Firmonertinib (AST2818; formerly furmonertinib), a novel EGFR inhibitor, has shown activity and tolerability in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR P loop and aC-helix compressing (PACC) mutations, according to data presented at the International Association for ...
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...
In a phase III study conducted in China, the bispecific antibody (targeting both PD-1 and the vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF]) ivonescimab was compared with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab as first-line treatment of PD-L1–positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Ivonescimab ...
In the multiarm phase II NeoCOAST-2 trial, neoadjuvant treatment with datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) plus the monoclonal antibody durvalumab and single-agent platinum chemotherapy led to promising rates of pathologic complete and major pathologic responses in patients with early-stage non–small...
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...
At the 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), more than 7,000 clinicians and scientists gathered in San Diego in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). In this supplement to The ASCO Post, we review impactful abstracts from...
Guest Editor’s Note: Oncology guidelines recommend prehabilitation exercises to minimize postoperative complications. However, the COVID-19 pandemic imposed severe restrictions on patient access to in-person exercise programs offered by hospitals and clinics. In this article, Dr. Krupali Desai...
In the phase III TULIP trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Turner et al found that the third-generation HER2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab duocarmazine (T-Duo) improved progression-free survival vs physician's choice (PC) of treatment in patients with previously...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) introduced expanded NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) to account for the advanced understanding of hereditary cancer risk in breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers. The new guidelines followed the recent...
Researchers may have uncovered the immune basis for the development of myocarditis in patients with cancer receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to a recent study published by Blum et al in Nature. The findings revealed changes in specific types of immune and stromal cells in the heart...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Lund et al, a Danish prospective cohort study showed no increased risk of ischemic cardiotoxicity with use vs no use of aromatase inhibitor treatment in postmenopausal patients with early-stage breast cancer. Study Details The study included identification of...
The studies summarized below were reported online over the past month in The ASCO Post, generating a high number of visitors. For comprehensive news of these studies and more, visit ASCOPost.com. Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Phase III KEYNOTE-522 The phase III KEYNOTE-522 trial has...
In a recent issue of The New York Times, Barron Lerner discussed Betty Ford’s breast cancer diagnosis in 1974.1 He described the state of the art of breast cancer treatment at the time and how her diagnosis accelerated the uptake of screening across the country. But her cancer was not...
“Inequities are a major obstacle in delivering safe, timely, respectful, and affordable cancer care globally,” commented moderator John Varallo, MD, MPH, FACOG, of the Global Surgery Foundation, at the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) World Cancer Congress (WCC) 2024 in Geneva.1...
In a phase II trial (IMbrave151) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Macarulla et al found that atezolizumab/bevacizumab plus chemotherapy produced a “modest” improvement in progression-free survival vs atezolizumab/placebo plus chemotherapy in first-line treatment of patients with...
In a phase II trial (SERENA-2) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Oliveira et al found that the next-generation oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) camizestrant improved progression-free survival vs fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative...
Researchers from the Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the David Geffen School of Medicine, and the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) were awarded a $2.5 million grant from the independent charitable organization Bristol Myers Squibb...
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...
In a phase II trial (EWALL-INO) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chevallier et al found that inotuzumab ozogamicin combined with low-dose chemotherapy was active in the first-line treatment of older patients with newly diagnosed CD22-positive Philadelphia chromosome–negative B-cell...
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...
In a phase II study (OLIE) reported in JAMA Oncology, Gaspar et al found that the addition of lenvatinib to ifosfamide/etoposide did not significantly improve progression-free survival in children or young adults with relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma. Study Details In the global open-label...
In an analysis by the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG) reported in The Lancet, Hills et al found that risk of distant recurrence declined over time among women with early breast cancer enrolled in clinical trials between 1990 and 2009. Study Details The pooled analysis...
A newly described stage of lymph node–like structures, known as tertiary lymphoid structures, identified in hepatic tumors following presurgical immunotherapy may be vital to successfully treating patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Shu et al in Nature...
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...
In a phase I clinical trial (SURF301) investigating the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) oral inhibitor TYRA-300 in patients with advanced bladder cancer, the drug showed early antitumor activity and produced lower rates of significant adverse events compared with pan-FGFR inhibitors....
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...
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...
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, ...
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...
On September 23, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Seniors’ Access to Critical Medications Act of 2024 (H.R. 5526), which would make permanent a waiver put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed Medicare patients to receive medications dispensed by in-office pharmacies...
In an analysis of two clinical trials reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Weber et al identified “cure rates” with adjuvant nivolumab, ipilimumab, and placebo in patients with resected stage III/IV melanoma. Study Details The analysis used mixture cure models (MCMs) to estimate cure rates ...
In the Canadian phase II OPAR trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kim et al found no difference in adverse cosmesis with partial breast irradiation (PBI) in five daily fractions of 30 Gy vs 27.5 Gy given over 1 week in patients with early breast cancer. The aim of the trial was to...
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....
Listening to music may accelerate postsurgical recovery, according to recent findings presented by Raees et al at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2024. Background “When patients wake up after surgery, sometimes they feel really scared and don’t know where they are,”...
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...
Two novel oral HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors have demonstrated promising efficacy in patients with HER2-mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), potentially transforming the treatment landscape for this rare but challenging subset of lung cancer cases. According to data presented at the...
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...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Pavlakis et al, the phase III INTEGRATE IIa study showed improved overall survival with regorafenib plus best supportive care vs placebo vs best supportive care in patients with refractory advanced gastric/esophagogastric junction cancer. Study...
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, ...
Researchers have found that the combination of nivolumab plus doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (AVD) may reduce the risk of cancer progression and mortality in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma compared with standard treatment, according to a recent study published by Herrera et al in The New ...