Immunotherapeutics that target human papillomavirus (HPV) genotype 16 appear to boost the activity of pembrolizumab in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Two examples were presented in posters at the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting.1,2 The phase II VERSATILE-002 trial evaluated PDS0101,...
This is Part 3 of Updates in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms, a three-part video roundtable series. In this video, Dr. Naveen Pemmaraju and Dr. Gabriela Hobbs discuss goals of care in primary myelofibrosis. The patient is a 27-year-old woman who presents to the clinic after 6 months of...
On May 19, 2023, epcoritamab-bysp was granted accelerated approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)–not otherwise specified, including DLBCL arising from indolent lymphoma, and high-grade B-cell lymphoma after two ...
Jennifer A. Ligibel, MD, FASCO, Director of the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues conducted a randomized study to evaluate the impact of a telephone-based ...
On December 23, 1971, President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act of 1971 into law, establishing a national cancer program that included the National Cancer Institute (NCI), other research institutes, and federal and nonfederal programs; funding for 15 new cancer research centers and...
Axillary management decisions made during surgery may be associated with aggressive treatment of limited nodal disease, according to data presented at a press briefing at the 2023 American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting.1 Results of a large National Cancer Database study revealed that...
The addition of nivolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, to chemotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival in adults and children with advanced classical Hodgkin lymphoma with reduced toxicity compared with standard-of-care brentuximab vedotin plus chemotherapy, according to the...
Neoadjuvant therapy with pembrolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy followed by surgery and then adjuvant pembrolizumab led to significantly improved event-free survival in patients with resectable stage II and III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with platinum-based chemotherapy...
My father is deaf. Born deaf, he is now 75 years old. He uses his voice, but he sounds strange to a hearing person when he speaks. He uses lip-reading techniques to communicate. A year ago, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma. We did his oncology itinerary together. My father cannot go alone to...
Patients with intermediate-risk rectal cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with selective use of pelvic chemoradiation therapy had disease-free survival that was noninferior to the standard approach using pelvic chemoradiation, according to findings from the randomized phase III PROSPECT...
In a Korean study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jin et al found that increased alcohol intake may be associated with an increased risk of early-onset colorectal cancer. Study Details The study involved data from 5,666,576 individuals aged 20 to 49 years from the Korean National...
Female survivors treated for Hodgkin lymphoma may face declining fertility at a younger age, according to recent findings presented by Drechsel et al at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) 2023 Annual Meeting (Abstract O-083). The new research also suggested that the...
Cervical cancer is a serious problem in many low- and middle-income countries such as the African country of Rwanda. Although the cervical cancer rate in Rwanda remains more than twice the U.S. rate, there has been improvement in recent years that cancer research organizations can learn from to...
The immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab achieved high response rates in patients with unresectable metastatic desmoplastic melanoma, a rare invasive tumor type, according to the results of the phase II SWOG S1512 trial presented at the 2023 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)...
Testing for the emergence of ESR1 mutations should be routine at disease recurrence or progression for patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer whose disease is being managed with endocrine therapy, according to an ASCO guideline rapid recommendation...
The oral IDH1/2 inhibitor vorasidenib significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with grade 2 gliomas expressing IDH1/2 mutations in the phase III INDIGO trial. These results, which were reported by lead author Ingo K. Mellinghoff, MD, FACP, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer...
In the phase IIIb CheckMate 401 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Reinhard Dummer, MD, and colleagues described outcomes with first-line nivolumab/ipilimumab followed by nivolumab in a clinically diverse population of patients with unresectable stage III or IV melanoma, including...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, McIntosh et al identified components of global funding for cancer research—both public and philanthropic—between 2016 and 2020. Study Details The study used data from the UberResearch Dimensions database and Cancer Research UK data on human cancer...
In a Danish study reported in JAMA Surgery, Eskesen et al found moderate to severe physical trauma in one of same-sex twins was associated with an increased risk of the composite endpoint of death or immune-mediated disease or cancer vs their co-twins over long-term follow-up. Study Details The...
Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black breast cancer survivors may experience higher rates of mortality after being diagnosed with a second primary cancer than breast cancer survivors of other ethnic and racial groups, according to a new study published by Deng et al in the Journal of the National Cancer...
The use of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) did not significantly reduce positive margins after breast-conserving surgery, according to data presented during a press briefing at the 2023 American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting.1 Although MRI has been shown to detect...
In the phase II VIRO-15 trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Holloway et al found that virotherapy with the modified oncolytic vaccinia virus olvimulogene nanivacirepvec plus platinum-based chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab showed activity in patients with platinum-resistant or...
Guest Editor’s Note: Despite its high prevalence, cancer pain remains undertreated. Racial disparities present further challenges to assessing and managing pain. Music therapy, a nonpharmacologic intervention, has been documented to be effective in controlling cancer pain. In this article, Kevin T. ...
Results of a new survey from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) have shed light on the widespread impact of the current carboplatin and cisplatin shortages. In a separate statement, the NCCN called on the whole oncology community to work together on solutions. Background Carboplatin...
Ciltacabtagene autoleucel, a B-cell maturation antigen–targeting chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, significantly slows or stops progression of multiple myeloma when compared with standard-of-care treatments among patients with lenalidomide-refractory disease. Results from the...
Researchers have found that the bacteria, fungi, and viruses within the tumors of patients with colorectal cancer varied significantly depending on whether they were diagnosed with early-onset or late-onset disease, according to new findings presented by Weinberg et al at the 2023 ASCO Annual...
Jonathan W. Friedberg, MD, MMSc, Director of the James P. Wilmot Cancer Institute, grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee. While his school friends were attending camp, he spent his summers working on the family farm. “Perhaps the hardest work I’ve ever done was haying on a hot, humid night in July,...
A randomized study by Jennifer A. Ligibel, MD, Director of the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, evaluating the impact of a telephone-based weight loss intervention in...
Patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) who received luspatercept to treat anemia instead of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs)—the current standard of care—needed fewer blood transfusions and clinic visits. These findings from the phase III COMMANDS trial were presented by...
In a single-institution cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Jason A. Mouabbi, MD, and colleagues found no difference in survival outcomes between patients with hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer with low vs no HER2 expression who received targeted therapy and endocrine...
Is regular surveillance with mammography important in older patients with breast cancer and a shortened life expectancy? A study of 44,475 patients with breast cancer found the practice—which may yield more harms than benefits—to be common. This study is unique in that it examined surveillance...
Two studies presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2023 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer underscore the importance of enrolling patients with gynecologic cancer on clinical trials and of assuring trial access to racial minorities. One study found a statistically significant...
The oral, small-molecule Wee1 kinase inhibitor adavosertib was clinically active but not well tolerated by more than half the patients with recurrent or persistent uterine serous carcinoma in the phase IIb ADAGIO trial. The findings were reported at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2023...
Amanda Nickles Fader, MD, Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Professor of Oncology, and Vice Chair of Gynecologic Surgical Operations at Johns Hopkins Health System, Baltimore, provided her thoughts on GOG 3026 for The ASCO Post. Dr. Fader applauded the investigators and the Gynecologic...
In patients with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer, treatment with ribociclib plus letrozole was not only active, but led to outcomes that are comparable to those achieved with current agents—with a particularly striking 19-month duration of response—according to Brian M. Slomovitz, MD,...
The long-running randomized NRG Oncology GOG-258 clinical trial failed to identify an overall survival benefit with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy vs chemotherapy alone in any subgroup of patients with locally advanced endometrial cancer. After a median follow-up of 112 months, the hazard ratio for...
Adjuvant treatment with the combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab achieved a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in recurrence-free survival compared with active surveillance alone in patients with high-risk hepatocellular carcinoma following curative-intent...
Specialized exercise and wellness programs significantly elevated physical well-being and quality of life among patients with breast cancer while reducing the use of health-care resources in new research presented at the 2023 American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting. In one multicenter...
The targeted kinase inhibitor cabozantinib plus a two-drug immunotherapy combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab may be capable of slowing cancer progression in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who received no prior lines of therapy, according to a study published by Choueiri et al in...
In a UK phase II trial (MAJIC-PV) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Harrison et al found that ruxolitinib produced a higher complete response rate vs best available therapy in patients with polycythemia vera intolerant of or resistant to hydroxycarbamide. Study Details In the...
In a Children’s Oncology Group phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Katherine E. Warren, MD, and colleagues found that lenalidomide showed activity in children with pilocytic astrocytomas and optic pathway gliomas who did not respond to initial therapy. As noted by the...
Botensilimab (AGEN1181) in combination with balstilimab (AGEN2034) induced durable responses in patients with platinum-resistant or -refractory ovarian cancer, in the ongoing phase Ib C-800 study presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2023 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer by Bruno...
Amanda Nickles Fader, MD, Professor of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Professor of Oncology, and Vice Chair of Gynecologic Surgical Operations at Johns Hopkins Health System, Baltimore, provided her thoughts on GOG 3026 for The ASCO Post. Dr. Fader applauded the investigators and the Gynecologic...
In patients with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer, treatment with ribociclib plus letrozole was not only active, but led to outcomes that are comparable to those achieved with current agents—with a particularly striking 19-month duration of response—according to Brian M. Slomovitz, MD,...
Two studies presented at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2023 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer underscore the importance of enrolling patients with gynecologic cancer on clinical trials and of assuring trial access to racial minorities. One study found a statistically significant...
The oral, small-molecule Wee1 kinase inhibitor adavosertib was clinically active but not well tolerated by more than half the patients with recurrent or persistent uterine serous carcinoma in the phase IIb ADAGIO trial. The findings were reported at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2023...
The addition of a checkpoint inhibitor to standard chemotherapy as first-line treatment of advanced endometrial cancer reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 70% in patients with mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) tumors in two recent phase III studies. The results of the two...
The sun was out, and the weather was beautiful for the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2023 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer held in Tampa, Florida, in March 2023. Participants came from across the world for this second hybrid gathering since the COVID-19 pandemic to share ongoing advances in ...
Guest Editor’s Note: Substantial evidence supports the value of practices that focus on the interactions among the mind, body, and behavior for promoting health and well-being. In this article, Kavita K. Mishra, MD, MPH, summarizes a clinical model for personalized mind-body medicine in cancer care ...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by John H. Strickler, MD, and colleagues, the phase II MOUNTAINEER trial has shown the activity of the combination of tucatinib plus trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive, chemotherapy-refractory, RAS wild-type, unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer....