Although industry-sponsored cancer clinical trials often focus on single-agent drug trials, federally funded cancer clinical trials are more likely to investigate drug combinations with other treatments, including biologics or radiation therapy. An analysis by Joseph M. Unger, PhD, MS, Professor,...
No significant differences were observed in breast volume loss between five-fraction whole-breast and partial-breast radiation therapy in patients with breast cancer who underwent prior partial mastectomy, according to the results of a study presented in a poster during the American Society for...
In an international, multicenter retrospective cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Xing et al found that incorporating the genetic status of BRAF and TERT genes into the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system for papillary thyroid cancer resulted in a modification of...
In a French phase III trial (IFM2017-03) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Manier et al found that a dexamethasone-sparing regimen of daratumumab plus lenalidomide improved progression-free survival vs lenalidomide plus dexamethasone in patients with frailty and newly diagnosed multiple myeloma....
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Suk et al identified the association of survival with receipt of recommended treatment and nonreceipt of nonrecommended treatment among patients aged ≥ 65 years with newly diagnosed early-stage cervical cancer. Study Details The study...
A recent study has found that mutations in blood-forming cells may explain the increased risk for leukemia and other blood disorders among first responders exposed to the 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) disaster site and its toxic dust. The study also points to a novel strategy for use against...
A new phase III clinical trial has found that intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and proton-beam therapy resulted in similar quality-of-life outcomes and low rates of side effects for people with locally advanced oropharyngeal cancer. The TORPEdO trial, a randomized study conducted across ...
Stereotactic radiation therapy (SABR) was found to be noninferior to surgical resection in terms of overall survival for patients with early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to 10-year results from the STARS trial presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)...
Patrick Goodley, MBBChir, MRCP, of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, reports results from a study that looked at treatment and survival rates in people aged 75 to 80 years diagnosed with screen-detected lung cancer in two targeted lung cancer screening implementation settings (Abstract...
There has been a rapid increase in the global number of cancer cases and deaths between 1990 and 2023, despite advances in cancer treatment and efforts to tackle cancer risk factors over that same period. Without urgent action and targeted funding, 30.5 million people are forecast to receive a new...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In this installment, Syed Ali Abutalib, MD, and L. Jeffrey Medeiros, MD, focuses on clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (also referred to as CHIP) as well as...
In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Smith-Bindman et al found that medical imaging among children was associated with a significantly increased risk of pediatric and adolescent hematologic cancer. The study involved data from a retrospective cohort of 3,724,623 children born ...
People with more than one tattoo session may have a decreased risk of developing melanoma—with one key caveat, according to research published by McCarty et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. A team led by Jennifer Doherty, PhD, Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator, Co-Leader of ...
This year, an estimated 85,500 adolescents and young adults (AYAs) will be diagnosed with cancer in the United States, and about 9,380 AYAs will die from the disease. And while cancer survivorship is increasing for all age groups—there are now nearly 19 million cancer survivors in the United...
New study findings show that children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who were exposed to pesticides during their mother's pregnancy may have a higher risk of death, according to findings published in Cancers. “This study highlights that exposures in the home environment, even before a...
In a U.S. cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Suzuki et al assessed long-term survival among premenopausal women with clinical stage I endometrioid endometrial cancer treated with fertility-preserving hormonal therapy vs hysterectomy. Study Details The study focused on National Cancer Database...
In a phase I, first-in-human trial of nearly 50 patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies, the orally administered, small molecule degrader bexobrutideg (NX-5948) was reported to be well tolerated, including in those with a longer duration of treatment and higher doses. Clinical...
Three leading national cancer organizations have issued an updated guideline on postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) for physicians treating patients with breast cancer. The recommendations outline when PMRT is appropriate based on new evidence and evolving clinical practice, and they highlight...
A retrospective cohort study conducted by Dessinioti et al and published in JAMA Dermatology found that, in cases of melanoma in situ, diagnostic excisional biopsy achieving clear margins may be sufficient for treatment. “No local recurrences, metastasis, or melanoma-specific death were observed...
The results of a retrospective cohort study published in JAMA Network Open revealed an association between having a history of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) and the risk of developing malignant brain tumors in adult civilians from the United States. Marini et al confirmed the...
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), human papillomavirus (HPV)–associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is the most common type of HPV-related malignancy in the United States. In 2025, ACS estimates there will be 59,660 diagnoses of mouth and throat cancers, and about...
On April 22, 2025, an ASCO Expert Panel voted to approve ASCO’s global guideline on geriatric assessment of patients with cancer older than age 65 who are being treated in resource-limited settings or countries.1 Guideline recommendations were informed by the ADAPTE methodology and formal consensus ...
The American Cancer Society (ACS) has released Prostate Cancer Statistics, 2025, a report on current prostate cancer occurrence and outcomes in the United States. According to the study, prostate cancer incidence rates have reversed from a decline of 6.4% per year during 2007 through 2014 to an...
Each year, nearly 90,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs; aged 15–39) are diagnosed with cancer, and approximately 9,300 die of the disease.1 And although the 5-year survival rate among these young patients is approaching 80%, it lags behind that of the pediatric population, whose 5-year...
Many patients from Europe and the United States have experienced the benefits of anthracyclines in the treatment of an array of cancers, including solid tumors such as breast and ovarian cancers as well as lymphoma. However, a number of these cancer survivors will experience severe chronic cardiac...
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) led to a 21% reduction in the risk of death compared with open lobectomy for patients with early-stage lung cancer, in a meta-analysis of randomized trials comparing the two approaches. Results of the meta-analysis were presented at the International...
Older individuals up to the age of 80 who are eligible for lung surgery may achieve a survival benefit from lung cancer screening comparable to that for younger patients, according to the results of a multicenter cohort study from the United Kingdom presented at the International Association for...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved selumetinib (Koselugo) granules and capsules for pediatric patients aged 1 year and older with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) who have symptomatic, inoperable plexiform neurofibromas (PN). The FDA previously approved selumetinib capsules for...
As the global population ages, oncology faces an urgent challenge: ensuring that health-care professionals are adequately trained to address the unique complexities of cancer care for older adults. Despite the increasing prevalence of cancer in this demographic, geriatric oncology education remains ...
Research has shown that pain is among the most commonly experienced and feared aspects of a cancer diagnosis.1 It’s easy to understand why. In fact, cancer-related pain is so ubiquitous, between 20% and 50% of patients with early-stage cancer will experience pain,2 and up to 90% of patients with...
Individuals carrying a rare pathogenic variant in one of 16 cancer-associated genes were 1.9 times more likely to develop a single cancer and 2.6 times more likely to develop multiple primary cancers, according to the results of a genetic association study published in JAMA Oncology. These...
Taking low-dose colchicine daily may slow the progression of a common acquired gene mutation found in the blood of older adults that can lead to certain blood cancers and increased risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a subanalysis of the LoDoCo2 trial published by Mohammadnia et al in JACC ...
Use of a daily interferon-α nasal spray could significantly reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection among adult patients with cancer, according to the results of a multicenter, randomized trial published in Clinical Infectious Diseases. The results suggest that the nasal spray could be a potential...
A single administration of autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte cell therapy with lifileucel led to disease stability in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, even among patients whose disease had progressed or did not respond to multiple prior...
For individuals diagnosed with early breast cancer, the long-term risk of developing a second primary cancer is low—around 2% to 3% greater than the general population)—according to findings published by McGale et al in The BMJ. The researchers say this information can help reassure many breast...
In a U.S. state-level study reported as a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Garg et al found that awareness of human papillomavirus (HPV), HPV vaccination, and the association between HPV infection and development of cancers was “overwhelmingly low.” As stated by the investigators, “Each year, an...
In a matched-cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Iwakura et al found that women with breast or gynecologic cancer had a higher risk of job resignation compared with their unaffected counterparts, especially among those who were older, had lower income, or had a history of depression. “These ...
Each year in the United States, nearly 16,000 children and adolescents between the ages of birth and 19 are diagnosed with cancer.1 And although survival rates have greatly improved for many types of childhood cancers, with more than 8 in 10 children and adolescents surviving at least 5 years after ...
Cancer survivors receiving government-subsidized rent were found to have a lower risk of experiencing financial hardships around medical expenses compared with those not receiving housing assistance, according to the results of a cross-sectional study published as a research letter in JAMA Network...
In a pooled analysis of the Italian Sarcoma Group (ISG/OS-2) and Spanish Sarcoma Group (GEIS-33) trials reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Palmerini et al found evidence of activity with the addition of mifamurtide to chemotherapy in patients with nonmetastatic high-grade osteosarcoma...
After 2 decades of practicing medicine across multiple disciplines and health systems, I’ve witnessed the dramatic transformation of patient-physician interactions, and none more dramatic than what I’m seeing in this era of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on cancer care. Early in my...
In a study reported as a research letter in JAMA Network Open, Amboree identified U.S. counties with low or high cervical cancer screening coverage and associated risks of cervical cancer incidence and mortality. As stated by the investigators, “Recent research shows that cervical cancer incidence...
In an analysis from the Children’s Oncology Group ALTE03N1 Study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Zhou et al found a fourfold increased risk of subsequent neoplasms (SNs) among childhood cancer survivors with germline pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) mutations. Study Details The...
As pediatric cancer survival rates continue to improve, attention has shifted to quality of life and symptom management. While a majority of patients experience problematic symptoms during treatment, these symptoms usually go undocumented and untreated. In a secondary analysis of a cluster...
I would like to begin by sharing a bit of my journey in geriatric oncology. Often, we do not hear the origin stories behind our professional paths, and I believe it is important to reflect on them. I have spent my entire academic career at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where I arrived...
In a study reported in JAMA Network Open, Balmaceda et al found that rural patients in North Carolina with newly diagnosed prostate cancer were more likely to experience biochemical recurrence than were urban patients. Study Details This cohort study used data from the North Carolina Prostate...
The addition of the PD-1 inhibitor sintilimab to ICE (ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide) chemotherapy appeared to significantly improve the complete remission rate and showed a trend toward improved progression-free survival in second-line classical Hodgkin lymphoma, according to Yuankai Shi,...
The main symptom that eventually led to my diagnosis of stage IV adenocarcinoma non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) started in the fall of 2009. I was just 17 and in my freshman year at college when I began experiencing a persistent cough. The coughing became so unrelenting over the next month, I...
In an early-phase study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Liu et al evaluated the safety and preliminary efficacy of DEP-SN38, a polylysine-based dendrimer-nanoparticle delivery platform for the topoisomerase 1 inhibitor SN38, in patients with advanced solid tumors. SN38 is the active...
In a Korean retrospective study reported in JAMA Network Open, Bong et al found that the addition of oxaliplatin to fluoropyrimidine-based adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with an overall survival benefit in patients with stage III colorectal cancer aged ≤ 70 years but not in those aged > 70 ...