The addition of the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib and the EGFR antibody cetuximab to chemotherapy with FOLFIRI (leucovorin, fluorouracil, and irinotecan) in the first-line treatment of BRAF V600E–mutated metastatic colorectal cancer led to a significant improvement in overall response rate—compared...
In a prospective, longitudinal cohort study published in JACC: CardioOncology by Glen et al, cancer therapy–related cardiac dysfunction and hypertension were found to be common cardiovascular adverse events among patients with melanoma who received BRAF or MEK inhibitor therapy. Nearly half of...
In the phase III COMMIT trial, a regimen combining atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and standard chemotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival and response rates over atezolizumab monotherapy in patients with previously untreated mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) or microsatellite...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) released guidelines on front-line management of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in adolescents and young adults (AYAs), as well as the management of relapsed or refractory disease in this population. Both guidelines, grounded in evidence-based practice,...
Aromatase inhibitors are a cornerstone of adjuvant therapy for hormone receptor–positive breast cancer, significantly reducing recurrence and mortality. However, by suppressing estrogen production, aromatase inhibitors can accelerate bone loss and increase fracture risk. To counter this,...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved drug labeling changes to six menopausal hormone therapy products, also known as hormone replacement therapy (HRT), to clarify risk considerations for these drugs. Specifically, risk statements related to cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a first-of-its-kind device for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Optune Pax, developed by Novocure, is a portable, noninvasive device that delivers alternating electrical fields, known as tumor treating...
For myelofibrosis, the treatment landscape is poised for change as new targets have emerged, and treatments are evolving beyond the standard Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors. Novel therapies are being paired with the commonly used JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib, as reflected by a wealth of studies...
In patients with CALR exon 9–mutated myelofibrosis who were resistant or intolerant to prior Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor therapy or ineligible for such treatment, the first-in-class mutant calreticulin–specific monoclonal antibody INCA033989 as monotherapy or in combination with ruxolitinib...
In patients with follicular lymphoma who received at least one prior line of therapy, the combination of the bispecific antibody epcoritamab-bysp and rituximab–lenalidomide (R2) reduced the risk of disease progression or death by almost 80% over R2 alone, based on the primary analysis of the phase...
As front-line therapy, a chemotherapy-free regimen combining the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) ponatinib and the bispecific T-cell engager blinatumomab significantly outperformed standard treatment with imatinib plus chemotherapy in adults with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome–positive...
At this year’s American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Orlando, we had the opportunity to navigate both manned and unmanned traffic, contend with temperamental weather, and count our steps as we took in the most consequential developments in hematologic oncology....
The first unified, pan-tumor guideline framework has been released for how pathologists should evaluate and score response in the neoadjuvant setting. These consensus guidelines, which were a joint effort by the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's (SITC) Pan-tumor Harmonization of Pathologic...
The scientific revolution in determining the genetic basis of cancer is finally bearing fruit in hematologic neoplasms such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML), where over the past decade a number of effective new drugs have expanded our armamentarium and provided effective—and in some cases...
Colorectal metastases isolated to the liver no longer portend a universally fatal outcome. In 2024, the TransMet study1demonstrated that liver transplantation in select patients could be life-saving—thus changing the treatment paradigm—but so can surgical resection when appropriately applied....
A new European collaboration cluster, EARLYSCAN (Early Screening & Hereditary Cancer Awareness Network), has been launched to strengthen prevention and early detection strategies for heritable cancers. The cluster brings together three Horizon Europe–funded projects: SHIELD, DISARM, and...
Metastasis-directed therapy significantly improved progression-free survival, radiologic progression–free survival, and castration resistance–free survival in patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer, according to a new study published by Tang et al in The Lancet Oncology. The study is a...
Almost 40% of all new cancer cases could be attributed to at least one of 30 modifiable risk factors, according to a new global analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO) and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The analysis of preventable cancers was published in Nature...
As the organizer of World Cancer Day on February 4, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) is mobilizing organizations and individuals worldwide to ensure that the voices of people affected by cancer are heard and drive a new vision of cancer care. Now in its second year, the World...
The use of oxybutynin led to statistically significant reductions in the number of hot flashes per day compared with placebo for men with prostate cancer receiving androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), according to findings from the Alliance A222001 trial published in the Journal of Clinical...
When patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) progress, as is common with such an aggressive malignancy, brain metastasis is a known possibility. As such, guidelines have recommended prophylactic cranial irradiation for patients with SCLC who respond well to first-line therapy to decrease the...
The first prospective, randomized phase III trial of a noncovalent Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor exclusively in treatment-naive patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL)—BRUIN CLL-313—demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Zhang et al, the Chinese phase III ARTS trial showed superior disease-free survival with the third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor aumolertinib as adjuvant therapy vs placebo in patients with completely resected stage II to IIIB EGFR-mutated non–small ...
A response-adapted approach to treatment decision-making for patients with resectable cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma demonstrated that with the use of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab, many patients could avoid surgery and/or radiotherapy. Findings from the De-Squamate study were published in the...
In patients with advanced HER2-positive gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, treatment with the bispecific antibody zanidatamab-hrii and chemotherapy, with or without the PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab-jsgr, reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 35% over trastuzumab plus chemotherapy in the...
Sako et al conducted a prognostic study to evaluate whether a fully automated deep-learning radiomic biomarker based on serial CT scans could improve prediction of overall survival in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors. Their findings,...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) has announced its newly elected 2026 class of Fellows of the AACR Academy. The Fellows of the AACR Academy was established to honor scientists, clinicians, and physician-scientists whose visionary work has reshaped the landscape of cancer...
A global meta-analysis combined detailed patient data from six major clinical trials to compare two types of immunotherapies for advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): dual immunotherapy (a combination of CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors) and single immunotherapy (PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors...
The U.S. cancer workforce faces critical challenges that may affect Americans' access to lifesaving cancer care and delay progress in cancer research. A new report from the President's Cancer Panel, Ensuring a Strong Future for America's Cancer Workforce, underscores these key issues—including...
Editor’s note: On November 22, 2025—the 62nd anniversary of her grandfather President John F. Kennedy’s assassination—Tatiana Celia Kennedy Schlossberg published an essay in The New Yorker detailing her diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia with chromosome 3 inversion, a rare and aggressive subtype...
In patients with advanced HER2-positive gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, treatment with the bispecific antibody zanidatamab-hrii and chemotherapy, with or without the PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab-jsgr, reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 35% over trastuzumab plus chemotherapy in the...
On December 19, 2025, ASCO announced its members had elected Deb Schrag, MD, MPH, FASCO,as President for the 2027–2028 term. Dr. Schrag will begin her term as President-Elect upon the conclusion of the 2026 ASCO Annual Meeting. Dr. Schrag, a gastrointestinal medical oncologist, is the George J....
A new ASCO guideline provides recommendations on managing cancer during pregnancy, addressing a range of topics from the selection and timing of diagnostic testing and therapeutic interventions to delivery planning and ethical and legal considerations.1 The guideline aims to inform evidence-based...
ASCO, in collaboration with Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario), has published an update to their previous guideline on the treatment of multiple myeloma.1 This new guideline—which has been selected as an ASCO Living Guideline—reflects dramatic changes that have helped improve the management of...
Repeated methodological flaws in published research result in misinformation that may cause eligible patients to forgo or not be offered lung cancer screening, according to a joint publication from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), and American ...
The results of a recent survey showed that patients largely support the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to aid radiologists in reading mammograms. The findings, which were published in Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, also indicated acceptance varied in association with factors such as...
Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, has been elected by members of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) as the Academy’s next President. Beginning July 1, 2026, she will succeed Victor J. Dzau, MD, who has served as NAM President since 2014. Dr. Bertagnolli’s election to a 6-year term follows her...
Commonly used large language models (LLMs) were able to provide appropriate, guideline-aligned treatment recommendations for patients with straightforward cases of early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma; however, greater disagreement with physician recommendations was seen in cases of late-stage...
Excluding skin cancers, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States, accounting for about 30% of all new female cancers each year. In 2026, the American Cancer Society estimates that 322,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer and about 61,000 new cases of...
A machine-learning model has calculated country-specific cancer mortality-to-incidence ratios and evaluated the factors that contribute the most to each country's survival gaps. Additionally, the artificial intelligence (AI) tool mapped out actions each country could take to improve cancer...
A virtual screening campaign using machine learning identified molecules with potential for development as novel CDK9 inhibitors for the treatment of cancer, according to early research findings published in Biomolecules. Integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into the drug discovery phase...
Giredestrant, a next-generation oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) and full antagonist, significantly improved invasive disease–free survival as adjuvant treatment for patients with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer compared with standard-of-care endocrine...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it is sharing information about the agency’s flexible approach to overseeing chemistry, manufacturing, and control (CMC) requirements for cell and gene therapies (CGTs). The agency’s more flexible approach has been, and is expected to...
Mutations in KDM6A have been identified as a regulator of therapeutic responses in advanced bladder cancer, sensitizing tumors to anti–PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibition but resisting cisplatin chemotherapy, according to early research published in Nature Communications. Based on this and further...
Scientists at several institutions across the country, in partnership with the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF), have helped generate the largest single-cell immune cell atlas of the bone marrow in patients with multiple myeloma. The findings, published by Pilcher et al in Nature Cancer, ...
An artificial saliva in the form of a mouthwash, produced with a protein extracted from sugarcane and modified in a laboratory, may aid in treating hyposalivation among patients with head and neck cancer, a new study has found. Radiotherapy delivered very close to the mouth can destroy salivary...
A novel prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radioligand therapy shows the potential to enhance therapeutic effects for patients with PSMA-positive prostate cancer while eliminating the potential for severe adverse effects such as xerostomia, according to preclinical findings...
In the phase III BRUIN CLL-314 trial, response rates were found to be as good with the noncovalent Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor pirtobrutinib as with ibrutinib in both patients with treatment-naive and relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic...
Steve Brown, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CureWise (curewise.com), an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven patient advocacy app, describes his year-long quest to understand a series of symptoms that ultimately led to a diagnosis of light chain (AL) amyloidosis—a disease closely related to ...
Excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer diagnosed in both men and women in the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2025, about 154,270 individuals were diagnosed with colorectal cancer, and approximately 53,000 individuals died from the...