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Showing 3701 - 3750CheckMate 648: First-Line Nivolumab Regimens Improve Survival in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
As first-line treatment of advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, nivolumab-containing regimens improved overall survival over standard-of-care chemotherapy, according to the first results of the global phase III CheckMate 648 trial presented at the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting by Ian Chau, MD,...
Gauri Varadhachary, MD, Compassionate Leader, Caring and Brilliant Physician, Dies at 52
Gauri Varadhachary, MD, Clinical Professor in Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, died on June 5, 2021. She was 52. A member of the MD Anderson community for nearly 20 years, Dr. Varadhachary was remembered for her dedication to her patients, ...
Dana-Farber and Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center to Connect Patients to Cancer Services
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center (HSNHC) in Dorchester, Massachusetts, have entered into an agreement to connect patients to cancer prevention, education, diagnosis, and treatment services. This program, based out of Dana-Farber’s Cancer Care Equity...
Breast Cancer Has Taught Me Many Life Lessons
In 2016, 2 years before I was diagnosed with stage III estrogen and progesterone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, invasive ductal carcinoma in situ in my left breast, I had felt a mass in my right breast that turned out to be a benign fibroid. When I felt a mass in my left breast one morning while ...
Addressing Sexuality Challenges Throughout the Cancer Care Continuum
Multiple studies have shown that sexuality and intimacy problems are common among patients with cancer, often beginning at the time of diagnosis and persisting through the continuum of care into the survivorship setting. Although these problems have been well documented, many patients and survivors ...
Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma
“Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection.” —Mark Twain To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on...
Loncastuximab Tesirine-lpyl for Relapsed or Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma
On April 23, 2021, loncastuximab tesirine-lpyl, a CD19-directed antibody and alkylating agent conjugate, was granted accelerated approval for treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including diffuse large B-cell...
Innovator in Treatment of Infectious Diseases, Francisco Marty, MD, Dies at 53
The Brigham and Women’s hospital community mourns the loss of Francisco Marty, MD, of the Division of Infectious Diseases, who died April 8, 2021, after a tragic accident while hiking in the Dominican Republic. He was 53. A member of the Brigham community for more than 20 years, Dr. Marty is...
Do Community Oncologists Have Access to Geriatric Specialty Care for Older Patients?
As our population rapidly ages, the burden of cancer incidence increases accordingly, creating an urgent need for greater and more incisive research on the diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship issues for older adults with cancer. Given the numerous challenges faced by today’s busy oncologists, a...
Expert Point of View: Rana R. McKay, MD
Invited discussant of the KEYNOTE-564 trial, Rana R. McKay, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Urology at the University of California San Diego, offered these comments about these trial results. “This is a positive study, showing a 32% reduction in the risk of recurrence or death with...
KEYNOTE-564: Adjuvant Pembrolizumab Extends Disease-Free Survival in High-Risk Renal Cell Carcinoma
Adjuvant pembrolizumab following surgery significantly improved disease-free survival compared with placebo among patients with high-risk clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to the international phase III KEYNOTE-564 study presented at the Plenary session during the 2021 ASCO Annual...
Cancer in Morocco: Access to Innovative Treatments and Research Status
Morocco is an Arab country in North Africa. It covers 716,550 square kilometers and has a population of nearly 36 million. The median age is 29.3 years. Morocco’s estimated gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 was $122 million. As of 2019, Morocco’s health budget was equivalent to 4.5% of the total ...
Whispers Over My Shoulder
When I interviewed for my current post as a first-time consultant in medical oncology in the United Kingdom, I was asked about my 5-year career plan. I remember some detail of my reply, but I don’t think it even remotely encompassed the depth of insight I would gain from the patients I’ve treated...
Expert Point of View: Mark G. Kris, MD, FASCO
Mark G. Kris, MD, FASCO, Chief of the Thoracic Oncology Service and the William and Joy Ruane Chair in Thoracic Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, commented on the excitement in the field of lung cancer about the new drugs targeting KRAS. Sotorasib is one of several new...
Mary Daly, MD, PhD, FACP, Receives NCCN’s 2021 Rodger Winn Award
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recently presented Mary B. Daly, MD, PhD, FACP, Professor in the Department of Clinical Genetics and Director of the Risk Assessment Program at Fox Chase Cancer Center, with the Rodger Winn Award. The Rodger Winn Award is given annually to one NCCN...
Harnessing a Worldwide Effort to Combat COVID-19 and Cancer
This past October, in a virtually held ceremony of the General Assembly of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), Anil K. D’Cruz, MBBS, MS, DNB, FRCS (Hon), Director of Oncology at Apollo Hospitals in Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi, India, began his 2-year tenure as President of the global...
Sotorasib: Subgroup Analysis of Phase II Trial Shows Activity With Breakthrough KRAS Inhibitor in Lung Cancer
The breakthrough KRAS-specific inhibitor sotorasib achieved responses in patients with KRAS G12C–mutated non–small lung cancer (NSCLC) who had experienced disease progression on platinum-based chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or both treatments. The objective response rate was 37.1%, and responses...
How RAS Mutations in Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer May Impact Patient Survival
Although both incidence and mortality rates in colorectal cancer have been declining among people older than 65 by 3.3% and 3% annually, respectively, among individuals younger than age 50, the incidence rate has risen about 2% annually, and death rates have increased by 1.3% annually.1 Colorectal...
Expert Point of View: Nadine M. Tung, MD
Formal discussant of OlympiA, Nadine M. Tung, MD, Director of Breast Medical Oncology and the Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, was enthusiastic about the ability of olaparib to improve invasive disease–free survival and...
OlympiA Trial: Adjuvant Olaparib Extends Disease-Free Survival in BRCA-Mutated Early Breast Cancer
Adjuvant therapy with the PARP inhibitor olaparib for 1 year extended disease-free survival in patients with high-risk early-stage HER2-negative breast cancer with BRCA1/2 germline (inherited) mutations, according to a prespecified interim analysis of the phase III OlympiA trial presented at the...
Study Explores Taste and Smell Dysfunction in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors
Most survivors of head and neck squamous cell cancers report that their sense of taste is dulled, changed, or lost during radiation treatment. In a study of taste and smell dysfunction in 40 cancer survivors, scientists found that the tips of these individuals' tongues were significantly less...
Study Finds Patients With Bladder Cancer and Ureteric Obstruction May Safely Receive Chemotherapy
A study published by Strother et al in BJU International found that patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer can safely receive cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy, even when their tumors are blocking their kidneys. The findings suggest that patients with the most serious type of this...
Study Evaluates Residential Racial Segregation and NSCLC Treatment and Outcomes
Non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 80% to 85% of cases of lung cancer; when it is diagnosed early, there is a 5-year survival rate of 50% to 80%. Black patients have a lower overall incidence of NSCLC than White patients but are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages. They also...
ASCO/Friends of Cancer Research Joint Position Statement Encourages Enrollment of Patients With Cancer in COVID-19 Vaccine Studies
Individuals with cancer or a history of cancer should be eligible for clinical trials—including COVID-19 vaccine trials—unless there is safety justification for exclusion, ASCO and Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) asserted in a joint position statement released today. To date, clinical trials...
Testing of Lymph Nodes for Breast Cancer Recurrence After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy
A study published by Sharp et al in The Breast Journal suggests that some patients with breast cancer may be able to forgo certain testing procedures after neoadjuvant chemotherapy without increasing their risk of cancer recurrence. Prior studies on detecting whether breast cancer has spread to...
Study Explores Incidence Rates for Various Pediatric Cancers Across Age and Racial Groups
New research has uncovered substantial differences in the rates of childhood cancers when considering a single year of age rather than grouping several years together. The study, published by Marcotte et al in the journal Cancer, also found that minority children seem to have different risks than...
Survivors of Early-Stage Breast Cancer Face Broad Range of Symptoms and Concerns
Patients with early-stage breast cancer may be at low risk of dying of their disease, but they experience a high burden of physical and psychological symptoms long after their treatment has ended, according to data presented during the 2021 American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting.1...
Expert Point of View: Anthony TC Chan, MD
The invited discussant of the JUPITER-02 study was Anthony TC Chan, MD, the Li Shu Fan Medical Foundation Professor of Clinical Oncology at Hong King Cancer Institute and Sir YK Pao Centre for Cancer at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He noted that anti–PD-1/L1 therapies are at the forefront...
Novel Monoclonal Antibody Emerges as Potential First-Line Standard in Nasopharyngeal Cancer
A new first-line standard of care may be emerging for recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma, based on the findings of the global phase III JUPITER-02 trial presented at the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting by investigators from China.1 In the study, toripalimab, an anti–PD-1 monoclonal antibody, ...
Alkylating Signature in Colorectal Cancer May Be Linked to High Red Meat Intake
The association between the consumption of red and processed meats and the development of colorectal cancer, as well as pancreatic and prostate cancers, has been known since 2015, when the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified the consumption of red meat as probably...
ASCO Releases Rapid Guideline Recommendation Update for Patients With High-Risk, HER2-Negative, Germline BRCA–Mutated Breast Cancer
A new ASCO guideline update recommends offering 1 year of adjuvant olaparib to patients with high-risk, early-stage, HER2-negative breast cancer and germline BRCA mutations after completion of (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy and local treatment, including radiation. The recommendations update the 2020...
De-escalating Surgery for Women With Breast Cancer
From routine axillary lymph node dissection to sentinel lymph node surgery, the use of axillary surgery continues to evolve in breast cancer. Recently, surgical oncologists have begun to consider avoiding axillary surgery completely in patients with a low risk of node-positive disease as well as in ...
Trilaciclib to Reduce Chemotherapy-Induced Bone Marrow Suppression in Extensive-Stage Small Cell Lung Cancer
On February 12, 2021, the cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor trilaciclib was approved for use to decrease the incidence of chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression in adult patients when administered prior to a platinum/etoposide–containing regimen or topotecan-containing regimen for...
Computational Tool Suggests Optimal Treatment for Patients With High-Grade Ovarian Cancer
A mathematical tool may help to examine how doctors may coordinate available treatments for high-grade serous ovarian cancer. Published by Gu et al in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the new analysis showed that patients who can have complete debulking surgery first, with...
Expert Point of View: Henry Kuerer, MD, PhD, FACS
Henry Kuerer, MD, PhD, FACS, a cancer surgeon and researcher at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, told The ASCO Post that although this study is not practice-changing, it does offer a potential option for patients. “The advantage of this technique is that the procedure takes just...
Expert Point of View: Mansoor Raza Mirza, MD
The invited discussant of EMPOWER-Cervical 1 was Mansoor Raza Mirza, MD, Chief Oncologist at Copenhagen University Hospital and Chairman of the European Network of Gynaecological Oncology Trials group (ENGOT). Dr. Mirza called the findings “amazing” and predicted they will “usher in a new era” in...
Navigating the Post-Vaccine Pandemic
By now, most health-care workers have been vaccinated against COVID-19.* Physical immunity would appear to last for at least 6 months and probably longer. The physical pandemic for most oncologists is declining, with an end in sight. We are protected from the serious physical consequences of...
Senators Richard Burr and Ben Cardin Recognized as ASCO Congressional Champions for Cancer Care
ASCO has presented Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) with the annual Congressional Champion for Cancer Care Award in recognition of their ongoing commitment to legislation that improves the environment for cancer research, oncology practice, and the quality of care for patients....
Two Memorial Sloan Kettering Experts Awarded for Pioneering Work
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) recently announced that Larry Norton, MD, Senior Vice President, Office of the President; and Medical Director of the Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center, has been elected to the American Academy of the Arts & Sciences, an honorary society that recognizes ...
Dual Immune Checkpoint Blockade With Nivolumab and Ipilimumab for Treatment of Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
In recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of mesothelioma have been a keen area of investigation for this immunogenic solid tumor. With recent publications, principally findings from CheckMate 743 by Baas et al1 (reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post), combination immune...
Is High Tumor Mutational Burden Predictive of Immune Checkpoint Blockade Efficacy Across All Cancer Types?
In a letter recently published in The New England Journal of Medicine and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, Rousseau and colleagues reported data on the spectrum of benefit from immune checkpoint blockade in hypermutated tumors.1 Indeed, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently...
Selected Poster Presentations From the NCCN 2021 Annual Conference
Although once again, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 2021 Annual Conference could not take place on site in Orlando, researchers presented their work virtually in the form of almost 100 posters. The ASCO Post has summarized some that we found particularly interesting. Many...
Roswell Park Immunologist Promoted to Endowed Chair Role
Following a national search, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has promoted Pawel Kalinski, MD, PhD, to Jacobs Family Endowed Chair of Immunology, Chief of the Division of Translational Immuno-Oncology, and Senior Vice President for Team Science. On staff at Roswell Park since 2017, Dr....
Data Analysis on Early-Onset Colorectal Cancer Sheds Light on the Rising Rates in Young Adults
In May 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) announced that it was updating its recommendation for when individuals at average risk of colorectal cancer should begin screening. Echoing the recommendation from the American Cancer Society in 2018, the USPSTF now recommends that those ...
Could Risk-Based Triage System Alter Surgical Practice in Ovarian Cancer?
A simple, risk-assessment algorithm may change practice when it comes to selecting patients with advanced ovarian who can tolerate complex primary debulking surgery, according to data presented during the virtual edition of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2021 Annual Meeting on Women’s...
Global Responses to COVID-19 Pandemic–Related Disruptions in Cancer Care
COVID-19 pandemic–related disruptions in cancer diagnosis, treatment, and research have varied worldwide and so have the responses to those disruptions. During the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) 2021 International Conference on Surgical Cancer Care, members of the Global Forum of Cancer...
I Was Given a ‘Death Sentence’ at Just 17
A minor car accident I had with my mother when I was 17 probably saved my life. We were taken to the hospital for a routine checkup, and a subsequent chest x-ray found multiple nodules on my lungs. I underwent dozens of other imaging and blood tests, and finally, my pediatrician suggested my...
Adjuvant Imatinib Therapy Offers Survival Benefit in Patients With Resected GIST, but Team Effort May Be Needed to Reduce Early Discontinuation Rates
Clinical trial data show that adjuvant imatinib improves recurrence-free survival as well as overall survival, when administered for at least 3 years, among patients who undergo a macroscopically complete resection of a primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), Chandrajit P. Raut, MD, MSc,...
Medical Oncologist Gouri Shankar Bhattacharyya, MD, FRCP, Dies of COVID-19–Related Complications
The members of the oncology community who spend time and energy addressing the growing global cancer burden in low- and middle-income countries have a kind of selfless dedication beyond the scope of the profession itself. One such medical oncologist was Gouri Shankar Bhattacharyya, MD, FRCP, a...
‘Radiation Is Not the Enemy’
“I want to make very clear that radiation is not the enemy,” Monika Metzger, MD, MSc, emphasized in discussing a study she led on the integration of brentuximab vedotin into the front-line treatment of pediatric patients with high-risk Hodgkin lymphoma. The study yielded excellent results while...
