In a phase II trial (S1613) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Raghav et al found no difference in progression-free survival overall with trastuzumab/pertuzumab vs cetuximab/irinotecan in the second- or third-line treatment of RAS/BRAF wild-type HER2-positive metastatic colorectal...
In a cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Negm et al found that primary mismatch repair deficiency (MMRD) was associated with poor outcomes in children, adolescents, and young adults with gliomas. Study Details In the study, clinical and molecular data were collected from children,...
Multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and biopsy may speed up the time to correct treatment among patients with a muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Bryan et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Background Usual tests for muscle-invasive...
Adjuvant treatment with the antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) may improve survival in patients with high-risk HER2-positive breast cancer and residual invasive disease, according to long-term findings from the phase III KATHERINE trial published by Geyer et al in The New...
Guest Editor’s Note: With growing evidence indicating that regular physical activity helps control cancer symptoms, oncology guidelines recommend exercise before, during, and after cancer treatment. Observational data also demonstrate a promising association between physical activity and favorable...
On January 14, Monica Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, FASCO, announced that she was ending her tenure as the 17th Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She began her role as Director on November 9, 2023. Dr. Bertagnolli was the 16th Director of the National Cancer Institute, a role she held...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a proposed rule that, if finalized, would make cigarettes and certain other combusted tobacco products minimally or nonaddictive by limiting the level of nicotine in those products. If the rule is finalized, the United States would be the first...
Investigators may have uncovered an association between manufactured per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) levels in drinking water and the incidence of certain digestive, endocrine, lung, oral, and pharyngeal cancers, according to a novel study published by Li et al in the Journal of Exposure ...
The Tomosynthesis Mammographic Imaging Screening Trial (TMIST) has reached its enrollment goal of 108,508 women, as announced by the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (ECOG-ACRIN). The study will now proceed with the completion of regularly scheduled mammograms and follow-up on all participants...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Daw et al, findings in a cohort of the phase II CheckMate 744 trial indicated good outcomes with a response-adapted, transplantation-free treatment approach in children and adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with low-risk relapsed classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL)....
In a Chinese phase I trial (KYM901) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ruan et al found that CMG901—a first-in-class claudin 18.2–targeting antibody-drug conjugate—had manageable toxicity and activity in patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer. CMG901 comprises a...
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer in the United States, but high recurrence rates persist for patients with early-stage disease. A recent study published by Black et al in Nature Medicine has found that even very low traces of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) may be linked to increased...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug designation to the investigational agent ELC-100 for the treatment of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, according to a press release from Elicera Therapeutics, the drug developer. ELC-100 is an oncolytic virus–based therapy designed to...
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer, excluding skin cancer, diagnosed in men and women in the United States. And despite advances in treatment for the disease, which have led to improved survival rates, lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer mortality in the United States, with...
In an interim analysis of a phase III trial (ECHELON-3) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bartlett et al found that the addition of brentuximab vedotin (BV) to lenalidomide and rituximab improved overall survival in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma...
The RAD51 biomarker may help to tailor treatment strategies in patients with early breast cancer, according to a recent study published by Villacampa et al in Clinical Cancer Research. Background “A key objective of research focused on early-stage breast cancer is to identify biomarkers that can...
Pediatric patients with cancer who have obesity at the time of diagnosis may face an elevated risk of mortality, according to a recent study published by Sassine et al in Cancer. Study Methods and Results In the retrospective study, investigators examined data from the Cancer in Young People in...
Artificial intelligence (AI) could improve screening for cervical cancer, enhancing accuracy and efficiency, according to a recent review article published by Wu et al in Cancer Biology & Medicine. The report, authored by a team of researchers from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and...
Omitting axillary surgery may be an option for some patients with early-stage breast cancer, according to a study reported by Reimer et al in The New England Journal of Medicine. Previous studies, such as the SOUND trial, have indicated that avoiding an axillary procedure in patients with small...
Although lung cancer and related cancer deaths decreased in the world’s 10 most populous countries from 1990 to 2019, these positive statistics may not address trends in mortality linked to tobacco use, air pollution, and asbestos exposure, according to a recent study published by Jani et al in...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) announced that the organization participated in a 2-day meeting at the Middle East North Africa (MENA)–NCCN Regional Coordinating Center. Background The MENA-NCCN Regional Coordinating Center is supported by the Ministry of National Guard Health...
A new study examining the use of high-cost drugs among patients with colorectal cancer and non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) found those insured through Medicare Advantage received less expensive cancer drugs compared to others on traditional Medicare. The findings were published by Bradley et al...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Sands et al, the phase II TROPION-Lung05 trial showed “encouraging activity” of datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) in patients with advanced/metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with actionable genomic alterations whose disease progressed...
Kenneth H. Cowan, MD, PhD, served for 24 years as Director of NCI-designated cancer center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), now called the Nebraska Medicine Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center in Omaha. Dr. Cowan died on December 15, 2024, at the age of 77 years. A native...
Researchers have demonstrated that a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform could aid physicians and patients in assessing the benefit from a particular therapy being tested in a clinical trial, according to a recent study published by Orcutt et al in Nature Medicine. The AI platform may ...
The ORACLE test may be capable of predicting lung cancer survival at the point of diagnosis more effectively than currently used clinical risk factors, according to a recent study published by Biswas et al in Nature Cancer. The findings could help physicians make more informed treatment decisions...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Matei et al, the final overall survival analysis in the long-term follow-up of the phase III NRG258 trial has shown no difference between adjuvant chemoradiation (C-RT) vs chemotherapy (CT) in patients with locally advanced endometrial carcinoma....
Adjuvant tamoxifen was associated with a reduced risk of 15-year ipsilateral breast cancer recurrence as well as invasive ipsilateral breast cancer recurrence in patients with “good-risk” ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who omitted radiation therapy after breast-conserving surgery, according to a...
In a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Heinzerling et al found that primary lung tumor stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) followed by concurrent mediastinal chemoradiotherapy (with or without adjuvant immunotherapy) was associated with activity in patients with locally advanced...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Filho et al, 12-year follow-up of the CALBG (Alliance) C9741 trial has shown a sustained advantage of adjuvant dose-dense vs conventional chemotherapy in disease-free and overall survival in patients with node-positive breast cancer. Study Details...
A recent study published in Health Data Science, conducted by Fengyu Wen, PhD, MPH, of the Institute of Medical Technology at Peking University Health Science Center; Luxia Zhang, MD, MPH, of the National Institute of Health Data Science at Peking University; and colleagues, revealed significant...
Researchers may have advanced the understanding of genetic alterations in the BRCA2 gene, according to a recent study published by Huang et al in Nature. The findings could improve the accuracy of genetic testing and allow health-care professionals to offer more precise risk assessments and...
Researchers have discovered of a new type of stem cell in the brain that could lead to the development of more effective treatments in adult patients with glioblastoma, according to a recent study published by Wang et al in Nature. The finding could help explain how adult brain cells take advantage ...
A team of scientists from the United Kingdom and the United States has discovered that the activity of macrophages may prove to be useful in predicting whether or not a patient with melanoma will respond to immunotherapy. Their findings, published in JCO Oncology Advances, may help clinicians to...
In a registrational trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Foss et al found that denileukin diftitox (DD)-cxdl—a fusion protein comprising diphtheria toxin fragments A and B and human interleukin-2—was active in patients with relapsed or refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL)....
In a phase II trial (LITESPARK-003), reported in The Lancet Oncology, Choueiri et al found that the combination of belzutifan—a first-in-class HIF-2α inhibitor—and cabozantinib showed promising activity in the first-line treatment of patients with advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Study...
For women with high-risk, BRCA-positive breast cancer, 1 year of adjuvant treatment with the PARP inhibitor olaparib following primary treatment continued to improve overall survival compared with placebo, according to the third interim analysis of the phase III OlympiA trial presented at the 2024...
Belinda Avalos, MD, Professor of Medicine and a senior advisor to the President of Atrium Health Levine Cancer, will serve as president of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) for a year-long term through December 2025. Overview Dr. Avalos is a physician-scientist with a special clinical...
Regular physical activity prior to a cancer diagnosis may be linked to a lower risk of disease progression and mortality, according to a recent study published by Mabena et al in British Journal of Sports Medicine. The findings revealed that even relatively low levels of physical activity may be...
A new University of Cincinnati (UC) Cancer Center study has identified a particular strand of microRNA as a promising new target for overcoming breast cancer treatment resistance and improving outcomes. The research was recently published in the journal Cancers. Study Background Study author...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Scambia et al, the final overall survival results of the phase III SOLO3 trial showed similar outcomes with olaparib vs non–platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with platinum-sensitive BRCA-mutated relapsed ovarian cancer. In the initial report...
In a phase I/II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Torka et al found that the addition of nivolumab to standard doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (N-AVD) was “highly effective” as front-line treatment for patients aged ≥ 60 with classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Study Details In...
Addition of the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib to the current standard of care for first-line maintenance therapy after induction chemotherapy achieved statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in progression-free survival in patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive,...
On January 3, 2025, the U.S. Surgeon General’s office released a new advisory on the link between alcohol consumption and increased risk for cancer. The advisory reports alcohol use as the third leading preventable cause of cancer in the United States—after tobacco and obesity—responsible for...
In a single-institution phase II trial (CAPFISH-3) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Aronson et al found that men with prostate cancer on active surveillance had a significantly reduced Ki67 index on a high omega-3, low omega-6 fatty acid diet with fish oil capsules vs no dietary...
In a phase II trial (RETAIN 1) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Geynisman et al found that risk-adapted active surveillance following neoadjuvant chemotherapy was associated with a high rate of metastasis-free survival in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. Study Details In ...
A genetic mutation long believed to drive the development of esophageal cancer may play a protective role early in the disease, according to a recent study published by Ganguli et al in Nature Cancer. The findings could help physicians identify which patients are at greater risk of developing...
The drug glucarpidase could serve as an antidote to kidney toxicity in patients receiving the chemotherapy agent methotrexate, according to a recent study published by Gupta et al in Blood. Background As a result of its ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier, methotrexate is one of the most...
Presented by Sherko Kuemmel, MD, on December 12, 2024, at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium The WSG ADAPT trial in patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer established that the combination of clinical risk, genomic risk, and endocrine response (Ki67 downregulation) allows...
At the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Komal Jhaveri, MD, FACP, presented results of the phase III EMBER-3 trial of imlunestrant, an oral selective estrogen receptor degrader as monotherapy and combined with abemaciclib for patients with ER+/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer. Filmed...