A novel blood test may accurately detect neuroendocrine prostate cancer and differentiate it from castration-resistant prostate adenocarcinoma, according to a recent study published by Franceschini et al in Cancer Discovery. Background Approximately 10% to 15% of patients with metastatic prostate...
Researchers have developed a novel computational model for personalized prognosis prediction in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, according to a new study published by Maura et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Their model for individualized risk in multiple myeloma, or IRMMa,...
Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, commented on the findings of the PREFERABLE-EFFECT trial: “This is a wonderful study about what has been obvious to all of us—exercise improves quality of life. Most oncologists probably recommend it, but not necessarily in the structured and rigorous way this study did. We...
Investigators analyzed cells within triple-negative breast cancers before and after radiation therapy combined with pembrolizumab and identified three patient groups with different responses to the treatment. Their study, published by Shiao et al in Cancer Cell, found that for some patients with...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Foà et al, long-term results of the Italian D-ALBA study have shown that a chemotherapy-free induction/consolidation regimen of dasatinib followed by blinatumomab maintained highly favorable outcomes in the front-line treatment of adult patients...
On October 16 and 17, 2023, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) welcomed more than 350 attendees from over 75 countries to its World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in Long Beach, California, to discuss some of the most challenging issues facing patients with cancer worldwide. The theme of...
Except for a series of unexplained multiple broken bones and inexplicable excruciating pain in my right hip and leg, I had no other hallmarks of multiple myeloma when I was diagnosed with the disease at age 48 in 2014. My blood test values were all normal, and I didn’t have anemia or kidney damage. ...
Early results from a new study have demonstrated that the novel chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy AT101 resulted in favorable complete response rates at higher dose levels in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, according to new findings simultaneously...
An ASCO guideline has been developed to inform the use of systemic treatments for metastatic, well-differentiated gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).1 The guideline helps fill a knowledge gap among community oncologists in particular, who typically do not see many of these rare ...
Although significant progress has been made to reduce the gap in health outcomes of minority or underserved patients, meaningful steps forward still need to be made to improve health disparities. Countless studies have shown, in general, that affluent White individuals have better health outcomes...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Nina Shah, MD, Global Head of Multiple Myeloma Clinical Development and Strategy, Hematology, Oncology Research and Development at AstraZeneca. She is a hematologist who specializes in...
Lung cancer incidence overall has been declining in the United States since 1992—and since 2006–2007 for both men and women by 2.7% annually and 1.1%, respectively—and overall mortality rates have declined in both men and women because of smoking cessation efforts and advances in therapy and early...
A novel selective biomarker tool (Troplex) may help select which antibody-drug conjugate therapy could be most effective in patients with metastatic breast cancer, according to findings presented by Robbins et al at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract PO3-13-11). Background...
The unique public-private partnership that undergirded the Lung-MAP trial for almost a decade may serve as a model for future clinical research that is more rapid, innovative, and inclusive, according to a recent report published by Herbst et al in Clinical Cancer Research. Background The Lung-MAP...
Treatment with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor alectinib significantly reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 76% (P < .0001) in patients with completely resected stage IB to IIIA ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with platinum-based chemotherapy. This...
Widely anticipated findings from the MARIPOSA1 and MARIPOSA-22 trials were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2023, showing potentially improved outcomes with regimens incorporating the bispecific antibody amivantamab-vmjw for patients with advanced non–small...
Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, cautioned that although FLAURA2 is a positive result, most patients will still develop drug resistance. “The result is really good and clearly positive, but if you look at the survival curves, there is still early overlap in a way that makes it unlikely this combination will ...
Gerard A. Silvestri, MD, MS, the Hillenbrand Professor of Thoracic Oncology at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, praised the investigators of the Taiwan National Lung Cancer Screening Program for their accomplishment. “It’s incredible that they screened almost 50,000...
The management of lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies has evolved significantly over the past decade. Thanks to many scientific advancements in the field, new therapeutic options, and improvements in screening and early detection, more patients are being cured, and many others are living...
A lot of my experience with cancer is hazy to me. I was taking narcotics for pain around the clock when I was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in 2013, so there are some missing memories during those early days. I was 19 and a freshman in college when my symptoms started. I have always been active in ...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Dennis J. Slamon, MD, PhD, one of the principals in the discovery and development of trastuzumab—the first monoclonal antibody used against an oncogene that altered our entire approach...
For many years, researchers around the world have been exploring the connections between cancer treatments and the heart—better known as cardio-oncology. However, many oncologists may be less familiar with this emerging field and what they might need to know in terms of heart health to keep their...
Invited discussant of the DUO-E trial, Domenica Lorusso, MD, PhD, commented: “Looking at the data, it’s clear to me that we are entering a new era of clinical research” in endometrial cancer. Patient populations are becoming molecularly refined, which will pave the way for more highly personalized ...
A novel assay may be effective at detecting a unique molecular marker in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a recent study published by Young et al in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. The new findings may revolutionize the way AML is detected and treated. Background AML...
Bone scans may overstage prostate cancer at initial staging compared with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron-emission tomography (PET), according to a recent study published by Hope et al in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. Background PSMA PET is known to be more accurate than...
The management of ovarian cancer remains challenging within health-care systems worldwide. Recently, clinical and translational research on ovarian cancer has led to promising advances that have improved the survival outcomes of women diagnosed with this aggressive gynecologic cancer. These...
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-to-3 decision, essentially overturned affirmative action in college admissions, which had allowed, since 1978, for colleges and universities to consider race as a factor in student admissions.1 The ruling will impact enrollment decisions at public...
Real-world outcomes often fall short of those achieved in clinical trials, but this is apparently not so for patients receiving chemoradiotherapy plus consolidation with durvalumab in unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The robust results achieved in the phase III PACIFIC...
Guest Editor’s Note: Virtual platforms have grown increasingly popular for health- and wellness-promoting activities. But given patients’ unique backgrounds, capabilities, interests, and goals, promoting engagement represents a complex challenge both in the context of care delivery as well as...
A first-in-class, claudin 18.2 (CLDN18.2)-targeted antibody-drug conjugate may be a new treatment option for patients with advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancers, according to data presented by Xu et al during the ASCO Plenary Series: November 2023 Session (Abstract 434420)....
Diagnosing early-stage lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening may improve 20-year survival rates, according to a recent study published by Henschke et al in Radiology. The new findings demonstrated the significance of routine early screenings to detect tumors when they are...
Researchers have developed and trained a new machine learning model to calculate percent necrosis in patients with osteosarcoma, according to a novel study published by LiBrizzi et al in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research. Background A postchemotherapy percent necrosis calculation often helps...
Researchers have developed a highly sensitive blood test capable of early detection by identifying a key protein produced by cancer cells, according to a novel study published by Taylor et al in Cancer Discovery. Background Many tumors become deadly by remaining asymptomatic until they’re too...
Lung cancer incidence overall has been declining in the United States since 1992 and since 2006–2007 for both men and women by 2.7% annually and 1.1%, respectively, and overall mortality rates have declined in both men and women due to smoking cessation efforts and advances in therapy and early...
Researchers have reported that soy expansion and the subsequent increase of pesticide use in Brazil’s Cerrado and Amazon biomes may correlate with an increased risk of mortality among pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The study was published by Skidmore et al in...
Although surgery remains the standard of care for primary renal cell carcinoma, a novel, noninvasive approach has yielded positive results that could pave the way for future treatment strategies, according to data presented at the 2023 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual...
Researchers have found that a text message–based program in combination with routine laboratory testing could safely accelerate patients to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, eliminate the need for in-person assessments with their physicians, and save them about 1.5 hours in total wait...
It is widely acknowledged that patients with cancer living in rural areas of the United States face limited access to medical and oncology providers, often have to travel long distances to receive care, and experience obstacles in clinical trial participation—all of which affect quality of care and ...
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) reduced the risk of toxicity to the lungs and radiation exposure to the heart vs three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) for the treatment of locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a planned long-term prospective...
Gender diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in medicine has long been acknowledged as more than “the right thing to do,” with clear evidence of benefits in innovation, collaboration, and workplace culture.1 Yet the data continue to showcase challenges in achieving these goals despite women...
I have been fascinated with death since I was 3 years old. I remember going to my great-grandfather’s funeral and asking my mother where my great-grandfather was. She said he is in heaven. I asked her if I were going to heaven, too, and she said, “Yes, but not for a long time.” Today, I don’t...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Elisabete Weiderpass, MD, MSc, PhD, a Brazilian cancer researcher who is a naturalized Swedish and Finnish citizen. She is an expert in cancer epidemiology and cancer prevention. In...
Researchers have discovered that it may be possible to detect and treat dormant tumor cells in breast cancer survivors, according to new findings presented by DeMichele et al at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2023 (Abstract 244MO). The results may have offered a...
New research has illustrated the strides being made to apply modern artificial intelligence (AI) computing methods to oncology, according to new findings to be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2023. Background Researchers have long investigated the potential of ...
Preserving fertility is a driving concern for many young women with breast cancer. Many of these women have hormone receptor–positive breast cancer and are treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy for 5 to 10 years, which is known to compromise fertility. Younger women who may want to take a break...
The invited discussant of the SOFT analysis was Polly Niravath, MD, Associate Professor and Director of the Cancer Survivorship Program at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas. She noted that the study evaluated the use of the Breast Cancer Index (BCI) as a prognostic tool in early hormone...
Virginia Kaklamani, MD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas (UT) Health Science Center San Antonio and leader of the Breast Cancer Program at UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, was enthusiastic about the results of the phase III CAPItello-291 trial. “The phase III...
Debu Tripathy, MD, Professor of Medicine and Chair of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, said that the study points the way to further exploration of the benefit of adding immunotherapy to treatment after patients develop resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors for ...
The combination of palbociclib and fulvestrant did not prolong progression-free survival compared to fulvestrant alone in patients with hormone receptor–positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who had disease progression on prior treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor and endocrine therapy,...
Elacestrant—an investigational oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD)—achieved longer progression-free survival vs standard-of-care endocrine monotherapy as second- or third-line therapy in patients with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer in the ...