The breakthrough KRAS-specific inhibitor sotorasib achieved responses in patients with KRAS G12C–mutated non–small lung cancer (NSCLC) who had experienced disease progression on platinum-based chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or both treatments. The objective response rate was 37.1%, and responses...
Although both incidence and mortality rates in colorectal cancer have been declining among people older than 65 by 3.3% and 3% annually, respectively, among individuals younger than age 50, the incidence rate has risen about 2% annually, and death rates have increased by 1.3% annually.1 Colorectal...
In an Italian study reported in Leukemia, Francesca Romana Mauro, MD, of the Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University, Rome, and colleagues found that only a small minority of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) developed an adequate immune response to...
A study by Lin et al comparing patients with colon cancer enrolled in the U.S. Military Health System, which provides universal health-care to its beneficiaries, with those in the general population has found that patients in the Military Health System had an 18% lower risk of death compared with...
Individuals with cancer or a history of cancer should be eligible for clinical trials—including COVID-19 vaccine trials—unless there is safety justification for exclusion, ASCO and Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) asserted in a joint position statement released today. To date, clinical trials...
New research has uncovered substantial differences in the rates of childhood cancers when considering a single year of age rather than grouping several years together. The study, published by Marcotte et al in the journal Cancer, also found that minority children seem to have different risks than...
In a prospective cross-sectional study reported in JCO Global Oncology, Gupta et al found that women with ovarian cancer in India had a high prevalence of pathogenic or likely pathogenic BRCA variants. As stated by the investigators: “There are deficient data on prevalence of germline mutations in...
Patients with early-stage breast cancer may be at low risk of dying of their disease, but they experience a high burden of physical and psychological symptoms long after their treatment has ended, according to data presented during the 2021 American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting.1...
In a retrospective cohort study reported by Win et al in The Lancet Oncology, researchers in the International Mismatch Repair Consortium found marked variation in the risk of colorectal cancer in families with Lynch syndrome carrying the same pathogenic variant in DNA mismatch repair genes. The...
In a large cohort study reported by Sharafeldin et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, researchers from the National COVID Cohort Collaborative (N3C) found that COVID-19–positive vs –negative status was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality at 1 year among patients with...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Nakamura et al found that use of reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in older patients with advanced myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with an available matched donor improved overall survival vs...
From routine axillary lymph node dissection to sentinel lymph node surgery, the use of axillary surgery continues to evolve in breast cancer. Recently, surgical oncologists have begun to consider avoiding axillary surgery completely in patients with a low risk of node-positive disease as well as in ...
In a European population-based study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Cardoso et al found that colorectal cancer incidence and mortality declined more in European countries with long-standing colonoscopy or fecal test screening programs since the year 2000 compared to countries with more recently...
In the treatment of relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma, a comparison of data from the ZUMA-5 trial with those of the external control cohort of the SCHOLAR-5 trial showed substantial improvement in all clinical endpoints with axicabtagene ciloleucel. John G. Gribben, DSc, FRCP, FRCPath,...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tilki et al found that adjuvant radiotherapy was associated with reduced risk for all-cause mortality vs early salvage radiotherapy among men at high risk for disease recurrence following radical prostatectomy. As stated...
In an updated analysis of the phase III MAIA trial, the addition of daratumumab to lenalidomide and dexamethasone resulted in a statistically significant overall survival benefit over lenalidomide/dexamethasone alone in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are ineligible for...
Henry Kuerer, MD, PhD, FACS, a cancer surgeon and researcher at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, told The ASCO Post that although this study is not practice-changing, it does offer a potential option for patients. “The advantage of this technique is that the procedure takes just...
Cryoablation is emerging as a new alternative to surgical excision for smaller early-stage, low-risk breast cancers in appropriately selected patient populations, according to data presented during the 2021 American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting.1 Early 3-year results of the multicenter ...
The combination of ibrutinib and venetoclax was found to provide lasting disease remission in patients with newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Findings from a single-institution phase II study were published by Nitin Jain, MD, and colleagues in JAMA Oncology and provide the longest ...
In an analysis from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) and the Dutch Hodgkin Late Effects and LATER cohorts reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Moskowitz et al developed a model for predicting the risk of breast cancer among childhood cancer survivors treated with chest...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Matthew J. Matasar, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues, the phase III CHRONOS-3 trial has shown that the addition of the pan-class I PI3K inhibitor copanlisib to rituximab significantly improved progression-free survival vs rituximab ...
As reported in The Lancet by Paul Baas, MD, of The Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, and colleagues, a prespecified interim analysis in the phase III CheckMate 743 trial has shown improved overall survival with first-line nivolumab/ipilimumab vs platinum-based chemotherapy in unresectable...
In May 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) announced that it was updating its recommendation for when individuals at average risk of colorectal cancer should begin screening. Echoing the recommendation from the American Cancer Society in 2018, the USPSTF now recommends that those ...
A simple, risk-assessment algorithm may change practice when it comes to selecting patients with advanced ovarian who can tolerate complex primary debulking surgery, according to data presented during the virtual edition of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2021 Annual Meeting on Women’s...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Ronan J. Kelly, MB BCh, MBA, of The Charles A. -Sammons Cancer Center at Baylor University Medical Center, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase III CheckMate 577 trial has shown a significant improvement in disease-free survival...
In a virtual visit to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) on February 3, 2021, just 2 weeks after her husband, Joe Biden, was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States, First Lady Jill Biden, EdD, recounted that, in her many years of travel across the United States, she learned that...
To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on acute myeloid leukemia (AML), such as the use of venetoclax added to...
The use of palliative care in hospitals in the United States has steadily risen over the past decade, with almost universal access to services in large hospitals and academic medical centers. Despite this increased access and recommendations from ASCO that all patients with advanced cancer receive...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Heiden et al found that increased time from preoperative diagnostic computed tomography imaging and surgical treatment was associated with an increased risk of disease recurrence and poorer overall survival in patients with clinical...
In a study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Manali I. Patel, MD, MPH, and colleagues found that a lay health worker–led intervention was associated with improved documentation of goals of care, increased clinical trial participation, and increased use of palliative care in a population of...
A study by researchers at Mayo Clinic Cancer Center found that patients with cancer diagnosed with COVID-19 who received care at home via remote patient monitoring were significantly less likely to require hospitalization for their illness, compared to patients with cancer infected with the virus...
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, and the leading cause of cancer-related death among women in Eastern, Western, Middle, and Southern Africa. Globally, in 2018, approximately 570,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 311,000 women died. In the United...
An odor-based test that detects vapors emanating from blood samples was able to distinguish between benign and pancreatic and ovarian cancer cells with up to 95% accuracy, according to a new study presented by Johnson et al during the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 5544). The findings suggest...
Results from the phase II cohort of the CodeBreaK 100 study showed that treatment with the KRAS G12C inhibitor sotorasib achieved a 37.1% objective response rate and a median overall survival of 12.5 months in previously treated patients with KRAS G12C–mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)....
In a study led by researchers at NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center involving more than 3,000 women treated for breast cancer at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, only 64 patients, or 2% of the total study population, contracted the virus. Of this group, 10 died ...
Jamie H. Von Roenn, MD, FASCO, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago as the middle child of three girls. She was, by her own account, extremely shy by nature. Her mother was a graduate of the University of Chicago, but her father’s college education was preempted by his service as a fighter pilot in...
High-quality cancer care is a complex mixture of science and art, made even more challenging by the dizzying array of coding, billing, and data collection regulations that must be taken into account. Synthesizing all the parts into value-based, whole-patient care across the wide spectrum of the...
The term “head and neck surgery” had little meaning until the 1940s, when it was used by groundbreaking surgeon Hayes Martin, MD, in one of his publications. Dr. Martin was then Chief of Head and Neck Services at Memorial Hospital, later renamed Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), where...
Cardio-oncology focuses on the detection, monitoring, and treatment of cardiovascular disease occurring secondary to cancer treatment, and the mechanistic and epidemiologic intersection between cardiovascular disease and cancer. With the advent of targeted agents and immunotherapies,...
The field of geriatric oncology has developed steadily over the past several decades, thanks to the dedication of a close-knit community of oncologists who have devoted their careers to advancing multidisciplinary care for older patients with cancer. One such leader is Silvio Monfardini, MD, past...
In the face of old school mores, self-motivation and perseverance were needed to build a career as a nationally regarded blood and bone marrow transplant expert. “I was born and reared in Brooklyn, New York, the oldest of seven children of Irish-Italian parents who did not espouse professional...
Over the past year (May 2020–May 2021), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved and expanded indications for many drugs related to the treatment of different types of cancers and adverse events. The new approvals and accelerated approvals are listed below. PEMBROLIZUMAB (KEYTRUDA) in...
Doctors and scientists across America at National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers and other organizations recently issued a joint statement urging the nation’s health-care systems, physicians, parents, children, and young adults to get human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination back on ...
Even among a large group of cancer survivors who were mostly insured, college-educated, and had annual incomes above the national average, up to 10% delayed care in the previous 12 months because they simply could not afford out-of-pocket expenses like copays and deductibles. These findings were...
In a population-based study reported in JAMA Oncology, Susan M. Domchek, MD, and colleagues found “no clinically meaningful differences” in the prevalence of germline pathogenic variants in 12 established breast cancer susceptibility genes between Black and non-Hispanic White women with breast...
This week, we’re discussing the recent U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, or USPSTF, recommendation on colorectal cancer screening beginning at age 45. Then, we’ll hear about a doublet regimen that produced durable responses in patients with advanced head and neck cancer. Lastly, we’ll hear about ...
On February 5, 2021, lisocabtagene maraleucel was approved for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified (including DLBCL arising from...
An Australian study published by Chow et al in The Lancet Infectious Diseases found a 70% reduction in one type of human papillomavirus (HPV) in gay and bisexual men after the implementation of the school-based HPV vaccination program. The HYPER2 study found that there was a significant reduction...
The American Urological Association (AUA) announced amendments to its clinical guideline on Renal Masses and Localized Renal Cancer, originally published in 2013 and updated in 2017, based on an additional literature search conducted through October 2020. One in four renal masses are benign;...
In a prospective cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Ma et al found that lower endoscopy colorectal cancer screening in individuals older than age 75 was associated with reduced colorectal cancer incidence and mortality, although no colorectal cancer mortality benefit was observed in those with ...