Continuing its efforts to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced plans to significantly enhance Risk Adjustment Data Validation (RADV) auditing in Medicare Advantage. Beginning immediately, CMS will audit all eligible...
Systemic amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis is characterized by the deposition of immunoglobulin light chains, produced by clonal CD38-positive plasma cells, as insoluble amyloid fibrils in vital organs. It is a disease that can progress rapidly and is fatal without treatment. The past decade...
The 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting included the presentation of data from more than 7,000 abstracts and clinical trials set to advance research, uncover findings, and in some cases change the standard of practice across multiple tumor types, moving science forward and improving care for the more than 2...
In patients with resectable gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma, perioperative treatment with the checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab in combination with standard chemotherapy significantly reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 29% in the phase III MATTERHORN trial. The...
The addition of radiation may be able to surmount resistance to immunotherapy for some more immunologically “cold” tumors, as suggested by the findings of a study focused on the immunomodulatory effects of radiation in non–small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). The research was recently published in...
The American Cancer Society (ACS) and its advocacy affiliate the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) have announced Shane Jacobson as their Chief Executive Officer, effective August 12, 2025. He steps into the role following Wayne A.I. Frederick, MD, MBA, FACS, who has served as ...
Despite multiple federal updates to race data collection standards, researchers have found persistent discrepancies in how cancer incidence and mortality rates are recorded for racial minorities—particularly multiracial individuals. A recent study in Cancer highlights how evolving definitions of...
Researchers have discovered that most cancer survivors do not make significant improvements to their diet or eating habits after their cancer diagnosis, according to findings published in Public Health Nutrition. Despite their cancer diagnosis, there was no significant difference in diet-related...
COVID-19 vaccine boosters for adult patients with cancer helped to keep these patients from being hospitalized or admitted to intensive care units due to severe COVID-19 infections, according to the results of a retrospective cohort study published in JAMA Oncology. “Cancer patients are a...
In a proof-of-concept study published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, researchers investigated whether artificial intelligence (AI) models such as ChatGPT-4 can be used to accurately extract and classify diagnostic data from radiologic imaging reports of pancreatic cysts. The...
Aprepitant, a commonly used antiemetic, led to improvements in patient outcomes when given during chemotherapy treatment for patients with non-luminal early breast cancer. Patients showed better prognoses and survival advantages, particularly among those with triple-negative breast cancer. Study...
Researchers have developed a novel AI-powered online platform for diagnosing endocrine cancers with speed and accuracy. The AI models achieved diagnostic accuracy of 99% or more in recognizing multiple endocrine tumors. Reports of the development and validation of the models were presented at ENDO...
A new study presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Endocrine Society (ENDO 2025) found that individuals with acromegaly—an endocrine disorder caused by excessive growth hormone secretion—are at a significantly heightened risk of developing various types of cancer, often at younger ages...
Linear endobronchial guided sampling of accessible mediastinal lesions is well established as a first-choice modality for lung cancer mediastinal staging. Parenchymal lung lesions, however, are routinely accessed by either a percutaneous (CT-guided) or a bronchoscopic approach. There have been few...
Teclistamab-cqyv is the first bispecific T-cell engager antibody that targets both B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) proteins on myeloma cells and CD3 proteins on T cells. It was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2022 for treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple...
Patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) that has metastasized to the brain were safely and successfully treated with targeted stereotactic radiation (SRT) rather than whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) in a phase II trial, demonstrating the practicality of a less-invasive approach for...
Obesity-related cancer deaths have tripled in the United States over the past 2 decades, with significant disparities seen by gender, race, age, and geography, according to findings from a national epidemiological analysis presented at ENDO 2025, the annual meeting of The Endocrine Society...
The TRUST trial is the first phase III randomized study to show improved progression-free survival for primary cytoreductive surgery compared with interval surgery without compromising short-term or long-term quality of life, although the study failed to meet its primary endpoint of overall...
A neoadjuvant and adjuvant regimen of anti–PD-1 therapy with nivolumab and anti–LAG-3 therapy with relatlimab led to a 4-year event-free survival rate of 80% in patients with advanced, resectable melanoma, according to long-term findings from a phase II study published in the Journal of Clinical...
A recent study out of Sweden found that people diagnosed with nonmetastatic low-risk prostate cancer later in life were 90% more likely to survive their cancer for their remaining life expectancy if they were treated according to NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines). Of...
Rates of early-onset gastrointestinal cancers, beyond just colorectal cancer, are rising among people younger than age 50, according to experts from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Researchers from Dana-Farber published a literature review in the British Journal of Surgery showing that cases of newly ...
From Dr. Bruce Cheson’s electric speech on how it all started with pentostatin in hairy cell leukemia, to the introduction of bendamustine in indolent lymphoma, to the development of R-squared (an innovative chemotherapy-free approach to treating lymphoma)—the nostalgia at the International...
An update of staging guidelines from the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) for human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive throat cancer—now more common in the United States than cervical cancer, according to the American Cancer Society—aims to make treatment of early-stage disease more consistent...
Women aged 65 years and older are still at a heightened risk of cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), suggest the findings of a large observational Chinese study published by Ye et al in Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinical Medicine. Most guidelines currently recommend discontinuing...
Corticosteroids, which are commonly prescribed to alleviate cancer-related symptoms in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with immunotherapy, may be the reason certain immunotherapies fail in treating the disease, according to new research published by Polyakov et al in Cancer ...
Over the past 20 years, increased understanding of the biological mechanism of disease has led to improved treatment options for all malignancies. Within each disease subtype, we have molecularly characterized tumors and developed specific treatment algorithms to optimize patient outcomes. Among...
People who have survived cancer as children may be at a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 infection—even decades after their cancer diagnosis, according to results published by Louro et al in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe. Thanks to medical advances, more and more children are...
Children born by planned cesarean section (C-section) may have an increased risk of developing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) later in life, according to a recent study published by Kampitsi et al in the International Journal of Cancer. Alhough the researchers did find an association, they...
Mammograms can detect breast cancer early before symptoms appear, and regular screening decreases the risk of dying from breast cancer. But a recent survey conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania shows that some Americans appear to be confused about...
Investigators have bioengineered an organotypic immunocompetent chip—a laboratory device that combines the physical structure of human leukemia bone marrow and a functioning immune system—to empower real-time spatiotemporal monitoring of CAR-T cell functionality for leukemias. The preclinical...
Patients with ovarian clear cell carcinoma harboring PPP2R1A mutations showed significantly improved survival when treated with immunotherapy compared with those without PPP2R1A mutations, according to study findings published in Nature. Preclinical findings from the study also suggested that...
Investigators have found that two common types of hormone therapy may alter breast cancer risk in women before age 55. Women treated with unopposed estrogen hormone therapy (E-HT) were less likely to develop the disease than those who did not use this type of hormone therapy. Additionally, women...
Results of a multi-institutional study published by St-Laurent et al in Science Direct revealed that testing urine-based tumor DNA (utDNA) may help to predict which patients with bladder cancer are at higher risk for recurrence after not responding to first-line treatment. The study analyzed utDNA...
About one in six tested chemotherapies in sub-Saharan Africa were found to have serious quality defects, according to the results of a study published in The Lancet Global Health. Researchers assessed the appearance, packaging, and labeling of each cancer medication and measured the quantity of...
A new clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) focuses on the use of radiation therapy for adults with World Health Organization (WHO) grade 4 diffuse gliomas, a category that includes some of the most common and most aggressive primary brain tumors. The...
A combination of menin inhibition and KAT6A/7 inhibition significantly improved survival for NUP98-rearranged pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in AML model systems, even in menin inhibitor–resistant cells, according to findings published in Cancer Discovery. The MYST gene family histone...
New reporting in The Cancer Atlas, Fourth Edition, showed that an estimated 50% of all cancer deaths worldwide are attributed to modifiable risk factors, including tobacco and alcohol use, infections, excess body weight, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, ultraviolet radiation, environmental...
A novel immuno–positron-emission tomography (immunoPET) imaging agent targeting GPC3 demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity in detecting GPC3-positive hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tumors, including those under 1 cm, according to the results of a pilot clinical study presented at the...
In patients with polycythemia vera requiring frequent phlebotomies, the investigational hepcidin mimetic rusfertide, given as a weekly subcutaneous injection, more than doubled the clinical response rate and significantly improved quality of life in the global phase III VERIFY study.1 These...
In 2022, I had a computed tomography (CT) coronary calcium scan to see whether there were any signs of narrowing or blockage in my heart arteries. Heart disease runs in my family. My father died of a heart attack the year before, and I worried that I was at risk for the same fate. It was a complete ...
W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, FASCO, has been selected for the prestigious 2025 Hologic, Inc Endowed Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Award. Launched in 2016, the Women Who Conquer Cancer award program honors extraordinary women leaders in oncology and role models who have excelled as mentors...
William C. “Bill” Wood, MD, FASCO, a leader and mentor in the field of breast cancer, died on August 18, 2024. He was 84. Dr. Wood was the J.B. Whitehead Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine from 1991 to 2009. He chaired the 1990 U.S. National...
The ASCO Post would like to pay tribute to Samuel M. Silver, MD,PhD, FRCP, FASCO, MACP, who died on August 14, 2024, at the age of 74. Dr. Silver was renowned in the hematology and oncology community and a respected member of the editorial advisory board of The ASCO Post. Additionally, he served...
The Minnesota Society of Clinical Oncology (MSCO) is the recipient of the 2024 Jeffery C. Ward Affiliate Advocacy Award. The Association for Clinical Oncology presented the award during the State Affiliates’ Reception at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting. Presented annually, the Jeffery C. Ward...
The number of people living with a history of cancer in the United States is estimated at 18.6 million as of January 1, 2025, and projected to exceed 22 million by 2035, according to a new report, Cancer Treatment and Survivorship Statistics, 2025, led by the American Cancer Society (ACS). The...
Guest Editor’s Note: Although guidelines recommend adjuvant combination chemotherapy for patients with stage II and III colon cancer who are at high risk of disease recurrence, fewer than 50% complete treatment because of fear of adverse effects or symptom burden. The herbal formula Jianpi Bushen ...
Providing a brief, 90-day course of preoperative endocrine therapy to older women with early-stage, estrogen receptor–positive, invasive breast cancer may significantly alter both patient preferences and physician recommendations regarding adjuvant radiation therapy, according to data presented...
Besides relapse of the malignant disease, graft-vs-host disease is still one of the greatest concerns, in terms of adverse effects, following a hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in a patient with a hematologic malignancy. To mitigate these concerns, investigators are continually analyzing ...
Based on the findings of the VERITAC-2 trial, treatment with the selective PROTAC (proteolysis targeting chimera) estrogen receptor degrader vepdegestrant yielded statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival in patients with ESR1-mutant, estrogen...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) has announced a new, interactive digital delivery format for the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®). The NCCN Guidelines® are the recognized standard for clinical decision-making and policy in cancer care and are the...