For anacademic oncologist, there is no greater reward than to be part of the clinical research that turns a fatal cancer into a highly treatable disease. Saul A. Rosenberg, MD, FASCO, was one such researcher who pioneered advances in the diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of lymphoma,...
After my first breast cancer diagnosis, in 2010, the odds for a cure were seemingly all weighted in my favor. A routine mammogram screening had picked up a small—less than 1 cm—mass in my right breast, and a tissue biopsy confirmed it was stage I estrogen receptor–positive breast cancer. I had no...
With the aging of the world population, geriatric oncology is becoming a mainstay. Over the past year in The ASCO Post, we published a couple of articles on the history of oncology, including one on the history of geriatric oncology in the United States and Europe. Our goal was to promote a...
On August 5, 2022, darolutamide was approved for use in combination with docetaxel for patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.1 Approval was based on the double-blind ARASENS trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT02799602), in which 1,305 patients were randomly assigned to...
In the more than 7 months since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, cancer care for Ukrainian citizens has changed dramatically. Ukraine was once a country able to provide its approximately 160,000 newly diagnosed patients with cancer each year with modern diagnostic methods, including...
Shaji K. Kumar, MD, an expert in multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathies, has been appointed to the position of Editor-in-Chief of The Hematologist: ASH News and Reports, the official member news magazine of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). As the seventh Editor-in-Chief of the...
Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, FASCO, recently joined Emory School of Medicine as Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Jagsi was formerly the Newman Family Professor, Deputy Chair, and Residency Program Director in the Department of Radiation Oncology and Director of the Center for...
Abstract discussant Hisashi Saji, MD, Chair of Thoracic Surgery at St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Japan, said that, based on two recently reported phase III studies, sublobar resection, including wedge resection and segmentectomy, must be considered as a standard of care for...
After a nearly 20-year wait, the results are finally in: sublobar surgery has been found to be noninferior to lobectomy and may be the new standard of care of patients with small, early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Results of the phase III Alliance trial, presented at the International ...
The addition of cabozantinib to nivolumab plus ipilimumab prolonged progression-free survival in untreated intermediate-risk patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to the first results of the phase III COSMIC-313 trial. These findings were presented as a Presidential Symposium ...
Survivors of prostate cancer originally diagnosed with metastatic disease may experience significantly worse health-related quality of life than those diagnosed with early-stage disease and individuals without a cancer history across all domains, according to a new study by Zheng et al published in ...
In an analysis from the International PPB/DICER1 Registry reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Schultz et al found that chemotherapy with IVADo (ifosfamide, vincristine, actinomycin-D, and doxorubicin) appeared to be associated with similar or improved outcomes vs historical controls among ...
As reported in JAMA by Cheng et al, an interim analysis of the phase III ASTRUM-005 trial has shown that the addition of the PD-1 inhibitor serplulimab to chemotherapy improved overall survival in the first-line treatment of patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Study ...
Young women who are cancer survivors may be at a much higher risk of sexual problems, including loss of libido and discomfort, according to research published by Wettergren et al in the journal Acta Oncologica. The study also suggests that cancer type and intensity of treatment may influence the...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III CheckMate 915 trial showed no improvement in recurrence-free survival with adjuvant nivolumab/ipilimumab vs nivolumab in patients with resected stage IIIB–D or IV melanoma. Study Details In...
In a Swedish study reported in JAMA Network Open, Gahm et al found that multiple vs single doses of prophylactic intravenous (IV) antibiotics did not significantly reduce the risk of surgical site infection leading to implant removal in women undergoing implant-based breast reconstruction after...
An advanced software tool for analyzing DNA sequences from tumor samples has uncovered new, likely cancer-driving genes. In a study, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers designed the software, known as CSVDriver, to map and analyze the locations of large mutations, known as structural variants, in...
In a single-institution phase I study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Sham Mailankody, MBBS, and colleagues found that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting G protein–coupled receptor, class C, group 5, member D (GPRC5D) were active in heavily pretreated patients with...
Concurrent chemoradiation therapy followed by durvalumab has become the standard of care in patients with unresectable, locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), based on the PACIFIC trial.1 However, clinical trials have predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and they evaluate...
In locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), immunotherapy consolidation with the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab improved overall survival in the PACIFIC trial,1 thus leading to its use after chemoradiotherapy as a standard of care. Real-world evidence of durvalumab’s effect on overall and...
Abstract discussant Jacek Jassem, MD, of the Medical University of Gdansk, Poland, underscored smoking as the most important cause of lung cancer, noting that between 85% and 90% of patients with lung cancer are current or former smokers. “Lung cancer screening, which has recently become standard...
Discussant of the IMpower010 abstract, Benjamin Besse, MD, PhD, Professor and Head of Clinical Research at Institute Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France, said there is enough evidence to use adjuvant immunotherapy in stage II–IIIA resected non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), calling the increased...
Despite significant advancements in cancer therapy, the number-one stopper of lung cancer remains the most basic intervention: quitting smoking. Unfortunately, for long-term smokers, that intervention can sometimes be the most challenging. According to data presented during the International...
Early results from the IMpower010 trial showed an overall survival trend favoring adjuvant atezolizumab vs best supportive care for patients with PD-L1–positive (tumor expression ≥ 1%), stage II–IIIA (UICC/AJCC staging system, 7th ed), resected non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These data were...
Over the past few years, we have seen rapid and dramatic transformation in the therapeutic landscape of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We have had multiple new targeted therapies for newer targets (previously undruggable targets) and better diagnostic strategies to workup patients to realize...
Abstract discussant Anand Devaraj, MD, PhD, Professor in Thoracic Radiology at Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals, and Professor of Thoracic Radiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, highlighted the increased risk of second primary tumors among current...
Abstract discussant Anand Devaraj, MD, PhD, a thoracic radiologist at Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals, and Professor of Thoracic Radiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, noted that both the Nederlands-Leuvens Longkanker Screenings Onderzoek (NELSON) trial...
Interim results of a phase II study have demonstrated the safety and feasibility of treating elderly and frail patients with locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with the monoclonal antibody durvalumab during and after radiation therapy, without chemotherapy. The results of a...
The first discussant of the NADIM II study, Corinne Faivre-Finn, MD, PhD, Professor of Thoracic Radiation Oncology, University of Manchester, and Honorary Consultant Clinical Oncologist at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, England, called the results “very impressive” but noted that...
In patients with resectable, stage IIIA non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the addition of neoadjuvant nivolumab to platinum-based chemotherapy significantly improved overall survival compared with neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone, according to data presented by Mariano Provencio, MD, PhD, at the...
The addition of the CTLA-4 inhibitor tremelimumab to durvalumab and chemotherapy in the first-line setting has already demonstrated an overall survival and progression-free survival benefit vs chemotherapy alone in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). According to data...
John B.A.G. Haanen, MD, PhD, of The Netherlands Cancer Institute, discusses recent phase III findings, which show that tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) improve progression-free survival compared with ipilimumab by 50% in patients with advanced melanoma after not responding to anti–PD-1...
It may soon be possible to identify group 4 medulloblastomas from more aggressive group 3 tumors. Research based on a little-explored part of RNA that creates proteins may lead to the development of better-targeted therapies, according to investigators at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center....
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Alexander Drilon, MD, and colleagues, an updated analysis of the multicohort phase I/II LIBRETTO-001 trial confirmed the activity of selpercatinib in patients with RET fusion–positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The trial supported ...
In a Korean single-institution retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Kim et al found that higher sinoatrial node radiation doses were associated with an increased risk of atrial fibrillation and poorer survival in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and locally ...
The invited discussant of the DeFi trial was Jean-Yves Blay, MD, PhD, General Director of the Center Bérard, Lyon, France, and President of Unicancer, the French Federation of Cancer Centers. He called the DeFi study a “rigorous trial” in a “representative population” that “introduces a new class...
Patients with rare desmoid tumors may finally have an effective treatment. A first-in-class gamma secretase inhibitor, nirogacestat, led to an improvement in progression-free survival in the phase III DeFi trial. The results were presented during the Presidential Symposium at the European Society...
A large prospective analysis, published by Bayle et al in Annals of Oncology, evaluated differences between tissue and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) next-generation sequencing (NGS) with a large cancer gene panel. The investigators compared the impacts of both methods in terms of molecular tumor...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Tree et al, an analysis from the phase III PACE-B trial has shown no difference in 2-year genitourinary or gastrointestinal toxicity with conventionally fractionated/moderately hypofractionated intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) vs highly hypofractionated...
A research team led by Matthias Preusser, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Oncology and Head of the Clinical Division of Oncology at the Medical University of Vienna, had already demonstrated that patients with cancer may benefit from a third vaccination to protect them against COVID-19. A recent...
In a case-control study within the U.S. Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study population reported in JAMA Oncology, Lønning et al found that BRCA1 promoter methylation identified in white blood cells was associated with increased risks of incident triple-negative breast cancer and high-grade serous ...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Brittany L. Bychkovsky, MD, MSc, and colleagues analyzed the spectrum of cancer phenotypes associated with germline CHEK2 variants. They found that CHEK2 pathogenic variants apart from p.I157T, p.S428F, and p.T476M were associated with...
In a study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Li et al identified elements of increasing financial burden associated with the use of high-cost targeted oral anticancer drugs among Medicare patients between 2011 and 2016. The study used data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results...
In the Italian phase II CAVEATT trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Conforti et al found that the combination of avelumab and axitinib was active in patients with unresectable or metastatic type B3 thymomas and thymic carcinomas who experienced disease progression after platinum-based...
In a Japanese study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kaneko et al found that hypertension in patients with cancer not receiving blood pressure–lowering medication was associated with an increased risk of heart failure and other cardiovascular disease events. Study Details The...
An unhealthy gut triggers changes in normal breast tissue that may help breast cancer metastasize, according to new, early research from the University of Virginia (UVA) Cancer Center published by Feng et al in Cancer Immunology Research. The researchers found that when the gut microbiome is...
Black patients of African descent tend to be diagnosed more frequently with prostate cancer and have higher mortality rates than patients of other races and ethnicities. Despite this substantial disparity, few prospective studies focused on maximizing the recruitment of African American patients...
Laurence Buisseret, MD, PhD, of Belgium’s Institut Jules Bordet, discusses phase II results from the SYNERGY trial, which tested first-line chemoimmunotherapy of durvalumab, paclitaxel, and carboplatin with or without the anti-CD73 antibody oleclumab in patients with advanced or metastatic...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by DiSilvestro et al, the 7-year follow-up of the phase III SOLO1/GOG 3004 trial showed a reduction in risk of death by almost half with maintenance olaparib vs placebo in newly diagnosed patients with advanced ovarian cancer and a BRCA1/2 mutation,...
In a European study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, de Baat et al identified heart exposure to radiotherapy and cumulative anthracycline doses as factors associated with increased risk of heart failure in survivors of childhood cancers. Survivors who received a mean heart radiotherapy ...