The phase III CLL14 trial—reported by Fischer et al at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 7502) and in The New England Journal of Medicine—found that the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax plus the monoclonal antibody obinutuzumab prolonged progression-free survival vs obinutuzumab and...
Findings in a cohort of the phase II CheckMate 205 study, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ramchandren et al, indicate that nivolumab monotherapy followed by nivolumab plus doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (N-AVD) is highly active in newly diagnosed, advanced-stage classical ...
OneOncology, the national partnership of independent community oncologists, announced that it is entering into a new partnership with Arizona Blood & Cancer Specialists. The new practice will be the fourth to join OneOncology, a network already comprising 227 physicians practicing at 62 sites...
In an analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Maher et al found that treatment-related adverse events of special interest and immune-mediated adverse events were more common among patients with advanced urothelial cancer with vs without response to anti–programmed cell death...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel hematology and oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Early in 2019, ibrutinib was approved for...
In addition to its well-known cardioprotective benefits, aspirin has a substantial body of observational, preclinical, and clinical evidence supporting its efficacy in preventing cancer, most strongly for colorectal cancer.1 The strength of this evidence led the U.S. Preventive Services Task...
In 2017, ASCO announced the launch of its Center for Research and Analytics (CENTRA). CENTRA’s mission is to conquer cancer by generating, integrating, analyzing, and sharing oncology data to foster innovation in research and patient care. CENTRA aims to make its cancer data available to the...
The Northern New England Clinical Oncology Society (NNECOS) is a tristate regional affiliate of ASCO serving oncology practices within Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. A long-time supporter of Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation, and its Young Investigator Award (YIA) program, NNECOS expanded...
Delivery of prophylactic cranial irradiation to patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has declined significantly since the publication of a study by Takahashi et al, according to a recent survey of academic radiation oncologists.1 Data presented at the 2019 Multidisciplinary...
As reported in The Lancet by Tony S.K. Mok, MD, of Chinese University of Hong Kong, and colleagues, the KEYNOTE-042 trial has shown an improvement in overall survival with pembrolizumab vs standard chemotherapy in previously untreated patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung ...
Before the introduction of immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors, the 5-year life expectancy for patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was 5.5%. This dismal outlook has changed. Treatment with the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab dramatically improved overall...
The past 20 years have seen an unprecedented increase in the development of effective drugs for the management of cancer. The advent of immunotherapy offers even the promise of cure for some previously highly resistant diseases. The science is brilliant, the need is ever increasing—but the cost is ...
At the Plenary Session, formal discussant of Dr. Davidoff’s study, Yousuf Zafar, MD, of Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, North Carolina, gave an impassioned talk about the need to address racial disparities in cancer care. “This is a nontraditional study to be selected for the ASCO Plenary Session....
The evidence is in: the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has enabled improved access to earlier diagnosis, earlier care, and reduced racial disparities in access to care for patients with cancer, according to two studies presented at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting. In states that adopted Medicaid...
In a trial presented by Baumann et al at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 6521), patients with locally advanced cancer treated with proton chemoradiotherapy instead of traditional photon chemoradiotherapy were at a lower risk of experiencing side effects. However, cure rates were almost...
In a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Fangusaro et al found that the MEK1/2 inhibitor selumetinib was active in pediatric patients with recurrent, refractory, or progressive pilocytic astrocytoma with common BRAF aberrations and neurofibromatosis type 1...
Gilberto Lopes, MD, MBA, of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, offers commentary on phase III findings from the RELAY study, which showed that erlotinib plus ramucirumab led to superior progression-free survival in previously untreated patients with EGFR...
An interim analysis of the international, randomized phase III ENZAMET trial found that 80% of men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer who received the nonsteroidal antiandrogen agent enzalutamide along with standard-of-care treatment were alive after 3 years, compared with 72% of men ...
Head and neck cancer specialist Cristina P. Rodriguez, MD, was born and reared in Manila, the capital and largest city in the Philippines. “I grew up on the campus of the University of the Philippines, as both my parents were professors. I am one of three girls, and there was quite a bit of stress ...
Internationally renowned breast cancer expert, Larry Norton, MD, FASCO, spent his formative years in a Long Island town that rubbed shoulders with the border of New York City. Making music was Dr. Norton’s first passion and a cheap subway ride landed him in Greenwich Village, the Holy Grail of the ...
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 and Tribute Award. The recipients of these awards have worked to transform cancer care around the world. Don’t miss the opportunity...
Former ASCO President Paul Bunn, Jr, MD, FASCO, was born at the New York Hospital, the second oldest hospital in New York City and the third oldest in the nation. He grew up in DeWitt, New York, an eastern suburb of Syracuse, and went through the public-school system graduating from...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Sharma et al, follow-up of the cohort receiving nivolumab at 1 mg/kg plus ipilimumab at 3 mg/kg the phase I/II CheckMate 032 trial showed the regimen produced high levels of activity in platinum-treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic ...
Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASCO, FASTRO, grew up in Washington, DC, and moved with her family to Philadelphia while in high school. She still considers the fast-paced DC–Philadelphia corridor her home, but her passion for a career in medicine, in part, took seed in a small town located in North...
James P. Allison, PhD, is Chair of Immunology and Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. In 2018, Dr. Allison received the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, with Tasuku Honjo, MD, PhD, for launching an effective...
In elementary school, Laurie H. Sehn, MD, MPH, dreamed of becoming a teacher. However, as she moved through high school, her passion for science blossomed, as did her desire to have an impact on people’s lives. “I began to seriously consider medicine because it provided the dual opportunity to...
Among the success stories in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children and young adults is the development of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. The field of cellular immunotherapy was still in its infancy in 2012 when Emily Whitehead, then 7, became the first...
Situated in the nucleus of the human cell is DNA, the secret of life discovered by the Nobel Prize laureates Drs. Watson and Crick. More recently, another scientist, Venki Ramakrishnan, PhD, won a Nobel Prize for his work in uncovering another secret within the human cell: the structure of the...
Pat A. Basu, MD, MBA, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of Cancer Treatment Centers of America Global, Inc., which includes the existing Comprehensive Cancer Care Network of Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) hospitals and outpatient care centers, as well as new...
A report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) based on data from more than 100 cancer registries in 68 countries shows that from 2001 to 2010, the occurrence of childhood cancer worldwide was 13% more common than in the 1980s.1 In addition, the report’s findings showcase stark...
The statistics are alarming: according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), about 70,000 adolescents and young adults (AYAs) are diagnosed with cancer each year1—a recent report by the University of California put that figure at 87,000.2 Although overall cancer survival rates continue to improve ...
External-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) is a standard treatment option for men with localized prostate cancer and confers long-term prostate cancer control outcomes equal to radical prostatectomy. Technologic advances in imaging and computing during the past 20 years have led to a number of...
The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Comprehensive Cancer Center has appointed Charles G. Mullighan, MBBS (Hons), MSc, MD, as its new Deputy Director. In this new position, Dr. Mullighan will help guide precision medicine and preclinical strategic research initiatives for the Center, which is...
On April 12, 2019, erdafitinib was granted accelerated approval for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma with susceptible fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) or FGFR2 genetic alterations, when the disease has progressed during or following platinum-containing...
In the phase III AUGMENT trial, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, John P. Leonard, MD, of Meyer Cancer Center, Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and colleagues found that the addition of lenalidomide to rituximab significantly prolonged progression-free survival...
Over the past year, in recognition of their research and dedication to treating patients with cancer, several physician-scientists from City of Hope received awards, fellowships, and honor society inductions. These recipients listed below are experts in a variety of cancers and treatments, ranging...
Posters presented at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) Annual Conference continue to grow in number and in quality. The ASCO Post presents a few that we found interesting at the recent 2019 meeting. Next-Generation Sequencing Not Always Helpful in Practice The value of...
In the phase III IMmotion151 trial reported in The Lancet, Rini et al found that atezolizumab plus bevacizumab prolonged progression-free survival vs sunitinib in patients with previously untreated, programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-positive, metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Study Details...
The work of nine researchers who have previously received funding from Conquer Cancer is featured in ASCO’s Clinical Cancer Advances 2019. Visit CONQUER.ORG/CCA for more details. In two separate trials, Conquer Cancer–supported investigators produced research results that improved treatment for...
Improve the care your practice provides by participating in ASCO’s wide array of quality improvement programs. ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) is an oncologist-led, practice-based quality assessment program designed to promote excellence in cancer care by helping practices...
ASCO and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) have released an update to existing guidelines for use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents to manage anemia in patients with cancer.1 “The current update aims to increase awareness of recent developments regarding the use of...
The discovery of trastuzumab has been revolutionary in the treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer, both in the metastatic and early-stage settings.1-6 This cannot be disputed. In the early-stage setting, the addition of trastuzumab to standard chemotherapy has led to a 50% gain in...
In the phase III KATHERINE trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine,1Gunter von Minckwitz, MD, of the German Breast Group, Neu-Isenburg, and colleagues found that adjuvant treatment with the antibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) improved invasive disease–free survival...
Results from a study published by Cykert et al in The Journal of the National Medical Association show that a pragmatic system-based intervention within cancer treatment centers can nearly eliminate existing disparities in treatment and outcomes for black patients with early-stage...
The 24th Annual Conference of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) was held this past March in Orlando, Florida. Updates to a number of Clinical Practice Guidelines (NCCN Guidelines®) were reported, including three relevant to the field of genitourinary oncology: kidney cancer,...
Efrat Dotan, MD, Associate Professor, Department of Hematology/Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, commented on this study. “This abstract presents the interim analysis of a phase II study evaluating the use of maintenance therapy with the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase PARP inhibitor...
The recently released ASCO Clinical Practice Provisional Clinical Opinion on Evaluating Susceptibility to Pancreatic Cancer highlights the importance of emerging data indicating a relatively high rate of germline mutations in pancreatic cancer.1 Recent studies have demonstrated that up to 1 in 10...
TWO RECENTLY reported phase III trials have shown the benefits of combination therapy vs sunitinib in the first-line treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Brian I. Rini, MD, of Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute, and colleagues,...
In 1996, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) published its first set of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®), covering eight tumor types. NCCN Guidelines are now published for more than 70 tumor types and topics. Some of the key updates for 2019 were presented...
This past year, I have traveled thousands of miles across the United States meeting with ASCO members and their patients, focusing on members who care for patients in particularly challenging settings. While I am not surprised by the extraordinary work our members are doing in every region of the...