In a U.S. “real-world” retrospective cohort study of patients receiving first-line treatment for mantle cell lymphoma reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Peter Martin, MD, and colleagues found that autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) did not significantly improve the time to next...
The all-oral combination of dabrafenib plus trametinib—two targeted therapies—significantly improved the overall response rate vs standard-of-care chemotherapy with carboplatin plus vincristine in pediatric patients with BRAF V600 mutation–positive low-grade gliomas. The clinical benefit rate...
Data from the world’s largest prostate cancer screening study provides further evidence to support the introduction of a targeted screening program for the disease, said researchers. In 2009, the European Randomised Study of Screening for Prostate Cancer (ERSPC) showed that screening can reduce...
Researchers have found a significant difference in the gut microbiota of patients with prostate cancer compared with those who have benign biopsies. Although the finding is an association, it could partly explain the relationship between lifestyle effects and geographic differences in prostate...
Opioids are a cornerstone of cancer pain management, but there is a lack of consensus on how to treat pain patients with cancer who also have struggled with opioid use disorder or prescription opioid misuse. In a study published by Fitzgerald Jones et al in JAMA Oncology, researchers outlined...
In a prospective single-institution study reported in JAMA Oncology, Giacomo Montagna, MD, MPH, and colleagues found that the risk for breast cancer–related lymphedema after axillary lymph node dissection was increased in Black and Hispanic patients, those who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that results from the phase III DUO clinical trial show a possible increased risk of death with duvelisib compared to ofatumumab among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). The trial also found...
In 2020, nearly 150,000 Americans, mostly those aged 50 and older, were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. However, about 18,000 of those individuals were younger than age 50. And while colorectal cancer rates have decreased for people over age 50, they have been increasing by 51% since 1994 for...
The treatment of breast cancer abounding in the protein HER2 was revolutionized with the introduction of drugs like trastuzumab that target the protein. When researchers discovered that breast cancers with lower levels of HER2 often respond to a trastuzumab-and-chemotherapy drug conjugate, they...
In a Dutch study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Klatte et al provided findings from a 20-year follow-up of a pancreatic cancer surveillance program including carriers of germline CDKN2A pathogenic variants. Study Details The study included 347 carriers in the Netherlands who...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Howell et al, the phase II FAKTION trial has shown improved overall survival with the addition of the AKT inhibitor capivasertib to fulvestrant in patients with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer who experienced disease relapse or...
Invited discussant Ernst Lengyel, MD, PhD, of University of Chicago Medicine, found the results of ATHENA-MONO promising. “I think it is encouraging that in the BRCA-mutation subgroup of patients, we see such a clear increase in progression-free survival compared to the intention-to-treat...
Maintenance therapy with the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib led to a significant improvement in progression-free survival compared with placebo in patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer who responded to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. The...
Ben Creelan, MD, Associate Member of Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, provided some context for the CHRYSALIS study. “This dual bispecific antibody targeting both EGFR and MET clearly has potent single-agent activity in patients with MET exon 14 skipping NSCLC,” he said. “For now, it is not...
Dual targeting with the bispecific antibody amivantamab-vmjw showed antitumor activity and tolerability in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and MET exon 14 skipping mutations, according to results of the ongoing phase I CHRYSALIS study.1,2 Updated results were presented...
Patients with cancer have received priority status to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, but limited data are available regarding the safety and efficacy of the vaccines for patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors for lung cancer. Now, a new study published by Hibino et al in the Journal of...
In a phase IIb study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ehdaie et al found that focal ablation with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided focused ultrasound successfully treated a high proportion of patients with grade group 2 or 3 prostate cancer. As stated by the investigators, “Men with grade...
In a cohort study reported in JAMA, Karla Kerlikowske, MD, and colleagues found that screening with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) vs digital mammography was not associated with a lower risk of interval invasive breast cancer and was associated with a reduced risk of diagnosis of advanced...
Invited discussant of the DETERMINATION trial, Joseph Mikhael, MD, MEd, Professor of Applied Cancer Research and Drug Discovery at the Translational Genomics Research Institute, City of Hope Cancer Center, described the many implications of the important findings for DETERMINATION and offered some ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Saro H. Armenian, DO, MPH, and colleagues, findings from the BMT Survivor Study (BMTSS) indicated that survivors of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with blood or marrow transplantation (BMT) are at a markedly increased risk of...
On June 27, the Biden Administration, through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced a new model aimed at improving cancer care for Medicare patients and lowering health-care costs. CMS’ Center for Medicare and...
Women who are longer-term survivors of metastatic breast cancer may have a worse survival rate if they have diabetes and poorly controlled blood sugar levels, according to a new study presented at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s Annual Meeting. This is the first study to specifically examine the ...
On June 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy lisocabtagene maraleucel (Breyanzi) for adult patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) who have disease refractory to first-line chemoimmunotherapy or relapse within 12 months of...
Artificial intelligence (AI) may be used to identify thyroid nodules seen on thyroid ultrasound that are very unlikely to be cancerous, reducing a large number of unnecessary biopsies, according to a study presented at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s Annual Meeting. Thyroid nodules are very...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Garcés et al found that increasing levels of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) at diagnosis were associated with poorer outcomes in newly diagnosed patients with transplant-eligible multiple myeloma, and that inclusion of CTCs in a risk model...
Hearing the words “You have cancer” is a devastating blow, especially when the biggest health issues you’ve had to contend with over more than 6 decades are common colds and knee and hip replacements. But in 2017, the symptoms I thought were from a lingering summer cold drove me to seek medical...
Radiation therapy has long been one of the three pillars of cancer therapy—surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy—only recently joined by what is widely considered a fourth pillar, immunotherapy. In part 1 of this two-part report, we trace the beginnings of radiation oncology in the United...
In March 2022, Kristeleit et al reported the results of the ARIEL4 trial1 of rucaparib in relapsed BRCA-mutant ovarian cancer in The Lancet Oncology (summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post) and are to be congratulated on this accomplishment. This report, along with the almost simultaneous...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Rebecca Kristeleit, MD, of Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, and colleagues, the phase III ARIEL4 trial has shown a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival with rucaparib vs chemotherapy in relapsed ovarian cancer with...
In this installment of Living a Full Life, Guest Editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Ariela L. Marshall, MD, Director, Women’s Hemostasis and Thrombosis Program at Penn Medicine. Along with her clinical and research activities, Dr. Marshall is also an advocate for women’s health and equity in ...
On June 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval for dabrafenib (Tafinlar) plus trametinib (Mekinist) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 6 years and older with unresectable or metastatic solid tumors with a BRAF V600E mutation whose disease...
In Ukraine, with a population of about 44 million, there are more than 1.3 million patients with cancer. Approximately 160,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year.1 In almost every region, there are local cancer centers; specialized oncologic centers are located in large cities. In Kyiv,...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Robert J. Motzer, MD, and colleagues, the protocol-defined final overall survival analysis of the phase III CheckMate 9ER trial showed a significant benefit with nivolumab/cabozantinib vs sunitinib in previously untreated patients with advanced renal cell...
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) now stands as the largest single public funder of biomedical research in the world.1 The FY2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2471), signed into law in March, increases biomedical research funding by nearly 5%, and it provides a total of $45 billion...
Recently, a new ASCO study,1 published in JCO Oncology Practice, found that among respondents participating in the survey, most oncology practices do not systematically collect data related to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). The study points to the need to increase understanding...
ASCO has made new resources available through its refreshed Survivorship Compendium—an online library of practice tools designed and curated to help oncologists develop high-quality, equitable cancer survivorship care programs and improve existing programs for patients who have completed their...
ASCO’s CancerLinQ® and Count Me In recently announced a new collaboration that aims to allow cancer researchers to learn from every patient with cancer, by actively engaging patients as part of the clinical research enterprise. CancerLinQ—a real-world oncology data technology platform developed by...
From 1999 to 2019, rates of cancer deaths declined steadily among Black people in the United States. Nevertheless, in 2019, Black people still had considerably higher rates of cancer death than people in other racial and ethnic groups, a large epidemiologic study has found. The study was led by...
Investigators at the American Cancer Society presented results of several studies during poster sessions at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting. Summaries of a few of these studies are provided here. COVID-19 and Cancer Mortality According to a new study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society,...
Thomas Seufferlein, MD, Professor of Medicine at Ulm University Hospital in Germany, found the data from the NOTABLE trial1 encouraging and “clinically interesting.” However, he suggested the study’s design did not allow the EGFR inhibitor to be optimally tested. The NOTABLE trial is based on a...
In patients with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer and KRAS wild-type tumors, novel treatment with the monoclonal antibody nimotuzumab, which targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), plus gemcitabine significantly improved overall survival and other outcomes over...
For advanced breast cancer that is hormone receptor–positive and HER2-negative, sacituzumab govitecan-hziy significantly reduced the risk of disease progression by 34% over physician’s choice of treatment, based on the results of the phase III TROPiCS-02 trial.1 The heavily pretreated patients in...
Invited discussant Patricia LoRusso, DO, PhD, of Yale School of Medicine, said to the assembled audience at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting: “I see you are as excited about these data as I am,” after the applause ended following Dr. Modi’s presentation. “I want to thank our colleagues for helping to...
The antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) doubled progression-free survival compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with “HER2-low” metastatic breast cancer—ie, patients with low levels of HER2 expression. The agent also extended overall survival for patients with low ...
Guru P. Sonpavde, MD, Director of the Bladder Cancer Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and a faculty member of Harvard Medical School, Boston, said these follow-up data from CheckMate 274 provide reassurance that the disease-free survival benefit is maintained with adjuvant nivolumab. “We...
Adjuvant nivolumab could become the standard of care for patients with metastatic bladder cancer, according to data presented at the American Urological Association (AUA) 2022 Annual Meeting.1 With longer follow-up, the results of the phase III CheckMate 274 trial showed that treatment with the...
New research published by Zeng et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network raises issues with clinical trial findings that show adjuvant hormone therapy–related hot flashes predict better treatment outcomes among patients with estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer. The...
A study of more than 90,000 postmenopausal women found that those who consumed at least one sugar-sweetened beverage daily faced a 78% higher risk of developing liver cancer compared with people who consumed less than three servings per month of such beverages. These findings were presented by Zhao ...
Research shows that what we eat may influence our cancer risk, but it’s not always clear which foods or dietary patterns are best for cancer prevention. Results from a new study presented by Shah et al during Nutrition 2022 Live Online, the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition,...
Gilberto de Lima Lopes, Jr, MD, MBA, of Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, and Oladimeji Akinboro, MD, MPH, of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), discuss a data analysis, which suggests that most subgroups of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer ...