On October 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo) for the adjuvant treatment of adults with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) at high risk of recurrence after surgery and radiation therapy. C-POST Efficacy was evaluated in C-POST (ClinicalTrials.gov ...
Research published in Cancer revealed that inflammatory responses may be tied to cancer-related fatigue and certain inflammatory activities may lead to distinct dimensions of fatigue in women with early-stage breast cancer. “Our findings indicate that inflammation plays a role in some aspects of...
Chemoradiation with a pulsed low-dose–rate technique led to lower-than-usual rates of severe esophagitis without compromising efficacy in patients with esophageal and non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to findings from a single-arm phase I study presented as a poster during the American...
The process of obtaining insurance prior authorization before a medical procedure, service, or medication prescription has typically been left to clinicians. However, as cancer therapies grow increasingly complex, the burden of navigating insurance prior authorization is increasingly being shared...
Although industry-sponsored cancer clinical trials often focus on single-agent drug trials, federally funded cancer clinical trials are more likely to investigate drug combinations with other treatments, including biologics or radiation therapy. An analysis by Joseph M. Unger, PhD, MS, Professor,...
A new study found that implementing a network of cancer drug repositories (CDRs) improved access to cancer medications and eliminated unnecessary medication waste by allowing people to donate unopened or unused medications that would otherwise be wasted. This resulted in patients with cancer...
No significant differences were observed in breast volume loss between five-fraction whole-breast and partial-breast radiation therapy in patients with breast cancer who underwent prior partial mastectomy, according to the results of a study presented in a poster during the American Society for...
Clinically meaningful improvements in longer-term quality of life were achieved with the addition of atezolizumab immunotherapy to chemoradiation in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC), according to patient-reported outcome findings from the NRG LU005 trial presented during ...
A recent study has found that mutations in blood-forming cells may explain the increased risk for leukemia and other blood disorders among first responders exposed to the 9/11 World Trade Center (WTC) disaster site and its toxic dust. The study also points to a novel strategy for use against...
Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who achieve cytogenetic remission may have better survival outcomes than patients with new or sustained cytogenetic abnormalities, according to findings from a study published in the American Journal of Hematology. The study elucidated how cytogenetic...
The U.S. government shut down on October 1 after lawmakers were unable to reach a funding agreement. The date also marked the deadline to extend the Medicare telehealth flexibilities that have been in place since the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). As such, telehealth flexibilities have...
On October 2, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved lurbinectedin (Zepzelca) in combination with atezolizumab (Tecentriq) or atezolizumab and hyaluronidase-tqjs (Tecentriq Hybreza) for maintenance treatment of adults with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) whose disease...
The phase Ib DeLLphi-303 trial has reported overall survival data for a novel maintenance regimen in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer following first-line chemoimmunotherapy. Patients treated with the bispecific T-cell engager tarlatamab-dlle plus a PD-L1 inhibitor had a median overall...
Bijal Shah, MD, of Moffitt Cancer Center, summarizes his presentation on the role of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), touching on its use in the front-line setting for newly diagnosed patients with high risk-features as well as in patients with...
For patients with recurrent retroperitoneal sarcomas that cannot be treated surgically, treatment choices are limited. These tumors can grow in the abdomen adjacent to vital organs or enmeshed within the bowel. Given their radioresistant nature, they require high doses of radiation that risk...
Projected cases of kidney cancer are expected to double by 2050 due to modifiable risk factors, according to findings and estimations published in European Urology. “Kidney cancer is a growing global health problem, and both clinicians and policymakers need to prepare for this steep rise,” stated ...
Health-related quality-of-life measurements demonstrated that both proton and photon radiation therapies led to excellent and similar impacts on quality of life for patients with breast cancer undergoing comprehensive nodal irradiation, according to findings from the phase III RadComp trial that...
For patients with intermediate-risk, localized prostate cancer, radiation therapy delivered in five sessions reduced patient-reported side effects compared to longer courses of radiation, according to results of a large, randomized phase III trial. Patients treated with stereotactic body radiation...
A new phase III clinical trial has found that intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and proton-beam therapy resulted in similar quality-of-life outcomes and low rates of side effects for people with locally advanced oropharyngeal cancer. The TORPEdO trial, a randomized study conducted across ...
Stereotactic radiation therapy (SABR) was found to be noninferior to surgical resection in terms of overall survival for patients with early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to 10-year results from the STARS trial presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)...
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is requesting over $11.5 billion in federal funding for fiscal year (FY) 2027, an increase of more than $4 billion from FY25. The agency shared the request on September 27 in its FY27 Professional Judgment Budget Proposal. The proposal—also known as a “bypass...
Adjuvant radiation therapy following radical cystectomy and chemotherapy was found to be safe and efficacious for patients with locally advanced muscle-invasive bladder cancer, according to findings from the phase III randomized BART trial presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology...
Patrick Goodley, MBBChir, MRCP, of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, reports results from a study that looked at treatment and survival rates in people aged 75 to 80 years diagnosed with screen-detected lung cancer in two targeted lung cancer screening implementation settings (Abstract...
Assessment with a genomic test could help predict which patients with recurrent prostate cancer are most likely to benefit from the addition of hormonal therapy to radiation following prostatectomy, according to findings from the phase II BALANCE trial (NRG GU006) presented in a press briefing...
A new clinical trial found that people with a limited number of metastases from recurrent prostate cancer lived significantly longer without disease progression when they received a radiopharmaceutical drug before targeted radiation compared with radiation alone. The phase II LUNAR trial is the...
Anthony Letai, MD, PhD, was sworn in on September 29 as Director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Dr. Letai takes the helm of the world’s most prestigious cancer research agency...
There has been a rapid increase in the global number of cancer cases and deaths between 1990 and 2023, despite advances in cancer treatment and efforts to tackle cancer risk factors over that same period. Without urgent action and targeted funding, 30.5 million people are forecast to receive a new...
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and UC Davis will co-lead a newly funded, multi-institutional clinical trial to evaluate whether artificial intelligence (AI) can help support radiologists in interpreting mammograms more accurately, with the goal of improving breast cancer screening ...
On September 25, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) removed the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) program for vandetanib, according to an announcement from the agency. Vandetanib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting VEGFR, EGFR, and RET from manufacturer Sanofi (formerly ...
Zidesamtinib, an investigational oral, highly selective ROS1 tyrosine kinase inhibitor designed to overcome common resistance mechanisms and improve brain penetration, has demonstrated activity in both pretreated and tyrosine kinase inhibitor–naive patients with ROS1-positive non–small cell lung...
Performance of a convolutional neural network in determining differentiation levels of cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas was on par with that of experienced dermatologists, according to the results of a recent study published in JAAD International. “This type of cancer, which is a result of...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved imlunestrant, an estrogen receptor antagonist, for adults with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative, estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1)-mutated advanced or metastatic breast cancer with disease progression after at least one line of...
The dietary supplement nicotinamide has been recommended by dermatologists for people with a history of skin cancer since 2015, when a clinical study published by Chen et al in The New England Journal of Medicine including almost 400 participants showed that those who took the vitamin B3 derivative ...
Atish D. Choudhury, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist and clinical/translational investigator at the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses current guideline recommendations for the use of relugolix and leuprolide, relugolix as a combination backbone, and...
Atish D. Choudhury, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist and clinical/translational investigator at the Lank Center for Genitourinary Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses forms of hormonal therapy for patients with prostate cancer, with a focus on the HERO trial, which evaluated oral...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In this installment, Syed Ali Abutalib, MD, and L. Jeffrey Medeiros, MD, focuses on clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (also referred to as CHIP) as well as...
People with more than one tattoo session may have a decreased risk of developing melanoma—with one key caveat, according to research published by McCarty et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. A team led by Jennifer Doherty, PhD, Huntsman Cancer Institute investigator, Co-Leader of ...
Curative-intent surgery for patients with early-stage cancer led to new, persistent, long-term opioid use in more than 1 in 10 opioid-naive veterans, according to the results of an observational study published in Cancer. The results of the study highlighted how necessary it is to develop new pain...
Perioperative use of nivolumab with or without ipilimumab may prove to be of benefit for patients with resectable diffuse pleural mesothelioma, according to the findings of a phase II study published in Nature Medicine. Findings from the study were also presented during the International...
James R. Doty, MD, Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University and a pioneer in both neurosurgical innovation and the scientific study of compassion, died on July 16, 2025. He was 69. Dr. Doty’s death occurred after prolonged hospitalization for medical complications from surgery in...
Gerrina Ruiter, MD, PhD, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, discusses data from the Beamion LUNG-1 trial, which is evaluating zongertinib—an irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor that selectively inhibits HER2 while sparing EGFR—in patients with HER2-mutant advanced or metastatic non–small cell...
Researchers have developed a novel method to test for prostate cancer using biomarkers present in urine. This approach may significantly reduce the need for invasive, often painful biopsies, the researchers said in a statement. The study, which was funded in part by the National Institutes of...
ASCO extends its thanks and appreciation to Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FSCT, FASCO, for his decade of leadership and dedication as the inaugural Principal Investigator of the groundbreaking Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) Study. The ASCO-sponsored TAPUR study is a...
ASCO is deeply saddened by the loss of past president Harvey M. Golomb, MD, FASCO, a pioneer in the study of interferon as cancer treatment. Dr. Golomb passed away on August 20, 2025; he was 82. From the beginning of his medical career, Dr. Golomb was a committed member of ASCO. He joined the...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab and berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph (Keytruda Qlex) for subcutaneous injection for adult and pediatric (12 years and older) solid tumor indications approved for the intravenous formulation of pembrolizumab (Keytruda). Efficacy and...
In the preplanned final analysis of the phase III CheckMate 816 trial, an overall survival benefit has been shown for neoadjuvant nivolumab plus chemotherapy in patients with resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).1 Patients treated with the combination experienced an approximate 10%...
Acute cystitis signaled the presence of urogenital cancers in middle-aged men and women, according to the results of a Swedish cohort study published in BMJ Public Health. Based on these findings, the researchers suggested that acute cystitis could be used as a clinical marker for urogenital...
City of Hope® has been awarded an up to $23.7 million contract from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The grant will help City of Hope to create a biomap of tumor changes that cause immunotherapy resistance in advanced ...
BTK Inhibitor for Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia: On September 2, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor rilzabrutinib (Wayrilz) tablets to treat adults with persistent or chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) who have had an...
Investigators have found several oral bacteria and fungi associated with an increased risk for pancreatic cancer, according to findings published in JAMA Oncology. This cohort study seems to confirm a long-standing suspicion of the relationship between poor oral health and pancreatic cancer and...