Investigators have revealed the findings from an examination of the prevalence, severity, and co-occurrence of sleep disturbance, pain, physical function impairment, anxiety, depression, and low energy/fatigue (SPPADE) symptoms, as well as their association with different cancer types and patient...
In a European study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sauta et al found that the recently devised Molecular International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-M) had improved prognostic ability vs the standard Revised International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS-R) in patients with...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Konstantinidou et al found that the prevalence of hypercalcemia increased over time in patients with cholangiocarcinoma and was significantly more common in those with IDH1-mutant intrahepatic disease. Study Details The study involved...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sarfaty et al identified novel genetic subtypes of urothelial carcinoma exhibiting different responses to immune checkpoint blockade. Study Details In the multicenter study, whole-exome sequencing was performed on tumor specimens from 88...
Adding immunotherapy to standard chemotherapy may result in significantly longer progression-free survival for patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, according to the findings from two novel studies presented by Eskander et al and Mirza et al at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology...
Researchers have found that concurrent treatment with gemcitabine as well as cisplatin and intensity-modulated radiation therapy may effectively increase the pathologic complete response rates in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the vulva, according to findings presented by ...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Tang et al found that the use of the subcutaneous route for administering medications and fluids in patients with cancer was highly predominant in a Canadian center, whereas use of the intravenous (IV) route was nearly universal in a U.S....
On March 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval to the anti–PD-1 therapy pembrolizumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) solid tumors, as...
Researchers have found no significant differences in overall survival between patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer who received maintenance therapy with the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor niraparib or placebo, according to new findings presented by Matulonis et...
Treatment with the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib prior to surgical intervention and chemotherapy has demonstrated the potential for favorable surgical options, manageable adverse events, and positive health outcomes in patients with ovarian cancer who have a germline...
After comparing the efficacy of the anti–PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab prior to and concurrently with chemoradiation, researchers have indicated favorable outcomes for 2-year disease-free survival and demonstrated evidence of improved immunogenicity with neoadjuvant atezolizumab in patients with...
Adding immunotherapy to standard chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of advanced or the first recurrence of endometrial cancer significantly improved progression-free survival compared to chemotherapy alone, according to data presented by Mansoor Raza Mirza, MD, and colleagues at the March...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Fulop et al found that perichemotherapy use of antibiotics was associated with improved survival in patients with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma receiving first-line gemcitabine-based chemotherapy, but not in those...
In a phase IIb trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Serrano et al found that exemestane at 25 mg three times weekly was noninferior to the standard dosing of 25 mg once daily in terms of serum estradiol reduction among postmenopausal patients with stage 0 to II estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast...
Brown adipose tissue may not be associated with cachexia, according to an article published by Eljalby et al in the American Journal of Physiology Endocrinology and Metabolism. The findings also suggested that brown adipose tissue does not increase cancer mortality. Background Brown adipose tissue...
In a cohort study reported in a research letter in JAMA Surgery, Minami et al found that frailty status worsened in a sizable proportion of older patients receiving locoregional therapy—including lumpectomy or mastectomy—for early-stage breast cancer. Baseline robust status and mastectomy were...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by de Braud et al, findings in the expansion cohort of a phase Ib trial indicate activity with the combination of the BRAF/CRAF kinase inhibitor naporafenib and trametinib in patients with advanced or metastatic NRAS-mutant melanoma. Study Details In ...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, En Cheng, MD, PhD, of Kaiser Permanente Northern California, Jeffrey Meyerhardt, MD, MPH, FASCO, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues found that higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers measured after surgery but before starting chemotherapy were ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vidrine et al found that a smoking cessation intervention was not effective among patients with a history of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia or cervical cancer. Study Details In the trial, 194 evaluable patients who reported current...
Obesity may spur DNA damage in the breast tissue of patients who carry BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, possibly contributing to breast cancer development in patients who are already at a higher risk of the disease, according to a new study published by Bhardwaj et al in Science Translational Medicine....
Patients with early-stage esophageal adenocarcinoma from lower-income households may be significantly less likely to receive a potentially life-saving treatment and may be more likely to die from the disease, according to a new study published by Geng et al in Clinical Gastroenterology and...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Riaz et al found that first-line triplet therapy in metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer did not appear to offer an overall survival advantage vs androgen pathway inhibitor doublet therapy. As stated by the...
On March 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued draft guidance, Clinical Trial Considerations to Support Accelerated Approval of Oncology Therapeutics, regarding clinical trial design considerations to support accelerated approval applications. The accelerated approval pathway is...
Cancer is a leading cause of death in every country worldwide.1 In 2020, almost 10 million people died of cancer, a number that is expected to rise to 16.3 million by 2040.2 In addition, cancer incidence continues to grow, driven by an aging and growing population and changes in the prevalence and...
ASCO submitted comments in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act 2024 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters proposed rule. ASCO’s comments support proposals aimed at reducing or eliminating gaps in health-care coverage, and ...
ASCO has released a rapid recommendation update to the guideline on chemotherapy and targeted therapy for endocrine-pretreated or hormone receptor–negative metastatic breast cancer, addressing the use of sacituzumab govitecan-hziy in patients with endocrine-resistant, hormone receptor–positive,...
As reported in The Lancet by Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, of the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues, updated results of the phase III DESTINY-Breast03 trial showed significantly improved overall survival with...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Paula Rodriguez-Otero, MD, PhD, of Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase III KarMMa-3 trial has shown superior progression-free survival with the B-cell maturation antigen–directed...
On January 27, 2023, pirtobrutinib was granted accelerated approval for treatment of relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma after at least two lines of systemic therapy, including a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor.1 Pirtobrutinib is a noncovalent inhibitor of BTK. Supporting Efficacy...
March is widely recognized worldwide as Colorectal Cancer Awareness month. Several advocacy groups and professional organizations recognize Colorectal Cancer Awareness month by promoting screening for eligible individuals and working to increase awareness. Here, the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, an...
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer among men and women of all ages in the United States and is on track to be the leading cause of cancer death in adults younger than 50 by 2030. The alarming rise of colorectal cancer in people younger than age 50 prompted the U.S. Preventive...
On February 9, 2023, dostarlimab-gxly was granted regular approval for adults with mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer, as determined by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved test, whose disease has progressed on or following a prior platinum-containing...
Formal discussant of the FORMULA-509 trial, Tyler Seibert, MD, PhD, of the University of California San Diego, commented: “The important take-away of these results is who benefited from the intensification arm. The overall cohort with a PSA [prostate-specific antigen] level up to 0.5 ng/mL did not, ...
The addition of abiraterone acetate and apalutamide to standard of care gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist for 6 months and radiation therapy failed to improve progression-free survival and metastasis-free survival after prostatectomy compared to bicalutamide plus a GnRH agonist and...
The formal discussant of the TALAPRO-2 trial, Elena Castro, MD, PhD, took issue with the conclusion of Dr. Neeraj Agarwal and colleagues that these results support the use of talazoparib plus enzalutamide as a first-line treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer,...
The addition of the poly (ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor talazoparib to the androgen receptor signaling inhibitor enzalutamide achieved a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in radiographic progression–free survival compared with placebo plus enzalutamide as...
Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease has been with me since I was 5 years old, when a benign tumor was found on the optic nerve of my left eye, leaving me blind in that eye. But I didn’t get an official diagnosis of the disease until 2011, when I was 20. By then, it was like a light switch had turned...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies sometimes used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Yen Nien (Jason) Hou, PharmD, DiplOM, LAc, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, focus...
The American Associationfor Cancer Research (AACR) will award Carl H. June, MD, FAACR, Fellow of the AACR Academy, with the 2023 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research during the 2023 AACR Annual Meeting, April 14–19 in Orlando, Florida. Dr. June is the Richard W. Vague Professor in ...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
Alex F. Herrera, MD, of the City of Hope National Medical Center, discusses results from the POLARIX study, which showed that circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis has prognostic value for patients with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Patients who did not achieve 2.5 or...
Jamie Takayesu, MD, of the University of Michigan, discusses her findings on how frequently physicians are asking their female and male patients with genitourinary cancers about sexual dysfunction. Although 62.79% of women with genitourinary cancer who received brachytherapy thought they should be ...
The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) represents members nationwide from all care delivery settings. ACCC’s 49th Annual Meeting & Cancer Business Summit was held March 8–10, 2023, in Washington, DC, where the society released its advocacy agenda for 2023. Areas of Focus ACCC...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, guest editor, Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Satish Gopal, MD, MPH, Director of the Center for Global Health at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). In this role, he oversees the development of initiatives and...
“There is and always has been, more to me than medicine. Ever since the university, I have loved flying. Ever since school, I have adored choral singing,” writes John F. Smyth, MD, in his memoir Taming the Beast: Memoirs of a Pioneering Cancer Physician. Dr. Smyth is Emeritus Professor of Medical...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Vivek Subbiah, MD, Center Clinical Medical Director of the Clinical Center for Targeted Therapy, Cancer Medicine Division, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, ...
First-line treatment with zolbetuximab in combination with capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CAPOX) extended overall survival in patients with claudin-18.2 (CLDN18.2)-positive/HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma, according to results of the GLOW trial reported by Xu et...
The addition of the androgen receptor inhibitor darolutamide to androgen-deprivation therapy and docetaxel reduced the risk of death by 30% compared with androgen-deprivation therapy plus docetaxel in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, according to a post hoc analysis of...
In the UK phase II OCTOPUS study reported in JAMA Oncology, Susana Banerjee, MBBS, MA, PhD, and colleagues found that the addition of the dual mTORC1/mTORC2 inhibitor vistusertib to weekly paclitaxel did not improve progression-free survival among patients with platinum-resistant or -refractory...
On March 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the PD-1 inhibitor retifanlimab-dlwr (Zynyz) for adult patients with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced Merkel cell carcinoma. PODIUM-201 Safety and efficacy were evaluated in PODIUM-201...