The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) has announced that Winette van der Graaf, MD, PhD, will be EORTC President-Elect 2021–2024. Bertrand Tombal, MD, PhD, will remain EORTC President until March 11, 2022, when the EORTC celebrates its 60th anniversary. Dr. van...
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women around the world, making it a significant public health problem.1 The disease affects both men and women, although it is rare in men, accounting for just 1% of all breast cancer diagnoses in the United States and less than 0.1% of...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to an agent for the prevention of acute graft-vs-host disease; Breakthrough Therapy designation to an anti–PD-1 monoclonal antibody for the treatment of metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma; and Fast Track designation to a ...
A new study from the American Cancer Society published by Xuesong Han, PhD, and colleagues in the journal Cancer has found a link between obesity and the substantial economic burden of nearly $20 billion in 2016 among long-term cancer survivors in the United States, with one-third attributable to...
On August 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and will now be marketed as Comirnaty, for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals aged 16 years and older. The vaccine also...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reminding patients and health-care providers that the safety and effectiveness of robotically assisted surgical devices for use in mastectomy procedures or in the prevention or treatment of breast cancer have not been established. In addition, the FDA...
On August 19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the anti–PD-1 therapy nivolumab (Opdivo) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with urothelial carcinoma who are at high risk of disease recurrence after undergoing radical resection. This is the first FDA approval for adjuvant...
A team of researchers studied the relationship between benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer in 405 men by quantitatively looking at different parts of the prostate tissue on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Findings from their analysis were published by Nandalur et al in the...
In an international, multicenter study, researchers evaluated the impact of prior and concurrent antibiotic exposure in a cohort of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with first-line chemoimmunotherapy combinations. In contrast to what has been reported in patients...
In a study published by Magnum et al in JAMA Oncology, researchers reported on how two separate DNA changes appear to predict aggressive childhood leukemias when they occur in combination. The team evaluated tumor characteristics of more than 1,300 pediatric patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic ...
Prediction models based on clinical characteristics and imaging findings may help reduce the false-positive rate in women with dense breasts who undergo supplemental breast cancer screening with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), according to a study published by den Dekker et al in the journal...
Consuming higher amounts of vitamin D—mainly from dietary sources—may help protect against developing young-onset colorectal cancer or precancerous colon polyps, according to the first study to show such an association. These findings were published by Kim et al in the journal Gastroenterology. The ...
In a study published by Do et al in the journal Cancer, researchers analyzed data from nearly 20,000 people over a span of 4 years. They found that reports of cannabis use peaked at 9% for those with a cancer history, compared to 14% among people with no cancer history. “Even when we looked at...
Too many “exhausted” T cells left in the wake of aggressive chemotherapy regimens for patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) make it more challenging for chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy to do its job. Now, a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of...
On August 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to dostarlimab-gxly (Jemperli), an anti–PD-1 antibody, for adult patients with mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) recurrent or advanced solid tumors, as determined by an FDA-approved test, who have had disease...
Researchers have determined how a highly aggressive type of breast cancer may evade treatment with the compound sacituzumab govitecan-hziy, according to findings published by Coates et al in Cancer Discovery. Their results could help improve therapy and ultimately prolong survival for patients with ...
In a small study of 16 patients with angiosarcoma published by Michael Wagner, MD, and colleagues in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 4 patients experienced a partial or complete response to treatment with a combination of the immunotherapies ipilimumab and nivolumab, and another 2 patients ...
Nina Shah, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, discusses triplet drug combinations that are the current standard of care for transplant-eligible and -ineligible patients with multiple myeloma, as well as quadruplet therapies that demonstrate depth of response in newly diagnosed...
Steven M. Horwitz, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses treatments for advanced mycosis fungoides and Sezary syndrome, including brentuximab vedotin and mogamulizumab, and how best to choose among treatments.
James O. Armitage, MD, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, discusses various treatment regimens for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, including BEACOPP, brentuximab vedotin, ABVD, A-AVD, nivolumab, and pembrolizumab—and the factors to consider when choosing among them.
Sonali M. Smith, MD, of the University of Chicago, discusses the many uncertainties in preventing secondary high-grade B-cell lymphomas, which have a poor prognosis; how to discern the patients at highest risk; and whether prophylaxis with monoclonal antibodies such as rituximab can mitigate the...
Stephen M. Ansell, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, and Bruce D. Cheson, MD, of the Lymphoma Research Foundation, engage in a lively debate about CAR T-cell therapy, how it fits in with immunotherapy and nonchemotherapy approaches, and how to decide which treatment is right for which patient,...
Alison J. Moskowitz, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the combination ABVD (doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine), individualized approaches for treating patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, and novel methods for risk stratification.
Alexey V. Danilov, MD, PhD, of City of Hope, discusses the uses and side effects of cellular and immune therapies, including venetoclax and obinutuzumab, which may prove to be effective in treating highly resistant lymphoid malignancies such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Although poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors interfere with DNA repair processes, leading to warnings in terms of risk for developing second primary malignancies, findings from a systematic review and safety meta-analysis of placebo-controlled randomized studies are reassuring for...
A simple, wearable temperature sensor was able to detect dangerous complications in hospitalized patients with cancer hours earlier than routine monitoring. The device, which takes readings every 2 minutes and wirelessly transmits them to the cloud, was able to quickly detect adverse events that...
On August 13, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved belzutifan (Welireg), a hypoxia-inducible factor inhibitor, for adult patients with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease who require therapy for associated renal cell carcinoma (RCC), central nervous system (CNS) hemangioblastomas, or...
Jonathan W. Friedberg, MD, of the University of Rochester Medical Center, discusses treatment options for follicular lymphoma, focusing on the combination of lenalidomide and rituximab and why he uses that regimen for first relapse but not front-line therapy.
Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the role of minimal residual disease evaluation in the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, techniques used to predict relapse such as immunosequencing and CAPP-Sequencing, and whether such assays could replace the use...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted applications for agents aiming to treat non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), differentiated thyroid cancer, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), hypersensitive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), mucosal melanoma, and endometrial carcinoma....
S. Vincent Rajkumar, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, talks about how, in light of the fact that multiple myeloma has been turned into a chronic disease for many people, what it means to “cure” patients; the difference between curable and cured in multiple myeloma; and key studies he is involved in that...
Regular muscle-strengthening exercises associated with aerobic activities can reduce cancer mortality, according to a systematic review of epidemiologic studies published by Nascimento et al in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. Workouts with activities like...
On August 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the combination of lenvatinib (Lenvima) plus pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). CLEAR Trial The efficacy of this combination was investigated in CLEAR...
Jared E. Matya, PharmD, BCOP, of Nebraska Medicine, discusses oral agents and their toxicity profiles, as well as newer-generation agents that are often more selective and better tolerated. He describes how toxicity monitoring and management help to ensure patients with cancer remain on treatment.
David S. Kroll, MD, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, discusses the symptoms of distress in patients with lymphoma and other oncologic malignancies, risk factors for poor outcomes, and how best to approach the management of depression and anxiety in this population.
Peihua Lu, MD, of Lu Daopei Hospital, discusses the state of research in China on CAR T-cell therapy, placing it in the context of the global development pipeline and the progress being made.
A recent study examined patient-reported outcomes and risk-management behaviors of women choosing to receive or decline their breast cancer polygenic risk scores (PRS). The findings were published by Tatiane Yanes, PhD, and colleagues in Genetics in Medicine. The research aimed to look at how the...
Adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with cancer have not seen the same improvements in survival over the years as their pediatric and older adult counterparts. Some evidence has suggested that this may in part be a result of low AYA participation in clinical trials, limiting advances in...
A multicenter cohort study found that incomplete polyp removal—polyp removal where neoplastic tissue is found in any of the marginal biopsies—is a likely contributor to neoplasia recurrence and interval colorectal cancer. The results highlight the critical importance of polyp resection technique in ...
Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, FAACR, will receive the William L. McGuire Memorial Lecture Award at the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), to be held December 7–10. The McGuire Award was established in 1992 to commemorate the significant contributions to breast oncology by Dr. McGuire...
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch), University of Washington (UW) Medicine, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA), and Seattle Children’s have announced plans to explore restructuring their longtime relationship to accelerate a shared mission of advancing diagnosis, treatment, and...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) and the NCCN Foundation® have announced six new recipients for the 2021 NCCN Foundation Young Investigator Awards Program. The honorees will receive up to $150,000 in funding in the course of 2 years to advance research on important issues in...
A study published by Wang et al in the journal Carcinogenesis has identified new factors accompanying previous findings that frequent consumption of peanuts by patients with cancer could increase the risk of metastasis. Relationship Examined The results show that peanut agglutinin—a...
A research team examined gaps and disparities in lifelong follow-up among childhood cancer survivors, including taking a closer look at long-term follow-up care plans, specifically for underserved populations. Their study showed that age and ethnic background are associated with inadequate...
About one in four patients with blood cancer fail to produce detectable antibodies after COVID-19 vaccination, but results vary substantially by type of blood cancer, according to a study by Greenberger et al published in the journal Cancer Cell. Although earlier studies have shown that certain...
A record number of radiation oncologists met with Congressional leaders and staff in July as part of the largest American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Advocacy Day in the Society’s history, according to a news release from ASTRO. The physicians urged Congressional leaders to intervene in...
The American Medical Association (AMA) and the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine recently announced the selection of 12 physicians as the inaugural group of fellows for the Medical Justice in Advocacy Fellowship. This new collaborative initiative is intended to ...
Robert Winn, MD, Director of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Massey Cancer Center, has been elected by the members of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) to serve as Vice President/President-Elect of AACI’s Board of Directors. Dr. Winn’s new position is effective...
The Rutgers School of Public Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey have welcomed nationally recognized biostatistician Hao Liu, PhD. Dr. Liu will serve as Professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at Rutgers School of Public Health, Director of the Biostatistics...
Robotic prostate surgery pioneer Mani Menon, MD, is joining Mount Sinai and will serve as Chief of Strategy and Innovation in the Department of Urology for the Mount Sinai Health System. He will also serve as Professor of Urology, Director of Education, and Director of the Precision Prostatectomy...