A few weeks ago, a family member underwent a minor outpatient operative procedure. From a few weeks before the scheduled date of the procedure, multiple text messages and e-mails were forwarded to provide preparatory instructions for the procedure. The day before the procedure, another...
This is Part 3 of EGFR-Mutant NSCLC: Treatment Considerations for Early-Stage Disease, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Stephen Liu, Tina Cascone, and Susan Scott discuss the treatment of unresectable...
Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) can offer patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) improved survival while minimizing or avoiding late toxicities associated with the standard of care of radiation with cisplatin chemotherapy, according to a recent ASCO guideline.1 “We show in a...
Remembering Alexi Anatolyevich Navalny: The Russian opposition leader, lawyer, anticorruption activist, and political prisoner, Alexi Navalny died in the Arctic Wolf prison in Siberia approximately 1 year ago on February 16, 2024. He was designated a Prisoner of Conscience by Amnesty...
Globally, prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer and the fifth-leading cause of cancer-related death among men—and the leading cause of cancer-related death in Central America and sub-Saharan Africa. Four years ago, British researchers launched the “Man Van” pilot mobile...
In JCO Oncology Advances, Schenkel et al published the results of an ASCO survey measuring professional well-being, satisfaction, and the effect of both on career plans among oncologists in the United States. The analysis revealed a higher rate of burnout compared with that observed a decade ago....
Tumor cells circulating in the blood are the germ cells of breast cancer metastases. They are rare and could not be propagated in the culture dish until now. A team from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the Heidelberg Stem Cell Institute HI-STEM, and the NCT Heidelberg has now succeeded...
Researchers have found a possible source of the variability in patterns of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the most common kidney cancer diagnosed in adults. Katherine Alexander, PhD, Assistant Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Shelley Berger, PhD, Professor at the University...
Over 40 years ago, I lost my dear sister, Gale, to cancer. She left behind a beautiful 4-year-old daughter and a grieving family. Driven by this profound loss, I was determined to ensure that no other family would face that same heartbreak. That resoluteness led to the founding of Friends of...
Intense pain on the right side of my lower rib cage, in 2020, sent me first to my chiropractor for relief and then to my primary care provider for tests. Because of the location of the pain, the chiropractor thought I might be having a gallbladder attack, but the results from a urine test showed a ...
The soaring number of cancer survivors since the National Cancer Act of 1971 was enacted into law provides a snapshot of the profound progress made against cancer over the past half-century: 3 million survivors in the 1970s,1 compared to more than 18 million today, and that number is expected to...
In the phase III IMROZ trial, the addition of the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody isatuximab-irfc to bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRd) was more effective than VRd alone as initial therapy in patients ≤ 80 years with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma ineligible for transplant,...
As reported in Journal of Clinical Oncology by Marth et al, the phase III European Network of Gynaecological Oncological Trial-en9/LEAP-001 study showed no significant differences in progression-free or overall survival with first-line lenvatinib/pembrolizumab vs chemotherapy in patients with...
This is Part 3 of First-Line Immunotherapy for Metastatic NSCLC: Special Populations and Unmet Needs, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Roy Herbst, Charu Aggarwal, and Karen Reckamp discuss the first-line...
This is Part 2 of First-Line Immunotherapy for Metastatic NSCLC: Special Populations and Unmet Needs, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Roy Herbst, Charu Aggarwal, and Karen Reckamp discuss the first-line...
An updated overall survival analysis of the phase III HIMALAYA study, now at 5 years, confirms the benefit for the STRIDE regimen of the monoclonal antibodies durvalumab plus tremelimumab in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.1 [The STRIDE regimen consists of a single priming dose of...
For women with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer, KEYNOTE-522 changed the treatment paradigm several years ago. Support for neoadjuvant use of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab, was bolstered by the positive overall survival analysis...
My twin brother and I were adopted at 18 months old, so I don’t know the medical history of our biological parents and family. But for certain, cancer has played an integral—and heartbreaking—role in my life. Both of my adoptive parents were diagnosed with genitourinary cancers at relatively early ...
The multicenter phase III -CARMEN-LC03 trial did not meet its dual primary endpoints of progression-free and overall survival with the CEACAM5-directed antibody-drug conjugate tusamitamab ravtansine vs standard chemotherapy with docetaxel in previously treated patients with advanced nonsquamous...
The novel trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2)-directed antibody-drug conjugate datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) vs docetaxel conferred a numerical improvement in overall survival in previously treated patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the phase III,...
The multicenter phase III CARMEN-LC03 trial did not meet its dual primary endpoints of progression-free and overall survival with the CEACAM5-directed antibody-drug conjugate tusamitamab ravtansine vs standard chemotherapy with docetaxel in previously treated patients with advanced nonsquamous...
Researchers may have uncovered the immune basis for the development of myocarditis in patients with cancer receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to a recent study published by Blum et al in Nature. The findings revealed changes in specific types of immune and stromal cells in the heart...
The novel trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2)-directed antibody-drug conjugate datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) vs docetaxel conferred a numerical improvement in overall survival in previously treated patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the phase III,...
The multicenter phase III CARMEN-LC03 trial did not meet its dual primary endpoints of progression-free and overall survival with the CEACAM5-directed antibody-drug conjugate tusamitamab ravtansine vs standard chemotherapy with docetaxel in previously treated patients with advanced nonsquamous...
For women with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer, KEYNOTE-522 changed the treatment paradigm several years ago. Support for neoadjuvant use of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab, was bolstered by the positive overall survival analysis...
The ASCO Annual Meeting brings together oncologists, researchers, and health-care professionals to share the latest advancements in cancer care. The 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting (ASCO24) was particularly momentous for those of who received the international development and education award (IDEA). As...
Three years ago, it had become clear that I needed to be tested for the BRCA1/2 mutation. I knew my family history of cancer was not good. My paternal grandmother died of breast cancer when she was just 41, and her mother had likely died of cervical cancer when she was in her 50s. More recently,...
An updated overall survival analysis of the phase III HIMALAYA study, now at 5 years, confirms the benefit for the STRIDE regimen of the monoclonal antibodies durvalumab plus tremelimumab in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.1 [The STRIDE regimen consists of a single priming dose of...
Investigators have identified a substantial increase in the proportion of U.S. patients with cancer participating in clinical trials sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry over the past decade compared with those supported by the federal government, according to findings recently presented by...
Researchers have developed an alternative set of simple criteria using a prediction model to identify groups of patients who may benefit most from lung cancer screening but are disproportionately excluded by current eligibility criteria, according to a new study published by Kearney et al in the...
New modeling data have been released that describe the projected impact of the first and only multitarget stool DNA test (marketed as Cologuard) on patients, health-care professionals, and the U.S. health-care system since its U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval 10 years ago. About the ...
More than 2 years ago, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden reignited the Cancer Moonshot with the goals of reducing the cancer death rate in the United States by at least half (preventing more than 4 million cancer deaths) by 2047 and improving the experience of people who are touched by...
The global oncology and public health communities are mourning the death of Lynette Ann Denny, MD, PhD, a world-renowned gynecologic oncologist and a leading researcher in the prevention of cervical cancer in low-resource settings. Dr. Denny died on June 9, 2024, in Cape Town, South Africa, of...
In selected patients with unresectable colorectal liver metastases, liver transplantation plus chemotherapy significantly boosted overall survival as compared with chemotherapy alone in the multicenter, European TRANSMET trial, presented at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 The combined approach led...
The hypoglycemic agent metformin failed to slow disease progression in men with low-risk localized prostate cancer undergoing active surveillance, according to the results of the randomized, controlled MAST trial reported at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 In addition, the use of metformin was...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) published new results from its latest survey on cancer drug shortages in the United States. This follows data published 1 year ago and 6 months ago illustrating how up to 93% of centers surveyed were experiencing shortages of the crucial...
Early palliative care can be integrated into the course of treatment for patients with advanced lung cancer via delivery by telehealth with outcomes similar to when palliative care is delivered via in-person visits, according to results of the REACH PC trial presented by Joseph Greer, PhD, of...
The Melanoma Research Alliance is on a mission to cure and prevent melanoma, a skin cancer that is diagnosed in more than 100,000 people each year and is expected to take the lives of more than 8,000 individuals in 2024.1 We invite stakeholders across all fields, including medicine, science, and...
In a study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine, Bandi et al found that only 18% of eligible individuals in the United States were considered up to date—defined as undergoing screening within the past year—for recommended annual lung cancer screening in 2022. As stated by the investigators, “The U.S. ...
Several years ago, a visit to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, so fascinated and inspired Mace L. Rothenberg, MD, FASCO, about the history of flight, he wondered why there was not a similar museum showcasing the past and present achievements in science and medicine. The result...
A little more than 12 months ago, the first major cardio-oncology guidelines were published by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).1 The extensive document embodied the immense progress of this subspecialty over its short existence. In reaching this milestone, it is worth considering what...
Deputy Editor of The ASCO Post, Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, recently spoke with gynecologic cancer expert Sharmila K. Makhija, MD, MBA, about her journey to her current position as Founding Dean and Chief Executive Officer of the Alice L. Walton School of Medicine, Bentonville, Arkansas. Raised by...
Genitourinary cancer expert Toni K. Choueiri, MD, FASCO, was born in 1975 in Beirut, Lebanon, the year a devastating civil war erupted, lasted for 15 years, and cost the lives of some 150,000 individuals and also led to the exodus of almost 1 million people from Lebanon. “People with the financial...
ASCO President for the 2024–2025 term, Robin Zon, MD, FACP, FASCO, was born and reared in Cheektowaga, a town in the western part of New York. “Cheektowaga is the Native American name for ‘land of the crabapple tree.’ Western New York was first settled by one of seven tribes belonging to the...
ASCO President-Elect Eric J. Small, MD, FASCO, developed much of his multicultural world view during his childhood in Mexico City. “My parents were expatriates who moved to Mexico in the 1950s and settled there. I was born in Mexico City and grew up bilingually. I went to an English-Spanish...
Serving as ASCO’s 60th President over the past year has been an honor and a privilege, said Lynn M. Schuchter, MD, FASCO, who will end her Presidential term during ASCO’s Annual Meeting, being held from May 31 to June 4, 2024, in Chicago, and welcome incoming President Robin Zon, MD, FACP, FASCO,...
An ASCO volunteer for nearly 30 years, Robin T. Zon, MD, FACP, FASCO, is humbled and honored to be elected ASCO’s 61st President, effective during the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting, May 31 to June 4, 2024, in Chicago and online. Dr. Zon began her 4-year term in June 2023 as President-Elect and will...
About 3 years ago, I woke up from a sound sleep and was having a hard time breathing. It felt like someone was sitting on my neck, constricting my airways. I could feel prominent swelling in my lymph nodes along my neck and clavicle, and I was scared. A trip to the emergency room proved fruitless, ...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® published its first set of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) in 1996, covering eight tumor types. Currently, guidelines are available for more than 60 tumor types, subtypes, and related topics. The NCCN’s 29th Annual Conference...
In the fall of 2023, Justin Baker, MD, took on the role of Chief of the Division of Quality of Life and Pediatric Palliative Care and Director of the Quality of Life for All Program, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, Stanford, California. He formerly worked at St. Jude Children’s Research...