ASCO and Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) jointly issued new recommendations to further efforts to broaden eligibility criteria in cancer clinical trials with the goal of making clinical trials more accessible to patients.1 The joint recommendations are detailed in a series of articles...
Neoadjuvant treatment with single-agent atezolizumab in patients with stage IB to IIIB lung cancer resulted in a major pathologic response rate of 21% and a pathologic complete response rate of 7%, in the primary analysis of the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium 3 (LCMC3) study.1 The findings were...
Belantamab mafodotin-blmf combined with pomalidomide and dexamethasone led to a very good partial response or better in approximately three-quarters of patients with multiple myeloma that was double-class or triple-class refractory, according to Suzanne Trudel, MSc, MD, FRCPC, of Princess Margaret...
With inhibitors of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) fusion and other genetic alterations now in clinical trials for cholangiocarcinoma, there is interest in better understanding what FGFR2 genetic alterations mean for patients. In particular, little is known about the effects of FGFR2...
A new study found that more than half (56.4%) of cancer survivors in the United States reported having additional underlying medical conditions associated with severe COVID-19 illness.1 The report, appearing in JNCI: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, suggests that the prevalence of...
As reported in The Lancet by Sebastian Grosicki, MD, of the Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland, and colleagues, the phase III BOSTON trial has shown significantly prolonged progression-free survival with once-weekly selinexor plus bortezomib/dexamethasone vs twice-weekly...
Monotherapy with blinatumomab as consolidation therapy before allogeneic stem cell transplant appears to be the optimal treatment for children with high-risk first-relapse B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to an international phase III trial that compared this approach...
On January 14, 2021, crizotinib was approved for treatment of pediatric patients 1 year of age and older and young adults with relapsed or refractory systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) that is ALK-positive.1,2 The safety and efficacy of crizotinib have not been established in older...
“There is progress whether ye are going forward or backward! The thing is to move.” —Edgar Cayce To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are a few abstracts selected from the meeting...
The holistic benefits derived from exercise in preventing and ameliorating chronic health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes are well documented. However, less is known about the salutary effects exercise may have across the cancer setting, especially during treatment....
Today, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published a final recommendation statement on screening for lung cancer in people who do not have signs or symptoms. Based on the evidence, the USPSTF recommends yearly screening using a low-dose computed tomography (CT) scan for people aged...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Philip M. Poortmans, PhD, Department of Radiation Oncology of the Iridium Netwerk and the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, and colleagues, 15-year outcomes of the phase III EORTC 22922/10925 trial show continued reduction in...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, El Sharouni et al have developed nomograms to predict local, regional, and distant recurrence in patients with T1 melanomas. Study Details The study used data from a Dutch population-based cohort of 25,930 patients to develop the nomograms. The...
In a Groupe Francophone des Myélodysplasies phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cluzeau et al found that the combination of eprenetapopt and azacitidine produced high response rates in previously untreated patients with high-risk TP53-mutated myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) ...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Choi et al found that risk-reducing salpingo-oophorectomy in women with BRCA1 or BRCA2 pathogenic variants was associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer within 5 years after surgery, with evidence of longer-term risk reduction among those with BRCA1...
A study by Salerno et al published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention investigating the association of a cancer diagnosis and poor ambulatory function of survivors and subsequent mortality has found that cancer survivors with poor ambulatory function had a two to three times...
In a study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Zhao et al found that 5-year adherence to adjuvant hormonal therapy was low among commercially insured women with breast cancer in the United States. The retrospective observational study used data from the IBM MarketScan Research Databases to identify...
In an Indian study reported in the British Medical Journal, Mittra et al found that breast cancer screening with clinical breast examination vs active surveillance resulted in younger age and significant downstaging of disease at diagnosis of breast cancer, a significant reduction in breast cancer...
In a Canadian population-based cohort study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Raphael et al found that survivors of testicular cancer were more likely to use mental health services in both the short and long term following treatment compared with the general population. Study Details...
Patients with lymphoma hospitalized for severe COVID-19 infection were at higher risk for prolonged hospital stay and death if they were treated with B-cell–depleting therapies (eg, rituximab, obinutuzumab) within the previous 12 months. The risk of persistent COVID-19 infection was also higher in...
On February 27, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the third vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19. The EUA allows the Janssen COVID-19 Vaccine to be distributed in the United States for use in individuals 18 years of age and older. The FDA...
Each year, following the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), The ASCO Post asks Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, to offer his picks of the most important and most clinically relevant research presented at this meeting. The following are summaries of studies that caught Dr. Abraham’s attention from ...
In case you missed these while attending the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, below is a sampler of highlights that were not included in our first round of meeting coverage. Many of these reports are on early-phase clinical trials of agents that may raise...
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 Kenya. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the...
The risk of developing or dying of a new primary cancer, particularly those cancers associated with smoking and obesity, was greater among survivors of adult-onset cancers than the expected risk in the general population, according to an analysis of data from more than 1.5 million cancer...
To hear an interview with Dr. Freireich by Daniel F. Hayes, MD, FASCO, of the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center and Past President of ASCO, visit the Journal of Clinical Oncology’s podcast, Cancer Stories, wherever you get your podcasts. In this episode, the Cancer Stories podcast reflects ...
Legendary oncologist Emil J Freireich, MD, FASCO, died from COVID-19 on February 1, 2021, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he had worked for 50 years. He was 93. During a career that spanned more than 6 decades, Dr. Freireich was relentless in pursuing cures...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Allison Magnuson, DO, of the University of Rochester Medical Center & Wilmot Cancer Institute, and Mina S. Sedrak, MD, MS, of the City of Hope National Medical Center, along with colleagues, have developed a novel risk tool—the Cancer and Aging...
COVID-19 has caused 475,000 deaths in America, disproportionately among communities of color, poverty, immigrants, and older age. It has exposed a variety of inequities within our health-care system. However, the patients at greatest risk of death from COVID-19 are those with cancer. While 1.8% of...
Pooled results of two phase I studies, reported in The Lancet by Reuben Benjamin, MBBS, of the Department of Haematological Medicine, King’s College Hospital, London, and colleagues, indicate that the genome-edited donor-derived allogeneic anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell product...
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 the assessment and treatment of patients with B-cell and T-cell non-Hodgkin...
In the San Antonio meeting’s closing session, “View From the Trenches: What Will You Do Monday Morning?” Meredith Regan, ScD, and Sara Hurvitz, MD, offered their thoughts on the use of RSClin in the clinic, as described at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium by Joseph Sparano, MD.1 Dr. Regan...
Data from the TAILORx study and several National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) trials have been used to develop a new prognostic tool, RSClin, which aims to individualize the estimate of recurrence risk in early breast cancer and to more accurately predict the risk-reduction...
The randomized phase II NEOSTAR trial, which examined single-agent and combined neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in patients with stage I to III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), found combination therapy produced a significant clinical benefit (as assessed by major pathologic...
In an individual patient-level meta-analysis of two phase III trials reported in The Lancet Oncology, Choudhury et al found that a hypofractionated radiotherapy regimen was associated with improved invasive locoregional control and similar toxicity vs a standard fractionation regimen in patients...
Ruxolitinib was superior to best available therapy in achieving efficacy as determined by best overall response and duration of response, with acceptable safety in adolescents and adults with steroid-dependent or steroid-refractory chronic graft-vs-host disease effects. These findings were shown in ...
Stem cell transplants are not frequently offered to older patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). According to a study from the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMTCTN 1102), these patients may indeed achieve a survival benefit from stem cell transplant. As...
Belantamab mafodotin-blmf combined with pomalidomide and dexamethasone led to a very good partial response (VGPR) or better in approximately three-quarters of patients with multiple myeloma that was double-class or triple-class refractory, according to Suzanne Trudel, MSc, MD, FRCPC, of Princess...
B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is the most frequent target of immunotherapies in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, but bispecific T-cell–engaging antibodies with novel targets are also achieving promising results. Studies presented at the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual...
The first phase III study to evaluate the subcutaneous form of daratumumab has met its primary endpoint, investigators of the APOLLO trial reported at the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition.1 The triplet of daratumumab, pomalidomide, and low-dose dexamethasone ...
Selinexor: On December 18, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved selinexor (Xpovio) in combination with bortezomib (Velcade) and dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy. Venetoclax: On October 16,...
It has been well documented that, collectively, Black individuals have the highest death rates and shortest survival of any racial/ethnic group in the United States for most cancers. Black men also have the highest cancer incidence.1 Although the causes of these inequities are complex and include...
Since the introduction of imatinib almost 18 years ago, similar next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been approved for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), including dasatinib, nilotinib, bosutinib, and ponatinib. These drugs attack a similar target, making it more likely that resistance to...
Cisplatin is one of the most effective chemotherapy agents, used in just under half of pediatric cancer cases. Permanent hearing loss is a common side effect of this medication, but previous studies have been too small and too varied to accurately characterize this risk. In a new study published by ...
Following disease progression on docetaxel, prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radionuclide therapy reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 37% vs cabazitaxel in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in the phase II TheraP trial reported by Michael S....
Breast cancer death rates have stopped declining for women in the United States younger than age 40, ending a trend that existed from 1987 to 2010, according to a report published by Hendrick et al in Radiology. Breast cancer is the most common nonskin cancer and the second most common cause of...
Although cancer survivors are living longer, cancer and its treatment can result in long-lasting or late-onset impairments that may affect their ability to work, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine entitled Diagnosing and Treating Adult...
The phase III ACIS trial met its primary endpoint at 6 months, showing that apalutamide plus abiraterone acetate/prednisone extended radiographic progression-free survival vs abiraterone acetate/prednisone alone in patients with chemotherapy-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. An ...
In a phase II trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Sherif S. Farag, MD, PhD, of Indiana University School of Medicine, and colleagues, found that the addition of the dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP-4; CD26) inhibitor sitagliptin to tacrolimus and sirolimus prophylaxis resulted in a...
Shoshana Rosenberg, ScD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, Boston, weighed in on the implications of these findings. “The study underscores the importance of addressing psychosocial health in survivorship. it targeted a particularly...