The advent of the BCR::ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was a therapeutic miracle that changed the management paradigm of CML. The first of them, imatinib, was developed in the late 1990s.1,2 Within a few...
Studies show that although clonal hematopoiesis is an age-related phenomenon in the general population, it can also be induced by exposure to chemotherapy, which can affect both the emergence and evolution of clonal hematopoiesis clones, accelerating aging at both the physiologic and molecular...
In a phase I/II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Carrie L. Kitko, MD, and colleagues found that axatilimab, an anti–colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF-1R) antibody, produced high response rates in patients who had undergone allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation and ...
Biliary tract cancer is particularly difficult to treat, with a median overall survival of about 1 year with standard-of-care gemcitabine-based regimens. Advanced biliary tract cancer is an area of significant unmet need because of its aggressive nature, limited treatment options, and poor...
Researchers revealed that the blood pressure drug losartan may prevent immunotherapy-induced edema and allow patients with glioblastoma to continue receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors without developing adverse effects in the brain, according to a new study published by Datta et al in...
Options are growing in the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma after complete response. At the 2022 Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference,1 the use of these newer strategies in older patients was discussed by Brad S. Kahl, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Lymphoma Service at Washington...
Oxidative stress is a key factor in the development of many diseases including cancer. Antioxidants prevent cellular damage by neutralizing free radicals and are being investigated as potential therapeutic strategies against cancer. In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology...
In a study reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Lavanya Kondapalli, MD, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, and colleagues found that cardiovascular events common in the general population were observed both prior to and after the initiation of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy ...
A combination of the next-generation immunotherapies botensilimab and balstilimab showed clinical activity in treating patients with refractory metastatic microsatellite-stable (MSS) colorectal cancer, according to new findings presented by El-Khoueiry et al at the 2023 ASCO Gastrointestinal...
In a phase II study of stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), domvanalimab, a novel antibody that blocks T-cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT), when added to anti–PD-1 zimberelimab immunotherapy resulted in improved response rates and progression-free survival compared with...
The combination of palbociclib and fulvestrant did not prolong progression-free survival compared to fulvestrant alone in patients with hormone receptor–positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who had disease progression on prior treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor and endocrine therapy,...
“There is a clear suggestion from SERENA-2 that camizestrant might be a better treatment than fulvestrant,” said press briefing moderator Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, Director of the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center and Associate Dean of Oncology Programs at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. “As ...
The opportunity to write this commentary on cancer disparities comes at a sorrowful time for me. Despite practicing as a surgical oncologist for more than 20 years and understanding the unequal burden that cancer visits on the Black community, I was woefully unprepared for the premature death of my ...
Investigators revealed that approximately one out of every two patients on Medicare who have non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may not receive the appropriate imaging prior to receiving radiation therapy, according to a new study published by Sterbis et al in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine....
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Coleman et al found that neoadjuvant split-dose gemcitabine and cisplatin produced a high rate of pathologic response in patients with high-risk localized upper tract urothelial carcinoma. The investigators also showed that...
Studies show that viral infections are common causes of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and can induce a profound immunocompromised state in some patients that may last up to 24 months or longer posttransplant. In an open-label, single-arm,...
Researchers have identified unique molecular features responsible for the development and progression of metastatic breast cancer, according to a novel study published by Garcia-Recio et al in Nature Cancer. They discovered that one of the key features involves changes in the immune system that are ...
Researchers have found that measuring the activation of immune system B cells may be more effective than measuring the activation of either T cells or tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in predicting whether patients with HER2-positive breast cancer will respond to treatment. These findings were ...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In the concluding half of this two-part installment, which began in our November 25 issue, Drs. Syed Ali Abutalib and Mrinal M. Patnaik continue to explore the current...
“Risk-reducing bilateral mastectomy allows a woman with a high-penetrance breast cancer-causing mutation to avoid an encounter with the experience of breast cancer diagnosis and treatment,” Seema A. Khan, MD, MPH, stated at the 2022 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.1 For these women, by avoiding...
Several studies presented during the 2022 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition uncovered significant disparities in medical care and health outcomes among patients of different racial backgrounds, nationalities, and socioeconomic status across a range of blood...
The antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) proved to be superior to the antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), significantly improving progression-free survival and overall survival, in women with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer as ...
In the phase II ARC-7 study, when domvanalimab, a novel antibody that blocks T-cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain (TIGIT), was added to immunotherapy for patients with stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the combination resulted in improved response rates and progression-free survival...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies sometimes used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Yen Nien (Jason) Hou, PharmD, DiplOM, LAc, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, focus on ...
Erica L. Mayer, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses findings from the PACE study of patients with endocrine- and CDK4/6 inhibitor–pretreated estrogen receptor–positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who were randomly assigned to fulvestrant alone; fulvestrant and...
“Pregnancy confers a dual effect” on breast cancer risk, “with an initial transient increased risk for breast cancer that is followed by long-term protection over time,” Luis Zabala Blanco, Jr, MD, noted in an update on the pathology of pregnancy-associated breast cancer, which was presented at the ...
Breast cancer specialist Brittany L. Bychkovsky, MD, MSc, grew up primarily in Kansas; however, given that her father was a pilot, her childhood was not wholly centered in the Sunflower State. “When I was 12 years old, my mom, who was a schoolteacher, was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer. Her ...
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this occasional special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Bolivia. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the...
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...
From November 11 to 15, delegates from ASCO participated in the 2022 Interim Meeting of the American Medical Association’s (AMA) House of Delegates (HOD). The AMA HOD is the principal policy-making body of AMA and meets twice a year to discuss pressing issues and establish policies the AMA uses...
An exploratory analysis of KEYNOTE-522, which established the benefit of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer, has now provided data to further describe prognosis and possibly guide treatment.1 In the study, presented at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting,...
New research has shed light on how skewed X chromosome inactivation may be linked to the development of cancer and cardiovascular disease, according to a novel study published by Roberts et al in eLife. Background Because the X chromosome has so many more genes than the Y chromosome, in every cell...
In an externally controlled phase III trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Liau et al found that the addition of an autologous tumor lysate–loaded dendritic cell vaccine (DCVax-L) to standard of care improved survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma and recurrent glioblastoma compared...
With longer-term follow-up, adjuvant treatment with osimertinib led to a 77% reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death following complete resection vs placebo-treated patients with EGFR-mutated, stage II to IIIA non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Disease-free survival was improved...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In this installment, Drs. Syed Ali Abutalib and Mrinal M. Patnaik explore the current treatment and prognosis of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. For each quiz question...
In a single-institution phase I study reported in JAMA Oncology, Disis et al found that a plasmid DNA vaccine encoding the HER2 intracellular domain (ICD) was associated with primarily low-grade toxicity and induced HER2-specific type 1 T-cell responses in patients with advanced HER2-positive...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Melissa L. Johnson, MD, and colleagues, the pivotal phase III POSEIDON trial has shown significantly improved progression-free and overall survival with the addition of tremelimumab and durvalumab to platinum-based chemotherapy in the first-line...
In a single-institution analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Benjamin L. Lampson, MD, and colleagues found a higher prevalence of rare germline ATM variants in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) vs other lymphoid and myeloid disorders. They also determined that patients with CLL...
Robin Kate Kelley, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, was invited to discuss the results of LEAP-002.1 She said the main takeaway is that lenvatinib monotherapy is active as a preferred first-line agent for fit patients who have contraindications to...
After 4 years, a limited course of five cycles of tremelimumab added to durvalumab plus chemotherapy extended overall survival in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with chemotherapy alone, according to an updated exploratory analysis of the phase III POSEIDON...
Pain is highly prevalent in people with cancer throughout the disease trajectory. Often persisting for years after initial diagnosis and undertreated, it is associated with poor functional, mental, and cancer-related outcomes.1 Consequently, the need for effective pain management strategies has...
The KRAS G12C inhibitor sotorasib doubled the rate of progression-free survival at 12 months and reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 34% compared with standard second-line docetaxel for patients with previously treated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and KRAS G12C mutations....
When Stephanie L. Walker, RN, was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in 2015, she was not given information about an appropriate clinical trial or help navigating her way through the financial difficulties she was having after a stroke from complications of the cancer forced her to leave her...
Among the topics discussed at the 4th Global Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Congress held online in December 2021 was the urgent need for clinicians, researchers, and advocates in adolescent and young adult (AYA) oncology to join forces to eradicate racist approaches to patient engagement in...
As reported in The Lancet by Kamdar et al,1 and summarized in this issue of The ASCO Post, the international phase III TRANSFORM trial was completed in 184 patients with primary refractory or early (≤ 12 months) relapsed large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). Patients were randomly assigned to receive...
Researchers have found that a new drug may be able to target—and for the first time, inhibit—the function of the MYC gene. Until now, no other drug has been able to do this safely and effectively, according to findings from a phase I clinical trial published by Garralda et al in the European...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved cobimetinib (Cotellic), an oral inhibitor of MEK1 and MEK2, for the treatment of adult patients with the family of blood diseases known as histiocytic neoplasms. These diseases include Erdheim-Chester disease, Rosai-Dorfman disease, and...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dawn L. Hershman, MD, MS, FASCO, and colleagues found that a standing order entry (SOE) for vs an alert against use of primary prophylactic colony-stimulating factor (PP-CSF) for patients receiving first-line regimens for cancer associated...
The addition of cabozantinib to nivolumab plus ipilimumab prolonged progression-free survival in untreated intermediate-risk patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to the first results of the phase III COSMIC-313 trial. These findings were presented as a Presidential Symposium ...
After 4 years, a limited course of five cycles of tremelimumab added to durvalumab plus chemotherapy extended overall survival in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with chemotherapy alone, according to an updated exploratory analysis of the phase III POSEIDON...