On this week's episode, we’re discussing the effect of a 5- vs 2-year course of zoledronate for patients with early breast cancer; a recent FDA approval in locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma; and a study that examined how reduced time to completion of treatment in patients with...
Study findings presented by Perrott et al at the ESMO World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer (Abstract SO-25) showed that the use of antibiotics may be linked to colon tumor formation across all patient age groups, especially in those younger than 50 years. These results raise fresh concerns...
In the phase Ib/II CARTITUDE-1 trial reported in The Lancet, Jesus G. Berdeja, MD, and colleagues found that ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel), a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy with two B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-targeting single-domain antibodies, produced a high rate of...
Overall cancer death rates continue to decline in men and women for all racial and ethnic groups in the United States, according to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer. During 2001 to 2018, declines in lung cancer death rates accelerated, and death rates for melanoma...
In a Danish population-based study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Øvlisen et al found that parenthood rates in younger Hodgkin lymphoma survivors who did not experience early relapse were similar to those in the general population, but that use of assisted reproductive techniques...
A team of investigators in Japan used a personalized assay for circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) levels in plasma to monitor molecular residual disease following surgery in patients with resectable colorectal cancer. Their subgroup analysis found statistically significant associations between ctDNA...
For patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, molecular imaging may improve staging and clinical management of the disease, according to research published by Röhrich et al in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. In a retrospective study of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, the...
Among 506 hospitalized patients with cancer at risk of malnutrition, individualized nutritional support reduced the risk of mortality compared to consumption of standard hospital food. The findings from a preplanned secondary analysis of the prospective, randomized, multicenter EFFORT trial,...
In a first-in-human phase I trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Fares et al found that neural stem cell delivery of an oncolytic adenovirus (NSC-CRAd-S-pk7) was safe and feasible in patients with newly diagnosed malignant glioma, with immunologic and histopathologic findings supporting continued ...
In a prospective analysis from the phase III Lymphoma Study Association AHL2011 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Demeestere et al found that patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma receiving a positron-emission tomography (PET)-adapted regimen had a reduced risk of gonadal...
Answers to questions about first-line treatment of metastatic melanoma are “going to be shifting,” Jason J. Luke, MD, told The ASCO Post, with the change coming on the heels of the phase III RELATIVITY-047 trial reported at the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 That abstract reported that using two...
Despite new and effective treatments for melanoma with checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies, patients with metastatic melanoma who progress on frontline treatment generally do very poorly. “We really need to make sure we give these patients access to drugs that we know have some efficacy,”...
In a validation study reported in Annals of Oncology, Klein et al found that a targeted methylation-based multicancer early detection (MCED) assay using cell-free DNA (cfDNA) sequencing had high specificity for cancer signal detection and high accuracy in predicting cancer signal origin across a...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Garaventa et al, the phase III International Society of Pediatric Oncology European Neuroblastoma Group (SIOPEN) HR-NBL1.5 trial showed no significant differences in metastatic complete response rate or event-free survival with the Memorial Sloan...
The invited discussant of the Alliance A21501 findings, Rebecca A. Snyder, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Surgical Oncology at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, described the overall survival associated with modified FOLFIRINOX (fluorouracil [5-FU], leucovorin, ...
In the treatment of borderline resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the Alliance A021501 trial established neoadjuvant treatment with modified FOLFIRINOX (fluorouracil [5-FU], leucovorin, irinotecan, oxaliplatin) as a new benchmark. However, it failed to show the benefit of adding...
With several pivotal trials providing evidence for the escalation and de-escalation of anti-HER2 therapy in certain early breast cancer scenarios, personalized treatment is possible. How can clinicians optimize treatment by applying the studies’ findings? Debu Tripathy, MD, Professor and Chair of...
The total number of cancer screening tests received by women through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (Early Detection Program) declined by 87% for breast cancer and 84% for cervical cancer during April 2020 as...
In the German phase III SUCCESS A trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Friedl et al found no differences in disease-free or overall survival with 5 vs 2 years of zoledronate treatment following adjuvant chemotherapy for early breast cancer. Study Details In the multicenter, open-label, 2 × 2 factorial...
About 80% of breast cancer cases are hormone receptor–positive, according to the American Cancer Society. Patients with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer generally are treated using therapy that inhibits both estrogen levels and cell-cycle activity, but about 90% of patients with metastatic...
Because of their well-established efficacy, inhibitors of cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) are the standard of care in the treatment of hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer. The question now is this: after disease progresses on a CDK4/6 inhibitor and endocrine...
In a post hoc analysis from the phase III TAILORx trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Yanez et al identified factors that may be associated with an increased and decreased likelihood of early discontinuation of adjuvant endocrine therapy for breast cancer. Study Details The TAILORx trial, conducted...
Patients with primary lung cancer detected using low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening may be at reduced risk for developing brain metastases after diagnosis, according to a study published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology. The researchers, led by Summer Han, PhD, of Stanford University...
In a Swedish phase II trial (PREDIX HER2) reported in JAMA Oncology, Hatschek et al found no difference in pathologic complete response rate with neoadjuvant trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) vs a standard regimen of trastuzumab, pertuzumab, and docetaxel (DTP) in patients with HER2-positive breast...
Given the rarity of salivary gland malignancies—neoplasms that account for less than 1% to 5% of all head and neck cancers—limited evidence exists to support informed treatment guidance. The overall variability in the biologic behaviors of these neoplasms has further complicated clinical...
Despite public smoking cessation initiatives and improved methods for early detection and treatment, lung cancer persists as the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the United States. However, over the past decade, smoking cessation efforts, increased screening, and new...
David Cunningham, MD, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Head of the Gastrointestinal and Lymphoma Unit, and Director of Clinical Research at The Royal Marsden in London and Surrey in the United Kingdom, discussed CheckMate 6481 as well as the ESCORT-1st study of the PD-L1 inhibitor camrelizumab in...
Comments on the OUTBACK trial were provided by invited discussant Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Dean for Oncology, and Director of the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center. Lilian T. Gien, MD, MSc, Associate Professor of Oncology at the...
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center (HSNHC) in Dorchester, Massachusetts, have entered into an agreement to connect patients to cancer prevention, education, diagnosis, and treatment services. This program, based out of Dana-Farber’s Cancer Care Equity...
In 2016, 2 years before I was diagnosed with stage III estrogen and progesterone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, invasive ductal carcinoma in situ in my left breast, I had felt a mass in my right breast that turned out to be a benign fibroid. When I felt a mass in my left breast one morning while ...
The University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has established the Pancreatic Cancer Center of Excellence to bring together cancer center faculty with a broad range of expertise—from laboratory, translational, and clinical research to drug development, biostatistics,...
“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” —Mark Twain 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...
As our population rapidly ages, the burden of cancer incidence increases accordingly, creating an urgent need for greater and more incisive research on the diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship issues for older adults with cancer. Given the numerous challenges faced by today’s busy oncologists, a...
Invited discussant of the KEYNOTE-564 trial, Rana R. McKay, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Urology at the University of California San Diego, offered these comments about these trial results. “This is a positive study, showing a 32% reduction in the risk of recurrence or death with...
Morocco is an Arab country in North Africa. It covers 716,550 square kilometers and has a population of nearly 36 million. The median age is 29.3 years. Morocco’s estimated gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 was $122 million. As of 2019, Morocco’s health budget was equivalent to 4.5% of the total ...
When I interviewed for my current post as a first-time consultant in medical oncology in the United Kingdom, I was asked about my 5-year career plan. I remember some detail of my reply, but I don’t think it even remotely encompassed the depth of insight I would gain from the patients I’ve treated...
Established by Michael C. Ost, MD, MBA, the 2012–2013 American Urological Association Young Urologists Committee Chair, the Young Urologist of the Year Award is presented annually to select early-career association members in recognition of their efforts and commitment to advancing the development...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently presented Mary B. Daly, MD, PhD, FACP, Professor in the Department of Clinical Genetics and Director of the Risk Assessment Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center, with the Rodger Winn Award. The Rodger Winn Award is given annually to one NCCN...
This past October, in a virtually held ceremony of the General Assembly of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), Anil K. D’Cruz, MBBS, MS, DNB, FRCS (Hon), Director of Oncology at Apollo Hospitals in Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi, India, began his 2-year tenure as President of the global...
The breakthrough KRAS-specific inhibitor sotorasib achieved responses in patients with KRAS G12C–mutated non–small lung cancer (NSCLC) who had experienced disease progression on platinum-based chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or both treatments. The objective response rate was 37.1%, and responses...
Although both incidence and mortality rates in colorectal cancer have been declining among people older than 65 by 3.3% and 3% annually, respectively, among individuals younger than age 50, the incidence rate has risen about 2% annually, and death rates have increased by 1.3% annually.1 Colorectal...
Formal discussant of OlympiA, Nadine M. Tung, MD, Director of Breast Medical Oncology and the Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, was enthusiastic about the ability of olaparib to improve invasive disease–free survival and...
The role of vaccines in mitigating the significant morbidity and mortality associated with infections in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a developing field of study, punctuated by the advent of novel therapeutic agents and pressing questions regarding the global SARS–CoV-2 vaccination...
Adjuvant therapy with the PARP inhibitor olaparib for 1 year extended disease-free survival in patients with high-risk early-stage HER2-negative breast cancer with BRCA1/2 germline (inherited) mutations, according to a prespecified interim analysis of the phase III OlympiA trial presented at the...
In an Italian study reported in Leukemia, Francesca Romana Mauro, MD, of the Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University, Rome, and colleagues found that only a small minority of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) developed an adequate immune response to...
In a prospective study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Frank et al found that monitoring of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) improved detection of early relapse after axicabtagene ciloleucel infusion in patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma. Study Details A total of...
Non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80% to 85% of cases of lung cancer; when it is diagnosed early, there is a 5-year survival rate of 50% to 80%. Black patients have a lower overall incidence of NSCLC than White patients but are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages. They also...
Sibylle Loibl, MD, PhD, of the German Breast Group, discusses results from the phase III GeparNUEVO study, which investigated neoadjuvant durvalumab in addition to anthracycline/taxane-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with early triple-negative breast cancer (Abstract 506).
Peter C. Black, MD, of the Vancouver Prostate Centre, University of British Columbia, reviews three studies on early detection and treatment of Black patients with prostate cancer: a large-scale analysis of genomic profiling; the use of PSA screening; and integrating a patient-specific genomic...
Patients with early-stage breast cancer may be at low risk of dying of their disease, but they experience a high burden of physical and psychological symptoms long after their treatment has ended, according to data presented during the 2021 American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting.1...