In a retrospective study (OPBC-05/ICARO) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Giacomo Montagna, MD, MPH, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, and colleagues found that nodal burden in patients with breast cancer with residual isolated tumor cells after neoadjuvant...
In a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Vora et al found that short-course hypofractionated proton-beam therapy guided by 3,4-dihydroxy-6-[F-18]fluoro-L-phenylalanine (F-18–DOPA) positron-emission tomography (PET) and contrast-enhanced MRI produced good outcomes in patients aged ≥ 65...
Neoadjuvant therapy for patients with resectable stage III melanoma has recently emerged as a better approach than resection plus adjuvant therapy. At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024, updates of pivotal neoadjuvant studies demonstrated the long-standing benefit of...
A 3-week moderately hypofractionated radiotherapy regimen has been found to be noninferior to the 5-week fractionation when irradiating nodal areas in patients with breast cancer, according to data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024.1 The 5-year results of...
My twin brother and I were adopted at 18 months old, so I don’t know the medical history of our biological parents and family. But for certain, cancer has played an integral—and heartbreaking—role in my life. Both of my adoptive parents were diagnosed with genitourinary cancers at relatively early ...
Researchers have found that in healthy women, some breast cells that otherwise appear normal may contain chromosome abnormalities typically associated with invasive breast cancer, according to a recent study published by Lin et al in Nature. The findings challenged conventional thinking on the...
Hai-Qiang Mai, MD, of the Department of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma at Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center in Guangzhou, China, and colleagues reported their findings from a single-center phase II trial in The Lancet Oncology.1 They found that the addition of perioperative toripalimab to concurrent...
The p53-MDM2 inhibitor siremadlin given with the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib showed activity in a subset of patients with well-differentiated/dedifferentiated liposarcomas enrolled in the biology-driven adaptive phase II MEGAMOST Ribociclib/HDM201 basket trial.1 MEGAMOST was designed to evaluate...
Firmonertinib (AST2818; formerly furmonertinib), a novel EGFR inhibitor, has shown activity and tolerability in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR P loop and aC-helix compressing (PACC) mutations, according to data presented at the International Association for ...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sean Miller, MD, of Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System, and colleagues found that immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment for cancer had similar efficacy and reduced toxicity in Black patients vs White patients in the U.S....
OCE Insights is 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, Lieutenant Commander Mitchell Chan, PharmD, BCPS, Team Lead and Clinical Analyst, Lieutenant Cameron Wilson, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, ...
“While clinical trials emphasize improvement in cure rates for patients with advanced classical Hodgkin lymphoma, an important goal is reducing the potential long-term effects of treatment,” commented Iris Isufi, MD, of the Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut, and ...
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy with vs without the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab conferred a higher pathologic complete response rate and long-term event-free survival benefit in Asian patients with resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the global phase III CheckMate 816 trial. At the...
Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered computational program that may be capable of predicting the activity of thousands of genes within tumor cells based on standard microscopy images of a biopsy, according to a recent study published by Pizurica et al in Nature...
Presurgical treatment with the novel drug vidutolimod and the PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab may improve outcomes in patients with stage III cutaneous melanoma, according to a recent study published by Davar et al in Cancer Cell. The findings supported the development of vidutolimod for...
In a phase II trial (EV-202) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Swiecicki et al found that the antibody-drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin showed activity in heavily pretreated patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck cancer (HNC). Study Details In the study, 46 patients who...
In a phase I study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Maruyama et al found that valemetostat—a novel dual inhibitor of EZH2 and EZH1—showed activity in patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Study Details In the study, 90 patients from sites in Japan and the United States were...
Caris Life Sciences announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved MI Cancer Seek for use as a companion diagnostic assay to identify patients with cancer who may benefit from targeted therapies. Caris Life Sciences is a next-generation artificial intelligence techbio...
A large cohort study investigating the long-term treatment-related adverse effects and complications from prostate cancer treatment compared to an untreated control group has found that treatment was associated with higher rates of 10 potential complications in the 12 years after treatment. Given...
In a phase III trial (INAVO120) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Nicholas C. Turner, MD, PhD, of Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and colleagues found that the addition of inavolisib to palbociclib/fulvestrant improved progression-free survival...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the CD19-directed genetically modified autologous T-cell immunotherapy obecabtagene autoleucel (Aucatzyl) for adults with relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Efficacy and Safety Efficacy was evaluated in...
The antibody-drug conjugate ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) showed clinically meaningful responses in pretreated patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in an interim analysis of the phase II IDeate-Lung01 study.1 The findings were presented at the International Association for...
Firmonertinib (AST2818; formerly furmonertinib), a novel EGFR inhibitor, has shown activity and tolerability in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR P loop and aC-helix compressing (PACC) mutations, according to data presented at the International Association for ...
An examination of patient-level data from the phase III CheckMate 816 and CheckMate 77T trials supports the perioperative use of the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab plus chemotherapy, as compared with the neoadjuvant use of nivolumab plus chemotherapy without adjuvant therapy, in resectable non–small...
A large cohort study investigated the long-term treatment-related adverse effects and complications from prostate cancer treatment compared with an untreated control group. The investigators found that treatment was associated with higher rates of 10 potential complications in the 12 years after...
In the phase III TULIP trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Turner et al found that the third-generation HER2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab duocarmazine (T-Duo) improved progression-free survival vs physician's choice (PC) of treatment in patients with previously...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) introduced expanded NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) to account for the advanced understanding of hereditary cancer risk in breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers. The new guidelines followed the recent...
A phase II study by Riess et al investigating the IO102-IO103 vaccine plus pembrolizumab as first-line treatment in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) showed “promising” overall response rates and 6-month progression-free survival, with an acceptable safety profile. The study...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Lund et al, a Danish prospective cohort study showed no increased risk of ischemic cardiotoxicity with use vs no use of aromatase inhibitor treatment in postmenopausal patients with early-stage breast cancer. Study Details The study included identification of...
I’m 50, just a year older than my father was when he died of colorectal cancer. I was 14 when my dad died, so to me, cancer has always been synonymous with death. From a young age, my brothers and I had a goal: to make sure we packed in enough life before age 50. It never occurred to us that death ...
In a phase II trial (IMbrave151) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Macarulla et al found that atezolizumab/bevacizumab plus chemotherapy produced a “modest” improvement in progression-free survival vs atezolizumab/placebo plus chemotherapy in first-line treatment of patients with...
In a phase II trial (SERENA-2) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Oliveira et al found that the next-generation oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) camizestrant improved progression-free survival vs fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative...
On May 16, 2024, tarlatamab-dlle (Imdelltra) was granted accelerated approval for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.1 Tarlatamab is a bispecific delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3)-directed CD3 T-cell engager. Supporting Efficacy...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Network Open, Bercow et al found reduced use of primary cytoreductive surgery (PCS) and increased use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by interval cytoreductive surgery (ICS) in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer during...
The addition of the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab to standard neoadjuvant gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy has demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in survival compared with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cisplatin-eligible patients with muscle-invasive bladder...
At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024, the Eyes to the Future Presidential Symposium showcased innovative approaches in personalized medicine, immunotherapy resistance, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pathology analysis. These presentations, focusing on the...
Presurgical treatment with the novel drug vidutolimod and the PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab may improve tumor control in patients with stage III cutaneous melanoma, according to a recent study published by Davar et al in Cancer Cell. The findings provided insights that could help advance...
Quitting smoking within 6 months of receiving a cancer diagnosis could add an average of 2 years to a patient’s life, according to a recent study published by Cinciripini et al in JAMA Oncology. The findings demonstrated a broad survival benefit of using evidence-based smoking cessation to help...
Just weeks or even days or hours away from death, the majority of conscious terminally ill patients often experience growth and meaning in their lives and the absence of fear through end-of-life dreams and visions, according to research by Christopher W. Kerr, MD, PhD. Dr. Kerr is Chief Executive...
In a phase IIa study (DisTinGuish) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Klempner et al found that use of the DKK1-neutralizing antibody DKN-01 in combination with tislelizumab and chemotherapy showed activity in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal ...
Because colonoscopies and more established stool-based tests are more effective at detecting early cancers and precancerous polyps compared with emerging blood-based tests, their long-term impact is projected to be substantially greater than that of blood-based tests, according to a recent study...
I have many of the risk factors for melanoma. I’m fair-skinned, blue-eyed, and have a family history of melanoma, as well as other skin cancers, so I’ve always been diligent about practicing sun safety and maintaining annual full-body skin exams to catch any suspicious moles or lesions that could...
Guest Editor’s Note: Advances in cancer treatments have led to an increase in survival rates, but the quality of life is often diminished during survivorship. Because modifiable personal behavior contributes to health-care outcomes, interventions that support healthy behaviors may improve health...
A 3-week moderately hypofractionated radiotherapy regimen has been found to be noninferior to the 5-week fractionation when irradiating nodal areas in patients with breast cancer, according to data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024.1 The 5-year results of...
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may help patients with rectal cancer avoid invasive surgery and its potentially lifelong side effects, according to a recent study published by Williams et al in Radiology. Background “After undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for rectal cancer, patients are...
OCE Insights is an occasional department 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, the OCE’s Steven Clark Cunningham, MD, MLA, FACS, Clinical Reviewer on the Gastrointestinal Cancers Team, ...
In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.”1 The warning came decades after the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified alcohol as a Group 1 carcinogen, which is the highest risk group, and also includes...
An examination of patient-level data from the phase III CheckMate 816 and CheckMate 77T trials supports the perioperative use of the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab plus chemotherapy, as compared with the neoadjuvant use of nivolumab plus chemotherapy without adjuvant therapy, in resectable non–small...
In the phase Ib FORT-2 trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Sweis et al found that the combination of the pan-FGFR inhibitor rogaratinib and atezolizumab was active in cisplatin-ineligible patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer overexpressing FGFR mRNA. Study Details The study...
Researchers have found that financial fallout can follow patients with cancer and their families as financial bankruptcy, lower credit scores, and other types of financial challenges in the years following a cancer diagnosis, according to two new studies presented by Gomez-Mayorga et al and...