Although plasma cell-free DNA (cfDNA) tests represent a promising approach for cancer screening, different methodologies vary in performance and many liquid biopsy tests show decreased performance in detecting early-stage or low-shedding DNA tumors. However, the results from a retrospective...
Black individuals are disproportionately affected by colorectal cancer. They have the highest rates of the disease of any racial or ethnic group in the United States, and are about 20% more likely to develop colorectal cancer and about 40% more likely to die of the disease than most other groups. A ...
mRNA-4157/V940, a personalized mRNA-based cancer vaccine, in combination with the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab improved recurrence-free survival compared with pembrolizumab alone in patients with high-risk melanoma, and clinical benefit was observed regardless of tumor mutational...
Researchers have found that responses to PD-1 inhibitor treatment in patients with advanced melanoma may depend on whether they had received previous treatment with CTLA-4 inhibitors, according to a new study published by Campbell et al in Cancer Cell. “In our large set of data, features that have...
Penile cancer is a rare disease with an incidence that is rising globally. Driven by a goal to offer clinicians and patients guidance on the management of this rare condition, ASCO collaborated with the European Association of Urology (EAU) to develop new guidelines on its diagnosis and treatment....
Midhun Malla, MD, of the West Virginia University Cancer Institute, discusses the molecular landscape of metastatic colorectal cancer and the development and approvals of targeted treatments. Dr. Malla also details the range of HER2-targeted therapeutic options and the approval of trastuzumab and...
Researchers have revealed the potential mechanisms contributing to treatment resistance in patients with melanoma at the end of life, according to a new study published by Spain et al in Cancer Discovery. “These results present the most detailed picture yet of what melanoma looks like at the final...
Adding immunotherapy to standard chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of advanced or the first recurrence of endometrial cancer significantly improved progression-free survival compared to chemotherapy alone, according to data presented by Mansoor Raza Mirza, MD, and colleagues at the March...
Obesity may spur DNA damage in the breast tissue of patients who carry BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, possibly contributing to breast cancer development in patients who are already at a higher risk of the disease, according to a new study published by Bhardwaj et al in Science Translational Medicine....
Alex F. Herrera, MD, of the City of Hope National Medical Center, discusses results from the POLARIX study, which showed that circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis has prognostic value for patients with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Patients who did not achieve 2.5 or...
In a global systematic review and meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Li et al found a high prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotype 16 and HPV33 in vulvar cancer and vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia, as well as a high frequency of p16INK4a positivity in HPV-positive vulvar...
Use of the novel menin inhibitor revumenib has led to remissions in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and associated findings have suggested the mechanisms through which cancer cells may become resistant to such treatment, according to two studies published by Issa et al and Perner et al, ...
In an Australian phase III trial (ONTRANS) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Allen et al found that 1 year of treatment with nicotinamide (vitamin B3) vs placebo did not reduce the risk of keratinocyte cancers or actinic keratoses in immunosuppressed solid organ transplant...
Researchers have found that screening for residual disease prior to a bone marrow transplant may help physicians identify which adult patients in remission from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are at risk of relapsing after the procedure, according to a novel study published by Dillon et al in JAMA....
ASCO has endorsed a new guideline from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) on the use of mismatch repair (MMR) and microsatellite instability (MSI) testing, which could help oncologists more accurately identify patients who may be suitable candidates for immune checkpoint inhibitor ...
Discussant of the INTRIGUE abstract, Breelyn A. Wilky, MD, Director of Sarcoma Medical Oncology, Deputy Associate Director for Clinical Research, University of Colorado, Aurora, called the data presented “compelling evidence of the power of ctDNA [circulating tumor DNA] to identify predictive...
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis of KIT exon mutations may help to predict which second-line therapy is best for patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), according to data presented during the ASCO Plenary Series: January 2023 Session.1 Exploratory analysis of the phase...
Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a fascinating disease from which many groundbreaking medical and oncologic lessons have been learned. Since the Irish surgeon Denis P. Burkitt, MD, FRCS, FRS, first described rapidly enlarging jaw and facial tumors in Ugandan children in 1958,1 the study of BL has led to...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Hisham Mehanna, FRCS, and colleagues found that concordance and discordance of p16 immunohistochemistry and human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA/RNA testing were associated with different outcomes among patients with squamous cell oropharyngeal carcinoma....
As in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 ASCO GI Cancers Symposium—its 20th such gathering—played to a full ballroom. It featured a stellar lineup of experts in the field as well as high-quality, impactful research in esophageal, gastric, hepatocellular, pancreatic, biliary tract, and ...
The TALAPRO-2 phase III clinical trial found that combining the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor talazoparib with the androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide resulted in significantly better progression-free survival vs the current standard of care for patients with metastatic...
Long-term follow-up of survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma from the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort showed signs of “epigenetic accelerated aging,” and many of these survivors had signs of neurocognitive impairment by their late 30s, researchers reported at the 2022 American Society of Hematology...
In a phase I/II trial (KRYSTAL-1) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Rona Yaeger, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and colleagues found that the KRAS G12C inhibitor adagrasib showed activity alone and in combination with cetuximab in heavily pretreated patients ...
In a study from the Children’s Oncology Group reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Abbou et al found that measuring circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in intermediate-risk rhabdomyosarcoma was feasible and that the presence of ctDNA prior to treatment was associated with poorer prognosis. As...
On January 27, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved elacestrant (Orserdu) for postmenopausal women or adult men with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative, ESR1-mutated advanced or metastatic breast cancer with disease progression following at least one line of endocrine...
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis of KIT exon mutations may help predict which second-line therapy is best for patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), according to data presented by Bauer et al during the January ASCO Plenary Series session (Abstract 397784). An...
Long-term follow-up of survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma from the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort showed signs of “epigenetic accelerated aging,” and many of these survivors had signs of neurocognitive impairment by their late 30s, researchers reported at the 2022 American Society of Hematology...
Debu Tripathy, MD, Professor of Medicine and Chair of Breast Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, said that the study points the way to further exploration of the benefit of adding immunotherapy to treatment after patients develop resistance to CDK4/6 inhibitors for ...
The combination of palbociclib and fulvestrant did not prolong progression-free survival compared to fulvestrant alone in patients with hormone receptor–positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who had disease progression on prior treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor and endocrine therapy,...
The oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) camizestrant improved progression-free survival, as compared with fulvestrant, in previously treated postmenopausal women with advanced breast cancer in the phase II SERENA-2 trial. These results were reported at the 2022 San Antonio Breast...
In a German study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mutter et al found that circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) identified prior to and during treatment was associated with poorer outcomes in patients with central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma. Study Details The study included 92 patients...
Researchers have identified unique molecular features responsible for the development and progression of metastatic breast cancer, according to a novel study published by Garcia-Recio et al in Nature Cancer. They discovered that one of the key features involves changes in the immune system that are ...
In the phase I/II KRYSTAL-1 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Rona Yaeger, MD, and colleagues found that the KRAS G12C inhibitor adagrasib showed activity alone and in combination with cetuximab in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and mutated KRAS...
On January 4, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved FoundationOne Liquid CDx to be used as a companion diagnostic to identify patients with ROS1-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) or NTRK fusion–positive solid tumors who do not have a tissue sample available and may be...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and ASCO recently released a joint policy statement outlining the latest research on the use of e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) and recommendations for regulating these products to protect public health. The...
On December 21, Foundation Medicine, Inc, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its FoundationOne Liquid CDx as a companion diagnostic to identify patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have EGFR exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R substitutions...
Even as they’ve revolutionized cancer treatment, immune checkpoint inhibitors have been shown to produce a range of adverse immune-related side effects. Researchers have now identified inherited genetic variations that may place patients at high risk for complications when undergoing treatment with ...
The novel MinimuMM-seq technique may make it possible to detect tumor cells in individuals at higher risk for multiple myeloma, assess the risk of disease progression in patients with myeloma, and track genetic changes in tumor cells over time from a single blood sample, according to a new study...
Richter syndrome is an aggressive lymphoma that develops in up to 1% of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and it serves as an example of histologic transformation. While recent advances have transformed the treatment landscape of CLL, Richter syndrome remains associated with poor...
Research shows that long-term survivors of pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma are at an elevated risk for a variety of health conditions, including cardiopulmonary morbidity, cognitive impairment, and premature death, and could also be at heightened risk for the premature onset of dementia. A new study of...
Erica L. Mayer, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses findings from the PACE study of patients with endocrine- and CDK4/6 inhibitor–pretreated estrogen receptor–positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who were randomly assigned to fulvestrant alone; fulvestrant and...
Editor’s Note: ASCO was deeply saddened by the news that Dr. Jeff Ward passed away on November 3, 2022. In an interview with Dr. Ward this past summer, published in ASCO Connection (August 30, 2022), ASCO recognized Dr. Ward’s commitment to exceptional patient care and public advocacy. An...
The National Academy of Medicine recently announced the election of 90 regular members and 10 international members during its annual meeting. Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated...
A new ASCO guideline on the management of advanced colorectal cancer summarizes the latest treatments supported by quality data that could expand oncologists’ armamentarium and potentially improve survival outcomes.1 “[Colorectal cancer] remains the second-leading class of cancer deaths among men ...
The next-generation selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) camizestrant improved progression-free survival compared to fulvestrant in patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, according to results from the phase II SERENA-2 trial presented by Mafalda Oliveira, MD,...
Invited discussant Erica Michelle Stringer-Reasor, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Breast Cancer Program at the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, said the exploratory analysis of KEYNOTE-522 established the value of using residual...
Patients with localized, hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-low breast cancer treated with fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) in the neoadjuvant setting had an overall response rate of 75% without combining the agent with anastrozole and 63% in combination with anastrozole, according to...
The statistics are grim: Worldwide, pancreatic cancer is the 12th most common cancer and the seventh leading cause of cancer mortality.1 In the United States, the malignancy has the highest mortality rate of all major cancers. It is currently the third leading cause of cancer-related death after...
In the phase Ib/II JAVELIN PARP Medley trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Timothy A. Yap, MBBS, PhD, and colleagues found that the combination of the anti–PD-L1 agent avelumab and the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor talazoparib produced objective response rates in patient subgroups with ...
In a retrospective analysis reported in JAMA Network Open, Magliocco et al found that among patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer receiving bladder-preserving trimodality therapy, those with a lower expression of the DNA repair protein MRE11 had significantly poorer disease-specific...