A clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) provides guidance on the use of radiation therapy to treat adult patients with primary liver cancers using external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT). Evidence-based recommendations outline indications and optimal EBRT...
Invited discussant Ciara O’Sullivan, MB, BCh, BAO, of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, commented on the DESTINY-Breast03 trial at the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. “The treatment of HER2-positive disease is an evolving landscape, with eight approved agents. Despite this rapid...
Research published by Manjappachar et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network examined the impact of septic shock on people with hematologic malignancies. They found that the mortality rate was 67.8% at 28 days, and only 19.4% of patients remained alive after 90 days. The...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Robert J. Motzer, MD, and colleagues, the final overall survival analysis of the phase III IMmotion151 trial has shown no significant difference for atezolizumab plus bevacizumab vs sunitinib in previously untreated patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma...
Less experienced radiologists are more likely to recommend additional imaging for women undergoing breast cancer screening when they read digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) images later in the day, according to a new study published by Bernstein et al in the journal Radiology. The results highlight ...
In a study published in the journal Gastroenterology, Trivedi et al described an increase in early-onset colorectal cancer and precancerous polyps, based on a large, nationally representative study of patients younger than 50 who underwent colonoscopy. It was the first large-scale study to look at...
In a meta-analysis of two STAMPEDE platform phase III trials reported in The Lancet, Gerhardt Attard, PhD, and colleagues found that the addition of abiraterone acetate and prednisolone with or without enzalutamide to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) was associated with improved metastasis-free...
Manali Kamdar, MD, of the University of Colorado Cancer Center, discusses phase III results from the TRANSFORM study, which suggest that lisocabtagene maraleucel, a CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy, improved outcomes with a favorable safety profile and may be a potential new standard of care for...
By 2040, the number of cancer survivors in the United States is expected to climb from 17 million today to 26.1 million, with most living 5 years or more after their diagnosis. However, many of these survivors will need ongoing monitoring for treatment-related side effects and cancer recurrence...
Use of the first investigational oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) elacestrant significantly reduced the risk of death or disease progression and lengthened progression-free survival compared with standard-of-care endocrine therapy with fulvestrant or an aromatase inhibitor in...
New research indicates that psychological distress from cancer and its treatment can cause many adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors to seek additional care and burden them with considerable medical expenses. The findings were published by Abdelhadi et al in the journal Cancer....
A team of researchers has revealed some of the mechanisms by which polyps develop into colorectal cancer, setting the framework for improved surveillance for the disease. Their study, published by Chen et al in the journal Cell, describes findings using a single-cell transcriptomic and imaging...
Although the incidence and mortality rates in colorectal cancer have dropped by 3.6% each year from 2007 to 2016 for people aged 55 and older—mainly because of increased colorectal cancer screening, advances in therapy, and reductions in smoking—these rates have increased by 2% each year during the ...
In the phase II/III RELATIVITY-047 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Hussein A. Tawbi, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the addition of relatlimab, a lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3)-blocking antibody, to nivolumab, a PD-1 inhibitor, significantly prolonged...
Research published by Hahn et al in JAMA showed depression screening for patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer was highly effective at identifying patients in need of behavioral health care. The new screening initiative was subsequently and successfully built into the patient care and daily...
A portable, rapid prostate cancer screening kit could provide early warning to populations with a higher incidence of prostate cancer and may particularly aid those with limited access to health care. The proof-of-concept test, described by Srinivasan et al in Current Research in Biotechnology, is...
A new study published by Hannan et al in European Urology Oncology showed that highly focused radiation to isolated metastases that progress despite drug therapy may prolong drug efficacy in patients with kidney cancer. Together with a Canadian report recently published by Cheung et al in European...
In the phase II ADAPT-IT trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Michael A. Postow, MD, and colleagues showed that findings on interim computed tomography (CT) allowed patients to avoid the third and fourth doses of combination nivolumab/ipilimumab for the treatment of advanced...
Patrick Hwu, MD, of Moffitt Cancer Center and President of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC), and Mary Dean, JD, CAE, SITC Executive Director, discuss the organization’s mission, strides made in cancer immunology, meeting the challenge of immunoresistance, and the new SITC app for...
Today, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) published significant updates to the expert consensus recommendations on vaccination and preexposure prophylaxis of COVID-19 for people with cancer. The NCCN Advisory Committee on COVID-19 Vaccination and Preexposure Prophylaxis meets...
Cancer deaths rose to 10 million and new cases jumped to over 23 million globally in 2019, according to a new study from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine published in JAMA Oncology. At the start of the decade in 2010, total...
Ann H. Partridge, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses what she considers to be the most notable presentations at the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. They include the focus on early-stage disease, especially in the TEXT/SOFT, RxPonder, and KEYNOTE-522 trials, as well as...
Nearly 100% of patients with solid tumors have antibodies effective against the SARS–CoV-2 delta variant after a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to results published as a correspondence by Fendler et al in Cancer Cell. The new findings also highlight a proportion of patients with blood...
Patients with melanoma who reported eating more fiber-rich foods when they began treatment with immunotherapy survived longer without cancer growth than patients with insufficient dietary fiber intake, according to new research published by Spencer et al in Science. The benefit was most noticeable...
On January 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) amended the emergency use authorization (EUA) for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to expand the use of a single booster dose to include use in individuals aged 12 to 15 years; shorten the time between the completion of primary...
In a case-control genome-wide association study among persons of European ancestry reported in The Lancet Oncology, Trépo et al identified common genetic variants associated with the risk of alcohol-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Study Details The study involved a discovery cohort of 2,107 ...
In the phase III POLARIX trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Tilly et al found that polatuzumab vedotin-piiq plus R-CHP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone) significantly improved progression-free survival vs R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, ...
Oropharyngeal cancer incidence among men is continuing to rise rapidly in nearly all 50 U.S. states and among women living in states in the Midwest and Southeast regions, according to a new study published by Damgacioglu et al in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery. In addition, the...
Eight substances have been added to the Report on Carcinogens, bringing the total list to 256 substances that are known—or reasonably anticipated—to cause cancer in humans. The 15th Report on Carcinogens, which is a cumulative report mandated by Congress and prepared by the National Toxicology...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Bishop et al, the phase III BELINDA trial showed no improvement in event-free survival with second-line tisagenlecleucel vs standard of care including salvage chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in patients ...
New data were presented at the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium demonstrating that the Breast Cancer Index (BCI) may predict preferential recurrence-prevention benefit from extended endocrine therapy and may also predict the overall benefit/risk and likelihood of improved health outcomes...
ASCO is currently recruiting practices to participate in measures testing for a variety of efforts, including re-endorsing existing measures by the National Quality Forum (NQF). In addition to ensuring the highest level of quality care for individuals with cancer and advancing the specialty of...
Representatives Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Fred Upton (R-MI) recently introduced new legislation intended to invest in research and deliver more cures to patients. The newly introduced 21st Century Cures 2.0 Act (Cures 2.0) is intended to build on the landmark 21st Century Cures Act, which was signed ...
On November 19, 2021, the Build Back Better Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives with a vote of 220–213. The legislation contains significant health-care provisions, some of which are outlined below. Drug Pricing—The legislation contains prescription drug pricing reforms designed to address ...
OCE Insights is an occasional column 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, Julie A. Schneider, PhD, Associate Director for Research Strategy and Partnerships, OCE; Jennifer J. Gao, MD,...
NYU Langone Health’s Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center opened a new state-of-the-art center to treat people with hematologic malignancies, including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma. The new center, led by Samer Al-Homsi, MD, MBA, Clinical Professor in the Department of Medicine and...
In the past decade, use of immunotherapy has arisen as a novel adjunct to multiple myeloma therapy. Daratumumab is the first anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in November 2015, for use in treating relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.1...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Thierry Facon, MD, of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille, and colleagues, a prespecified interim analysis of overall survival in the pivotal phase III MAIA trial has shown a significant benefit with the addition of daratumumab to...
Invited discussant Ian Chau, MD, Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden Hospital in London and Surrey in the United Kingdom, said the findings from COSMIC-3121 are not mature enough to establish cabozantinib/atezolizumab as a new front-line option for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma...
The phase III COSMIC-312 study has met its primary endpoint, showing a significant improvement in progression-free survival with cabozantinib plus atezolizumab compared with sorafenib in treatment-naive hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), investigators reported at a European Society for Medical...
A four-drug combination of the anti–PD-1 antibody sintilimab, the bevacizumab biosimilar IBI305, plus pemetrexed and cisplatin chemotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with advanced nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with ...
The enthusiasm behind the open access initiative sprang from the need for scientific research that is accessible to everyone worldwide. Open knowledge based on open access also aimed to increase good research practices such as reproducibility and transparency.1 This movement was launched by...
Achieving undetectable measurable residual disease (MRD) is an important milestone in the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) as well as those with other hematologic malignancies undergoing treatment. Now a small phase II study, presented at the 2021 American Society of...
Results of the phase III randomized KEYNOTE-355 trial showed that the addition of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab to investigator’s choice of first-line chemotherapy improved progression-free and overall survival in women with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer compared with placebo and...
ASCO has elected Lynn M. Schuchter, MD, FASCO, a long-time member and volunteer, to serve as its President beginning in June 2023. Dr. Schuchter will take office as President-Elect immediately after the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago in June 2022. Seven new members were also elected to the ASCO...
Several of the researchersand scientists at the 42nd annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), held December 10–14, attended the event on the basis of scholarships awarded through SABCS and its cosponsor, the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR). The goal of the scholarships is...
In October 2021, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) prostate caycer panel modified its guidelines (NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology [NCCN Guidelines®]) for low-risk prostate cancer to remove the word “preferred option” for active surveillance, giving equal weight to...
Over the past year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval to many novel drugs and new indications for older therapeutic agents used in oncology and hematology. NOVEMBER Pafolacianine for Ovarian Cancer Lesions: On November 29, pafolacianine (Cytalux), an imaging drug,...
Women who live in urban areas and those residing in rural areas are screened for breast cancer at similar rates, but rural women are screened for colorectal cancer at significantly lower rates than their urban counterparts, research published by Shete et al in JAMA Network Open showed. The...
Professor and neurosurgical oncologist Orin Bloch, MD, FAANS, has been appointed as the new co-leader of UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Biomedical Technology Program effective December 1. Dr. Bloch is replacing Chief of Nuclear Medicine Ramsey Badawi, PhD, who is stepping down from the role ...