The Colorectal Cancer Alliance has opened its third annual international survey of young-onset colorectal cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers, with the intent of learning about and tracking the medical and psychosocial experiences of this often overlooked group, which comprises 11% of...
ASCO has endorsed a statement by the 70 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers calling for increased human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and screening to eliminate HPV-related cancers. The full uptake of the vaccine and screening could prevent 12,000 cervical cancers and...
On May 4, 2018, dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) in combination was granted approval for treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic anaplastic thyroid cancer with BRAF V600E mutation and no satisfactory locoregional treatment options.1-3 Dabrafenib is not indicated for ...
As reported in The Lancet by Pagès et al, an international collaboration has validated the consensus Immunoscore for colon cancer as a predictive tool for recurrence of disease. Study Details An international consortium of 14 centers in 13 countries, led by the Society for Immunotherapy of ...
Updated results of the global phase III ALEX trial comparing alectinib (Alecensa) with crizotinib (Xalkori) as first-line treatment against ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) show a median progression-free survival of 34.8 months in 152 patients treated with alectinib vs 10.9...
Howard S. Hochster, MD, of Rutgers-Cancer Institute of New Jersey, discusses study findings on irinotecan and cetuximab vs irinotecan, cetuximab, and ramucirumab as second-line therapy of advanced colorectal cancer following oxaliplatin and bevacizumab-based therapy (Abstract 3504).
In a small phase II study of early-stage breast cancer patients with BRCA1/2 mutations, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that more than half of the women who took the PARP inhibitor talazoparib once daily prior to surgery had no evidence of disease at the time...
Premenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer and a high risk of recurrence who are treated with an aromatase inhibitor plus ovarian function suppression may gain a 10% to 15% improvement in freedom from distant recurrence at 8 years, according to a ...
Results from a preplanned interim analysis of the phase III iNNOVATE (PCYC-1127) study evaluating the investigational use of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in combination with rituximab (Rituxan) in relapsed/refractory and treatment-naive patients with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia were...
On June 4, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pegfilgrastim-jmdb (Fulphila) as the first biosimilar to pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) to decrease the chance of infection as suggested by febrile neutropenia in patients with nonmyeloid cancer who are receiving myelosuppressive...
Emily S. Ruiz, MD, MPH, of Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center, discusses new developments in the treatment of squamous cell skin cancer and what she sees on the therapeutic horizon (Abstracts e18703, 9519, and 9577).
An updated analysis of a randomized phase III trial showed that taking a high dose of the acid-reducing medicine esomeprazole with low-dose aspirin for at least 7 years can moderately reduce the risk of developing high-grade dysplasia or esophageal cancer and delay death from any cause in people...
A randomized phase III clinical trial showed that people with advanced colorectal cancer may not need a frequently considered component of treatment—heated chemotherapy delivered to the abdomen during surgery. There was no difference in survival between patients with metastases in the abdomen ...
Lee S. Schwartzberg, MD, of West Cancer Center, reports on the progress of the ACCC Immuno-Oncology Institute to speed adoption of immunotherapeutics in community practices.
Jeremy S. Abramson, MD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses study findings on lisocabtagene maraleucel in relapsed or refractory aggressive NHL (Abstract 7505).
The randomized phase III Carmena trial showed that many people with advanced kidney cancer can avoid nephrectomy without compromising survival. The median overall survival for people who received the targeted therapy sunitinib (Sutent) alone was 18.4 months, compared with 13.9 months for those who...
The federally funded, phase III TAILORx clinical trial showed that most women with hormone receptor (HR)–positive, HER2-negative, axillary node–negative early-stage breast cancer and a mid-range score on a 21-tumor gene expression assay (Oncotype DX® Breast Recurrence Score) do not...
A new chemotherapy strategy seems to improve cure rates for children with rhabdomyosarcoma who are at high risk for cancer recurrence. In a randomized phase III clinical trial, adding 6 months of low-dose maintenance chemotherapy after initial treatment increased the 5-year overall survival rate...
A large, randomized phase III trial shows that the immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is a more effective initial treatment than chemotherapy (the current standard of care) for the majority of patients with the most common type of lung cancer. People with advanced non–small cell lung...
Allen S. Lichter, MD, ASCO’s former Chief Executive Officer, talks with Nancy E. Davidson, MD, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, the 2018 recipient of the Visionary Leader Award, named for Dr. Lichter.
In a phase III clinical trial, the investigational PI3K inhibitor taselisib combined with standard hormone therapy fulvestrant (Faslodex) halted the growth of advanced breast cancer growth by 2 months longer than hormone therapy alone. In addition, the novel combination decreased the chance of...
An initial report from the large, ongoing Circulating Cell-Free Genome Atlas (CCGA) study provides preliminary evidence that a blood test may be able to detect early-stage lung cancer. This is one of the first studies to explore blood tests analyzing free-floating or cell-free DNA as a tool for the ...
Initial findings from a randomized phase III clinical trial showed that patients with advanced squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) benefit more from initial treatment with the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-targeted immunotherapy atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and chemotherapy than...
A genomic study of more than 15,000 tumor samples showed that people who have tumors with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H)—a genomic marker associated with a large number of genetic mutations in the tumor—are more likely to have Lynch syndrome, a hereditary condition that...
Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of consecutive, prospectively molecularly profiled patients with advanced cancer who participated in a large, personalized medicine trial. They found that using molecular tests of tumors to select targeted therapy resulted in slower cancer growth and...
In a prospective clinical trial of 100 men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, the response to the hormone treatment abiraterone (Yonsa, Zytiga) was greater and longer-lasting in black men than in white men. Black men were more likely to have a decline in prostate-specific antigen ...
An analysis of cancer registry data from a California hospital system showed that women with head and neck cancer were less likely to receive intensive chemotherapy (35% vs 46%) and radiation (60% vs 70%) compared to men. Controlling for factors such as age and serious medical conditions, a...
A federally funded randomized study demonstrated that the use of geriatric assessment in routine care of older adults with advanced cancer significantly improved doctor-patient communication about age-related concerns as well as patient satisfaction with the communication. The study was featured in ...
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...