Thierry André, MD, of Hôpital Saint-Antoine, discusses final overall survival data for the phase III KEYNOTE-177 study, which confirmed pembrolizumab as a new standard of care for first-line treatment of patients with microsatellite instability–high/mismatch repair–deficient metastatic colorectal...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Meletios A. Dimopoulos, MD, and colleagues, the phase III APOLLO trial has shown significantly improved progression-free survival with the addition of subcutaneous daratumumab to pomalidomide/dexamethasone in patients with previously treated multiple myeloma....
In a single-institution study reported in the Journal of Immunotherapy and Precision Oncology, Xu et al found that the use of a Web-based lesion selection tool (LST) developed by the research team improved consistency in lesion selection for sequential biopsy. In addition, the tool improved the...
Invited discussant Christine Lovly, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research, Vanderbilt University Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, discussed progress in targeted therapies for NSCLC. “We have a tremendous amount of knowledge about driver mutations in ...
Even though next-generation sequencing is recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) for biomarker testing for patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the uptake among community oncology practices is suboptimal, and the uptake is even lower among Black patients with...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Dean F. Bajorin, MD, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase III CheckMate 274 trial has shown improved disease-free survival with adjuvant nivolumab vs placebo among all patients with high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma who...
In a study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Manali I. Patel, MD, MPH, and colleagues found that a lay health worker–led intervention was associated with improved documentation of goals of care, increased clinical trial participation, and increased use of palliative care in a population of...
In a presentation of real-world data given during the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting, Miron et al concluded that the choice of first-line platinum chemotherapy did not result in a significant difference in overall survival benefit among patients with advanced bladder cancer who were able to go on to...
Immune checkpoint inhibition has been established as an effective treatment for patients with metastatic melanoma. A novel immunotherapeutic combination—this one targeting the LAG-3 (lymphocyte-activation gene 3) and PD-1 immune checkpoints—delayed time to disease progression significantly more...
Vamsidhar Velcheti, MD, of New York University, discusses overall survival and exploratory subgroup analyses from the phase II CodeBreaK 100 trial, which evaluated the use of sotorasib in pretreated KRAS G12C–mutant non–small cell lung cancer (Abstract 9003).
Seeing an opportunity to safely reduce the number of opioid doses prescribed to patients with cancer, researchers proposed a new pain management guideline for all patients undergoing surgery at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. The results from the first 6 months of that effort, reported by ...
Immunotherapy following surgery significantly improved disease-free survival compared to placebo among patients with high-risk clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to results from the international phase III KEYNOTE-564 study presented at the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting by Toni K....
The first results from the phase III CheckMate 648 study represent significant progress in the treatment of patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The trial evaluated first-line treatment with nivolumab plus chemotherapy or nivolumab plus ipilimumab in patients with advanced...
In the longest follow-up results from a clinical trial of combination immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma, investigators report that nearly half the patients who received the drugs nivolumab and ipilimumab were alive at a median of 6.5 years after treatment. These long-term results from the...
Lutetium-177–PSMA-617 (Lu-177–PSMA-617)—an investigational radioligand therapy—significantly improved radiographic progression-free survival and overall survival when added to standard of care compared with standard of care alone for men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer whose...
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women worldwide, and the leading cause of cancer-related death among women in Eastern, Western, Middle, and Southern Africa. Globally, in 2018, approximately 570,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer, and 311,000 women died. In the United...
An odor-based test that detects vapors emanating from blood samples was able to distinguish between benign and pancreatic and ovarian cancer cells with up to 95% accuracy, according to a new study presented by Johnson et al during the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 5544). The findings suggest...
Results from the phase II cohort of the CodeBreaK 100 study showed that treatment with the KRAS G12C inhibitor sotorasib achieved a 37.1% objective response rate and a median overall survival of 12.5 months in previously treated patients with KRAS G12C–mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)....
In a study led by researchers at NYU Langone Health and its Perlmutter Cancer Center involving more than 3,000 women treated for breast cancer at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, only 64 patients, or 2% of the total study population, contracted the virus. Of this group, 10 died ...
The phase II E3311 trial offers new information about using reduced-intensity treatment in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer who are at intermediate risk of recurrence. These findings were presented by Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, and colleagues during the 2021...
Ian Chau, MD, of Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, discusses first results of the CheckMate 648 study, which showed that nivolumab plus chemotherapy and nivolumab plus ipilimumab both demonstrated superior overall survival vs chemotherapy alone in patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell...
Andrew Tutt, PhD, MBChB, of the Institute of Cancer Research, London, discusses findings from the phase III OlympiA trial, which showed that adjuvant olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, following adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy, may improve invasive disease–free survival in patients with germline...
One year of adjuvant therapy with the PARP inhibitor olaparib extended disease-free survival in patients with high-risk, early-stage, HER2-negative breast cancer with BRCA1/2 germline mutations, according to a prespecified interim analysis of the phase III OlympiA trial presented by Andrew Tutt, MB ...
According to the results from the phase III JUPITER-02 study, the addition of toripalimab, a humanized IgG4K anti–PD-1 monoclonal antibody, to standard gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma provided superior progression-free...
A 5-year community outreach and engagement effort by the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania to increase enrollment of Black patients into cancer clinical trials more than doubled the percentage of participants, improving access and treatment for a group of patients with...
ASCO has elected five new members to the ASCO Board of Directors and the Nominating Committee for 4- and 3-year terms, respectively, starting in June 2021: Gladys I. Rodriguez, MD, has been elected to a Designated Community Oncologist seat on the Board. Dr. Rodriguez is Vice President of...
Jamie H. Von Roenn, MD, FASCO, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago as the middle child of three girls. She was, by her own account, extremely shy by nature. Her mother was a graduate of the University of Chicago, but her father’s college education was preempted by his service as a fighter pilot in...
Jaap Verweij, MD, PhD, FASCO, was born in 1953 in Velsen, a municipality situated on both sides of the massive North Sea Canal in the Netherlands. His father was a sea captain, and other close family members also plied the oceans for a living in the fishing or transport industries. Dr. Verweij...
Peter Marks, MD, PhD, Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), was born in Brooklyn, New York, near Sheepshead Bay—an area named for the Sheepshead, a fish that can no longer be found in the waters that frame the neighborhood....
High-quality cancer care is a complex mixture of science and art, made even more challenging by the dizzying array of coding, billing, and data collection regulations that must be taken into account. Synthesizing all the parts into value-based, whole-patient care across the wide spectrum of the...
The term “head and neck surgery” had little meaning until the 1940s, when it was used by groundbreaking surgeon Hayes Martin, MD, in one of his publications. Dr. Martin was then Chief of Head and Neck Services at Memorial Hospital, later renamed Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), where...
Cardio-oncology focuses on the detection, monitoring, and treatment of cardiovascular disease occurring secondary to cancer treatment, and the mechanistic and epidemiologic intersection between cardiovascular disease and cancer. With the advent of targeted agents and immunotherapies,...
Over the past 2 decades, the oncologic mantra “early detection leads to cure” has taken on special meaning in lung cancer, persistently a leading cause of cancer death in the United States. “Over a 25-year period, we’ve seen a revolution in early detection, understanding of tumor biology, and...
The field of geriatric oncology has developed steadily over the past several decades, thanks to the dedication of a close-knit community of oncologists who have devoted their careers to advancing multidisciplinary care for older patients with cancer. One such leader is Silvio Monfardini, MD, past...
In the face of old school mores, self-motivation and perseverance were needed to build a career as a nationally regarded blood and bone marrow transplant expert. “I was born and reared in Brooklyn, New York, the oldest of seven children of Irish-Italian parents who did not espouse professional...
Peter Marks, MD, PhD, Director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), was born in Brooklyn, New York, near Sheepshead Bay—an area named for the Sheepshead, a fish that can no longer be found in the waters that frame the neighborhood....
Although quality of life has been an implicit medical outcome since the time of Hippocrates, integrating the explicit effort to assess the effects of cancer treatment on the patient’s quality—and not quantity—of life was spearheaded by dedicated pioneers. One such trailblazer is Patricia A. Ganz,...
Over the past year (May 2020–May 2021), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved and expanded indications for many drugs related to the treatment of different types of cancers and adverse events. The new approvals and accelerated approvals are listed below. PEMBROLIZUMAB (KEYTRUDA) in...
There are few, if any, more difficult clinical challenges than pancreatic cancer, a disease that continues to confound the oncology community’s quest for cure. Yet, incremental progress and unflagging optimism drive the way forward, thanks to the researchers and clinicians who have dedicated their...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Hong et al found that prior frequent emergency department use was the strongest predictor of postdiagnosis emergency department visits among patients with a new diagnosis of cancer. Study Details The study involved data from adults...
Patients with breast cancer who experience disease progression on neoadjuvant systemic therapy tend to have poor survival outcomes, even after surgical management, according to a study presented during the 2021 American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting.1 Findings from the retrospective...
Guest Editor’s Note: Healthful nutrition plays an important role throughout the cancer continuum. Given the proliferation of online dietary resources, there is a clear need for reliable information. In this article, Dr. Heather Greenlee describes the website Cook for Your Life, launched in...
Adding sintilimab to a regimen of gemcitabine and platinum demonstrated clinical benefit over gemcitabine and platinum alone as first-line therapy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These results from the ORIENT-12 trial were published by...
The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) released Trending Now in Cancer Care 2020, an annual report that identifies current and emerging trends in cancer programs across the country. The detailed report presents findings from focus groups that illuminate the short- and long-term impact...
Most cancer memoirs have a similar thread: life suddenly interrupted by arguably the three most dreaded words in the English language, “You have cancer.” Readers anticipate the high-drama uncertainty leading to diagnosis, treatment, and hopefully survivorship, with multiple human storylines woven...
The COVID-19 pandemic remains a global health issue, putting unprecedented stress on health-care systems, with important implications for cancer care. Although at this stage the data are fairly limited, we know that patients with cancer are far more vulnerable to worse outcomes, including a greater ...
I have had two life-threatening cancers over the past 3 decades and can say without equivocation that there is never a good time to get cancer. My first cancer diagnosis happened in 1992, just weeks after I had accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer of Hughes Electronics. The job meant a...
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has appointed Agnes Witkiewicz, MD, as Director of Cancer Genetics and Genomics. She will also hold the John & Santa Palisano Endowed Chair of Cancer Genetics. An internationally recognized clinician-scientist who combines groundbreaking laboratory...
The U.S. right-to-die movement took root in the mid-1970s, when Derek Humphry helped his wife, who was dying of breast cancer, take her own life. Five years later, Mr. Humphry founded the Hemlock Society, the first right-to-die organization in the United States,1 and set off a firestorm of...
Geriatric oncologist Heidi D. Klepin, MD, MS, was born and reared in Pearl River, a hamlet on the west side of the Hudson River in New York. “My parents are German immigrants who came to the United States in the 1960s looking for prospects. Growing up in post-war Germany, neither had the...