In a UK-based study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Fallon et al found that adding a clinician-delivered bedside pain assessment and management tool (Edinburgh Pain Assessment and Management Tool [EPAT]) to usual care improved some pain outcomes in cancer center inpatients. Study...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Rathkopf et al, sensitivity analyses of radiographic progression-free survival in the PREVAIL trial comparing enzalutamide vs placebo in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer support use of the measure as a clinically meaningful endpoint in trials in this...
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Depuydt et al identified two genomic copy number aberrations associated with risk of extremely poor survival in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma. Study Details The international collaborative study included normalized...
In a phase II trial reported in JAMA Oncology by Debra L. Richardson, MD, of Stephenson Cancer Center, Oklahoma University Health Science Center, and colleagues, the addition of pazopanib (Votrient) to paclitaxel did not improve progression-free survival among women with persistent or recurrent...
An interim analysis of a phase II trial reported by Jones et al in The Lancet Oncology indicates that venetoclax (Venclexta) produces a response in a high proportion of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) progressing on or after ibrutinib (Imbruvica) treatment. John C. Byrd, MD, of The ...
A phase II study (ACE-LY-004) reported in The Lancet by Michael Wang, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues showed durable responses with the Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor acalabrutinib (Calquence) in patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma....
In a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Unger et al linked data from the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) with Medicare claims and found that finasteride treatment was associated with a maintained reduction in prostate cancer risk after discontinuation of the...
In the phase III COLUMBUS trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Dummer et al found that the combination of the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib and the MEK inhibitor binimetinib improved progression-free survival vs vemurafenib (Zelboraf) in patients with advanced BRAF V600–mutant melanoma....
In an Australia-New Zealand phase III trial (Trans Tasman Radiation Oncology Group 05.01) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Porceddu et al found no benefit of adding carboplatin to postoperative radiation therapy in patients with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head...
In a Chinese phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lu et al found that the VEGFR-1,-2, and-3 kinase inhibitor fruquintinib was active in patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who progressed after two prior chemotherapy regimens. Study Details ...
In the UK-based CAP trial reported in JAMA, Martin et al found that a single prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening was not associated with better 10-year prostate cancer-specific survival vs the standard practice of no screening. Screening was associated with greater detection of prostate...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Katz et al found that less than half of patients with clinical indications received formal genetic counseling after breast cancer diagnosis. Study Details The study involved surveys of 5,080 patients aged 20 to 79 years diagnosed with early ...
In a phase III trial (SUMIT) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Carvajal et al found that the addition of the oral MEK1/2 inhibitor selumetinib to dacarbazine did not significantly improve progression-free survival in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma. Study Details In the...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Teo et al found that alterations in DNA damage response and repair (DDR) genes, particularly known or likely deleterious alterations, were associated with response to programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1...
In the dose-finding, dose-expansion phase Ib JAVELIN Renal 100 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Choueiri et al identified the maximum tolerated dose of the immune checkpoint inhibitor avelumab (Bavencio) in combination with the vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor axitinib...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Garassino et al, the phase II ATLANTIC trial has shown durvalumab (Imfinzi) to be active in third- or later-line treatment of advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Study Details In the study, 444 patients from 139 sites in Asia, Europe, and North ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wharam et al found that women who were switched from low-deductible to high-deductible insurance policies had delays in diagnostic workup, early breast cancer diagnosis, and initiation of chemotherapy compared with those maintained on...
In a study of data from the National Cancer Database reported in JAMA Oncology, Joshi et al found that two-thirds of patients with node-positive nonmetastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the penis received lymph node dissection and approximately half received chemotherapy in recent years. ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine by Jason D. Merker, MD, PhD, of Stanford University School of Medicine, and colleagues, ASCO and the College of American Pathologists (CAP) have issued a joint review on the status of...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Mehralivand et al found that inclusion of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in a predictive model may reduce unnecessary biopsies in men with suspected prostate cancer. Study Details In the study, a predictive model adding MRI-derived prostate volume...
In an analysis of two pooled studies reported in JAMA Oncology, O’Brien et al found that a complete response to ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia was more likely in patients receiving the agent as first-line therapy and in those without bulky disease....
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hoerger et al found that patients with a higher proportion of early palliative care visits addressing behavioral coping strategies had improvement in depression symptoms and quality of life. In addition, those with a high proportion of visits ...
In an investigator-initiated phase III SIRveNIB trial in Asia-Pacific patients reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chow et al found no difference in overall survival with selective internal radiation therapy, or radioembolization, vs sorafenib (Nexavar) in patients with unresectable...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Tang et al, a Chinese phase III noninferiority trial has shown similar progression-free survival with nedaplatin- vs cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy in patients with stage II to IVB nasopharyngeal carcinoma, with nedaplatin being associated with fewer severe...
In a study of National Cancer Database data reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ennis et al found no significant survival differences between patients receiving brachytherapy-based radiotherapy vs radical prostatectomy in men with high-risk localized prostate cancer. Study Details The...
In a Canadian retrospective population-based study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bubis et al found that patients with cancer reported higher symptom scores at 1 month after diagnosis and identified several factors associated with higher symptom scores. Study Details The study...
As reported at the 2017 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition and in The New England Journal of Medicine, Stephen J. Schuster, MD, of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues found that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell...
The French phase III ALLOZITHRO trial, stopped early due to excessive hematologic relapse in the azithromycin group, showed worse airflow decline–free survival with azithromycin vs placebo after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for hematologic malignancy. The study findings were...
In an analysis of data from the Breast International Group (BIG) 02-98 trial reported in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, Zeidan et al found that postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) vs no PMRT was associated with significantly reduced risk of locoregional...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Gore et al, a phase II trial has shown high response rates with dasatinib treatment in pediatric patients with Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP). Findings in the trial supported the...
ON DECEMBER 19, 2017, cabozantinib (Cabometyx) was granted regular approval for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma.1,2 Cabozantinib was initially granted approval in 2016 for the treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who had received prior antiangiogenic therapy. The...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. On December 19, 2017, bosutinib (Bosulif) was granted...
AS REPORTED in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Jeanne Carter, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues, ASCO has issued a clinical practice guideline adaptation of the Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) guideline on interventions to address sexual problems in people with cancer.1 ...
AS REPORTED in The New England Journal of Medicine by Jean-Charles Soria, MD, PhD, of Gustave Roussy Cancer Campus and University Paris-Sud, and colleagues, the phase III FLAURA trial has shown a significant progression-free survival benefit with the third-generation epidermal growth factor...
On January 26, 2018, the radiolabeled somatostatin analog lutetium Lu-177 dotatate (Lutathera) was approved for the treatment of somatostatin receptor–positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, including foregut, midgut, and hindgut neuroendocrine tumors, in adults.1,2 Supporting...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Zardavas et al found that the prognostic effect of PIK3CA mutation in early breast cancer was reduced after adjustment for other prognostic factors. Study Details The study involved analysis of individual patient data from a pooled...
In a phase III trial (BrighTNess) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Loibl et al found that the addition of the PARP inhibitor veliparib to carboplatin and paclitaxel in neoadjuvant therapy did not increase pathologic complete response rate in women with triple-negative breast cancer. Study Details ...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology, Huet et al have developed a 23-gene expression profile that predicts risk of follicular lymphoma progression. Study Details In a training cohort consisting of a subgroup of patients from the PRIMA trial (in which rituximab [Rituxan] maintenance was evaluated...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in Leukemia & Lymphoma, Shah et al identified the risk of cardiotoxicity among patients, most with multiple myeloma, receiving carfilzomib (Kyprolis) in clinical trials. Study Details The study included data from 4,164 patients who received...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Gannavarapu et al found that substantial unintentional weight loss prior to treatment is common among patients with cancer across stages of disease and is associated with poorer outcome. Study Details The retrospective cohort study included ...
In the international phase III BRIM8 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Maio et al found inconclusive evidence of benefit of adjuvant vemurafenib treatment in patients with BRAF V600–mutant melanoma. Study Details In the double-blind trial, 498 patients with fully resected...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Lee et al found that measurement of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) can help distinguish between pseudoprogression (radiologic progression prior to response) and true progression in patients with metastatic melanoma receiving anti–programmed cell death ...
An Italian phase III trial (FATA-GIM3) has shown no difference in disease-free survival with 5 years of upfront adjuvant aromatase inhibitor therapy vs 2 years of tamoxifen followed by 3 years of aromatase inhibitor therapy in women with hormone receptor–positive early breast cancer. The...
In a phase I trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Burris et al determined the phase II dose of the next-generation PI3Kδ inhibitor umbralisib and found evidence of the agent’s activity in relapsed or refractory hematologic malignancies. Umbralisib exhibits improved PI3K isoform...
In a Japanese phase III noninferiority trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ito et al found that dexamethasone could be spared on days 2 and 3 in an antiemetic regimen including the neurokinin-1 (NK1) receptor antagonist aprepitant and palonosetron in patients receiving highly...
In a Danish study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Zachariae et al found that an Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy intervention improved insomnia among breast cancer survivors. Study Details In the study, 255 patients from a national sample of Danish breast...
On December 5, 2017, bevacizumab (Avastin) was granted regular approval for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma in adults.1 Bevacizumab was granted accelerated approval in May 2009 for use in treating patients with glioblastoma who had disease progression on prior therapy. Supporting Efficacy...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Olszewski et al found that 36% of patients receiving novel oral anticancer agents in a Rhode Island academic research center received charity assistance to pay for treatment, including 47% of patients aged ≥ 65 years. Study Details The...
In an Indian single-center phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gupta et al found that cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy improved disease-free survival vs neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radical surgery in women with locally advanced squamous cervical cancer. Study Details...
In a phase III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Raje et al found that denosumab was noninferior to zoledronic acid in preventing skeletal-related events (SREs) in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients with bone disease. Study Details In the double-blind trial, 1,718 patients with at...