OBESITY IS associated with poor survival in patients with cancer, but when research is translated into survivorship care, obese and overweight patients can experience better outcomes, according to Karen Basen-Engquist, PhD, MPH, Professor of Behavioral Science and Director of the Center for Energy...
CONCERNS ABOUT how recurrence of gynecologic cancer can affect a person’s life, and not simply fear of recurrence alone, play an important role in patient distress and functional impairment, according to a presentation at the 2018 American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) Annual Conference in...
A MULTI-INSTITUTIONAL analysis of circulating tumor DNA extracted from the plasma of patients has shown that human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) DNA is detectable in the majority of cases of favorable-risk HPV-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and may be a clinically useful...
RESEARCHERS AT The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center are testing the possibility of safely eliminating surgery in patients with breast cancer who are “exceptional responders” to neoadjuvant therapy, according to Henry M. Kuerer, MD, PhD, a breast cancer surgeon who described this...
A RECENT article in The New England Journal of Medicine explored the nuances of minimal/measurable residual disease testing after induction treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML)1 and David P. Steensma, MD, and Benjamin L. Ebert, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical...
FORMAL DISCUSSANT of the KEYNOTE-189 trial, Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Chief of Medical Oncology at Smilow Cancer Hospital, Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, heartily endorsed the new triplet combination of pembrolizumab, pemetrexed, and a platinum in advanced nonsquamous non– small cell lung cancer...
ADDING THE IMMUNE checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to standard chemotherapy with pemetrexed (Alimta) and a platinum as first-line therapy was superior to chemotherapy alone in the KEYNOTE-189 trial.1 Induction and maintenance therapies with the new triplet therapy improved overall...
Parenting concerns contributed significantly to the psychological distress of mothers with late-stage cancer, according to a study by University of North Carolina (UNC) Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center researchers published by Park et al in the journal Cancer. Cancer is the leading cause of...
Early, ongoing screening of lymphatic function and immediate patient-administered therapies as needed are highly effective in improving outcomes for women at high risk for breast cancer–related lymphedema (BCRL). These were the findings of a new study presented at the American Society of ...
Modern, multimodality lumpectomy treatment significantly reduces the incidence of breast cancer recurrence at the original tumor site compared to historical protocols, according to a new study presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) 19th Annual Meeting (Abstract...
Current restrictive genetic testing guidelines exclude many patients who harbor high-risk breast cancer mutations, according to two new studies presented at the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) 19th Annual Meeting (Abstracts 402910, 404340). One study found that whether or not patients...
Women with breast cancer who underwent regular mammographic screening were diagnosed with earlier-stage disease and treated with significantly less aggressive therapies than those who delayed or never underwent screening, according to new research presented at the American Society of Breast...
Researchers have found that women with advanced triple-negative breast cancer with a BRCA mutation were twice as likely to benefit from carboplatin as docetaxel—the current standard of care for these patients. These findings were published by Tutt et al in Nature Medicine. The trial is set...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist), administered together, for the treatment of unresectable, metastatic, BRAF V600E mutation–positive anaplastic thyroid cancer. Anaplastic thyroid cancer accounts for about 1% to 2% of all...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues, ASCO has issued a clinical practice guideline update on the role of bone-modifying agents in multiple myeloma.1 The update was performed by an expert panel systematic...
Despite steady declines in death rates in recent years, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths in wealthy countries. In a study published by Andreano et al in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, Yale researchers collaborated with investigators in Europe to examine lung cancer care and ...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies commonly used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, focus attention on chamomile ...
Overwhelming evidence shows that patient decision aids, such as educational booklets, videos, or Web-based tools that take into account patients’ values and personal preferences, hold enormous promise for improving the informed consent process. Patient decision aids both reduce unwanted medical...
Skin cancer survivors know firsthand that the disease is most treatable when detected early, so they’re more likely to be vigilant about skin exams—and new research shows that such vigilance pays off. After studying more than 900 cases of melanoma reported through the Health...
While effective antiretroviral therapy, which suppresses HIV replication and improves immune function, has resulted in increased longevity for people living with HIV and reduced the risk of certain cancers, including Kaposi sarcoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, other cancers are expected to become more ...
On May 1, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) suspension for intravenous infusion for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma—including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), high-grade B-cell lymphoma, and...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Maurer et al found that a shorter interval between diagnosis and treatment was associated with adverse prognostic features and that a longer interval was associated with greater event-free survival in the first-line treatment of diffuse large ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hwang et al found little difference in the efficacy and safety of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-designated breakthrough vs nonbreakthrough cancer drugs and found that breakthrough drugs were not more likely to represent a novel...
In a report from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Weil et al found that splenectomy and splenic radiation significantly increased the risk of infection-related late mortality among 5-year survivors of childhood cancer. Study Details The study...
On April 30, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) in combination for the adjuvant treatment of patients with melanoma with BRAF V600E or V600K mutations (as detected by an FDA-approved test) and involvement of...
On April 23, Epizyme, Inc, announced that U.S.-based enrollment of new patients into tazemetostat clinical trials is temporarily on hold. Following a safety report of a pediatric patient who developed a secondary lymphoma, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a partial clinical hold...
Research from the Yale School of Public Health has found that the majority of published papers analyzing the cost-effectiveness of a widely used test for breast cancer used a study design that can increase bias. These findings were published by Wang et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology....
In a report from the Children’s Oncology Group AREN0533 study published in Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dix et al found improved survival outcomes with a modified approach to treatment of favorable-histology Wilms tumor with lung metastases. Study Details The National Wilms Tumor Study...
This week, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) announced the names of the 35 hematologists participating in the 2018 ASH Clinical Research Training Institute in Latin America (CRTI-LA) and Advanced CRTI-LA. This education and mentorship program was held April 23–26, prior to the...
Very small differences in the way a patient lies during radiotherapy treatment for lung or esophageal cancer can have an impact on survival, according to research presented at the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) 37 Conference (Abstract OC-0322). These differences of only a...
Radiotherapy given in high doses over a shorter period of time is safe and effective for patients with prostate cancer, according to research from a phase III trial presented at the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) 37 Conference (Abstract OC-0599). The...
A simple test of handgrip strength may be a good indicator of short- and long-term survival in patients with stage I non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to new findings presented at the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) 37 Conference (Abstract PV0041)....
An analysis of elderly patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated in a phase II trial of radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy has shown that they were less likely to benefit than younger patients if the two treatments were given at the same time. These findings were presented ...
A rare but potentially serious complication following radiation treatment for cervical cancer is a narrowing of the tube that takes urine from the kidneys to the bladder (the ureter), which can lead to kidney damage and sometimes life-threatening infections. This is called ureteral stricture and,...
Although literature demonstrates a decreased risk of Alzheimer's disease in individuals with various cancers—including squamous cell cancers (SCC) and basal cell cancers (BCC)—there is a paucity of literature to substantiate an association between malignant melanoma and...
On April 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for Priority Review a supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for nivolumab (Opdivo) to treat patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) whose disease has progressed after two or more prior lines of therapy. ...
In an update from the WECARE (Women’s Environmental Cancer and Radiation Epidemiology) study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Reiner et al found that women with invasive breast cancer are at increased risk of contralateral breast cancer even in the absence of deleterious...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies commonly used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Ting Bao, MD, DABMA, MS, reviews the current data on the use of massage to...
On April 18, Calithera Biosciences, Inc, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation to CB-839 in combination with cabozantinib (Cabometyx) for the treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have received one or two prior lines ...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In this installment, Drs. Abutalib and Landgren review the underlying data that shaped the updated International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) diagnostic criteria for...
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends several screening tests for colorectal cancer (CRC) in adults aged 50 to 75, including fecal occult blood testing, sigmoidoscopy, or colonoscopy. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2017, there were an estimated 95,520 cases ...
A new type of cancer vaccine has yielded promising results in an initial clinical trial conducted at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. The personalized vaccine is made from a patient’s own immune ...
On April 12, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital launched the St. Jude Cloud, an online data-sharing and collaboration platform that provides researchers access to the world's largest public repository of pediatric cancer genomics data. Developed as a partnership among St. Jude,...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently finalized two guidances to drive the efficient development of next-generation sequencing, which scans a person’s DNA to diagnose genetic diseases, and guide medical treatments. The guidances provide recommendations for designing,...
People with stage III colon cancer who regularly eat tree nuts are at significantly lower risk of cancer recurrence and mortality than those who don’t, according to findings published by Fadelu et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1 Study Findings The study followed 826 participants in the...
Recently, Curant House announced the publication of Healing Hope: Through and Beyond Cancer by Wendy S. Harpham, MD, FACP, a physician-survivor of non-Hodgkin lymphoma and award-winning thought leader in survivorship. In this book (her eighth), Dr. Harpham presents 50 illness-related aphorisms in...
As reported at the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Meeting & Exposition and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Sattva S. Neelapu, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues, a phase II trial has shown high activity of autologous anti-CD19 chimeric...
Some T cells have excellent memories. These subtypes—known as memory T cells—may explain why some immunotherapies are more effective than others and could potentially lead to researchers designing more effective studies using combination checkpoint blockade treatments, according to...
Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for 14% of all lung cancers and is often rapidly resistant to chemotherapy, resulting in poor clinical outcomes. Treatment has changed little for decades, but a study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center offers a potential explanation for...
ASCO and ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation are proud to recognize the winners of ASCO’s Special Awards and Conquer Cancer’s Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Awards. The recipients of these awards include researchers, patient advocates, and global oncology leaders who have worked to transform...