An analysis of health claims data from two demographically similar regions on either side of the U.S./Canada border shows that a common treatment for advanced colorectal cancer costs twice as much in Western Washington State than in British Columbia—$12,345 vs $6,195 monthly per patient....
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted a new drug application (NDA) and granted Priority Review for larotrectinib in the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors harboring a neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase (NTRK) gene fusion. ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted Orphan Drug designation to galinpepimut-S for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The drug is licensed from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and targets the Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) protein, which is present in an array of tumor...
The Conquer Cancer Foundation of the ASCO recently announced the recipients of its 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting Merit Awards, Medical Student Rotations for Underrepresented Populations (MSR), Resident Travel Awards for Underrepresented Populations (RTA), and Long-term International Fellowship (LIFe)....
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have completed a detailed genomic analysis, known as the PanCancer Atlas, on a data set of molecular and clinical information from over 10,000 tumors representing 33 types of cancer, according to a release issued by the NIH late last...
Over the past year (June 2017–May 2018), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval to a number of new oncology drug products, including several biosimilar products. Here we provide the labeling approved for these novel drugs and new indications. EPOETIN ALFA-EPBX (RETACRIT)...
Internationally renowned expert on the early detection, prevention, and treatment of younger women with breast cancer, Nagi S. El Saghir, MD, FACP, FASCO, was born on January 5, 1953, in Bint Jbeil, a village in southern Lebanon. His parents moved to Beirut in 1948, at the height of the...
Volker S. Diehl, MD, the internationally renowned hematologist and researcher, was born in Berlin, Germany, on February 28, 1938—arguably one of the most tumultuous periods in world history. Germany had just invaded Austria, signaling the dark intentions of the Third Reich. In 1943, the air raids...
A multicenter study that validated the clinical performance of IsoPSA—a new blood test that has proven to be more accurate in predicting overall risk of prostate cancer than standard prostate-specific antigen (PSA)—was presented at the 13th Annual Meeting of the American Urological...
A microsimulation model study found that the benefits of low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening for lung cancer varied substantially across the eligible population, with 3 factors being particularly influential: lung cancer risk, competing risks or life expectancy, and patient...
In a study in the PETACC-8 trial population reported in JAMA Oncology, Julien Taieb, MD, PhD, of the Université Paris Descartes, and colleagues found that the risk of recurrence in patients with stage III colon cancer differed for the primary tumor location according to RAS- and BRAF-mutation...
A study using National Cancer Database data has shown that the number of metastatic nodes is a primary independent factor associated with an increased mortality risk in patients with hypopharyngeal and laryngeal cancers. The study was reported in JAMA Oncology by Allen S. Ho, MD, of the Samuel...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Lina S. Mørch, PhD, of the University of Copenhagen, and colleagues, a Danish study has shown that the risk of breast cancer is increased in hormonal contraception users vs nonusers, with the absolute increase in risk being small. The study...
THE AMERICAN SKIN ASSOCIATION (ASA) recently announced Roger Lo, MD, PhD, of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California (UCLA), as the recipient of the Abby S. and Howard P. Milstein Innovation Award for Melanoma/Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer Research. The award is available...
THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION for Cancer Research (AACR) honors the following cancer researchers and clinicians who were recognized for their scientific achievements during the AACR Annual Meeting 2018: Isaiah J. Fidler, DVM, PhD, FAACR, AACR President (1984-1985), Fellow of the AACR Academy and...
Tau proteins perform the function of stabilizing microtubules, a major element of the eukaryotic cytoskeleton. Traditionally associated with neurodegeneration, tau also has a role in the maintenance of genome stability and chromosome integrity and is tightly linked to the development of cancer. A...
In a report from the diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) registries of the International and European Societies for Pediatric Oncology, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hoffman et al identified characteristics of long-term survivors among pediatric and young adult...
A new study by Rojewski et al in CHEST investigated the relationships between the degree of nicotine dependence and both the likelihood of successfully quitting smoking and clinical outcomes in a cohort of screened patients. The study found that patients with a higher nicotine dependence...
On May 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted health-care professionals, oncology clinical investigators, and the public about decreased survival associated with the use of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) or atezolizumab (Tecentriq) as monotherapy in clinical trials to treat patients with ...
With the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals of tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah)1 and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta),2 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has moved into real-world practice, offering new potentially curative options for incurable hematologic malignancies. Its ...
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, Lorenzo Cohen, PhD, and Alison Jefferies, BA, MEd, summarize research...
During her presentation “Adolescent and Young Adult Survivorship: What Do We Still Need to Know?” at the 2017 Cancer Survivorship Symposium: Advancing Care and Research, Emily S. Tonorezos, MD, MPH, a general internist in the Adult Long-Term Follow-Up Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer...
Extended next-generation sequencing genomic profiling in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has revealed remarkable heterogeneity and molecular complexity of the disease and provided critical insights into the genetic mechanisms underpinning of preleukemic and leukemic pathogenesis.1,2 Despite...
Over the years many great oncology leaders have served at the helm as ASCO President. We recognize these individuals here, and extend our gratitude for their service and efforts to champion high-quality cancer care. 2018-2019: Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD 2017-2018: Bruce E. Johnson, MD 2016-2017:...
The Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO) distinction recognizes ASCO members for their extraordinary volunteer service, dedication, and commitment to ASCO. Their efforts benefit ASCO, the specialty of oncology, and, most importantly, the individuals at risk for, or with...
ASCO AND ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation recognized winners of ASCO’s 2018 Special Awards and Conquer Cancer’s Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Awards during the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, June 1 to June 4, in Chicago. The recipients of these awards included researchers, patient advocates, and...
Simultaneously presented at the 2018 European Association of Urology meeting and published in The New England Journal of Medicine, the PRECISION trial will go down as a landmark study for solidifying the role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in prostate cancer diagnosis.1 This trial provides...
The following medical facilities are certified, as of March 2020, to administer the U. S. Food and Drug Administration-approved chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy: axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta or “A”) for eligible patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah or ...
The 2018 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting was abuzz with more than 22,000 attendees from around the world who came to Chicago to hear the latest in basic science and clinical trial results. Here we present summaries of a few of the highlights from the AACR meeting...
Children with nonbrainstem high-grade glioma could benefit from potentially life-extending treatment if genetic testing was used to personalize therapy as it is in many adults, new research published by Mackay et al in Cancer Cell reported. Scientists analyzed the DNA of children taking an...
In 1996, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) published its first set of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) covering 8 tumor types. Guidelines are now published for more than 60 tumor types and topics. Some of the key updates were presented at NCCN’s 23rd...
Upfront use of nelarabine plus standard Children’s Oncology Group–augmented Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (aBFM) chemotherapy boosted survival rates in children and young adults with newly diagnosed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-LL), according to the...
The opportunity to serve as ASCO President is the greatest honor of my professional career. It has been a pleasure and a highly rewarding experience to interact with our members and members of ASCO’s Board, executive leadership, and professional staff during my tenure. The year has allowed me to...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) has named Wui-Jin Koh, MD, as Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, a newly created position for the nonprofit alliance of top U.S. cancer centers. Dr. Koh will add additional physician representation at NCCN headquarters, which...
On May 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved epoetin alfa-epbx (Retacrit) as a biosimilar to epoetin alfa (Epogen/Procrit) for the treatment of anemia caused by chronic kidney disease, chemotherapy, or use of zidovudine in patients with HIV infection. Epoetin alfa-epbx is also...
A randomized clinical trial evaluating the use of mobile and sensor technology to remotely monitor symptoms in patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancer found that use of this technology reduced severe symptoms related to cancer and its treatment compared with usual care....
Persephone, a large phase III randomized noninferiority study conducted in the United Kingdom comparing 6 months to 12 months of trastuzumab (Herceptin) in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer has found 6 months of trastuzumab to be noninferior to 12 months of the therapy. In addition,...
A large randomized phase III clinical trial by the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) investigating the safety and efficacy of adding nelarabine (Arranon) to COG-augmented Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster chemotherapy (aBFM) to treat newly diagnosed patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic...
An economic model comparing different types of genetic testing in metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) found that using next-generation sequencing to test for all known lung cancer–related gene changes at the time of diagnosis was more cost-effective and faster than testing one ...
An analysis of 1,800 lung cancer screening sites nationwide found that only 1.9% of more than 7 million current and former heavy smokers were screened for lung cancer in 2016, despite U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and ASCO screening recommendations. Results from this study—the...
In a study reported in JAMA Dermatology, Wang et al found that risk of nodal metastasis was higher for cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lip with vermilion vs cutaneous location. Disease-specific and overall survival were similar for the two locations. Study Details The retrospective ...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Caan et al found that computed tomography (CT)-derived sarcopenia and adiposity were associated with overall survival in women with nonmetastatic breast cancer. Study Details The study involved data from 3,241 women from Kaiser Permanente of Northern...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Orphan Products Development recently granted Orphan Drug designation to CLR 131 for the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare pediatric cancer. “Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common type of tissue sarcoma in children. While...
Researchers have identified six genes that predispose carriers to develop medulloblastoma and have used the discovery to craft genetic counseling and screening guidelines. The study was published by Waszak et al in The Lancet Oncology. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,...
Flushing the bladder with a common chemotherapy drug immediately after surgery significantly reduces the chances of bladder cancer returning, according to a study by Messing et al published in JAMA and led by SWOG. First author Edward M. Messing, MD, is Professor of Urology and...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Kotsopoulos et al found that use of hormone replacement therapy overall did not increase risk of breast cancer among BRCA1-mutation carriers after prophylactic bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy; however, use of estrogen-progesterone hormone replacement...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Morita et al found that clearance of somatic mutations at complete remission—particularly those in nonpreleukemic genes—was associated with improved outcomes in previously untreated patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML)....
Susannah E. Koontz, PharmD, BCOP, FHOPA, is a consultant for clinical pharmacy services, research, and education in the areas of pediatric hematology/oncology, stem cell transplantation, and cellular therapy. She has held positions at the Children’s Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas MD...
THE COMMUNITY ONCOLOGY Alliance (COA) has released the 2018 Community Oncology Practice Impact Report,1 which tracks data on the changing landscape of cancer care in the United States. It details a decade-long trend of closure and consolidation in the U.S. cancer system that has resulted in a...
Dr. Thompson is Professor of Melanoma and Surgical Oncology, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney, and Senior Surgeon, Melanoma Institute Australia, Sydney. IN THE MID-1990s, the surgical management of patients presenting with primary cutaneous melanomas changed forever when the...