The use of postoperative circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in stage II colon cancer spared many patients the need for adjuvant chemotherapy without compromising recurrence-free survival, according to the phase II DYNAMIC study.1 “The strategy of using ctDNA results to inform treatment almost halved...
“Everybody knows that pestilences have a way of recurring in the world; yet somehow, we find it hard to believe in ones that crash down on our heads from a blue sky. There have been as many plagues as wars in history; yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise.” —Albert Camus, The...
High-dose ifosfamide extended event-free and overall survival in patients with recurrent or primary refractory Ewing sarcoma compared with other commonly used chemotherapy regimens, according to the results of a randomized trial reported at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting by lead author Martin...
In a Spanish single-institution study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Pérez‑Larraya et al found that intratumoral infusion of the oncolytic adenovirus DNX-2401 followed by radiotherapy showed activity in newly diagnosed pediatric patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma...
A new treatment option has doubled overall survival for a difficult-to-treat subset of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to data presented during the Presidential Symposium at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2022 Congress in Vienna.1 Findings from the phase III...
In patients with RAS/BRAF wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer, FOLFIRI (fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan) plus panitumumab can be given intermittently rather than continuously, without compromising outcomes, according to the results of the IMPROVE study presented at the 2022 ASCO Annual...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Jens Huober, MD, and colleagues, the phase III IMpassion050 trial showed no significant improvement in pathologic complete response rate with the addition of atezolizumab to neoadjuvant pertuzumab/trastuzumab and chemotherapy in patients with...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Arbyn et al found that the performance of a high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) mRNA test in screening for cervical cancer was similar to that of validated hrHPV DNA tests in detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia ...
New drugs for HER2-positive breast cancer are able to overcome some of the obstacles that have made brain metastases challenging to treat, according to Mark Pegram, MD, the Susy Yuan-Huey Hung Professor of Oncology at Stanford University School of Medicine in California, who described the promising ...
New research published by Larkin et al in the journal Blood Advances has found that Black adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were five times more likely than comparable White patients to die within 30 days of beginning treatment—and were twice as likely to...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Neal D. Shore, MD, FACS, and colleagues, the phase II ENACT trial has shown a reduced risk of disease progression with the addition of enzalutamide to active surveillance in patients with low- or intermediate-risk localized prostate cancer. Study Details In the...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Copeland et al, the phase III Gynecologic Oncology Group 0212/NRG Oncology study has shown no improvement in overall survival with maintenance paclitaxel or paclitaxel poliglumex vs surveillance in patients with advanced ovarian, tubal, or...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Jonathan E. Rosenberg, MD, and colleagues, the phase II BAYOU trial has shown no improvement in progression-free survival with the addition of the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib to the anti–PD-L1 agent durvalumab in...
The all-oral combination of dabrafenib plus trametinib—two targeted therapies—significantly improved the overall response rate vs standard-of-care chemotherapy with carboplatin plus vincristine in pediatric patients with BRAF V600 mutation–positive low-grade gliomas. The clinical benefit rate...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Stein et al, the German phase II INTEGA trial showed improved survival with the addition of modified FOLFOX6 (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin) vs the addition of ipilimumab to trastuzumab/nivolumab in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced or...
As reported in The Lancet by Manali Kamdar, MD, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase III TRANSFORM trial has shown significantly improved event-free survival with second-line lisocabtagene maraleucel vs standard-of-care salvage immunochemotherapy followed by autologous hematopoietic...
The invited discussant of PARADIGM, Chiara Cremolini, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Oncology at the University of Pisa, Italy, said the findings prospectively confirm the superior benefit of FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin) paired with panitumumab rather than bevacizumab in RAS...
The preferred targeted therapy for left-sided RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer, in combination with standard chemotherapy, is panitumumab, not bevacizumab, based on a head-to-head comparison in the phase III PARADIGM trial. Panitumumab plus chemotherapy yielded the longest overall...
In a prospective single-institution study reported in JAMA Oncology, Giacomo Montagna, MD, MPH, and colleagues found that the risk for breast cancer–related lymphedema after axillary lymph node dissection was increased in Black and Hispanic patients, those who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that results from the phase III DUO clinical trial show a possible increased risk of death with duvelisib compared to ofatumumab among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). The trial also found...
In a Dutch study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Klatte et al provided findings from a 20-year follow-up of a pancreatic cancer surveillance program including carriers of germline CDKN2A pathogenic variants. Study Details The study included 347 carriers in the Netherlands who...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Merli et al, the Fondazione Italiana Linfomi phase II BArT study has shown that primary treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated indolent non-Hodgkin lymphomas with direct-acting antivirals resulted in sustained virologic response in all...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Howell et al, the phase II FAKTION trial has shown improved overall survival with the addition of the AKT inhibitor capivasertib to fulvestrant in patients with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer who experienced disease relapse or...
Maintenance therapy with the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib led to a significant improvement in progression-free survival compared with placebo in patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer who responded to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. The...
Ben Creelan, MD, Associate Member of Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, provided some context for the CHRYSALIS study. “This dual bispecific antibody targeting both EGFR and MET clearly has potent single-agent activity in patients with MET exon 14 skipping NSCLC,” he said. “For now, it is not...
Dual targeting with the bispecific antibody amivantamab-vmjw showed antitumor activity and tolerability in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and MET exon 14 skipping mutations, according to results of the ongoing phase I CHRYSALIS study.1,2 Updated results were presented...
In the German phase II PETRARCA trial of the AIO EGA Study Group, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hofheinz et al found that the addition of trastuzumab and pertuzumab to perioperative FLOT (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, and docetaxel) improved both the pathologic complete...
In a phase IIb study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ehdaie et al found that focal ablation with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided focused ultrasound successfully treated a high proportion of patients with grade group 2 or 3 prostate cancer. As stated by the investigators, “Men with grade...
The national advocacy group Children’s Cancer Cause, which plays a leadership role in advocacy and training on national issues affecting childhood cancer, has established an annual $10,000 award, the Survivorship Champion’s Prize, to be presented to a group, program, or institution making...
A new report led by researchers at the American Cancer Society (ACS) in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) shows more than 18 million Americans (8.3 million males and 9.7 million females) with a history of cancer were living in the United States as of January 1, 2022, with a...
Invited discussant of the DETERMINATION trial, Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, Professor of Applied Cancer Research and Drug Discovery at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, City of Hope Cancer Center, described the many implications of the important findings for DETERMINATION and offered some ...
In the phase III DETERMINATION trial, progression-free survival was significantly improved with triplet induction therapy and early transplantation in newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma, but overall survival at 5 years was similar to the nontransplant approach.1 The findings were...
On June 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy lisocabtagene maraleucel (Breyanzi) for adult patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) who have disease refractory to first-line chemoimmunotherapy or relapse within 12 months of...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Garcés et al found that increasing levels of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) at diagnosis were associated with poorer outcomes in newly diagnosed patients with transplant-eligible multiple myeloma, and that inclusion of CTCs in a risk model...
Hearing the words “You have cancer” is a devastating blow, especially when the biggest health issues you’ve had to contend with over more than 6 decades are common colds and knee and hip replacements. But in 2017, the symptoms I thought were from a lingering summer cold drove me to seek medical...
On May 27, 2022, nivolumab was approved for use in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-based chemotherapy and in combination with ipilimumab for the first-line treatment of advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on...
Radiation therapy has long been one of the three pillars of cancer therapy—surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy—only recently joined by what is widely considered a fourth pillar, immunotherapy. In part 1 of this two-part report, we trace the beginnings of radiation oncology in the United...
In March 2022, Kristeleit et al reported the results of the ARIEL4 trial1 of rucaparib in relapsed BRCA-mutant ovarian cancer in The Lancet Oncology (summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post) and are to be congratulated on this accomplishment. This report, along with the almost simultaneous...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Rebecca Kristeleit, MD, of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and colleagues, the phase III ARIEL4 trial has shown a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival with rucaparib vs chemotherapy in relapsed ovarian cancer with...
In Ukraine, with a population of about 44 million, there are more than 1.3 million patients with cancer. Approximately 160,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year.1 In almost every region, there are local cancer centers; specialized oncologic centers are located in large cities. In Kyiv,...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Robert J. Motzer, MD, and colleagues, the protocol-defined final overall survival analysis of the phase III CheckMate 9ER trial showed a significant benefit with nivolumab/cabozantinib vs sunitinib in previously untreated patients with advanced renal cell...
In a single-institution phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tapan M. Kadia, MD, and colleagues found that venetoclax and a lower-intensity backbone of cladribine and low-dose cytarabine alternating with azacitidine and venetoclax resulted in a high response rate in older...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Dbouk et al, in the multicenter Cancer of Pancreas Screening-5 (CAPS5) study and in the total CAPS cohort (CAPS1–5 studies), cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma among enrolled high-risk individuals that were screen-detected during...
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) now stands as the largest single public funder of biomedical research in the world.1 The FY2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2471), signed into law in March, increases biomedical research funding by nearly 5%, and it provides a total of $45 billion...
Recently, a new ASCO study,1 published in JCO Oncology Practice, found that among respondents participating in the survey, most oncology practices do not systematically collect data related to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). The study points to the need to increase understanding...
Investigators at the American Cancer Society presented results of several studies during poster sessions at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting. Summaries of a few of these studies are provided here. COVID-19 and Cancer Mortality According to a new study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society,...
Thomas Seufferlein, MD, Professor of Medicine at Ulm University Hospital in Germany, found the data from the NOTABLE trial1 encouraging and “clinically interesting.” However, he suggested the study’s design did not allow the EGFR inhibitor to be optimally tested. The NOTABLE trial is based on a...
In patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer and KRAS wild-type tumors, novel treatment with the monoclonal antibody nimotuzumab, which targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), plus gemcitabine significantly improved overall survival and other outcomes over...
For advanced breast cancer that is hormone receptor–positive and HER2-negative, sacituzumab govitecan-hziy significantly reduced the risk of disease progression by 34% over physician’s choice of treatment, based on the results of the phase III TROPiCS-02 trial.1 The heavily pretreated patients in...
The study’s invited discussant was Kimmie Ng, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Co-Director of the Colon and Rectal Cancer Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston. “Neoadjuvant dostarlimab-gxly for 6 months represents a promising new treatment for...