According to an ASCO-sponsored study of burnout and career satisfaction among U.S. oncologists, 44.7% of surveyed oncologists reported feeling symptoms of burnout. ASCO offers information, practical advice, and member perspectives on how to prevent and manage burnout and prioritize wellness in your ...
On May 16, 2024, tarlatamab-dlle (Imdelltra) was granted accelerated approval for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.1 Tarlatamab is a bispecific delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3)-directed CD3 T-cell engager. Supporting Efficacy...
A landmark case report suggested a potential breakthrough in the treatment of an aggressive type of prostate cancer, according to a recent study published by Lap et al in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) was approved by the U.S....
Attendees at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 heard the results of many positive clinical trials that will advance the field of cancer treatment. However, a few late-stage trials of promising adjuvant therapies unexpectedly reported negative results. The ASCO Post...
The addition of the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab to standard neoadjuvant gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy has demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in survival compared with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cisplatin-eligible patients with muscle-invasive bladder...
The annual Global Cardio-Oncology Summit (GCOS) was held September 22 to 24 in Minneapolis, with 430 health-care professionals attending from 20 countries. The Summit brings together health-care professionals from diverse disciplines including members of the International Cardio-Oncology...
At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024, the Eyes to the Future Presidential Symposium showcased innovative approaches in personalized medicine, immunotherapy resistance, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pathology analysis. These presentations, focusing on the...
The use of measurable (or minimal) residual disease (MRD) status to guide treatment in multiple myeloma has become a topic of intense interest. Phase III studies presented at the Plenary Session of the 2024 International Myeloma Society Annual Meeting moved MRD status ever closer to validation in...
Researchers have discovered a novel strategy to detect cancer cells with a liquid biopsy designed to be simpler, quicker, and more informational compared with current methods, according to a recent study published by Walker et al in Small. Background Current methods for detecting cancer cells may...
Quitting smoking within 6 months of receiving a cancer diagnosis could add an average of 2 years to a patient’s life, according to a recent study published by Cinciripini et al in JAMA Oncology. The findings demonstrated a broad survival benefit of using evidence-based smoking cessation to help...
An international team of oncology experts gathered in Accra, Ghana, for a series of meetings to update cancer treatment recommendations in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Harmonized Guidelines for Sub-Saharan Africa. Background The NCCN Harmonized Guidelines offer color-coded tiers ...
Just weeks or even days or hours away from death, the majority of conscious terminally ill patients often experience growth and meaning in their lives and the absence of fear through end-of-life dreams and visions, according to research by Christopher W. Kerr, MD, PhD. Dr. Kerr is Chief Executive...
Because colonoscopies and more established stool-based tests are more effective at detecting early cancers and precancerous polyps compared with emerging blood-based tests, their long-term impact is projected to be substantially greater than that of blood-based tests, according to a recent study...
The novel trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2)-directed antibody-drug conjugate datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) vs docetaxel conferred a numerical improvement in overall survival in previously treated patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the phase III,...
A new lung cancer screening initiative may help to overcome barriers to care among low-income, uninsured, and minority patients residing in Central Texas, according to a recent study published by Pignone et al in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The findings represented a critical step...
Using computational tools, researchers have developed a novel method to assess which patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer may benefit from immunotherapy, according to a recent study published by Arulraj et al in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)....
Aumolertinib, a third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has shown efficacy as maintenance therapy for patients with unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR mutations, according to data presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer...
ASCO’s 2022 State of the Oncology Workforce in America report presented a dismal picture of the representation of Hispanic/Latinx oncologists in the field. According to the report, despite initiatives aimed at increasing diversity in the nearly 13,400 oncology workforce, which includes about 36%...
Patients with newly diagnosed hormone receptor–negative, HER2-positive breast cancer were more likely to receive timely, guideline-concordant treatment and experience longer survival in states participating in Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, according to a recent study published...
Researchers have created a “digital twin” model constructed from the clinical and molecular profiles of patients with cancer that accurately predicted how a patient is likely to respond to a specific chemotherapy. The approach optimizes the treatment choice for patients using available clinical...
Researchers have demonstrated that anti–PD-L1 immunotherapy combined with mutation-directed targeted therapy may improve overall survival in patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Cabanillas et al in JAMA Oncology. Background Anaplastic thyroid...
The ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group and Caris Life Sciences announced a new multiyear research collaboration that will begin with the interrogation of the TAILORx trial. Background Breast cancer remains the most common cancer type in the United States, with approximately 310,720 new cases per...
Researchers may have uncovered how urothelial carcinoma originates and progresses, according to a novel study published by Nguyen et al in Nature. The findings provided insights into the biology of urothelial carcinoma and may point to new therapeutic strategies for this difficult-to-treat cancer...
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced the election of 90 regular members and 10 international members during its annual meeting. Background Established originally as the Institute of Medicine in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, NAM addresses critical issues in health, science,...
I have many of the risk factors for melanoma. I’m fair-skinned, blue-eyed, and have a family history of melanoma, as well as other skin cancers, so I’ve always been diligent about practicing sun safety and maintaining annual full-body skin exams to catch any suspicious moles or lesions that could...
Guest Editor’s Note: Advances in cancer treatments have led to an increase in survival rates, but the quality of life is often diminished during survivorship. Because modifiable personal behavior contributes to health-care outcomes, interventions that support healthy behaviors may improve health...
In the neoadjuvant I-SPY2.2 trial, a treatment strategy including the antibody-drug conjugate datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd), partnered with the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab, yielded a high pathologic complete response rate, especially in immune-positive and “all-negative” subtypes.1...
A 3-week moderately hypofractionated radiotherapy regimen has been found to be noninferior to the 5-week fractionation when irradiating nodal areas in patients with breast cancer, according to data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024.1 The 5-year results of...
The University of Arizona Health Sciences announced that it has received a $3.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health to continue testing a novel imaging method for breast cancer detection that could provide an alternative to the mammogram....
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may help patients with rectal cancer avoid invasive surgery and its potentially lifelong side effects, according to a recent study published by Williams et al in Radiology. Background “After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for rectal cancer, patients are...
OCE Insights is an occasional department developed for The ASCO Post by members of the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this installment, the OCE’s Steven Clark Cunningham, MD, MLA, FACS, Clinical Reviewer on the Gastrointestinal Cancers Team, ...
Although significant progress has been made against cancer, especially in the United States, which has seen the overall death rate from cancer fall by 33% over the past 3 decades, translating into averting an estimated 3.8 million deaths from the disease,1 progress worldwide has not been as...
In the October 10, 2024, issue of The ASCO Post, we shared some unique insights from several recipients of the international development and education award (IDEA). As oncologists and cancer researchers from diverse low- and middle-income countries, their experiences at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting ...
In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.”1 The warning came decades after the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen, which is the highest risk group, and also includes...
The multicenter phase III CARMEN-LC03 trial did not meet its dual primary endpoints of progression-free and overall survival with the CEACAM5-directed antibody-drug conjugate tusamitamab ravtansine vs standard chemotherapy with docetaxel in previously treated patients with advanced nonsquamous...
Investigators have highlighted a critical connection between heart failure and cancer, demonstrating how shared mechanisms may contribute to the incidence and progression of both diseases, according to a recent scientific statement published by Bloom et al in the Journal of Cardiac Failure....
An examination of patient-level data from the phase III CheckMate 816 and CheckMate 77T trials supports the perioperative use of the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab plus chemotherapy, as compared with the neoadjuvant use of nivolumab plus chemotherapy without adjuvant therapy, in resectable non–small...
The combination of the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor osimertinib and the MET inhibitor savolitinib has demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements compared with osimertinib alone as a first-line treatment of patients with de novo MET-aberrant, EGFR-mutant advanced non–small cell lung cancer...
Implementing the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Geriatric Surgery Verification program may reduce rates of postsurgical mortality and increase the proportion of patients with documentation standards such as advanced care directives, according to two new studies presented by Horattas et al and...
Researchers have found that financial fallout can follow patients with cancer and their families as financial bankruptcy, lower credit scores, and other types of financial challenges in the years following a cancer diagnosis, according to two new studies presented by Gomez-Mayorga et al and...
My dad agreed to receive hospice on a technicality. It happened after weeks of trying to get him home oxygen. My brother drove him to the oncologist’s office, and I helped him get into the wheelchair. He did not complain, but just asked me to hold his coffee mug, smiling because I snuck him a...
Younger adults with colon cancer tend to be diagnosed at a later stage and have more aggressive types of tumors. Additionally, young patients living with colorectal cancer have long-term, adverse consequences on their lives, which are different from the impact the disease has on older adults,...
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) announced the introduction of two new risk calculators to inform physician-patient decision-making in thoracic surgery. Engineered using contemporary data from the STS General Thoracic Surgery Database, the interactive tools may provide surgeons with accurate, ...
Investigators have found that about 40% of postmenopausal hormone receptor–positive breast cancer cases may be linked to excess body fat, according to a recent study published by Cubelos-Fernández et al in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. Background Using the widely used measure...
Investigators have found that one-third of adult survivors of childhood cancers may experience a severe fear of cancer recurrence that impacts their daily lives, according to a recent study published by Pizzo et al in JAMA Network Open. Background Although the number of survivors of childhood...
Among most members of the health-care and oncology workforces, the lofty goals of the organizational framework of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) seem to be clear and indisputable: to promote the fair treatment and full participation of all people, particularly groups who have historically...
On October 15, 2024, Novocure announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Optune Lua® for concurrent use with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors or docetaxel for the treatment of adults with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have experienced disease progression on or after...
Many patients with head and neck cancer may lack equal opportunity to access experimental treatments in clinical trials or receive treatments that were shown to be effective in similar patients, according to a recent study published by Zuckerman and Edwards in Head & Neck. Background Millions...
Millions of U.S. patients with cancer may face barriers to accessing some of the most advanced treatments being tested in clinical trials for their disease, according to a recent study published by Kirkwood et al in JCO Oncology Practice. Background “We need to support bringing clinical trials to...
Some cancer types may be slightly more prevalent among patients with multiple sclerosis compared with those without the condition, according to a recent study published by Pierret et al in Neurology. Background In multiple sclerosis, the body’s immune system attacks myelin, the fatty white...