The antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) proved to be superior to the antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), significantly improving progression-free survival and overall survival, in women with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer as ...
The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the world, and nowhere more so than in the health-care arena. Significant changes happened almost overnight in the delivery of medical care to focus on the safety and convenience of patients, staff, and providers. Although pilot efforts to integrate telemedicine...
Just days before the publication of the 2022 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer on October 27, 2022,1 which showed a continued downward trend in cancer deaths, Karen Knudsen, MBA, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of the American Cancer Society (ACS), joined the First Lady Dr. Jill...
According to findings from the phase II RIGHT Choice trial, many premenopausal patients with metastatic hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer experiencing visceral crisis are best treated with first-line ribociclib plus endocrine therapy rather than with chemotherapy.1 Ribociclib,...
In the phase II ARC-7 study, when domvanalimab, a novel antibody that blocks T-cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT), was added to immunotherapy for patients with stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the combination resulted in improved response rates and progression-free survival...
In a study reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Kondapalli et al found that cardiovascular events common in the general population were observed both prior to and after initiation of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for cancer; myocarditis was more common posttreatment, but infrequent. Agreement...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Thomas Yau, MD, and colleagues, findings in a cohort of the phase I/II CheckMate 040 trial indicated the activity of nivolumab/cabozantinib with or without ipilimumab in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Study Details In the...
On September 20, 2022, sodium thiosulfate was approved to reduce the risk of ototoxicity associated with cisplatin in pediatric patients (aged ≥ 1 month) with localized, nonmetastatic solid tumors.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the multicenter open-label SIOPEL 6...
On May 25, 2022, ivosidenib was approved for use in combination with azacitidine for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia with a susceptible IDH1 mutation, as detected by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved test, in patients aged 75 or older or in those who have comorbidities precluding...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Stephen R.D. Johnston, MD, PhD, and colleagues, an interim analysis of overall survival in the phase III monarchE trial has shown no significant benefit with the addition of adjuvant abemaciclib to endocrine therapy in patients with hormone receptor–positive,...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies sometimes used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Yen Nien (Jason) Hou, PharmD, DiplOM, LAc, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, focus on ...
ASCO has elected Robin Zon, MD, FACP, FASCO, a long-time member and volunteer, to lead as its President beginning in June 2024. Dr. Zon will take office as President-Elect immediately following the ASCO Annual Business Meeting in Chicago on June 5, 2023. Five additional members were also elected to ...
Gladys Magaly Rodriguez, MD, was born in Piedras Negras, Mexico, a city situated along the banks of the Rio Grande. At age 6, her family immigrated to Eagle Pass, Texas, a border town of some 30,000 people that is predominantly Latinx and Spanish speaking. “Even though I lived and attended school...
On November 10, 2022, tremelimu-mab in combination with durvalumab and platinum-based chemotherapy was approved for patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with no sensitizing EGFR mutation or ALK genomic tumor aberrations.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was supported by...
Lymphoma expert Alex Herrera, MD, was born in Miami; his parents were just 19 years old when he was born. Dr. Herrera’s father was born in Puerto Rico to Cuban and Ecuadorian parents. His mother was born in Cuba and came to the United States via Operation Peter Pan, the clandestine program that...
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, signed into law on August 16, 2022, contains several important provisions regarding health care and drug pricing.1 In this article, I provide an overview of the legislation’s implications for oncology care, focusing on its provisions concerning drug price...
In a Swedish study (GÖTEBORG-2) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Hugosson et al found that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-targeted prostate biopsy was associated with a lower risk of overdiagnosis of clinically insignificant prostate cancer compared with MRI-targeted and...
Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine has named Sheri Robb, PhD, a Walther Professor of Supportive Oncology. This is one of five endowed positions to develop a supportive oncology program that encompasses research and patient care. Dr. Robb is a nationally renowned music therapy researcher,...
On November 10, 2022, brentuximab vedotin was approved for use in combination with doxorubicin, vincristine, etoposide, prednisone, and cyclophosphamide for pediatric patients aged ≥ 2 years with previously untreated high-risk classical Hodgkin lymphoma.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was...
The final results of the phase III CheckMate 651 trial showed no significant overall survival benefit with first-line nivolumab/ipilimumab vs the EXTREME regimen (cetuximab plus cisplatin or carboplatin plus fluorouracil for up to six cycles, followed by cetuximab maintenance) in recurrent or...
On December 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved nadofaragene firadenovec-vncg (Adstiladrin), a nonreplicating adenoviral vector–based gene therapy indicated for the treatment of adult patients with high-risk bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive non–muscle-invasive...
An oncolytic therapy delivered within the urinary bladder in combination with pembrolizumab has yielded the “best results seen in the field” in patients with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive bladder cancer, according to data presented during the 2022 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Fu et al found that the WEE1 kinase inhibitor adavosertib was active in patients with refractory solid tumors with CCNE1 amplification, with evidence of increased activity in epithelial ovarian cancer. Study Details In the trial, 30...
In a Dutch-Danish phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Rohaan et al found that tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy prolonged progression-free survival vs ipilimumab in patients with advanced melanoma. Study Details The open-label trial included 168 patients...
In the Canadian 5C study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Puts et al found that a geriatric assessment and management intervention did not improve quality of life, unplanned health-care use, mortality, or toxicity compared with usual care in patients aged 70 years or older with cancer. ...
Richter syndrome is an aggressive lymphoma that develops in up to 1% of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and it serves as an example of histologic transformation. While recent advances have transformed the treatment landscape of CLL, Richter syndrome remains associated with poor...
Researchers observed encouraging response rates in older or high-risk patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) when treated with the triplet combination therapy of azacitidine, venetoclax, and magrolimab in a phase I/II trial, according to new findings presented by Daver et al at...
A three-drug combination that showed success at sending patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) into deep remissions in a clinical trial may be effective at treating patients with high-risk types of the disease, according to new findings presented by Ryan et al at the 2022 American Society ...
Andrew Matthews, MD, of the Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, discusses findings from a large, multicenter study that showed superior outcomes with 7 + 3 chemotherapy (cytarabine continuously for 7 days, along with short infusions of an anthracycline on each of the first 3 days)...
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania’s Abramson Cancer Center presented preliminary results of an ongoing phase I clinical trial demonstrating successful retreatment with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for patients whose cancers relapsed after previous CAR T-cell therapy. ...
Researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center showed that inhibiting menin with an oral small-molecule inhibitor of the menin-KMT2A interaction, SNDX-5613—now named revumenib—yielded encouraging responses for patients with advanced acute leukemias and KMT2A rearrangements or...
Results of a planned interim overall survival analysis of the phase III monarchE trial offer further support for the addition of abemaciclib to adjuvant endocrine therapy for patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, node-positive, high-risk breast cancer, according to Stephen R.D....
Andrea De Censi, MD, PhD, of Italy’s E.O. Ospedali Galliera, discusses phase III findings showing that low-dose tamoxifen (so-called babytam) given for 3 years still significantly prevents recurrences from noninvasive breast cancer after a median of 7 years from treatment cessation. Babytam at 5...
Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) whose disease relapsed or did not respond to initial chemotherapy had similar outcomes when they proceeded directly to allogeneic stem cell transplantation compared with those who underwent intensive salvage chemotherapy to achieve complete remission...
On December 9, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 2 years and older with unresectable or metastatic alveolar soft-part sarcoma (ASPS). Study ML39345 Efficacy was evaluated in Study ML39345...
Editor’s Note: ASCO was deeply saddened by the news that Dr. Jeff Ward passed away on November 3, 2022. In an interview with Dr. Ward this past summer, published in ASCO Connection (August 30, 2022), ASCO recognized Dr. Ward’s commitment to exceptional patient care and public advocacy. An...
“Pregnancy confers a dual effect” on breast cancer risk, “with an initial transient increased risk for breast cancer that is followed by long-term protection over time,” Luis Zabala Blanco, Jr, MD, noted in an update on the pathology of pregnancy-associated breast cancer, which was presented at the ...
“I knew my husband was dying in June. He’d been living with a terminal diagnosis for 6 years, but suddenly his cancer turned aggressive…. The last time we saw the oncologist, he sent us home with a DNR order and told me to put it on the refrigerator, because that’s where the EMTs look,” writes...
Breast cancer specialist Brittany L. Bychkovsky, MD, MSc, grew up primarily in Kansas; however, given that her father was a pilot, her childhood was not wholly centered in the Sunflower State. “When I was 12 years old, my mom, who was a schoolteacher, was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. Her ...
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this occasional special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Bolivia. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the...
On November 8, 2022, cemiplimab-rwlc was approved for use in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy for first-line treatment of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with no EGFR, ALK, or ROS1 aberrations.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was supported by findings in the ...
On October 25, 2022, the bispecific B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed CD3 T-cell engager teclistamab-cqyv was granted accelerated approval for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome...
The repercussions from the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 24, 2022, to overturn Roe v Wade, effectively ending a nearly 50-year federal constitutional right to an abortion and allowing instead states to determine abortion access, are starting to be felt in the cancer care community. The ...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, Guest Editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Michael A. Caligiuri, MD, a physician-scientist who currently serves as President of the City of Hope National Medical Center and the Deana and Steve Campbell Physician-in-Chief...
In addition to, or instead of, receiving therapies that are the standard of care, patients with cancer sometimes request to receive complementary (therapies used in conjunction with standard cancer treatment) and alternative (nonstandard treatments used in place of standard cancer treatment)...
A new ASCO guideline on the management of advanced colorectal cancer summarizes the latest treatments supported by quality data that could expand oncologists’ armamentarium and potentially improve survival outcomes.1 “[Colorectal cancer] remains the second-leading class of cancer deaths among men ...
The next-generation selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) camizestrant improved progression-free survival compared to fulvestrant in patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, according to results from the phase II SERENA-2 trial presented by Mafalda Oliveira, MD,...
Patients with breast cancer who paused their endocrine therapy while attempting to conceive experienced short-term rates of breast cancer recurrence similar to patients with breast cancer who did not pause their therapy for pregnancy—and many of them went on to conceive and deliver healthy babies,...
In patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who are resistant to aromatase inhibitors, the addition of the investigational AKT inhibitor capivasertib to fulvestrant doubled the median progression-free survival compared with placebo plus fulvestrant, according to results...
On September 2, 2022, durvalumab was approved for use in combination with gemcitabine/cisplatin for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the double-blind TOPAZ-1 trial (NCT03875235), in which...