of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, and Ann H. Partridge, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discuss the role of endocrine therapy and optimal sequencing, recent progress in first-line treatment, and resistance pathways and second-line treatment...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) will recognize the late David Grimwade, PhD, formerly of King’s College London and Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust with the 2016 Exemplary Service Award for his exceptional years of service and dedication to the Society’s global programs that...
As neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy for stage III melanoma patients with palpable disease, the combination of ipilimumab (Yervoy) plus nivolumab (Opdivo) was shown to be a promising, though also toxic, combination in a phase Ib study reported at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) ...
A longer waiting interval from the end of preoperative chemoradiotherapy to surgery increases the rate of pathologic complete response and yields a higher proportion of patients achieving tumor downstaging in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, according to new findings from a...
The rise in the incidence of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in the United Kingdom from 2002 to 2011 was not solely attributable to a rise in the incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive disease, according to a study published in Cancer Research,1 which reported that the proportion of ...
Nivolumab (Opdivo) maintains function and reduces symptoms in treatment of relapsed metastatic head and neck cancer, according to results from the CheckMate 141 trial presented by Harrington et al at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark (Abstract...
Susana N. Banerjee, PhD, MBBS, of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, discusses phase II findings on abiraterone in patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian cancer. (Abstract LBA33)
Combining a new targeted drug that blocks one of cancer’s escape routes could boost the effectiveness of combined chemoradiotherapy for head and neck cancers and stop cells becoming resistant to treatment. Researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research, London (ICR), and The Royal Marsden...
A drop in the number of cancer cells detected in a patient’s blood could be the best indicator yet as to whether treatment for prostate cancer is working. A new study, published by Lorente et al in European Urology, shows that a 30% decline in a patient’s numbers of circulating tumor...
“There is a tremendous interest in longer aromatase inhibitor therapy. The Oxford Overview data, presented at ASCO, show the substantial risk of recurrence in years 5 to 15, despite an initial 5 years of adjuvant endocrine treatment. “Women with lower-risk breast cancer will be less inclined to...
A new radiotherapy technique could help doctors to focus treatment more precisely on tumors in the bladder and reduce damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Researchers showed that pretreatment imaging using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was effective at guiding radiotherapy toward tumors in the...
Wider excision margins in high-risk primary cutaneous melanoma were associated with improved melanoma-specific survival, according to long-term follow-up in a UK-led trial reported by Hayes et al in The Lancet Oncology. No significant improvement in overall survival was observed. The initial report ...
Among patients with high-risk, primary cutaneous melanomas, the risk of death from melanoma at a median follow-up of 8.8 years was significantly higher among those randomized to surgery with a 1-cm excision margin than among those randomized to surgery with a 3-cm excision margin. Although overall...
Clifford A. Hudis, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Nicholas C. Turner, MD, PhD, of the Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Trust, discuss fulvestrant and palbociclib as a treatment option in pre- and postmenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast...