Capecitabine is often used to treat breast cancer, but the best use of capecitabine is open for discussion. According to a large meta-analysis of the effects of capecitabine in early breast cancer, capecitabine improves disease-free and overall survival for patients with triple-negative breast...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Kichenadasse et al found that high body mass index was associated with improved overall survival in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with atezolizumab. As noted by the investigators, there are data showing that high BMI is...
With nearly all patients who undergo treatment for cancer of the head and neck experiencing oral mucositis, effective pain control is one of the main goals of physicians and care teams. Looking to provide more effective relief for patients—while also reducing the need for opioid painkillers—a team...
In a study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Kerrigan et al found that patient-reported outcomes (PROs), obtained by using the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System–Cancer (PROMIS-Ca) Bank, may be prognostic for outcomes in patients with advanced...
Advanced-stage cancer diagnoses declined following health insurance expansion in Massachusetts, likely due to increased access to screening and diagnostic services that identified cancers earlier, according to new research published by Sabik et al in the journal Medical Care. The analysis...
The antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) failed to show improved safety when compared with paclitaxel plus trastuzumab as adjuvant therapy in patients with stage 1 HER2-positive breast cancer. These results of the randomized, phase II ATEMPT trial were presented at the 2019 San ...
Over the past week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to treatments for multiple myeloma and prostate cancer; gave Fast Track designation to a targeted gene therapy for lung cancer; granted Orphan Drug designation to a combination therapy for hepatocellular...
Three decades after the first Surgeon General's report on smoking cessation, the Surgeon General has released a new report that reviews and updates evidence on the importance of quitting smoking. The report finds that more than two-thirds of U.S. adult cigarette smokers report an interest in...
February 4, 2020, will mark the 20th anniversary of World Cancer Day, an annual event meant to raise cancer awareness and encourage governments, oncology societies, nongovernmental organizations, businesses, and individuals to take action against the global impact of the disease. Formed in...
The important ADMIRAL trial, reported by Perl et al in The New England Journal of Medicine1 and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, shows the efficacy of a specific FLT3 inhibitor in patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and enhances the era of personalized medicine in leukemia. ...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Brian I. Rini, MD, and colleagues, the phase III TIVO-3 trial has shown a statistically significant increase in progression-free survival with tivozanib vs sorafenib as a third- or fourth-line treatment for advanced renal cell carcinoma. Study Details The...
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center recently announced that Thomas J. Lynch, Jr, MD, will become the center’s new President and Director. Dr. Lynch, a cancer expert in solid tumor research, precision medicine, and immuno-oncology, will join Fred Hutch on February 1. Dr. Lynch will become the...
Seattle Genetics recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to tucatinib, in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine, for the treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kelley et al found that pathologic fracture was associated with poorer overall survival among adult—but not pediatric—patients with primary central high-grade osteosarcoma of the extremities. Study Details The study involved retrospective...
In this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Felix Y. Feng, MD, Professor of Radiation Oncology, Urology, and Medicine; George and Judy Marcus Distinguished Professor; Vice Chair of Translational Research in the Department of Radiation...
The day after Christmas, I walked into the exercise studio and spent the next hour jogging, rowing, and doing exactly what that morning’s coach instructed the 20 or so participants of the class to do next. The hour passed quickly, and I had little or no time to think about anything other than the...
A retrospective analysis of 26,768 young adults with colorectal cancer aged 40 and under found that those who live in areas with lower income (a median income of less than $38,000) and less education (under 79% high school graduation rate), as well as those who live in urban areas, had worse...
Patient-reported outcomes from two large studies show that quality of life is maintained longer with newer drug combinations compared with standard-of-care treatments in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma and BRAF V600E–mutant metastatic colorectal cancer. The results, from...
The combination of brentuximab vedotin and nivolumab is making headway as first-line therapy for older adults with Hodgkin lymphoma and as salvage therapy for adults with relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma, according to separate studies presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting &...
In an analysis of the EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial of adjuvant pembrolizumab vs placebo in stage III melanoma reported in JAMA Oncology, Alexander M.M. Eggermont, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that patients treated with pembrolizumab who experienced immune-related adverse events had improved...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Fischer et al found different patterns of relapse and associated outcomes among men with relapse after treatment with adjuvant bleomycin/etoposide/cisplatin for clinical stage I nonseminoma. The study included data on 51 patients from 18...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hourigan et al found that reduced-intensity conditioning for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation was associated with poorer outcomes vs myeloablative conditioning in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who had genomic...
In a national cohort study conducted in the United Kingdom and reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Nossiter et al found no clinically important differences in patient-reported functional outcomes among men receiving hypofractionated vs conventionally fractionated radiotherapy for...
In the phase III MEDALIST trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Fenaux et al found that luspatercept significantly reduced the severity of anemia vs placebo in red blood cell transfusion–dependent patients with very low- to intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndromes with ring...
Patients with advanced melanoma who develop metastases in the leptomeninges usually have a poor prognosis—most patients only survive for 8 to 10 weeks after diagnosis. One reason for this poor prognosis is that very little is known about the molecular development of leptomeningeal melanoma...
As reported in JAMA by O’Brien et al, pooled data from four large U.S.-based prospective cohorts suggest the lack of a significant association between the use of powder in the genital area and an increased risk of ovarian cancer. The investigators noted that the analysis may have not been...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ambrosone et al, an analysis of the SWOG S0221 trial population suggests that use of antioxidant and nonantioxidant dietary supplements, but not multivitamins, before and during adjuvant chemotherapy may be associated with poorer treatment outcomes ...
In a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pooled analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Jennifer J. Gao, MD, and colleagues found that the magnitude of progression-free survival benefit with the addition of a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor to endocrine therapy in women with...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Jeffrey D. Bradley, MD, and colleagues, long-term results of the phase III NRG Oncology/RTOG 0617 trial indicate that standard-dose radiotherapy should remain the standard of care in chemoradiotherapy for nonresectable stage III non–small cell...
In an analysis reported in Annals of Oncology, Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that pembrolizumab was active in both KRAS-mutant and wild-type tumors in a subgroup of patients in the KEYNOTE-042 trial with programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-positive nonsquamous non–small cell lung...
In a study reported in JCO Precision Oncology, Gutierrez et al found that most patients in a U.S. sample diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer between 2013 and 2017 did not receive guideline-aligned genomic testing for RAS, BRAF, and microsatellite instability/mismatch repair–deficiency (MSI/dMMR) ...
As reported by Jack Cuzick, PhD, and colleagues in The Lancet, blinded follow-up of the IBIS-II trial has shown the continued benefit of anastrozole vs placebo in preventing breast cancer in high-risk postmenopausal women during the 5-year posttreatment period. For the international double-blind...
In a Danish study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lauritsen et al found that patients treated for germ cell cancer exhibited an increase of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease at short- and long-term follow-up. Study Details The study involved 5,185 patients with...
In a phase I trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Hughes et al found that asciminib, an oral BCR-ABL1 inhibitor with a mechanism of action different from available ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors, was active in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) after failure of ABL...
Multiple myeloma is a malignancy characterized by clonal proliferation of terminally differentiated plasma cells within the bone marrow. Although it leads to a host of different issues within the body, overall survival has steadily improved in recent years. “This is largely because of better...
Primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma is an uncommon but distinct clinicopathologic variant of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) that typically presents with an aggressive mediastinal mass and invasion of local structures. Most patients are young, typically in their 20s and 30s, and there is a...
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) recently announced a collaboration to expand access to LLS’s free service that provides clinical trials navigation and support to patients with hematologic malignancies and their families. With approximately 5%...
Dr. Smith called us on a Tuesday afternoon. “I have a patient who has an abnormal mammogram showing a large mass. I’m suspecting cancer and am referring her to you for diagnosis and treatment. She’s very anxious. I hope you can help.” We were able to get Dr. Smith’s patient in the next day for...
The novel antibody-drug conjugate [fam-] trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) achieved high response rates and durable responses in heavily pretreated patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, according to results of the phase II DESTINY-Breast 01 trial presented at the 2019 San Antonio...
Findings from the phase II NRG Oncology/RTOG 1014 trial, reported in JAMA Oncology by Douglas W. Arthur, MD, and colleagues showed that partial-breast reirradiation after second lumpectomy for recurrence of ipsilateral breast cancer following previous whole-breast irradiation was an effective...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Trasias Mukama, MPH, and colleagues identified risk-adapted screening starting ages for relatives of patients with breast cancer according to the number of affected first-degree and second-degree relatives and the age at diagnosis of affected relatives. The...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, and colleagues, the phase III RANGE trial has shown no significant improvement in overall survival with the addition of ramucirumab to docetaxel in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma previously treated...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Reviews for treatments in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), non–muscle invasive bladder cancer, and BRAF V600E–mutant colorectal cancer. The Agency also recently issued multiple Breakthrough Therapy designations and ...
A recent study found rising rates of squamous cell carcinoma of the anus, “particularly advanced-stage disease, and a similar rise in mortality.”1 The authors concluded: “Improved prevention strategies are urgently needed to mitigate the rising [squamous cell carcinoma of the anus] burden among a...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Iqbal and colleagues, the phase II SWOG S1201 trial showed a progression-free survival benefit with platinum-containing vs nonplatinum treatment among all patients with previously untreated HER2-negative advanced esophagogastric cancer and in a...
In the Dutch DENSE study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Bakker et al found that supplemental magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in women with extremely dense breast tissue and normal results on screening mammography was associated with the diagnosis of significantly fewer interval...
In a Swedish study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pohlkamp et al identified factors associated with levels of prolonged grief symptoms in parents of children who have died of cancer, with factors being found to differ between mothers and fathers.1 As stated by the investigators,...
Ashwani Rajput, MD, a surgical oncologist and researcher, has been appointed Director of the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins for the Washington, DC, region. Dr. Rajput assumed his new role in November 1 and is based at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, DC. Dr. Rajput specializes in the ...
In a study (NCI-MATCH trial subprotocol, arm Z1D) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Azad et al found that nivolumab was active in mismatch repair–deficient noncolorectal cancers. As stated by the investigators, “The National Cancer Institute Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice...
In patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, two novel dual-target chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell strategies are yielding early and durable responses, with seemingly less cytokine-release syndrome and neurotoxicity than first-generation CAR T-cell products, according to the...