Pembrolizumab monotherapy is an established treatment strategy for relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma. In combination with chemotherapy, the checkpoint inhibitor is also showing value in the front-line setting and further boosting outcomes in the relapsed setting, according to...
Laura Bukavina, MD, MPH, a Urologic oncology fellow at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been awarded the ASCO Genitourinary Conquer Cancer Merit Award. She presented the winning abstract, which characterizes the gut microbiome of patients with bladder cancer, at the 2022 ASCO Genitourinary (GU) Cancers ...
Breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer mortality among Black women as of 2019. This news is one of the key findings in Cancer Statistics for African American/Black People 2022, published recently in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians and its consumer-friendly...
About 5 years ago, I began experiencing some digestive issues that I initially blamed on the stress from coping with my mother’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. But after 2 weeks of unrelenting symptoms, including abdominal pain, a change in my bowel habits, and rectal bleeding, I saw my primary...
Stefano Cascinu, MD, of the Comprehensive Cancer Center, Università Vita-Salute, IRCCS-Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan, Italy, was the invited discussant of KEYNOTE-5901 and CheckMate 649.2 “These landmark studies could change the treatment paradigm of advanced esophageal and gastric cancers. They...
A recent study published by Conley et al in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment aimed to evaluate factors that influence the ability of people with metastatic breast cancer to adhere to their prescribed regimen of oral anticancer medication.1 Researchers found that multiple factors affected...
I returned home to the United Arab Emirates in 2017, following my oncology fellowship training and work experience in the United States. I immediately realized that I am now dealing with a considerably different cancer patient population in terms of age of onset, stage at presentation, awareness...
Updates of landmark trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors as first-line therapy for advanced HER2-negative esophagogastric cancers were presented at the 2022 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. The studies upheld previous findings of an overall survival benefit when these agents are paired...
In this installment of Living a Full Life, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with Gerardo Colón-Otero, MD, Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Past Chair of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Florida, and Vice Dean at Mayo Clinic Alix School of...
Patients with cancer are not only at an increased risk for developing severe COVID-19, but also face cancer treatment delays and interruptions due to the pandemic, potentially worsening cancer outcomes, according to the AACR Report on the Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer Research and Patient Care. In...
A network sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, the Leukemia Committee of the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology promotes collaboration between approximately 10,000 cancer specialists across the United States and Canada. The Committee recently announced the results of an international...
Christopher Willett, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, shared his thoughts on the findings of the study by Lumish et al1 with The ASCO Post. He first noted the shift in recent years toward total neoadjuvant therapy in the...
Artificial intelligence (AI) has captured society’s imagination and generated enthusiasm for its potential to improve our quality of life, especially in the health-care arena. The availability of high-dimensionality data sets along with innovations in high-performance computing and deep-learning...
In a small study of patients with locally advanced mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) rectal cancer, treatment with the anti–PD-1 agent dostarlimab-gxly alone led to a clinical complete response rate of 100%. The findings of this study from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) were reported...
Guest Editor’s Note: Pain is a debilitating symptom experienced by many patients with cancer that negatively impacts their quality of life. Massage therapy, historically used for relaxation and pain relief, plays an important supportive role in oncology settings. In this installment of The ASCO...
Samuel J. Klempner, MD, Associate Professor at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, commented on the NEONIPIGA study for The ASCO Post. “This study was the first prospective data set to show what many have suspected—that neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade would lead to a...
In patients with resectable microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H)/mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) gastric and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, dual checkpoint inhibition with ipilimumab and nivolumab given as neoadjuvant therapy led to a pathologic complete response rate of 58.6%,...
MAGNITUDE is challenging from a statistical point of view,” said formal discussant Celestia S. Higano, MD, currently Adjunct Professor, Department of Urologic Sciences at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and formerly of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle....
Findings from the international phase II KEYNOTE-158 trial of pembrolizumab among women with previously treated microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) endometrial tumors “suggest a long-term benefit to patients,” stated the trial’s lead author David M. O’Malley, ...
Benoit Rousseau, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, called the findings of the phase II GERCOR NIPICOL trial “interesting and convincing.” Long-term follow-up showed the 3-year progression-free survival rate to be 70% after just 1 total year of treatment with nivolumab...
“Robust and clinically meaningfulantitumor activity,” with durable responses and “encouraging survival outcomes,” were reported among patients with previously treated microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) endometrial tumors who received pembrolizumab in the...
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is readily detectable in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of patients with central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma and is a strong prognostic biomarker for outcomes, a team of researchers from Germany and Stanford University reported at the 2021 American Society of...
Survivors of childhood cancer who become pregnant in adulthood are as likely to have healthy babies as those without a history of cancer, according to a new study published by Zgardau et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Their children also don’t have higher risks of birth defects ...
Scientists have determined that first responders to the World Trade Center during the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have increased levels of mutations that may escalate their risk for blood cancers or cardiovascular disease, according to a study published by Jasra et al in Nature Medicine....
In a Chinese single-institution phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Zhu et al found that stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) followed by pembrolizumab plus trametinib improved overall survival vs SBRT followed by gemcitabine in patients with postresection, KRAS-mutant, PD-L1–positive...
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.” —Plutarch About 30% to 40% of patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) experience relapse, and 10% are refractory to the...
Much progress has been made in the past 50 years since the signing of the National Cancer Act of 1971, which included the establishment of the President’s Cancer Panel. Nevertheless, there remain significant opportunities to make improvements across the cancer spectrum, perhaps none more pressing...
Medical oncologist Philip A. Philip, MD, PhD, has joined Henry Ford Cancer Institute (HFCI) as Director of Gastrointestinal Oncology and Neuroendocrine Oncology, Medical Director of Research and Clinical Care Integration, and co-leader of the Henry Ford Pancreatic Cancer Center (HFPCC). Dr. Philip...
Linda Fleisher, PhD, MPH, Associate Research Professor in the Cancer Prevention and Control research program at Fox Chase Cancer Center, was recently appointed Co-Chair of the American Cancer Society’s National Navigation Roundtable. Patient navigators act as intermediaries between patients and...
"One of the great advocates for the poorest and sickest of our planet.” —Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu “Our mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. By establishing long-term relationships with sister organizations ...
In a Canadian population-based study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gupta et al found that survivors of childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancers were not at a greater risk of COVID-19 infection or severe complications of infection compared with matched controls without cancer....
Researchers at City of Hope published data pointing to the limitations of a popular liquid biopsy that is used to detect the recurrence of colorectal cancer in patients who who have undergone surgical resection. The findings were published in JAMA Network Open by Marwan Fakih, MD, and colleagues....
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Brian I. Rini, MD, and colleagues, prospective cardiovascular monitoring in the phase III JAVELIN Renal 101 trial in advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) showed that patients with higher baseline troponin T levels receiving the combination of the...
According to the United Nations (UN), more than 1.7 million Ukrainians have already fled to Central Europe due to the Russian invasion, which the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has called the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Many of those fleeing Ukraine and those...
Advanced radiotherapy techniques can reduce the risk of severe and debilitating toxicity associated with radiation, but not all patients have equal access to these modalities, according to data presented by Neal S. McCall, MD, at the 2022 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium (Abstract...
Researchers have discovered that treatment resistance in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) may be caused by two distinct classes of stem cells and identified possible therapeutic approaches that target these cells. Their findings, which could have significant benefits for patients with...
In a prospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Erin L. Van Blarigan, ScD, and colleagues found that higher intake of unprocessed red meat or processed meat was not associated with poorer recurrence-free or overall survival in patients with stage III colon cancer. As stated by the...
In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Wang et al identified mutations that conferred resistance to noncovalent Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and found that some also conferred resistance to covalent BTK...
A new meta-analysis adds to evidence that taller adults may be more likely than shorter ones to develop colorectal cancer or colon polyps that can later become malignant. While the association between taller height and colorectal cancer has been previously investigated, researchers from Johns...
Patients treated for Merkel cell carcinoma face a 5-year recurrence rate of 40%—markedly higher than the recurrence rates for melanoma and other skin cancers, according to research published by McEvoy et al in JAMA Dermatology. Additionally, in the study cohort of more than 600 patients, 95% of...
In a single-institution study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Ruppert et al found that nonmalignant etiologies contribute to back pain in many men with metastatic prostate cancer who experience pain in areas where spinal metastases are known to occur. Study Details The study consisted of...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Owens-Walton et al found that minority populations are underrepresented in phase II and III trials targeting prostate, kidney, and bladder cancers taking place in the United States. Study Details In the analysis, the ClinicalTrials.gov...
In an Asian study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ang et al developed a model for predicting carrier status of pathogenic variants in BRCA1 or BRCA2 among Asian women with breast cancer. As stated by the investigators, “With the development of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued three final guidances to industry regarding cancer clinical trials that parallel the goals of President Biden’s recently announced effort to renew and build upon his 2016 Cancer Moonshot initiative. Both endeavors aim to facilitate continued...
On February 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ciltacabtagene autoleucel (Carvykti) for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma after four or more prior lines of therapy, including a proteasome inhibitor, an immunomodulatory agent, and an anti-CD38 ...
A large, multi-institutional study demonstrated that a blood test to detect circulating tumor DNA may accurately predict recurrence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven oropharyngeal cancer following treatment. Results also indicated that the biomarker test may detect recurrent disease earlier than ...
Amy Tiersten, MD, Professor of Medicine, Hematology, and Medical Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, Director of the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center and Associate Dean of Oncology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas,...
Switching from an aromatase inhibitor to fulvestrant upon early identification of the ESR1 mutation in plasma—before disease progression—doubled progression-free survival in the phase III PADA-1 trial, presented at the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.1 “PADA-1 is the first trial to...
Use of the first investigational oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) elacestrant significantly reduced the risk of death or disease progression and lengthened progression-free survival compared with standard-of-care endocrine therapy with fulvestrant or an aromatase inhibitor in...
Charles Shapiro, MD, Professor of Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, commented on the study findings. “MA.32 is a large, randomized placebo-controlled trial of metformin in over 3,600 women with invasive breast cancer. The rationale for...