Two studies at the 28th EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Munich, Germany focused on the inhibition of mutations in the KIT and PDGFRα oncogenes. These genes provide instructions for making proteins that are part of a family of proteins called receptor...
Proactive outreach to cirrhosis patients in a safety net health system successfully doubled their screening rates for liver cancer, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers found in a study published by Singal et al in Gastroenterology. Cirrhosis patients are at high risk to develop liver...
In the largest-ever study on screening mammography outcomes, researchers found that there is no clear cutoff age to stop breast cancer screening. The findings were presented November 28, 2016, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). This research adds support ...
In an analysis of patients with high-risk neuroblastoma from the Children’s Oncology Group A3973 study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, von Allmen et al found that surgeon-assessed resection of at least 90% was associated with improved event-free survival and a reduced cumulative ...
Greenlee et al found that obesity, overweight, and low levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were associated with an increased risk of taxane-related peripheral neuropathy in women with invasive breast cancer, according to a study reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. ...
On November 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for review the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of previously treated patients with advanced microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) cancer. The FDA granted...
In the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC) 005 prospective biomarker study, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Visvanathan et al, a cumulative methylation index was found to be predictive of progression-free survival, overall survival, and disease status at first...
Women with early-stage breast cancer previously treated for depression were more likely to receive nonguideline treatment for breast cancer, “probably contributing to poorer overall and cancer-specific survival,” according to a nationwide Danish cohort study reported in the Journal of...
In the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial finasteride was found to reduce the risk of low-grade prostate cancer but to have no effect on overall survival. Results of the trial, in which 18,880 men were randomized to receive finasteride or placebo for 7 years, were reported in 2003. In a recent study...
In an analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Fumagalli et al identified genetic markers associated with pathologic complete response among women with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant therapy in the phase III NeoALTTO trial. Christos Sotiriou, MD, PhD, of Institut Jules...
Most women with breast cancer reported high primary care physician quality, engagement, and communication, with a minority reporting high levels of primary care physician participation in treatment decisions, according to a study reported by Lauren P. Wallner, PhD, MPH, of the University of...
An article in The New York Times about women who had chosen not to have reconstruction following breast cancer surgery might prompt questions from newly diagnosed patients considering their options.1 Deanna J. Attai, MD, FACS, told The ASCO Post that whenever an article on breast cancer appears in...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Weber et al performed a pooled analysis of the safety profile of nivolumab (Opdivo) monotherapy in advanced melanoma, including a focus on potential immune-related (select) adverse events. The analysis pooled safety data from 576 patients receiving...
Impaired sleep quality is a concerning problem for many patients with cancer, and pharmacologic treatments come with many negative effects. Several small studies indicate that yoga improves persistent fatigue, sleep disturbance, anxiety, and quality of life, in addition to reducing the need for ...
Immunotherapy with anti–PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) and anti–PD-L1 (programmed cell death ligand 1) agents continues to advance in metastatic urothelial cancer, with positive showings in two clinical trials presented at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress. The...
Florian Lordick, MD, Professor of Oncology and Director of the University Cancer Center in Leipzig, Germany, offered some critical evaluation of the two studies. AGITG Phase II Trial For the AGITG’s phase II DOCTOR trial, he emphasized the need to show the impact on survival outcomes for...
The 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress was jam-packed with studies of the anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) antibodies in non–small cell lung cancer and melanoma, where they have clearly changed the treatment paradigm. Here is a roundup of some of those trials,...
Most women with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer receive endocrine therapy as part of their treatment, but “the reality is that patients who receive antihormone therapy in the metastatic disease setting ultimately develop disease progression, ” William J. Gradishar, MD, stated at the 18th...
Higher baseline levels of T-cell expression of CD62L (L-selectin) were associated with a greater likelihood of molecular response to nilotinib (Tasigna) in early chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), according to a report by Sopper et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The study...
In 2016 and 2017, a team from The Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer Care (RLCCC) is participating in an ASCO Quality Improvement Grant program, which is supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. The grant program aims to improve the delivery of cancer care in medically underserved communities by...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present this special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the world. For the convenience of the reader, each issue will focus on one country from one of the six regions of ...
A collaboration of international experts is tackling the challenges involved in understanding and managing the treatment of cutaneous lymphomas. The Prospective Cutaneous Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (PROCLIPI) study from the Cutaneous Lymphoma International Consortium brings together...
On November 17, the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) issued an updated clinical practice statement for accelerated partial-breast irradiation for early-stage breast cancer. The updated guideline reflects recent evidence that greater numbers of patients can benefit from accelerated...
High-throughput sequencing of T-cell receptors may be a solution to some of the challenges confronting oncologists who treat cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. According to experts who presented talks on high-throughput sequencing of T-cell receptors at the 3rd World Congress of Cutaneous Lymphoma...
In an article in The New England Journal of Medicine, Johnson et al reported the occurrence of fulminant, fatal immune-related myocarditis in two patients who received combined ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo) for metastatic melanoma. Patient Courses One patient was a 65-year-old woman...
Commenting on ASCEND-5, Alice T. Shaw, MD, PhD, Director of Thoracic Oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, noted that it is the first randomized study to examine how a second-generation anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor compares to standard second-line...
“The debate about perioperative chemotherapy in localized high-grade soft-tissue sarcoma is never-ending. Can this study resolve the debate?” asked formal discussant Axel Le Cesne, MD, of the Institute de Cancerologie Gustave-Roussy, Villejuif, France. “Surgery remains the standard of care for all ...
Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is the only potentially curative treatment for myelofibrosis. The ASCO Post asked an expert in this field, Ayalew Tefferi, MD, how and when he uses stem cell transplant in myelofibrosis, which is a topic he outlined in greater detail in the...
November is National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, the impetus for this article. Pancreatic cancer is a huge health challenge. It's the eighth most common cancer in the United States and the fourth most common cause of cancer deaths but is expected to become the second most common cause of...
Genomic assays have had a powerful influence on the management of early-stage breast cancer, particularly estrogen receptor–positive tumors. The mainstay of adjuvant treatment for early-stage, hormone receptor–positive breast cancer has been endocrine therapy, either with tamoxifen and an...
We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in lung cancer. In the past 2 years, the anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (anti–PD-1) inhibitors nivolumab (Opdivo) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) were found to improve overall survival in the second-line setting compared with docetaxel for patients with...
Here is a brief look at the study findings and clinical implications of several recent and important clinical trials in neoplastic hematology. Attention is focused on myelodysplastic syndromes, multiple myeloma, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Myelodysplastic Syndromes Clinical Trial:...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Platzbecker et al, the final results of the Italian-German phase III APL0406 trial indicate that the combination of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO [Trisenox]) is associated with better outcomes than standard ATRA plus...
As part of its mission to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of cancer care so that patients can live better lives, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) has announced the launch of Just Bag It: The NCCN Campaign for Safe Vincristine...
In a pooled analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Michel Meignan, MD, PhD, of the Université Paris-Est Créteil, and colleagues found that higher baseline total metabolic tumor volume measured by 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron-emission tomography–computed tomography (FDG...
With reports about new marijuana dispensaries sprouting up as more states approve the legal use of medical marijuana, and patients and family members questioning how to get it, medical marijuana is a “topic you can’t escape,” noted Judith A. Paice, PhD, RN.1 Dr. Paice is Director of the Cancer...
The smartest guys in the room were never from the big energy companies, and they’re not running hedge funds on Wall Street or building the next Facebook. For me, the smartest guys in the room are the selfless men and women who’ve transformed cancer from what was all too often a death sentence to...
Vitamin D deficiency may be associated with an increased risk of developing bladder cancer, according to a systematic review of seven studies presented at the Society for Endocrinology Annual Conference in Brighton, United Kingdom. Though further clinical studies are needed to confirm the findings, ...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Liu et al found no progression-free survival benefit of adding the anti-HER3 (ErbB3) antibody seribantumab to paclitaxel in unselected patients with advanced platinum-resistant or -refractory ovarian cancer. However, exploratory...
Did you know the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO (CCF) has provided funding for cancer research in 68 countries? In more than 33 years, over 1,700 grants and awards totaling $105 million have been given out by CCF worldwide. CCF grants and awards support clinical and translational cancer research ...
There has been debate as to the optimal dose of single-agent ipilimumab (Yervoy) in metastatic melanoma. A phase III study presented at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress—the first to directly compare these doses—concluded that 10 mg/kg is more effective, but also more...
As neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy for stage III melanoma patients with palpable disease, the combination of ipilimumab (Yervoy) plus nivolumab (Opdivo) was shown to be a promising, though also toxic, combination in a phase Ib study reported at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) ...
In the phase III MINDACT trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Fatima Cardoso, MD, of Champalimaud Clinical Center–Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, and colleagues found that adjuvant chemotherapy may be avoidable in women with early-stage breast cancer who are at high clinical...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to olaratumab (Lartruvo) in combination with doxorubicin to treat adults with certain types of soft-tissue sarcoma. Olaratumab is approved for use with the FDA-approved chemotherapy drug doxorubicin for the treatment...
In a spirited debate, abounding with citations of clinical trials and other evidence, but not without humor and mutual respect, E. Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH, and Armando E. Giuliano, MD, reviewed the data and their clinical experience managing ductal carcinoma in situ and reached opposite...
The successes observed with various immune oncologic treatment approaches have largely bypassed pancreatic cancer, but this may be about to change, based on emerging insights into how and why these tumors evade attacks by T cells. At the 2nd International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference, two...
“Low-grade gliomas are biologically and clinically heterogeneous entities with different genetic drivers,” said formal discussant of this trial, Guido Reifenberger, MD, of Heinrich Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany. “The BRAF V600 mutation is a novel therapeutic target in gliomas occurring in ...
About 10% of children with low-grade gliomas have the BRAF V600E mutation, and preliminary studies suggest that the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib (Tafinlar) may play an important role in treating this group of patients. A phase I/II trial presented at the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology...
Several practice-changing studies have shown that adding a CDK4/6 inhibitor to an aromatase inhibitor improves survival in hormone receptor–positive advanced breast cancer, and those results should also be considered, said formal discussant Peter Schmid, MD, PhD, of Bart’s Cancer Institute, Queen...
A new analysis indicates that many men with prostate cancer obtain second opinions from urologists before starting treatment, but surprisingly, second opinions are not associated with changes in treatment choice or improvements in perceived quality of prostate cancer care. Published by...