“The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade….” —Sir William Osler Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) accounts for approximately 5% to 7% of all lymphomas; the median age of patients with MCL is between 60 and 70 years. This lymphoma is generally considered incurable. Median survival in retrospective...
With a 5-year overall survival of close to 90% in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), there have been large treatment shifts over the past decade in this disease, which now includes “more disciplines than it did before,” commented medical oncologist Danielle Shafer, DO, of Inova Schar Cancer...
In the BLUE-C study—reported in The New England Journal of Medicine—Imperiale et al found that a next-generation multitarget stool DNA test showed high sensitivity for colorectal cancer and high specificity for advanced neoplasia compared with colonoscopy screening. Study Details The U.S....
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) announced that its members have elected Lillian L. Siu, MD, FRCPC, FASCO, FAACR, as the 2024–2025 President-Elect of the AACR. Professional and Research Background Dr. Siu currently serves as Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto; as ...
Researchers have identified two genetic markers that may illuminate the association between red and/or processed meat consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer, according to a novel study published by Stern et al in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Background Previous studies...
In a study among U.S. veterans reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Shah et al found that Helicobacter pylori infection was associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer and cancer-related death; additionally, treated H pylori infection was associated with reduced cancer incidence ...
On November 8, 2023, fruquintinib (Fruzaqla) was approved for adults with metastatic colorectal cancer who received prior fluoropyrimidine-, oxaliplatin-, and irinotecan-based chemotherapy; an anti-VEGF therapy; and—if RAS wild-type and medically appropriate—an anti-EGFR therapy.1 Supporting...
The American Urological Association (AUA), in partnership with the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO), released new clinical practice guidelines on salvage therapy for patients with prostate cancer. These guidelines were reported on by Morgan...
For the third year in a row, more than 250 leaders in cancer care, including cancer center directors, physicians, scientists, ethicists, journalists, public officials, and patient advocates, gathered at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, to attend the...
Studies presented at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) significantly moved the needle forward in our treatment of breast cancer. We are increasingly learning how to stratify risk, so we can optimize therapy and minimize our patients’ exposure to treatments that will not be...
The addition of inavolisib to first-line treatment with palbociclib plus fulvestrant more than doubled progression-free survival in patients with recurrent PIK3CA-mutated, hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, according to a late-breaking primary analysis of the phase III ...
Guest Editor’s Note: The use of mistletoe extract to support systemic therapy and improve quality of life for patients with cancer, though common, remains controversial. Promising results have been reported, but largely in trials that were not placebo-controlled nor properly randomized. In this...
ASCO is deeply saddened by the death of oncology luminary, health equity champion, and ASCO Humanitarian Award honoree Edith P. Mitchell, MD, MACP, FCCP, FRCP (London), on January 21, 2024. At the time of her passing, Dr. Mitchell was Director of the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities,...
About 4 years ago, I [Jo Cavallo] wrote about the death of my brother Dom from multiple myeloma in 2011 and my subsequent enrollment in the PROMISE trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03689595). My goal for enrolling in the study was twofold: to honor Dom and others with the cancer and to make ...
Preventive use of the oral antibiotic vancomycin may be effective at reducing the risk of Clostridioides difficile infections but may increase the risk of gram-negative bacteremia in stem cell transplant recipients, according to new findings presented by Vartanov et al at the 2024 Tandem Meetings:...
On February 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to lifileucel (Amtagvi), a tumor-derived autologous T-cell immunotherapy, for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma who were previously treated with a PD-1 blocking antibody, or, if they have...
In a Trans-Atlantic Pancreatic Surgery Consortium study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dekker et al found that the “ABC” clinical staging system could be used to differentiate overall survival outcomes in patients with localized pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Study Details The...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Varey et al developed the Melanoma Institute Australia (MIA) calculator for predicting recurrence-free and overall survival in stage II melanoma and found that it outperformed modeling based on American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC)-8th...
Men with high-risk localized prostate cancer had a significant survival benefit when treated with a more intensified regimen of dose-escalated radiation therapy plus long-term androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) vs standard radiation therapy plus ADT, according to long-term follow-up from the...
The novel COLOXIS machine learning model may accurately predict which patients with colon cancer are most likely to derive benefit from oxaliplatin, according to a recent study published by Chen et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The findings could ultimately allow physicians to better...
It has been almost 20 years since the approval of trastuzumab for the treatment of early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancer. I remember returning from the 2005 ASCO Annual Meeting excited to offer patients a treatment that led to significant improvement in clinical outcomes. However, within a short ...
Researchers may have uncovered a novel strategy to identify which patients may experience poorer outcomes from chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy prior to treatment, according to a recent study published by Faramand et al in Blood Cancer Discovery. The findings indicate opportunities to ...
In a UK trial (NCRI AML19) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Russell et al found that intensified induction therapy with FLAG-Ida (fludarabine, cytarabine, granulocyte colony–stimulating factor, and idarubicin) plus gemtuzumab ozogamicin did not improve overall survival in younger...
Harry P. Erba, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Leukemia Program in the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapy at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, told The ASCO Post he was not surprised by one of the key findings reported by Smith et ...
Paul J. Hampel, MD, a hematologist/oncologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, underscored the complexity of this arm of the adaptive FLAIR trial, which compared measurable residual disease (MRD)-directed ibrutinib plus venetoclax with standard, fixed-duration, FCR (fludarabine,...
A time-limited approach based on measurable residual disease (MRD) response could signal a potential paradigm shift for front-line treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to data presented at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition1 and...
In heavily pretreated patients with a challenging type of acute leukemia, the menin inhibitor revumenib demonstrated clinically meaningful activity, including high rates of response and measurable residual disease (MRD) negativity, according to the efficacy and safety results of the phase II...
In May 2023, The ASCO Post launched a new feature, View From the Top: The Future of Cancer Care Delivery, which explores how leaders in oncology are developing strategies to ensure continued innovative oncology care in an ever-changing health-care environment. In this installment, Guest Editor Jame ...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Daniel Q. Huang, MBBS, and colleagues found that the use of antiviral therapy was associated with improved overall survival among patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)- or hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related hepatocellular...
The addition of inavolisib to first-line treatment with palbociclib plus fulvestrant more than doubled progression-free survival in patients with recurrent PIK3CA-mutated, hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, according to a late-breaking primary analysis of the phase III ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Han et al, the 21-year update of the Normal Risk Ovarian Screening Study (NROSS) has shown that the NROSS screening strategy remains effective for the detection of ovarian cancer and detection at early disease stages. Study Details The NROSS...
Researchers have developed a novel computational model for personalized prognosis prediction in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, according to a new study published by Maura et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Their model for individualized risk in multiple myeloma, or IRMMa,...
Although pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have seen a dramatic improvement in long-term survival rates over the past 40 years, from approximately 10% to over 95%, adults aged 29 and older have not experienced the same treatment benefits, with survival rates still below...
Robotic surgery may offer significant benefits over laparoscopic procedures in patients with colorectal cancer undergoing colectomies, according to a recent study published by Farah et al in the World Journal of Surgical Oncology. These findings suggest that a majority of patients receiving robotic ...
Investigators have found that providing prophylactic treatment with the biological agent tocilizumab prior to immunotherapy may reduce the incidence of cytokine-release syndrome in patients with multiple myeloma, according to a study published by Kowalski et al in Blood Cancer Discovery. ...
Sarah C. Rutherford, MD, of Weill Cornell Medicine, discusses findings of the SWOG S1826 study, which showed nivolumab plus AVD (doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine) improved progression-free and event-free survival and seemed to be better tolerated than brentuximab vedotin plus AVD in...
The use of lutetium-177–labeled PSMA-617 (LuPSMA) improved radiographic progression–free survival by 57% in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who experienced disease progression on an androgen receptor (AR) pathway inhibitor compared with changing to a new AR pathway...
A program aimed at improving access to high-quality cancer care has significantly increased adherence to cancer treatment among minority and low-income communities, according to data presented at the 2023 ASCO Quality Care Symposium.1 The introduction of the ALCANCE-PLUS program in Monterey County, ...
The data developed over the past few years have overwhelmingly favored geriatric assessment as part of the routine care for older patients with cancer. It has become the standard of care. ASCO has recently published a Practical Geriatric Assessment to aid in the implementation of this vital...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Tan et al, the phase III CANOPY-1 trial has shown no survival benefits with the addition of canakinumab to first-line pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in patients with advanced/metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without EGFR or ALK...
Nicholas C. Turner, MD, PhD, of The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and the Institute of Cancer Research, London, discusses the monarchE trial, which evaluated molecular profiling of archived primary tumor tissue from patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative,...
In patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, the addition of the PD-L1–inhibiting monoclonal antibody atezolizumab to first-line chemotherapy plus the angiogenesis inhibitor bevacizumab significantly improved all efficacy outcomes and yielded a median overall survival that exceeded 2.5 ...
The integration of immunotherapy with traditional chemoradiotherapy has significantly increased pathologic complete response rates in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to data presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2023 World Conference on...
For the treatment of advanced melanoma that is refractory to anti–PD-1 antibodies, there is no standard approach. The various options, with a look to the future, were discussed by Melinda L. Yushak, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Hematology and Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine, at...
Using fertility preservation and/or assisted reproductive technologies (ART) did not adversely impact 3-year cancer recurrence rates among patients with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer who paused endocrine therapy to become pregnant, according to results from the POSITIVE trial presented at ...
In a European study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Heymer et al found that the risk of subsequent colorectal cancer was elevated among childhood cancer survivors who had undergone abdominopelvic radiotherapy. Study Details The study used data from the PanCareSurFup Study—a...
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2023 held in Madrid reported out several eagerly awaited and potentially practice-changing trials, bringing forward promising new combination strategies in the targeted and immunotherapy space, and put to the test selective agents against...
Formal discussant of the ALINA trial Marina C. Garassino, MD, of the University of Chicago, agreed these results are “impressive and practice changing.” However, she said, at this point, more consideration is needed before jettisoning chemotherapy. “I don’t think we should stop giving adjuvant...
In a Swedish study reported in JAMA Oncology, Mao et al found that women with a false-positive mammography result were more likely to be subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer compared to women with no false-positive result. Study Details The study involved data from 45,213 women who received a...
In the phase III PAPILLON trial, the addition of the bispecific antibody amivantamab-vmjw to chemotherapy resulted in a near doubling in median progression-free survival vs chemotherapy alone in patients with untreated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)...