As reported in JAMA Oncology by Neal D. Shore, MD, FACS, and colleagues, the phase II ENACT trial has shown a reduced risk of disease progression with the addition of enzalutamide to active surveillance in patients with low- or intermediate-risk localized prostate cancer. Study Details In the...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Copeland et al, the phase III Gynecologic Oncology Group 0212/NRG Oncology study has shown no improvement in overall survival with maintenance paclitaxel or paclitaxel poliglumex vs surveillance in patients with advanced ovarian, tubal, or...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Jonathan E. Rosenberg, MD, and colleagues, the phase II BAYOU trial has shown no improvement in progression-free survival with the addition of the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib to the anti–PD-L1 agent durvalumab in...
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...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Stein et al, the German phase II INTEGA trial showed improved survival with the addition of modified FOLFOX6 (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin) vs the addition of ipilimumab to trastuzumab/nivolumab in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced or...
As reported in The Lancet by Manali Kamdar, MD, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase III TRANSFORM trial has shown significantly improved event-free survival with second-line lisocabtagene maraleucel vs standard-of-care salvage immunochemotherapy followed by autologous hematopoietic...
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 prospective single-institution study reported in JAMA Oncology, Giacomo Montagna, MD, MPH, and colleagues found that the risk for breast cancer–related lymphedema after axillary lymph node dissection was increased in Black and Hispanic patients, those who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that results from the phase III DUO clinical trial show a possible increased risk of death with duvelisib compared to ofatumumab among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). The trial also found...
In a Dutch study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Klatte et al provided findings from a 20-year follow-up of a pancreatic cancer surveillance program including carriers of germline CDKN2A pathogenic variants. Study Details The study included 347 carriers in the Netherlands who...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Merli et al, the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi phase II BArT study has shown that primary treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas with direct-acting antivirals resulted in sustained virologic response in all...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Howell et al, the phase II FAKTION trial has shown improved overall survival with the addition of the AKT inhibitor capivasertib to fulvestrant in patients with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer who experienced disease relapse or...
Maintenance therapy with the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib led to a significant improvement in progression-free survival compared with placebo in patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer who responded to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. The...
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...
Dual targeting with the bispecific antibody amivantamab-vmjw showed antitumor activity and tolerability in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and MET exon 14 skipping mutations, according to results of the ongoing phase I CHRYSALIS study.1,2 Updated results were presented...
In the German phase II PETRARCA trial of the AIO EGA Study Group, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hofheinz et al found that the addition of trastuzumab and pertuzumab to perioperative FLOT (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) improved both the pathologic complete...
In a phase IIb study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ehdaie et al found that focal ablation with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided focused ultrasound successfully treated a high proportion of patients with grade group 2 or 3 prostate cancer. As stated by the investigators, “Men with grade...
The national advocacy group Children’s Cancer Cause, which plays a leadership role in advocacy and training on national issues affecting childhood cancer, has established an annual $10,000 award, the Survivorship Champion’s Prize, to be presented to a group, program, or institution making...
A new report led by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) shows more than 18 million Americans (8.3 million males and 9.7 million females) with a history of cancer were living in the United States as of January 1, 2022, with a...
Invited discussant of the DETERMINATION trial, Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, Professor of Applied Cancer Research and Drug Discovery at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, City of Hope Cancer Center, described the many implications of the important findings for DETERMINATION and offered some ...
In the phase III DETERMINATION trial, progression-free survival was significantly improved with triplet induction therapy and early transplantation in newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma, but overall survival at 5 years was similar to the nontransplant approach.1 The findings were...
On June 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy lisocabtagene maraleucel (Breyanzi) for adult patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) who have disease refractory to first-line chemoimmunotherapy or relapse within 12 months of...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Garcés et al found that increasing levels of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) at diagnosis were associated with poorer outcomes in newly diagnosed patients with transplant-eligible multiple myeloma, and that inclusion of CTCs in a risk model...
Hearing the words “You have cancer” is a devastating blow, especially when the biggest health issues you’ve had to contend with over more than 6 decades are common colds and knee and hip replacements. But in 2017, the symptoms I thought were from a lingering summer cold drove me to seek medical...
On May 27, 2022, nivolumab was approved for use in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-based chemotherapy and in combination with ipilimumab for the first-line treatment of advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on...
Radiation therapy has long been one of the three pillars of cancer therapy—surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy—only recently joined by what is widely considered a fourth pillar, immunotherapy. In part 1 of this two-part report, we trace the beginnings of radiation oncology in the United...
In March 2022, Kristeleit et al reported the results of the ARIEL4 trial1 of rucaparib in relapsed BRCA-mutant ovarian cancer in The Lancet Oncology (summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post) and are to be congratulated on this accomplishment. This report, along with the almost simultaneous...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Rebecca Kristeleit, MD, of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and colleagues, the phase III ARIEL4 trial has shown a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival with rucaparib vs chemotherapy in relapsed ovarian cancer with...
In Ukraine, with a population of about 44 million, there are more than 1.3 million patients with cancer. Approximately 160,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year.1 In almost every region, there are local cancer centers; specialized oncologic centers are located in large cities. In Kyiv,...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Robert J. Motzer, MD, and colleagues, the protocol-defined final overall survival analysis of the phase III CheckMate 9ER trial showed a significant benefit with nivolumab/cabozantinib vs sunitinib in previously untreated patients with advanced renal cell...
In a single-institution phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tapan M. Kadia, MD, and colleagues found that venetoclax and a lower-intensity backbone of cladribine and low-dose cytarabine alternating with azacitidine and venetoclax resulted in a high response rate in older...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Dbouk et al, in the multicenter Cancer of Pancreas Screening-5 (CAPS5) study and in the total CAPS cohort (CAPS1–5 studies), cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma among enrolled high-risk individuals that were screen-detected during...
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) now stands as the largest single public funder of biomedical research in the world.1 The FY2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2471), signed into law in March, increases biomedical research funding by nearly 5%, and it provides a total of $45 billion...
Recently, a new ASCO study,1 published in JCO Oncology Practice, found that among respondents participating in the survey, most oncology practices do not systematically collect data related to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). The study points to the need to increase understanding...
Investigators at the American Cancer Society presented results of several studies during poster sessions at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting. Summaries of a few of these studies are provided here. COVID-19 and Cancer Mortality According to a new study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society,...
Thomas Seufferlein, MD, Professor of Medicine at Ulm University Hospital in Germany, found the data from the NOTABLE trial1 encouraging and “clinically interesting.” However, he suggested the study’s design did not allow the EGFR inhibitor to be optimally tested. The NOTABLE trial is based on a...
In patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer and KRAS wild-type tumors, novel treatment with the monoclonal antibody nimotuzumab, which targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), plus gemcitabine significantly improved overall survival and other outcomes over...
For advanced breast cancer that is hormone receptor–positive and HER2-negative, sacituzumab govitecan-hziy significantly reduced the risk of disease progression by 34% over physician’s choice of treatment, based on the results of the phase III TROPiCS-02 trial.1 The heavily pretreated patients in...
The study’s invited discussant was Kimmie Ng, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Co-Director of the Colon and Rectal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston. “Neoadjuvant dostarlimab-gxly for 6 months represents a promising new treatment for...
In a study of 18 patients with locally advanced mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) rectal cancer, 6 months of neoadjuvant treatment with the anti–PD-1 agent dostarlimab-gxly alone led to clinical complete responses in 100% of the study’s first 14 patients.1 These results were presented at the 2022...
The antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) doubled progression-free survival compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with “HER2-low” metastatic breast cancer—ie, patients with low levels of HER2 expression. The agent also extended overall survival for patients with low ...
A study of more than 90,000 postmenopausal women found that those who consumed at least one sugar-sweetened beverage daily faced a 78% higher risk of developing liver cancer compared with people who consumed less than three servings per month of such beverages. These findings were presented by Zhao ...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Andrew R. Clamp, PhD, and colleagues, no significant differences in overall survival or updated progression-free survival were found with first-line treatment with weekly dose-dense regimens of carboplatin/paclitaxel vs every-3-week carboplatin/paclitaxel in...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Neeraj Agarwal, MD, and colleagues, findings in the expansion cohort of the phase Ib COSMIC-021 trial indicate activity of the combination of cabozantinib and atezolizumab in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer whose disease progressed ...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with surgical oncologist Héctor Martínez-Said, MD, of the Melanoma Clinic at NCI Mexico. Dr. Martínez-Said’s maternal grandfather was part of a Lebanese immigration movement...
In a single-institution study reported in JAMA Surgery, Shoucair et al found that matrix metalloproteinase 7 (MMP-7) expression in fine-needle aspiration biopsy specimens was associated with pathologic response to neoadjuvant therapy in patients undergoing resection for pancreatic ductal...
William Catalona, MD, Professor of Urology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, and past Principal Investigator on the Northwestern-based prostate SPORE, explained the evolution of his views regarding active surveillance in men with low-risk prostate cancer. Although...
Most men with low-risk prostate tumors now opt for active surveillance, but overtreatment remains a problem, according to data presented during the 2022 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting.1 A retrospective analysis of more than 20,000 patients with low-risk prostate cancer showed...
Telemedicine stepped up to the plate when the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe. Oncology providers—and practitioners in all specialties—had to rapidly adapt to a telemedicine format when face-to-face visits were severely limited. This scenario had its benefits for both patients and providers (and...