The final overall survival results of the phase III ASPIRE trial indicate significant improvement with carfilzomib (Kyprolis), lenalidomide (Revlimid), and dexamethasone (KRd) vs lenalidomide plus dexamethasone (Rd) in patients who had received one to three prior lines of therapy for multiple...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Holowatyj et al found that among women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, node-negative invasive breast cancer, non-Hispanic black women had higher 21-gene recurrence scores at diagnosis vs non-Hispanic white women....
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Kenneth Anderson, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and colleagues, ASCO has issued a clinical practice guideline update on the role of bone-modifying agents in multiple myeloma. The update was informed by an expert panel systematic literature...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Motwani et al have developed a predictive model for acute kidney injury following a first course of cisplatin that includes patient age, cisplatin dose, hypertension, and serum albumin level. Study Details The study involved data from 2,118...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Qian et al found that loss-of-function germline TP53 variants increase the risk of childhood B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), as well as the risk of poorer response to therapy and second malignancies. Study Details In the study,...
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 1, 2017, trastuzumab-dkst (Ogivri) was...
The oncology community mourns the sudden passing of Jimmie C. Holland, MD, who died on December 24, 2017, at the age of 89. Dr. Holland’s achievements over her 40-year career are legend. They include the founding of the subspecialty of psycho-oncology, the establishment of a full-time Psychiatry...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bollard et al found that T cells with forced expression of dominant-negative transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) receptor type 2 (DNRII) that targeted the Epstein Barr virus (EBV)-derived tumor antigens latent membrane proteins...
A phase I/II trial has shown that the addition of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) to bendamustine is active in relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma. Study findings were reported in The Lancet Oncology by O’Connor et al. Study Details In the study, 64 patients with Hodgkin lymphoma and 1...
The phase III IMvigor211 trial showed no survival benefit for atezolizumab (Tecentriq) vs physician's choice of chemotherapy in platinum-treated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression ≥ 5%. Findings were reported in The Lancet by...
The phase III ALTERNATIVE trial has shown progression-free survival benefit with the addition of lapatinib (Tykerb) to trastuzumab (Herceptin) and an aromatase inhibitor among postmenopausal women with HER2-positive, hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer. These findings were...
On November 6, 2017, alectinib (Alecensa) received regular approval for treatment of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as detected by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved test.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was...
On November 16, 2017, sunitinib malate (Sutent) was approved for the adjuvant treatment of adult patients at high risk of recurrent renal cell carcinoma following nephrectomy.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on the findings of the double-blind phase III S-TRAC trial in which 615...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Jean-Sebastien Frenel, MD, of the Institut de Cancerologie de l’Ouest, Centre Rene Gauducheau, Saint-Herblain, France, and colleagues, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) treatment was found to be active in patients with programmed cell death ligand 1...
A study using National Cancer Database data has shown that the number of metastatic nodes is a primary independent factor associated with an increased mortality risk in patients with hypopharyngeal and laryngeal cancers. The study was reported in JAMA Oncology by Ho et al. Study Details The study ...
An analysis from the Children’s Oncology Group Study AREN0532 reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Fernandez et al showed that positive lymph nodes and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at chromosome 1p or 16q are associated with poorer event-free survival in patients with stage III...
On August 3, 2017, a liposome-encapsulated combination of daunorubicin and cytarabine (Vyxeos) was approved for treatment of adults with newly diagnosed therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes.1,2 This is the first U.S. Food and Drug...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Herbst et al, the phase III SWOG S0819 trial showed no overall benefit of adding cetuximab (Erbitux) to carboplatin/paclitaxel both with and without bevacizumab (Avastin) in patients with previously untreated stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A ...
The phase III E1505 trial has shown no benefit of adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to adjuvant therapy in early-stage resected non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These results were reported by Wakelee et al in The Lancet Oncology. Study Details In the open-label trial, 1,501 patients from...
On September 28, 2017, the cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor abemaciclib (Verzenio) was approved for use in combination with fulvestrant (Faslodex) for women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer with disease progression following...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chow et al have developed a model that distinguishes risk groups for ischemic heart disease and stroke in 5-year survivors of childhood cancer. Study Details The study included data from 13,060 participants in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Seligmann et al found that higher tumor HER3 messenger RNA expression among patients with RAS wild-type tumors was associated with a better outcome with panitumumab (Vectibix) plus irinotecan vs irinotecan alone among patients with advanced colorectal cancer in ...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Fidler et al found that cancer burden was higher worldwide among women vs men aged 20 to 39 in 2012 and that the incidence was higher but mortality lower in very high vs low Human Development Index regions. Study Details The study involved data from the ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lim et al have identified a microRNA expression–based risk model associated with event-free survival in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The study involved comprehensive miRNA sequencing of 1,362 pediatric AML samples, consisting of...
In a St. Jude Adrenocortical Tumor Registry and Children’s Oncology Group study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pinto et al found that a positive Ki67 labeling index was associated with a poorer outcome in children with adrenocortical tumors independent of germline TP53 mutation ...
In a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Soni et al reported reductions in the proportion of nonelderly adult cancer patients who were uninsured between 2010 and 2013 vs 2014, after institution of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Study Details The study used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology,...
Final results of the German Hodgkin Study Group phase III HD18 trial, reported in The Lancet by Borchmann et al, showed no benefit of adding rituximab (Rituxan) to escalated BEACOPP (eBEACOPP; bleomycin, etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone) in...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Haider et al found that the median morphine equivalent daily dose decreased significantly among cancer patients seen at MD Anderson Cancer Center’s outpatient palliative care clinic between 2010 and 2015. Use of hydrocodone decreased...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wang et al have developed a model for predicting risk of subsequent central nervous system (CNS) tumors in survivors of childhood cancer. Study Details In the study, matched childhood cancer survivors with (n = 82) and without (n = 228) subsequent...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Klosky et al identified factors associated with sperm banking among adolescent males with newly diagnosed cancer who were at increased risk for treatment-related fertility loss. The study included 146 adolescents aged 13 to 22 years (mean...
In the CALGB 80101/Alliance trial, no difference in overall survival was found for adjuvant chemoradiotherapy with epirubicin, cisplatin, and fluorouracil (ECF) vs fluorouracil and leucovorin (5-FU/LV) after curative resection of gastric cancer. The findings were reported in the Journal of Clinical ...
The phase II SARC028 trial has shown activity of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in some subtypes of advanced sarcoma. These findings were reported by Tawbi et al in The Lancet Oncology. Study Details In the study, 84 patients with advanced soft-tissue sarcoma aged ≥ 18 years (n = 42) or bone sarcoma ...
A study in the UK population has shown that long-term use of the long-acting insulin glargine was associated with increased risk of breast cancer among women with type 2 diabetes. The findings were reported by Wu et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study Details The study involved a...
At the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Yokohama, Japan, Bristol-Myers Squibb announced data evaluating nivolumab (Opdivo) and nivolumab plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) in previously treated small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients whose...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Barbera et al found that a province-wide effort to improve symptom screening and management has increased the frequency of screening but has not improved opioid prescription rates in elderly cancer patients with severe pain. A previous study...
In a report from the St Jude Lifetime Cohort Study published in The Lancet, Bhakta et al detailed the burden of lifetime chronic health conditions in survivors of childhood cancers. The report included retrospectively collected data on chronic health conditions in 5,522 patients treated for...
On April 27, 2017, the indications for regorafenib (Stivarga) were expanded to include treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have been previously treated with sorafenib (Nexavar).1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data The new approval was based on the finding of improved overall survival...
In a single-center study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Losk et al found that an intervention including surgeon initiation of gene-expression profile testing with Oncotype DX significantly reduced the time to testing, receipt of testing results, and initiation of chemotherapy in...
In an analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Seisen et al found that adjuvant chemotherapy was associated with a survival benefit vs observation in patients with adverse prognostic features after neoadjuvant therapy and radical cystectomy for urothelial carcinoma of the bladder. Study Details The...
Osimertinib (Tagrisso) has shown high activity in the phase I expansion component of the AURA trial in previously untreated patients with EGFR mutation–positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These findings were reported by Ramalingam et al in the Journal of Clinical...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Whitney et al found that the majority of patients diagnosed with advanced cancer were hospitalized within 1 year of diagnosis, with a sizable proportion having multiple hospitalizations. Hospitalization Rates The study involved California...
As reported by Baik et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Medicare patients who received androgen-deprivation therapy for prostate cancer do not appear to be at increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease and may have an extremely small increased risk for dementia. Study Details The study...
Staying up-to-date in the fast-paced world of oncology literature is a daunting task at best. To assist with that task, The ASCO Post has assembled an assortment of studies recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The topics range from therapy for stage IV non–small cell lung cancer...
In a single-center phase II study reported in JAMA Oncology, Feng et al found that individualized adaptive stereotactic body radiotherapy achieved high rates of local tumor control with low complication rates in patients with liver tumors and preexisting liver dysfunction. Study Details The study ...
In a meta-analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Xie et al found that metastasis-free survival was a strong surrogate for overall survival in patients with localized prostate cancer, potentially providing a metric that could accelerate assessment of new adjuvant therapy approaches. ...
As reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice by Chang et al, for the first time for any type of malignancy, the American Urological Association (AUA), ASCO, American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), and Society of Urologic Oncology (SUO) have formulated an evidence-based guideline on...
In a study in the Swedish population reported by Beernaert et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, distrust in the end-of-life care provided to a parent with cancer was associated with long-term adverse emotional/psychological effects among bereaved adolescents. Study Details The study...
In the phase III historically controlled Children’s Oncology Group (COG) AAML0631 trial, arsenic trioxide consolidation permitted the use of lower-dose anthracycline without appearing to compromise outcomes in pediatric patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). The results were...
In a Children’s Oncology Group study, high response rates were achieved with crizotinib (Xalkori) treatment in pediatric ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCL) and inflammatory myofibroblastic tumors. These results were reported by Mossé et al in the Journal of Clinical...
IMMUNOTHERAPY AND ANTIANGIOGENESIS were highlighted in a session on metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at the Best of ASCO New Orleans meeting. Matthew Gubens, MD, MS, presented the selected abstracts from the ASCO Annual Meeting.1 Dr. Gubens is Associate Professor of Thoracic Medical...