Studies have shown that utilizing a PARP inhibitor in the management of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and BRCA1/2 mutation is clinically beneficial. New research published by Wu et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network sought to determine whether such...
A new study published by Stacey A. Fedewa, PhD, and colleagues in JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that state-level lung cancer screening rates were not aligned with the national lung cancer burden. The report provides the first population-based state-level screening data for...
James L. Mulshine, MD, of Rush University Medical Center, offers an overview of the 2020 Quantitative Imaging Workshop, whose mission is to leverage the use of CT to speed early detection and improve the management of lung cancer and other thoracic diseases.
In states that have expanded Medicaid availability as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), mortality rates for three major types of cancer are significantly lower than in states that have not expanded their Medicaid, according to findings from a new study published by Miranda B. Lam, MD, MBA, and ...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has announced the 2020–2021 class of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-AACR Oncology Educational Fellows. This is the first year of the fellowship, a joint initiative of the Oncology Center of Excellence at the FDA and the AACR. The...
Michaela A. Dinan, PhD, has been appointed Co-Leader of the Cancer Prevention and Control Research Program at Yale Cancer Center, beginning January 1, 2021. Dr. Dinan was also named Associate Professor in the Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health and will...
Medical memoir dramas, especially those centered in the emergency room (ER), are often met with the anticipation of top-rated medical shows portrayed on TV, in which there is nonstop blood-and-guts action and sizzling tensions between shouting doctors and nurses. In her recently published memoir,...
Although remarkable progress has been made in advancing pediatric cancer research, critical unmet needs remain, especially for more aggressive cancers such as neuroblastomas and Ewing sarcoma. The Stand Up To Cancer–Cancer Research UK Pediatric Cancer New Discoveries Challenge has awarded three...
The Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology (APSHO) presented the third annual Mary Pazdur Award for Excellence in Advanced Practice in Oncology to Christina Cone, DNP, APRN, ANP-BC, AOCNP, of Duke Cancer Institute, at this year’s JADPRO Live Virtual conference, an annual...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recognized the recipients of its 2020 Gold Medal awards and other honors at the 62nd ASTRO Annual Meeting, which was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ASTRO Gold Medal Bruce Haffty, MD, FASTRO, and Brian O’Sullivan, MD, FASTRO, were each...
Randall A. Oyer, MD, President of the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC), released a statement regarding the rise in mortality rates of specific cancers and the rise in the occurrence of advanced metastatic cancers in 2020. New research presented at the United European Gastroenterology ...
On October 23, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the next-generation sequencing–based FoundationOne CDx test as a companion diagnostic to identify fusions in the neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase (NTRK) genes NTRK1, NTRK2, and NTRK3 in DNA isolated from tumor tissue...
OneOncology, a partnership of independent oncology practices, has announced the formation of a separate subsidiary, the OneOncology Research Network (OneR). The new platform is a national nonexclusive clinical trial site management organization that will enhance the current research programs...
The CURE Media Group, a multimedia platform devoted to cancer updates and research that reaches more than 1 million patients, recently announced four recipients of the inaugural 2020 Lung Cancer Heroes awards and the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement award. The 2020 Lung Cancer Heroes are:...
Comparison of two techniques used in screening non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor samples demonstrated that fragment analysis could detect large MET exon 14 skipping deletions that were missed by next-generation sequencing, according to findings presented at the Molecular Analysis for...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) announced the appointment of Beth Gaffney, MBA, as the new Vice President of U.S. and Global Business Development. In this role, Ms. Gaffney will oversee both U.S. and global business activities and the development of the NCCN brand worldwide. Ms....
Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, has been named Deputy Editor of ASCO’s JCO Oncology Practice (JCO OP). Dr. Abraham is Chairman of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Cleveland Clinic and Professor of Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. The mission of JCO OP, now in...
On November 9, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved FoundationOne Liquid CDx to be used as a companion diagnostic for olaparib. As a companion diagnostic, FoundationOne Liquid CDx will use a blood-based biopsy to identify patients with BRCA1, BRCA2, and/or ATM alterations and...
David Yankelevitz, MD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, discusses the renewed interest in applying adjuvant and neoadjuvant targeted treatments to earlier-stage lung cancer, given the promising results in more advanced disease. The challenges, he says, include identifying patient...
The results of a survey of 1,038 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, administrators, and allied health professionals (such dietitians and physiotherapists) working in oncology in the United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) during the spring wave of COVID-19 were presented by Susana N. Banerjee,...
A study of oncology staff carried out immediately after the spring peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom indicated that many had been infected with the coronavirus, including those who did not show any symptoms. The study—presented by Favara et al at the NCRI (National Cancer Research ...
An article in the September 25, 2020, issue of The ASCO Post, “Enthusiastic Response to Novel Therapies on the Horizon in Multiple Myeloma,” contained a couple of errors in its discussion of cereblon E3 ligase (CEL) modulators. The CEL modulator CC-92480 was misidentified (as CC-92380), and the...
CancerCare, a leading national nonprofit organization providing free support services to anyone affected by cancer, welcomed new board member J. Leonard (Len) Lichtenfeld, MD, MACP, who most recently served as Deputy Chief Medical Officer for the American Cancer Society at its global headquarters...
LUNGevity Foundation, the nation’s leading lung cancer–focused nonprofit organization, recently announced the launch of the LUNGevity Action Network, a new engagement program that enables lung cancer advocacy at many levels. The Action Network empowers advocates to engage in awareness and policy...
The National Academy of Medicine recently announced the election of 90 regular members and 10 international members during its annual meeting. Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated...
Karen E. Knudsen, MBA, PhD, is the new President of the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI). She began her 2-year term at the close of the virtual 2020 AACI/Cancer Center Administrators Forum (CCAF) Annual Meeting. A member of AACI’s Board of Directors since 2016, Dr. Knudsen chaired ...
Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah recently announced leadership appointments for two long-standing cancer center members. Brad Cairns, PhD, has accepted an appointment as Chief Academic Officer at HCI, and Alana Welm, PhD, has accepted an appointment as Senior Director of...
On October 27, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the FoundationOne Liquid CDx test for three new companion diagnostic indications to help match patients who may benefit from treatment with specific FDA-approved targeted therapies. The new indications are for alpelisib...
Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, of The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai, discusses lung cancer screening for aggressive early-stage lung cancer; adjuvant and neoadjuvant treatment, including the ADAURA study of EGFR-positive tumors; and how cell-free DNA analysis might be used in the future to...
Daniel G. Petereit, MD, of the John T. Vucurevich Cancer Care Institute and Monument Health, discusses the Walking Forward health-care program designed for a South Dakota–based Native American population, whose members have high smoking and death rates from lung cancer as well as limited access to...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to a PD-1 inhibitor for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and also granted Priority Review to a HER2-directed antibody-drug conjugate for patients with...
Researchers have found two common genetic variants that may be used to predict whether patients with cancer may have severe adverse events when treated with the anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody bevacizumab. A genome-wide association study—according to researchers, the largest such study in patients...
Universal genetic testing may uncover inherited genetic mutations, and could individualize cancer therapies, improve survival, and strengthen the use of precision medicine. In a new study published by N. Jewel Samadder, MD, and colleagues in JAMA Oncology, researchers conducted genetic testing in...
Jeff M. Michalski, MD, MBA, of the Washington University School of Medicine, discusses a Children’s Oncology Group study that confirmed data previously reported: Involved-field radiotherapy is noninferior to posterior fossa radiotherapy in patients with average risk-medulloblastoma. However,...
Justin Oh, MD, of the University of British Columbia, discusses results from the ASCENDE-RT trial, which compared a low-dose–rate brachytherapy boost to a dose-escalated external-beam boost for patients with high- and intermediate-risk prostate cancers (Abstract 127).
A strategy for giving intermittent, high doses of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor sunitinib seemed to be well tolerated by patients with advanced cancer and increased drug concentrations in solid tumors, which was associated with improved survival. This research was presented by Gerritse et al at the ...
Despite the increasing use of hematopoietic stem cell transplant as curative therapy for children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases, new research suggests that children who undergo a transplant for cancer may be more likely to die of treatment-related complications if they live in...
Women with breast cancer onset after age 65 often do not qualify for genetic testing, yet little is known about the frequency of disease-causing mutations in breast cancer predisposition genes in this population. In a new study, researchers investigated the prevalence of disease-causing variants in ...
A nonsurgical treatment option for rectal cancer that preserves quality of life may be safe for selected patients, according to a new study comparing it with standard surgical treatment. These findings were published by Beard et al in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons and were...
Jing Li, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses phase III results showing the use of stereotactic radiosurgery in patients with 4 to 15 brain metastases, compared with whole-brain radiotherapy, may better preserve cognitive function and minimize the interruption of ...
Researchers have found that a class of commonly used heart drugs may also improve patients’ responses to PD-L1 inhibitors, according to preliminary findings presented by Strauss et al at the 32th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (Abstract 7). Angiotensin...
Bladder preservation with trimodality therapy may be a safe and effective alternative to cystectomy for selected patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, according to results from a phase II trial presented by Coen et al at the virtual 2020 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)...
Vinai Gondi, MD, of Northwestern Medicine Cancer Center and Northwestern Medicine Proton Center, discusses the preliminary results of an NRG Oncology study of radiotherapy dose intensification using intensity-modulated radiotherapy vs standard-dose radiotherapy with temozolomide in patients with...
Alphonse G. Taghian, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, reviews the 10-year follow-up of a dose-escalation trial studying accelerated partial-breast irradiation and discusses the optimal dose, adverse effects, and cosmetic outcomes (Abstract 25).
A new study points to a need for oncologists to ask their patients about sexual health after chemotherapy, radiation, and other cancer treatments. In a survey of nearly 400 cancer survivors, 87% said they experienced sexual side effects, but most also said their oncologist had not formally asked...
The number of radiation therapy facilities in the United States has grown by 17% over the past 15 years, according to a new study presented by Maroongroge et al at the 2020 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 203). However, this growth has disproportionately...
A new study finds that the racial composition of clinical trials involving radiation therapy does not match that of the U.S. population. Examining trials from the past 23 years, researchers found that roughly 12% of trial participants were Black, which is less than the 13% population composition of ...
Daniel E. Spratt, MD, of the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, discusses phase III results of the HERO trial, which suggested benefits of the oral medication relugolix: a substantially faster time to castration with longer duration, fewer cardiac events, and a faster return to normal...
Cynthia Menard, MD, of the University of Montreal, discusses a study on the use of prostate-specific membrane antigen PET and CT to guide treatment. The scans led to high rates of new lesion detection and therefore intensification of radiotherapy for patients with prostate cancer, without an...
A new drug designed to treat cancers in patients with an altered BRAF gene showed activity and had a favorable safety profile in an early-phase trial. These findings were presented by Janku et al at the 32nd EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (Abstract LBA-05)....