In a phase Ib study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Powell et al found that the addition of pembrolizumab to curative chemoradiotherapy was safe and associated with response in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Study Details The U.S. multicenter...
For newly treated patients with standard- and intermediate-risk multiple myeloma who are not slated for immediate autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT), the triplet regimen of carfilzomib/lenalidomide/dexamethasone (KRd) failed to improve progression-free survival vs the current...
An updated analysis of the phase III VELIA/GOG-3005 trial, presented during the 2020 Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer Webinar Series,1 suggested synergy between the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor veliparib and platinum chemotherapy in the...
On April 29, 2020, niraparib was approved for maintenance treatment of adult patients with advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on...
Thomas J. Herzog, MD, Deputy Director, University of Cincinnati Cancer Center, who presented a distillation of the PAOLA-1 trial findings along with updated results of the PRIMA trial, called the difference in progression-free survival with the addition of olaparib to bevacizumab “remarkable” after ...
Proponents of combining bevacizumab with poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibition to treat advanced ovarian cancer now have more data to support the maintenance regimen, according to an updated analysis of the phase III PAOLA-1 trial presented during the 2020 Society of Gynecologic Oncology...
A less-frequent, more-convenient dosing schedule for pembrolizumab (400 mg every 6 weeks) was deemed safe and effective in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma, according to interim data from cohort B enrolled in the KEYNOTE-555 trial. These findings were presented at the 2020 Virtual...
The poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor talazoparib did not improve overall survival in women with metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer and mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, according to new results from the phase III EMBRACA trial presented at the 2020 American Association for Cancer...
Two gynecologic oncologists and ASCO’s Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FSCT, FASCO, commented on the findings of the TROPHIMMUN trial for The ASCO Post. “The authors demonstrate efficacy of a new treatment approach for gestational trophoblastic...
On May 29, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two combination regimens: ramucirumab (Cyramza) was approved in combination with erlotinib for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)...
Andres Poveda, MD, of Initia Oncology, discusses phase III results from the SOLO2 trial, which showed that, compared with placebo, maintenance olaparib improved median overall survival by 12.9 months in patients with platinum-sensitive, relapsed ovarian cancer and a BRCA mutation (Abstract 6002).
On April 21, 2020, ibrutinib was granted an expanded indication for use in combination with rituximab for the initial treatment of adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).1,2 The recommended dosage of ibrutinib in CLL/SLL is 420 mg, once daily,...
GUEST EDITORS Dr. Abutalib is Associate Director of the Hematology and Cellular Therapy Program and Director of the Clinical Apheresis Program at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Zion, Illinois; Associate Professor at the Roseland Franklin University of Medicine and Science; and Founder and...
Howard A. Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO, Immediate Past President of ASCO and current Society Board Chair, talks about how the meeting went, with its record-breaking attendance and new format.
Positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging with the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radiotracer fluorine F-18 DCFPyL (PyL) successfully identified areas of occult metastasis in men with biochemically recurrent metastatic castration-resistant prostate...
On May 8, 2020, olaparib was granted an expanded indication to include use in combination with bevacizumab for first-line maintenance treatment of adult patients with advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to first-line...
According to the results of a European case-control study published by Molina-Montes et al in the journal Gut, one of the most recently identified types of diabetes—type 3c, or pancreatogenic diabetes—could also be an early manifestation of pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer has a high mortality...
The addition of the checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab to enzalutamide failed to improve overall survival compared with enzalutamide alone in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in the phase III IMbassador250 trial, according to results presented at the 2020 American Association ...
In a recent article in JAMA Oncology, reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, Dess et al present an important analysis to help guide decision-making in the setting of salvage radiotherapy in prostate cancer.1 This secondary analysis assessed the association of prostate-specific antigen (PSA)...
The treatment approaches to multiple myeloma have significantly changed over the past decade with the introduction of many new active agents. Among them, the monoclonal antibodies have been one of the most exciting advances in myeloma, complementing their success in other hematologic cancers. In...
An analysis of 59 prostate cancer clinical trials based in North America and Europe found that the vast majority of enrollees were non-Hispanic white men, according to a study published by Rencsok et al in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. The proportion of white participants in...
The addition of trastuzumab to radiotherapy did not reach the protocol objective of a 36% reduction in the ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence rate for women with HER2-positive ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in the NRG Oncology clinical trial NSABP B-43. The trial did find a modest (19%) reduction ...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by David A. Reardon, MD, and colleagues, the phase III CheckMate 143 trial showed no difference in overall survival among adult patients with a first recurrence of glioblastoma treated with nivolumab vs bevacizumab following standard radiation and temozolomide therapy. ...
In a single-center phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Janjigian et al found that the addition of pembrolizumab to trastuzumab and chemotherapy showed activity in the first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic esophagogastric cancer. Study Details The investigator-initiated trial...
In an interim analysis of the German phase II IMMUNED study reported in The Lancet, Zimmer et al found that adjuvant therapy with nivolumab/ipilimumab or nivolumab alone significantly prolonged recurrence-free survival vs placebo in patients with resected stage IV melanoma and no evidence of...
Initial results of the randomized phase II TheraP trial show that therapy directed to prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) with lutetium-177–labeled PSMA-617 (LuPSMA) significantly improved prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response compared with cabazitaxel in men with metastatic...
Michael J. Morris, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses phase III data from the CONDOR trial, which showed that PSMA-targeted PET scans detected and localized occult disease in most men with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer presenting with negative or equivocal...
As reported at the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program (Abstract 5602) and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Shore et al, the phase III HERO trial showed sustained castrate testosterone levels and lower risk of major cardiovascular events with the oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone...
Meletios A. Dimopoulos, MD, of the University of Athens, discusses phase III results from the BOSTON trial, which showed that once-weekly selinexor, bortezomib, and dexamethasone significantly improved progression-free survival and overall response rates compared with twice-weekly bortezomib and...
Neal D. Shore, MD, of the Carolina Urologic Research Center, discusses phase III results of the HERO study, which showed relugolix achieved castration as early as day 4 and was superior to leuprolide in sustained testosterone suppression, testosterone recovery after discontinuation, and reduction...
ASCO President-Elect Everett E. Vokes, MD, FASCO, is the John E. Ultmann Professor, Chair of the Department of Medicine, and Physician-in-Chief of University of Chicago Medicine and Biological Sciences. After a journey from the United States to Germany and back again, Dr. Vokes arrived at the...
In the final overall survival analysis of the phase III PROSPER trial reported at the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program (Abstract 5515) and published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Cora N. Sternberg, MD, and colleagues found that enzalutamide plus androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT)...
Results of the NRG Oncology phase III clinical trial NRG-GY004 indicated that the addition of the investigational agent cediranib to olaparib and standard platinum-based chemotherapy did not improve progression-free survival outcomes for women with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer; however,...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Alessandro Gronchi, MD, and colleagues, final results of a phase III trial conducted by the Italian, French, and Polish Sarcoma Groups showed no disease-free or overall survival benefit with use of histology-tailored vs standard...
As reported in The Lancet by Matthew D. Galsky, MD, of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and colleagues, the phase III IMvigor130 trial has shown prolonged progression-free survival with first-line atezolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy vs platinum-based chemotherapy alone in patients ...
Alberto F. Sobrero, MD, of the Ospedale San Martino, discusses final results of the IDEA study, which supported the use of 3 months of adjuvant CAPOX, vs 6 months, for most patients with stage III colon cancer. The shorter treatment duration reduced toxicity, inconvenience, and cost (Abstract 4004).
Seema A. Khan, MD, MPH, of the Lynn Sage Comprehensive Breast Center, discusses phase III trial results showing that in newly diagnosed metastatic stage IV breast cancer, locoregional treatment of the primary tumor did not offer a greater survival benefit than systemic therapy (Abstract LBA2).
When oncology luminary Joyce A. O’Shaughnessy, MD, was in her early teens, her youngest sister, Teri, developed acute lymphocytic leukemia at age 5. Dr. O’Shaughnessy, the oldest of four girls, recalled that her sister’s struggle with the disease had a profound effect on her worldview. “Teri went...
Howard A. Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO, talks about some of the reports of research developments he is looking forward to and how future conferences could incorporate virtual presentations.
Thierry André, MD, of Hôpital Saint-Antoine, discusses the phase III results from KEYNOTE-177, which showed that, compared with standard chemotherapy of FOLFOX or FOLFIRI, pembrolizumab doubled median progression-free survival, from 8.2 months to 16.5 months, in patients with microsatellite...
The combination of carfilzomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (KRd) did not show superior efficacy in patients with newly diagnosed myeloma absent a high-risk disease prognosis, compared with the standard of care: bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRd). Data from a planned interim...
Women who present at diagnosis with advanced breast cancer have faced an unanswered question: will local therapy, consisting of surgery and radiation to the tumor in the breast, prolong survival compared to the traditional treatment of systemic treatment alone? Now, data from the randomized phase...
Data from clinical efficacy and biomarker analyses conducted for the single-arm phase II PrE0505 study of the initial treatment of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma were presented by Patrick Forde, MB, BCh, and colleagues during the Lung Cancer Oral Abstract Session at the ASCO20 Virtual ...
Jeffrey A. Meyerhardt, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses results from the CALGB/SWOG 80702 trial of celecoxib plus standard adjuvant therapy with fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX). Adding celecoxib to standard chemotherapy did not significantly improve...
Howard A. Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO, President of ASCO, talks about what to expect from this year’s ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program and its many offerings.
Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses phase III results of the BEACON CRC study, which confirmed that, compared with standard chemotherapy, encorafenib plus cetuximab with or without binimetinib improved overall survival and objective response rate...
On May 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ramucirumab (Cyramza, injection, 10 mg/mL solution) in combination with erlotinib for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19...
On May 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin) for the treatment of people with unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have not received prior systemic therapy. The review of this application...
The final results of the randomized phase II ECOG-ACRIN E3311 trial were presented by Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, and colleagues during the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program (Abstract 6500) and in today's Head and Neck Cancer Oral Abstract Session. The trial, conducted in patients undergoing...
As reported at the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program by Charles M. Rudin, MD, PhD, and colleagues (Abstract 9001), the phase III KEYNOTE-604 trial has shown that first-line pembrolizumab plus etoposide/platinum significantly prolonged progression-free survival and prolonged overall survival at a...