As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Duffy et al, final results of the UK Age Trial show that initiation of annual mammography screening for breast cancer at age 40 was associated with a significant reduction in breast cancer mortality at 10 years compared with screening beginning at age 50 years, ...
The results of an online questionnaire of 609 breast cancer survivors in the United States suggest that nearly half of patients experienced delays in care during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study was published by Papautsky et al in the journal Breast Cancer Research and ...
“The distressing intersection of COVID-19 and cancer requires the use of large registries to acknowledge diversity,” stated Solange Peters, MD, PhD, President of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), in her keynote speech at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in JAMA Network Open, Yang et al found overall survival benefits with immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment vs non–immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment of advanced cancers irrespective of sex, age < 65 years vs ≥ 65 years, or Eastern Cooperative ...
In a Korean study reported in the American Journal of Surgical Pathology, Lee et al identified clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical characteristics of neuroendocrine carcinomas of the gallbladder. Study Details The study involved data from 34 patients with gallbladder neuroendocrine carcinomas ...
Public health screening guidelines for lung cancer followed by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) undercount eligible Black individuals, according to a study by Mary Pasquinelli, DNP, FNP-BC, and colleagues in press at the...
In a retrospective study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Farjah et al found that patients who underwent resection for lung cancer at hospitals and with surgeons meeting Volume Pledge criteria did not have better short-term outcomes compared with patients who received care from...
In the phase III VIALE-A trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Courtney D. DiNardo, MD, and colleagues found that venetoclax plus azacitidine significantly improved overall survival vs azacitidine alone in previously untreated patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who were...
In a phase II trial reported by Vivek Subbiah, MD, and colleagues in The Lancet Oncology, the combination of dabrafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, and trametinib, a MEK inhibitor, achieved a 51% overall response rate in patients with BRAF V600E–mutated cholangiocarcinoma. This trial represents the first...
Results from a recent clinical trial indicated that for older adults with advanced cancer, initiating aspirin treatment may increase their risk of disease progression and mortality. These findings were published by McNeil et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Study Background and...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Pieternella Johanna Lugtenburg, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III Haemato-Oncology Foundation for Adults in the Netherlands (HOVEN)/ Nordic Lymphoma Group HOVON-84 trial showed that early rituximab intensification in R-CHOP-14 (rituximab plus...
In a prospective lymphedema screening trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Naoum et al found that although regional lymph node radiation increased the incidence of breast cancer–related lymphedema, the primary driver of risk was the type of axillary surgery used. Study Details The...
A study by Wilson et al investigating the impact of radiation therapy on adult survivors of pediatric abdominal and pelvic tumors has found that these survivors were significantly more likely to have insulin resistance, high levels of triglycerides, and low levels of high-density lipoproteins...
A new study published by Kanter et al in Health Affairs sheds light on another reason why the coronavirus pandemic is disproportionately affecting individuals of lower socioeconomic status: residents in low-income neighborhoods lack access to intensive care unit (ICU) beds. While the shortage of...
In a single-institution Korean study reported in the American Journal of Surgical Pathology, Kim et al found that chromogranin A expression in rectal neuroendocrine tumors is associated with more aggressive clinical characteristics and poorer prognosis. As stated by the investigators, “Although...
Extended analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-426 study upholds pembrolizumab plus axitinib as a preferred front-line regimen over sunitinib in patients with advanced sporadic renal cell carcinoma.1 These updated results were presented during the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program by Elizabeth R....
It may be possible to use a platinum-free combination as first-line treatment for advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma in cisplatin-ineligible patients, if the results of the phase Ib/II EV-103 trial hold up. The combination of the newly approved antibody-drug conjugate (enfortumab vedotin)...
Based on the recently published ENZAMET, ARCHES, and TITAN trials,1-3 we now have several choices of systemic combination therapies for men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer. Today, men are faced with decisions of androgen-deprivation therapy alone or combinations with abiraterone,...
Maintenance therapy with avelumab and best supportive care significantly prolonged overall survival vs best supportive care alone in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma that did not progress on first-line platinum-based chemotherapy, according to an interim analysis of the phase III JAVELIN ...
As reported inThe New England Journal of Medicine by Ian D. Davis, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, FAChPM, of Monash University and Eastern Health in Melbourne, and colleagues, the phase III ENZAMET trial has shown that the androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide improved progression-free and overall survival...
In a study presented during the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program1 and published as a brief report in JAMA Oncology,2 Praful Ravi, MB, BChir, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and colleagues found that rechallenge with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy was capable of producing...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Kim N. Chi, MD, of BC Cancer and Vancouver Prostate Centre, and colleagues, the first analysis of the phase III TITAN trial has shown that the addition of apalutamide to androgen-deprivation therapy improved radiographic progression-free and...
In the phase III ARAMIS trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine,1 Karim Fizazi, MD, PhD, of the Institut Gustave Roussy, Universite Paris-Sud, Villejuif, France, and colleagues found that the androgen-receptor (AR) antagonist darolutamide significantly prolonged metastasis-free...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) has published new guidelines to help older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and their health-care providers make critical care decisions, including if and how to proceed with cancer treatment and the need for blood transfusions for those in hospice...
The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) lauded the adoption of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global strategy toward eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem. WHO Member States adopted the strategy alongside other health resolutions as part of the silence procedure...
Great strides in research and clinical practice have decreased breast cancer mortality rates by more than 35% since 1990, yet about 40,000 American women die of the disease each year. In Radical: The Science, Culture, and History of Breast Cancer in America, health-care journalist Kate Pickert...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) have approved record numbers of new cancer drugs recently. This is extraordinarily good news for physicians, patients, and drug companies, but it raises important questions as to how effective these drugs are, whether...
On June 24, 2020, pembrolizumab was approved for treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma that is not curable by surgery or radiation.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the multicenter, multicohort, open-label KEYNOTE-629 trial ...
On June 29, 2020, pembrolizumab was approved for the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) colorectal cancer.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the randomized,...
The origin of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been traced back to Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, around 1920, when the virus crossed species from chimpanzees to humans. It wasn’t until the 1980s that epidemiologic data began to sum up the number of people who were...
For this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with noted neurosurgeon Keith L. Black, MD, Chair of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center’s Department of Neurosurgery and Director of the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute. During his career, Dr. Black has...
On June 16, 2020, the indication of gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg) for newly diagnosed CD33-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was extended to include pediatric patients aged 1 month and older.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was supported by findings from the phase III AAML0531 trial...
On June 22, 2020, the oral nuclear export inhibitor selinexor was granted accelerated approval for treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), not otherwise specified, including DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma, after at least two lines of systemic...
In a phase II study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Catherine A. Shu, MD, of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, and colleagues found that neoadjuvant treatment with atezolizumab plus nab-paclitaxel/carboplatin produced a major pathologic response in 57% of patients and pathologic complete...
Jimmie C. Holland, MD, who served as the inaugural Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, died on December 24, 2017, at the age of 89. The ASCO Post paid tribute to Dr. Holland in its January 25, 2018, issue. Here, as part of our ...
To complement The ASCO Post’s continued coverage of the virtual edition of the 25th European Hematology Association Annual Congress (EHA25 Virtual), here are a few abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on clinical research in Hodgkin and marginal zone lymphomas. Omission of...
In 1996, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) published its first set of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology®, covering eight tumor types. Guidelines are now published for more than 60 tumor types and topics. During the NCCN’s 25th Annual Conference, which was held virtually during ...
A new study has found that a higher-than-expected proportion of young adults with cancer harbor genetic germline mutations that have implications for treatment, surveillance, and other family members who may be at risk. Patients with “early-onset cancers”—cancers that typically do not occur in...
In the midst of a global pandemic, while the entire country grapples with recent events highlighting systemic racism, national breast cancer patient organizations are committing to an unprecedented health-equity initiative that focuses on diversity and inclusion. As a result, the San Antonio Breast ...
Stephen M. Ansell, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine in the Department of Hematology at the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, underscored the importance of the HD17 trial results. “These data show, in a randomized fashion, that a PET-directed approach when using more intensive chemotherapy allows for the...
The overwhelming majority of patients with early-stage unfavorable Hodgkin lymphoma may no longer require radiotherapy to treat their disease, according to data presented during the virtual edition of the 25th European Hematology Association (EHA) Annual Congress.1 The findings of the randomized,...
As outbreaks of the COVID-19 pandemic spiked across the country earlier this year, federal health officials and cancer societies advised people to delay seeking routine cancer screenings, including mammograms and colonoscopies, to keep them out of medical centers and away from potential exposure to ...
More than 70% of women with multiple tumors in a single breast reported good or excellent satisfaction with the cosmetic results of breast-conserving therapy, Alliance (ACOSOG) Z11102 investigators reported at the 2020 American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) Virtual Scientific Session.1 In...
Radiation oncologist Gita Suneja, MD, was born and reared in St. Louis, the first-generation daughter of two Indian immigrants. “My father came to the United States to pursue a degree in engineering and decided to remain here, feeling it offered greater opportunities for the family,” Dr. Suneja...
Improvements in protocol-driven clinical trials and supportive care for children and adolescents with cancer have markedly reduced mortality rates over the past 5 decades. Yet, along with clinical advances, oncologists and their young patients with cancer face a host of ethical issues, made more...
A new study published by Minami et al in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons found that longer time from diagnosis to surgical treatment did not lower overall survival in women with early-stage breast cancer. These findings may be reassuring for women with early-stage breast cancer who...
Cancer-related anxiety has negative impacts on emotional, physical, and social well-being, with data indicating older patients are likely to remain undiagnosed, leading to poor outcomes. In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series, Drs. Trevino, Saracino, and Roth highlight...
Findings from a study published by Eisfeld et al in the journal Leukemia could refine an important set of prognostic and treatment recommendations for younger adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The retrospective study evaluated the molecular characteristics and outcomes of 863...
In the French phase II TROPHIMMUN trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Benoit You, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that avelumab normalized human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels in approximately half of women with gestational trophoblastic tumors resistant to single-agent...
In an analysis from the Blood or Marrow Transplantation Survivor Study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, McDonald et al found that total-body irradiation in women undergoing autologous or allogeneic blood or marrow transplantation for hematologic malignancies was associated with an...