ASCO is currently recruiting practices to participate in measures testing for a variety of efforts, including re-endorsing existing measures by the National Quality Forum (NQF). In addition to ensuring the highest level of quality care for individuals with cancer and advancing the specialty of...
On November 4, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule requiring COVID-19 vaccination of eligible staff at health-care facilities that participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)...
Among patients with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer treated with an aromatase inhibitor plus palbociclib, those who displayed a rising ESR1 mutation detected in their blood before disease progression doubled their median progression-free survival following a switch to fulvestrant plus...
Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan honored recipients of the 2021 King Hussein Award for Cancer Research during ceremony held on November 14 by the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF). The event was conducted under the patronage of Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al...
Lung health in adults has traditionally been defined as the absence of disease, but it may be time to rethink this paradigm, according to Ravi Kalhan, MD, MS, Director of the Northwestern Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of...
Recent advances in medical imaging have led to more accurate detection and management of early thoracic diseases such as lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cardiovascular disease—three of the top four leading causes of death in the United States. Unfortunately, if not...
“It’s becoming more and more clear that increasing the cytotoxic effect of treatment and expecting to get a better outcome is an approach of the past,” said Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP, the Lynne and Howard Halpern Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research, Professor and Vice Chair ofHematology and...
In the treatment of patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma, neither cancer outcomes nor measurable quality of life have yet been shown to differ between surgery- and radiotherapy-based approaches, according to Sue S. Yom, MD, PhD, FASTRO, Professor of ...
The management of recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck cancer is complex. Historically, patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck with local or regional recurrence were considered for salvage surgery or reirradiation (in high-volume centers or centers of expertise), with an...
The 2021 Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University Symposium: Updates in the Management of Head and Neck Cancer explored current paradigms for the multidisciplinary treatment of head and neck cancer.1 Moderated by Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP, the Lynne and Howard Halpern Chair in Head and Neck...
Guest Editor’s Note: With the easing of some COVID-19 restrictions, the Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) held its 2021 international conference in a hybrid format. It focused on the science of living well with cancer, challenges in designing integrative oncology research, and the role of...
Advances intreating breast cancer “increasingly create opportunities to consider where radiation therapy might safely be omitted,” Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, told participants at the 2021 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.1 “But, I would encourage us,” she continued, “not to assume that women who...
Although enormous progress over the past 50 years in every aspect of cancer care, including prevention, screening, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, surgery, radiation therapy, and supportive care, has resulted in increases in lives saved—from 3 million in 1971 to 16.9 million in 2019—the burden of...
A next-generation technology that allows the study of protein expression at the single-cell level and the location of the cells within the tumor microenvironment was feasible and provided information on the benefit of adding the immune checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab to chemotherapy as...
The use of multigene sequencing and SNP array as a therapeutic decision tool improved the outcomes of patients with metastatic breast cancer if the patients carried alterations classified in the I/II tiers of the ESMO Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets (ESCAT), according to...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gibson et al identified significant associations of donor clonal hematopoiesis with outcomes in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT). As stated by the investigators, “Clonal hematopoiesis can be...
Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized the treatment of metastatic melanoma, but a significant number of patients still fail to respond to anti–PD-1 therapy. The novel combination of sotigalimab, an anti-CD40 monoclonal antibody, and the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab could help address this...
A novel vaccine platform administered in combination with pembrolizumab appears to be safe and effective in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), according to data presented by Mark Yarchoan, MD, and colleagues at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2021 Annual Meeting...
In a study reported in JAMA Network Open, Montminy et al found that the incidence of colorectal adenocarcinoma in people aged 40 to 49 years in the United States has increased in White individuals and remained stable in Black individuals between 2000 and 2017, with incidence rates being equivalent...
Advances in treating breast cancer “increasingly create opportunities to consider where radiation therapy might safely be omitted,” Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, told participants at the 2021 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.1 “But, I would encourage us,” she continued, “not to assume that women who...
Invited discussant of the phase III DREAMseq trial, Keith T. Flaherty, MD, said the findings still leave room for nuanced decision-making.1 Dr. Flaherty is Professor of Medicine at Harvard and Director of the Henri and Belinda Termeer Center for Targeted Therapy at the Massachusetts General...
Significant decreases in computed tomography (CT) imaging for cancer persisted even after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020—delaying diagnosis and treatment and raising the possibility of more advanced cancers and poorer outcomes for patients, according to a study presented at the...
The invited discussant of monarchE,1 Aditya Bardia, MD, MPH, Director, Breast Cancer Research, and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, commented: “Based on a hazard ratio of 0.69 for invasive disease–free survival, the results are statistically significant and clinically...
Longer-term follow-up of the global phase III monarchE trial showed an increasing benefit for adding abemaciclib to endocrine therapy in the adjuvant treatment of early high-risk hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, regardless of Ki67 index. The latest findings were reported at a ...
New research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that treatment with antihistamines was associated with improved responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors. The preclinical study, published by Li et al in Cancer Cell, demonstrated that the histamine receptor H1 (HRH1) acts...
A diagnosis of prostate cancer may translate to approximately a 30% increase in the incidence of depression and anxiety, a fourfold higher risk of heart attack, and a twofold higher risk of suicide. A study published by Kaushik et al in Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases aimed to evaluate the...
On November 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pafolacianine (Cytalux), a targeted fluorescent imaging agent intended to assist surgeons in identifying ovarian cancer lesions. The drug, which is indicated for use in adult patients with ovarian cancer and is administered in the ...
Moles and melanomas both originate from the same type of cell—melanocytes. A study published by McNeal et al in eLife Magazine aimed to explain how common moles and melanomas form and why moles can subsequently change into melanoma. Melanocytes are cells that give color to the skin to protect it...
In a prospective cohort study (CEASAR) reported in JAMA Oncology, Wallis et al found that patient expectations of treatment efficacy and adverse effects were associated with treatment-related regret at 5 years after diagnosis in men with localized prostate cancer. As stated by the investigators,...
On November 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the antiviral maribavir (Livtencity) for adult and pediatric patients aged 12 years and older (and weighing at least 35 kg) with posttransplant cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection or disease that is not responsive (with or without...
In a single-institution study reported in Cancer, Bei Hu, MD, of the Department of Hematologic Oncology and Blood Disorders, Levine Cancer Institute/Atrium Health in Charlotte, and colleagues found that use of a dedicated nurse navigation program contributed to redressing the recognized inequities...
The American Cancer Society (ACS) and Flatiron Health recently presented the 2021 Real-World Data Impact Awards, which will support research into health disparities among patients with advanced pancreatic and breast cancers. This year marks the third year of the joint grant-making program, under...
In this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with Masakazu Toi, MD, PhD, a clinical breast cancer expert who is keen on research that translates basic science into clinical study. He is involved in various innovative research projects on the development ...
Tools that make it easier for patients to access care and for their physicians to monitor their health status have also emerged with the advent of digital resources. In the closing panel of the NCCN Policy Summit, participants described tools developed by their own organizations to improve quality...
Artificial intelligence, digital therapeutics, telehealth, biometric monitoring: the terms alone are enough to suggest that cancer care is entering a new age, one characterized by tools and practices based on technologic innovation. To explore the impact of these new tools, the National...
National surveys consistently show that spirituality and religion are important components in the lives of most Americans, with more than 90% of adults expressing a belief in God and more than 70% identifying religion as one of the most important influences in their lives.1 Studies also show that...
On November 2, 2021, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Quality Payment Program (QPP) final rule. Although ASCO will analyze the rule in greater detail in the coming days, initial highlights from the rule are outlined...
ASCO has compiled a number of resources to help people with cancer navigate COVID-19. Coronavirus and COVID-19: What People With Cancer Need to Know Cases of COVID-19 have arisen all over the world. Here’s what people with cancer and cancer survivors need to know about the disease. Available at...
Estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer is the most common type of breast cancer, diagnosed in more than 2.3 million women around the world each year, including more than 200,000 in the United States alone. Adjuvant endocrine therapy is a mainstay of treatment for these millions of women and is a...
Although cancer in adolescents and young adults (AYAs), defined by the National Cancer Institute as those between the ages of 15 and 39, is relatively rare—in 2020 nearly 90,000 AYAs were diagnosed with cancer and about 9,300 died of the disease1—and 5-year relative survival rates are high, between ...
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Rare Cancer Research Foundation have launched a collaboration designed to accelerate the development of new treatments for rare cancers by empowering all patients in the United States to contribute tumor samples directly to MD Anderson for...
“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” —Mark Twain To complement The ASCO Post’s extensive coverage of the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on novel treatments under study in high-risk multiple myeloma. For...
Inhibition of the androgen receptor pathway (AR) with novel hormonal therapies such as abiraterone acetate has greatly improved outcomes for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in recent years. However, through numerous mechanisms, tumors ultimately develop resistance...
During an International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) press briefing, Paul Wheatley-Price, MRCP, commented as the patient advocate on the panel. Dr. Wheatley-Price is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, lung cancer disease site lead at Ottawa Hospital...
Invited study discussant of the DESTINY-Lung01 trial, Daniel Shao Weng Tan, BSc, MD, PhD, of the National Cancer Center, Singapore, commented: “The trial clearly showed that T-DXd [fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan--nxki] is active in HER2-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The median...
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an estimated 19.3 million new cancer cases occurred worldwide in 2020, resulting in almost 10 million deaths. The IARC projects a 50% rise in global cancer incidence and mortality by 2040. To help control this looming crisis,...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to a gene therapy for patients with β-thalassemia, and Fast Track designation to a SETD2 inhibitor for patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Priority Review: Betibeglogene Autotemcel for...
Newly identified genetic abnormalities in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), as well as therapies that can target some of those abnormalities, are now available as the landscape for treatment continues to evolve. During the 2021 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Congress: Hematologic...
During its virtual Annual Meeting 2021 held on November 9 and 10, Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) urged all stakeholders in the cancer community to work together to optimize dosing in oncology drug development to maximize benefit for patients and reduce treatment toxicity, and to abandon the...
At a press conference at the 2021 ASTRO Annual Meeting, Steven J. Chmura, MD, PhD, Professor of Radiation Oncology and Scientific Director of the Cancer Clinical Trials Office, University of Chicago, commented on the CURB study results. “Most trials of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT)...