To complement The ASCO Post’s comprehensive coverage of the 2019 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on novel therapeutic regimens including the monoclonal antibody daratumumab in combination ...
A new study suggests step counters could play a role in predicting outcomes for people undergoing chemoradiation therapy for lung cancer. These findings were published by Ohri et al in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics. “I consider step counts to be a new vital...
The phase III JAVELIN Bladder 100 trial met its primary endpoint of overall survival at the planned interim analysis. In this study, patients with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma whose disease did not progress on induction chemotherapy and who were randomly...
Amid the epidemic levels of youth use of e-cigarettes and the popularity of certain products among children, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a policy prioritizing enforcement against certain unauthorized flavored e-cigarette products that appeal to children, including fruit...
Colorectal cancer screening rates more than doubled among people aged 45 to 49 in the months after the release of updated American Cancer Society guidelines in 2018 recommending screening in that age group, according to a new study. According to the findings from Fedewa et al—published in...
Nearly all cancer-related pain can be successfully managed. Give your patients the ASCO Answers Managing Cancer-Related Pain booklet, which explains the importance of pain relief, including its causes; how it is diagnosed; types of pain relief strategies; and a tracking sheet to help patients...
Emily Johnston, MD, MS, thinks about death a lot. “I wish we would stop saying people ‘lost a battle’ with cancer when someone dies,” she said. Dr. Johnston specializes in pediatric oncology at Children’s of Alabama hospital. Conquering cancer, she believes, doesn’t simply mean surviving it—it...
Researchers from around the country joined together for learning and collaboration at the 2019 ASCO Research Community Forum (RCF) Annual Meeting in September. During the meeting, Aisha Peterson Johnson, MD, MPH, MBA, of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Compliance, delivered a...
Women Who Conquer Cancer (WWCC) is a groundbreaking program that is committed to supporting early-career women researchers by funding research grants through Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation. Since its inception 6 years ago, the program has raised over $4 million, funded 21 Young Investigator...
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule for the 2020 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS) and other changes to Medicare Part B reimbursement policies, including proposals related to the Quality Payment Program (QPP). The estimated impact of the final MPFS...
Medical oncologists in Brazil are being encouraged to take advantage of a new measure set for assessing the quality of care they provide to patients with lung cancer. Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent and deadly types of cancer in Brazil.1 Providing a platform for health-care providers to...
Multiple myeloma is a malignancy characterized by clonal proliferation of terminally differentiated plasma cells within the bone marrow. Although it leads to a host of different issues within the body, overall survival has steadily improved in recent years. “This is largely because of better...
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) recently announced a collaboration to expand access to LLS’s free service that provides clinical trials navigation and support to patients with hematologic malignancies and their families. With approximately 5%...
In a statement from Gustave Roussy on December 16, 2019, the following news was released: “By an order, the Minister of Health and Solidarity, Madame Agnès Buzyn, appointed Professor Jean-Charles Soria as General Director of Gustave Roussy for a term of 5 years. He will assume his responsibilities...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Reviews for treatments in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), non–muscle invasive bladder cancer, and BRAF V600E–mutant colorectal cancer. The Agency also recently issued multiple Breakthrough Therapy designations and ...
“Squamous cell carcinoma of the anus incidence has increased dramatically in elderly women and young black men,” according to a study of recent trends in incidence and mortality. “Advanced-stage [anal squamous cell carcinoma] incidence tripled with a prominent rise in … mortality,” researchers...
Only one in five people (22%) disagrees with the statement “generally, patients with lung cancer have caused their illness through their lifestyle choices and behaviors,” according to a global, omnibus survey conducted by Ipsos MORI and sponsored by the Lung Ambition Alliance. The results were...
The American Cancer Society (ACS) and Flatiron Health has announced the launch of the American Cancer Society & Flatiron Health Real-World Data Impact Award. This joint grant-making program supports both organizations’ goals of accelerating cancer research and improving treatment and care...
Late in 2018, the FLT3 inhibitor gilteritinib was approved for the treatment of adult patients who have relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a FLT3 mutation, as detected by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved test.1,2 The FDA also approved an expanded indication...
In early 2019, pembrolizumab was approved for the adjuvant treatment of patients with melanoma with involvement of lymph node(s) following complete resection.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the double-blind EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier...
The Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance (MBCA), the largest coalition of nonprofit breast cancer organizations, pharmaceutical/biotech companies, and patient advocates in the United States, recently announced the release of MBC Connect 2.0. MBC Connect is an interactive, Web- and mobile-friendly...
Among the highlights at the 2019 Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium in October was the keynote address by Thomas J. Smith, MD, FACP, FASCO, FAAHPM, the Harry J. Duffey Family Professor of Palliative Medicine and Director of Palliative Medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine and Professor of Oncology ...
Due to the rarity of advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, staying current with the latest information on diagnosing, treating, and supporting patients with this diagnosis can be challenging for clinicians who do not often encounter it in practice. To support the multi-disciplinary cancer...
Golden Valley Memorial Healthcare, a leading rural health-care organization, is proud to announce its new cancer center and partnership with Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute at HCA Midwest Health, a leader in world-class cancer care, and HCA Midwest Health, Kansas City’s largest health network and...
On November 21, 2019, the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor acalabrutinib was approved for the treatment of adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).1,2 The review resulting in approval was conducted under Project Orbis, an initiative of the U.S....
As in the previous 2 years, the results from ASCO’s 2019 Cancer Opinion Survey revealed some startling answers about the public’s understanding of cancer, its risk factors, and strategies to prevent the disease. Although a majority of Americans (57%) said they were concerned about developing...
Giving an effective scientific presentation, like all public speaking, is an acquired skill that takes practice to perfect. When delivered successfully, an oral presentation can be an invaluable opportunity to showcase your latest research results among your colleagues and peers. It can also...
Sherene Loi, MD, of Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia, said that the BROCADE3 trial was positive because it met its primary endpoint. However, she expressed some reservations about adopting this combination as a new standard for HER2-negative BRCA-mutated advanced breast cancer....
Glioblastoma multiforme, colorectal cancer, and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma represent some of the most difficult-to-treat cancers and collectively cause more than 114,000 deaths each year in the United States. A trio of recently published basic research studies in these cancers have found...
Although gene mutations are the primary drivers of carcinogenesis, an array of complex and tumor-specific molecular interaction networks determine cancer cell behavior. To learn more about this line of inquiry, The ASCO Post recently spoke with Andrea Califano, Dr., Professor of Chemical Biology...
ASCO membership has elected Everett E. Vokes, MD, FASCO, a long-time member and volunteer, to serve as its President for the 2021–2022 term. He will take office as President-Elect during the ASCO Annual Meeting in June 2020. Six new members were also elected to the ASCO Board of Directors and...
First-line treatment with the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab was safe and provided encouraging overall survival results in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as well as in patients with NSCLC traditionally not eligible for clinical trials—such as those who had...
A large meta-analysis of patients with breast cancer showed that residual cancer burden after neoadjuvant chemotherapy is an accurate long-term predictor of recurrence and survival across all breast cancer subtypes, according to data presented by Yau et al at the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer...
On December 12, the United States Senate voted 72–18 to confirm Stephen Hahn, MD, as Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A radiation oncologist, Dr. Hahn was previously the Chief Medical Executive and Gilbert H. Fletcher Distinguished Memorial Chair and Professor of...
Data from the 6-year analysis of the APHINITY trial showed that adding pertuzumab to the previous standard treatment of trastuzumab plus chemotherapy after surgery continued to reduce the risk of recurrence and death in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer, according to findings...
A 10-year follow-up study of patients with breast cancer who had been treated with accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) after surgery showed that their rates of disease recurrence were similar to those of patients who had received whole-breast irradiation (WBI), according to data presented ...
The addition of tucatinib to capecitabine and trastuzumab significantly improved progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer, with or without brain metastasis. These findings—from the HER2CLIMB study—were presented by Murthy et al at the 2019 ...
Blinatumomab improved survival in children with relapsed B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) compared with standard chemotherapy, accordings to findings from a study presented by Brown et al at the 2019 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition (Abstract LBA-1)....
In the spring of 2005, I was launching a new career as a sales consultant for a startup graphics company and wanted to cross off a few essential things on my to-do list, including getting my annual mammogram and physical, before I started my new job. Although I was surprised when I got a call from ...
Patients with cancer who report on their own quality of life can provide information important in predicting the outcome of their disease, according to researchers from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). Until recently, reports from clinicians on issues such as...
On November 14, 2019, the oral Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor zanubrutinib was granted accelerated approval in the treatment of adult patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who have received at least one prior therapy.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data The approval was based on findings from...
Only one in five people (22%) disagrees with the statement “generally, patients with lung cancer have caused their illness through their lifestyle choices and behaviors,” according to a global, omnibus survey conducted by Ipsos MORI and sponsored by the Lung Ambition Alliance. The results were...
Due to the rarity of advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, staying current with the latest information on diagnosing, treating, and supporting patients with this diagnosis can be challenging for clinicians who do not often encounter it in practice. To support the multidisciplinary cancer team ...
Partners HealthCare President and Chief Executive Officer, Anne Klibanski, MD, unveiled a 5-year strategic plan and announced plans for rebranding its health-care system. Partners HealthCare, which serves more than 1.5 million patients and receives nearly $2 billion in research funding annually,...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) recently announced publication of the newest genetic risk assessment recommendations for breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Genetic/Familial High-Risk Assessment:...
Recent studies show that at least one-quarter of our nation’s health-care expenditures are being consumed by waste, fraud, and abuse. Moreover, since 2004, annual reports from the Commonwealth Fund have consistently rated the performance of our health-care system last among high-income countries,...
Earlier this month, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) published new state-of-the-art guidelines on the treatment of immune thrombocytopenia. The guidelines were published in the journal Blood Advances.1 The 2019 ASH Clinical Practice Guidelines on Immune Thrombocytopenia, developed in...
On April 19, 2019, pembrolizumab was approved for use in combination with the small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor axitinib for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the open-label phase III...
Mary Jo Turk, PhD, has been named the O. Ross McIntyre, MD, Professor at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Co-Director of the Immunology and Cancer Immunotherapy Program at Dartmouth’s Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Dr. Turk joined the...
The New York Genome Center announced recently that Mary-Claire King, PhD, has joined its faculty on a consulting basis as Senior Associate Core Member. Dr. King will provide scientific leadership in the genetics of neuropsychiatric disease. Dr. King is the American Cancer Society Professor in the...