Guest Editor’s Note: Despite the increasing use of complementary modalities that include mind-body therapies and natural products, significant disparities exist in integrative health care. Contributing factors include access to care and affordability. In this installment of The ASCO Post’s...
In an analysis that evaluated the outcomes of anticancer drug studies in the advanced disease setting with regard to patient quality of life (QOL), improved QOL outcomes were associated with improved overall survival but not with improved progression-free survival. Almost half of the studies that...
Researchers analyzed data from each of the 5,329 patients across the United States who used medical aid in dying in the 23 years after Oregon became the first state to legalize the practice (in 1997) and found one demographic dominates the group: well-educated, White patients with cancer. These...
The effective treatment of patients with brain metastases is an unmet need because, until fairly recently, patients with brain metastases were excluded from clinical trials of systemic therapies. However, the emergence of molecular targeted therapies has allowed a new treatment approach in patients ...
Invited discussant Susan Slovin, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, pointed out there are no relevant serum biomarkers for disease progression and the challenges of interpreting response in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. “We should have more definitive...
Lutetium-177–labeled PSMA-617 (LuPSMA; lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan) achieved longer progression-free survival with fewer toxicities compared with cabazitaxel in patients with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer whose disease...
On July 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine, adjuvanted, for the prevention of COVID-19 caused by SARS–CoV-2 in individuals aged 18 years and older. “Authorizing an additional COVID-19 vaccine expands the...
A study that surveyed cancer screening data included in medical journals worldwide from January 2020 into December 2021 showed significant decreases in the number of screenings for breast, colorectal, and cervical cancers during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of the study,...
On July 13, President Joe Biden announced his intent to appoint Mitchel Berger, MD; Carol Brown, MD; and Elizabeth M. Jaffee, MD, to the President’s Cancer Panel. The three are distinguished members of the scientific, research, and public health communities appointed by the President to advise him...
In a pooled analysis of patients with follicular lymphoma treated in National Clinical Trials Network trials reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Rutherford et al found evidence that bone marrow biopsies can be avoided in response assessment. The investigators stated, “Bone marrow biopsies ...
“BCMA-targeting bispecific antibodies work, showing impressive single-agent activity in heavily pretreated multiple myeloma. This class of agents is likely to become an important component of future antimyeloma therapies, but we must learn how to optimally use them,” said Madhav V. Dhodapkar,...
In patients with multiple myeloma exposed or refractory to three standard therapies, treatment with the bispecific antibody teclistamab produced strong and durable responses in the phase I/II MajesTEC-1 study.1 The results of weekly subcutaneous dosing of teclistamab in 165 patients were presented...
Bradley J. Monk, MD, of the University of Arizona College of Medicine and Creighton University School of Medicine, discusses phase III findings from the ATHENA–MONO (GOG-3020/ENGOT-ov45) trial. It showed that rucaparib as first-line maintenance treatment, following first-line platinum-based...
In an analysis of long-term follow-up of the UKALL2003 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Anthony V. Moorman, PhD, and colleagues found that whereas initial risk of relapse in children and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia differed according to risk factors, risk...
CLN-081, a novel agent targeted to non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells harboring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion mutations—ie, the addition of nucleotide base pairs in exon 20 of the EGFR gene, a known oncogenic driver event—holds promise, according to the results of...
A team of researchers in Australia and New Zealand reported that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans may be able to detect prostate cancer more accurately than the newer, prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scanning technique. The...
Researchers who treated a group of patients with bladder cancer with the immunotherapy atezolizumab after they had undergone surgery have found that patients whose blood contained circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) responded very well to the treatment. The study was presented at the European Association ...
In an analysis from the Human Papillomavirus Cancer Cohort Consortium (HPVC3) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Robbins et al found substantial risks of oropharyngeal cancer over time among persons, particularly males, with positive results on human papillomavirus (HPV) 16-E6 serologic...
After nearly 5 years as Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), interrupted by 7 months as Acting Commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Norman E. “Ned” Sharpless, MD, left his position on April 29 to concentrate on his family and contemplate his next career choice....
Part 1 of this two-part report described the beginnings of radiation oncology in the United States, including many of the field’s early pioneers and the rise of associated professional societies. In part 2, we will consider the advances in technology and biology that are the foundation of modern...
A rapid update to the ASCO guideline on systemic therapy for melanoma adds a new recommendation for the treatment of patients with metastatic uveal melanoma.1 The update follows the January 2022 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of tebentafusp-tebn for patients with previously...
Rapid developments over the past decade in the treatment of patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer may lead to better outcomes and improved quality of life for patients with brain metastases, according to findings incorporated into a new ASCO guideline update.1 “The difference this...
A radiologist by training, I knew the minute I saw the results from my chest x-ray that I had multiple myeloma. In 2015, I was semiretired and had just taken up the game of golf. After making a big swing at the ball, I instantly felt pain in my ribs and thought I had either pulled an intercostal...
Moffitt Cancer Center and the global research community have lost a great leader, scientist, and collaborator. Robert J. Gillies, PhD, died on June 7 after an extended illness. He was 69 years old. His recruitment in 2008 elevated Moffitt’s scientific stature, and his vision and work over the past...
Based on the final results of ECOG-ACRIN E2211, invited discussant Marianne E. Pavel, MD, of Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany, concluded: “Capecitabine/temozolomide is a preferred regimen…, but temozolomide can still be an option in patients who do not tolerate...
“If we have data, let’s look at it. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.” —James Barksdale In this issue of The ASCO Post, Daniel Vorobiof, MD, and Irad Deutsch, principles at Belong.Life, a patient-oriented website whose self-described mission is to improve patient quality of life and ...
In 2021, more than 1.9 million people in the United States were estimated to be diagnosed with cancer, and that number continues to increase yearly. Medical research is critical in prolonging survival and improving the quantity and quality of life of patients. Cancer research is one of the most...
The invited discussant of the DYNAMIC study was Ben Ho Park, MD, PhD, who said the study “has really moved the needle for circulating tumor DNA [ctDNA] analysis and guiding therapy.” Dr. Park is Director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville. Speaking more broadly about the use of...
The use of postoperative circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in stage II colon cancer spared many patients the need for adjuvant chemotherapy without compromising recurrence-free survival, according to the phase II DYNAMIC study.1 “The strategy of using ctDNA results to inform treatment almost halved...
“Everybody knows that pestilences have a way of recurring in the world; yet somehow, we find it hard to believe in ones that crash down on our heads from a blue sky. There have been as many plagues as wars in history; yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise.” —Albert Camus, The...
Invited discussant of the rEECur trial, Katherine Janeway, MD, of Harvard Medical School, said that her comments pertained to Ewing sarcoma as well as to all rare cancers, “which comprise about 25% of all cancers diagnosed.” “Ewing sarcoma is quite rare, arising in the bone in about 75% of...
Amir Fathi, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Program Director, Center for Leukemia at Massachusetts General Hospital, called the phase III data on quizartinib “compelling” and noted some potential advantages over the first-generation FLT3 inhibitor midostaurin. “The ...
In patients with RAS/BRAF wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer, FOLFIRI (fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan) plus panitumumab can be given intermittently rather than continuously, without compromising outcomes, according to the results of the IMPROVE study presented at the 2022 ASCO Annual...
Lori Wilson, MD, FACS, Chief of Surgical Oncology, Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Diversity, and former Program Director of the General Surgical Residency at Howard University Hospital, is the first woman to hold the position of Division Chief as well as the first tenured Professor of...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Arbyn et al found that the performance of a high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) mRNA test in screening for cervical cancer was similar to that of validated hrHPV DNA tests in detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia ...
New drugs for HER2-positive breast cancer are able to overcome some of the obstacles that have made brain metastases challenging to treat, according to Mark Pegram, MD, the Susy Yuan-Huey Hung Professor of Oncology at Stanford University School of Medicine in California, who described the promising ...
New research published by Larkin et al in the journal Blood Advances has found that Black adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were five times more likely than comparable White patients to die within 30 days of beginning treatment—and were twice as likely to...
On July 6, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), an organization representing a membership of over 50,000 oncologists, cancer scientists, other health-care professionals, and patient advocates, issued the following statement. AACR is deeply concerned about the ramifications of the...
The all-oral combination of dabrafenib plus trametinib—two targeted therapies—significantly improved the overall response rate vs standard-of-care chemotherapy with carboplatin plus vincristine in pediatric patients with BRAF V600 mutation–positive low-grade gliomas. The clinical benefit rate...
Data from the world’s largest prostate cancer screening study provides further evidence to support the introduction of a targeted screening program for the disease, said researchers. In 2009, the European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) showed that screening can reduce...
Researchers have found a significant difference in the gut microbiota of patients with prostate cancer compared with those who have benign biopsies. Although the finding is an association, it could partly explain the relationship between lifestyle effects and geographic differences in prostate...
Opioids are a cornerstone of cancer pain management, but there is a lack of consensus on how to treat pain patients with cancer who also have struggled with opioid use disorder or prescription opioid misuse. In a study published by Fitzgerald Jones et al in JAMA Oncology, researchers outlined...
The invited discussant of PARADIGM, Chiara Cremolini, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Pisa, Italy, said the findings prospectively confirm the superior benefit of FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin) paired with panitumumab rather than bevacizumab in RAS...
The preferred targeted therapy for left-sided RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer, in combination with standard chemotherapy, is panitumumab, not bevacizumab, based on a head-to-head comparison in the phase III PARADIGM trial. Panitumumab plus chemotherapy yielded the longest overall...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Francesca Gany, MD, MS, and colleagues found that food interventions were associated with high rates of cancer treatment completion rates among food-insecure patients in New York City (NYC). Study Details The study included 117 patients with...
In 2020, nearly 150,000 Americans, mostly those aged 50 and older, were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. However, about 18,000 of those individuals were younger than age 50. And while colorectal cancer rates have decreased for people over age 50, they have been increasing by 51% since 1994 for...
The treatment of breast cancer abounding in the protein HER2 was revolutionized with the introduction of drugs like trastuzumab that target the protein. When researchers discovered that breast cancers with lower levels of HER2 often respond to a trastuzumab-and-chemotherapy drug conjugate, they...
Invited discussant Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD, of University of Chicago Medicine, found the results of ATHENA-MONO promising. “I think it is encouraging that in the BRCA-mutation subgroup of patients, we see such a clear increase in progression-free survival compared to the intention-to-treat...
On June 24, the editors of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published an editorial online in response to the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision in the case of Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The Court held in a vote of 5 to 4 that the Constitution of the United States does...
Ben Creelan, MD, Associate Member of Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, provided some context for the CHRYSALIS study. “This dual bispecific antibody targeting both EGFR and MET clearly has potent single-agent activity in patients with MET exon 14 skipping NSCLC,” he said. “For now, it is not...