Research shows that all beverage types containing ethanol, including wine, beer, and hard liquor, increase cancer risk, and that the risk increases with higher alcohol consumption. Even light drinking—no more than one drink per day—increases the risk for some cancers, including esophageal and...
In an Australian phase IIb trial (MedCan1-CBD) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hardy et al found that use of cannabidiol (CBD) oil did not improve symptom distress vs placebo in adult patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative care. Study Details The double-blind multicenter...
In an externally controlled phase III trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Liau et al found that the addition of an autologous tumor lysate–loaded dendritic cell vaccine (DCVax-L) to standard of care improved survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma and recurrent glioblastoma compared...
In a study reported as a research letter in JAMA, Shahmoradi et al found that the incidence of cervical cancer decreased or remained stable in U.S. women between 2001 and 2019, except for an increase in the 30- to 34-year-old age group in more recent years. As stated by the investigators, “A recent ...
A novel artificial intelligence (AI) blood testing technology—known as DELFI (DNA evaluation of fragments for early interception)—may successfully detect more than 80% of hepatocellular carcinomas, according to a new study published by Foda et al in Cancer Discovery. The findings were also...
Preclinical research has shown that mantle cell lymphoma is so critically dependent on the FOXO1 protein that by blocking its activity with an experimental drug, the cancer’s growth may be slowed, according to a new study published by Jang et al in the Journal of Clinical Investigation....
More than 1.4 million patients were diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020 globally, but the molecular characteristics of the disease remain unexplored for the majority of patients around the world. In the final days of the Movember campaign, which every year in November aims to raise awareness of...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mustafa Raoof, MD, MS, and colleagues found that California Medicare Advantage beneficiaries undergoing elective inpatient cancer surgery were less likely than traditional Medicare beneficiaries to have surgery at...
In a phase I dose-escalation and expansion study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Funda Meric-Bernstam, MD, and colleagues found that zanidatamab, a novel bispecific monoclonal antibody directed against two nonoverlapping domains of HER2, showed activity in locally advanced or metastatic...
In an analysis from the phase III CALGB (Alliance)/SWOG 80702 trial of adjuvant FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin) for patients with stage III colon cancer reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lee et al found that longer duration of oxaliplatin treatment was associated with ...
Michael B. Atkins, MD, of Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, explores recent clinical trials in immuno-oncology in which the phase III trial produced markedly different results from the phase II trial. To help understand the potential value to patients of late-stage trials of...
Kishu Ranjan, PhD, of Yale University School of Medicine, discusses his study findings, which identified a deficiency in the biomarker TAP2 as a prominent immune evasion mechanism in patients whose non–small cell lung cancer has resisted immunotherapy (Abstract 148).
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Yamaguchi et al, an exploratory cohort analysis in a Japanese/South Korean phase II trial (DESTINY-Gastric01) indicated that fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (TDX-d) showed activity in previously treated—but anti-HER2 treatment–naive—patients with...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Schram et al, the phase IIb tumor-agnostic JAVELIN BRCA/ATM trial has shown that the combination of avelumab and talazoparib did not meet the prespecified objective response rate goal among patients with advanced BRCA1/2-altered or ATM-altered solid tumors. The...
In an interim analysis of the phase III ALPINE trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Peter Hillmen, MBChB, PhD, and colleagues found that zanubrutinib produced a significantly higher objective response rate vs ibrutinib in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic...
November is Caregiver Awareness Month, and timely findings from a study published by Amonoo et al in the journal Blood Advances suggested that, among caregivers of patients undergoing a stem cell transplant, how someone approaches coping can influence the levels of anxiety, depression, and poor...
Survivors of pediatric cancer who consumed more total sugar, added sugar, and sugar-sweetened beverages had more aging-related health conditions than survivors who consumed less sugar, according to a new study presented by Lan et al at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Special...
Patients with cancer who are living with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection had an increased epigenetic age compared with patients with cancer living without the HIV infection, according to a new study presented by Coghill et al at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)...
Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer may be less likely to survive if their initial treatment fails to eradicate the tumor completely and they have high levels of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes in their residual tumors, according to a new study published by Miglietta et al in the European...
Using intraoperative ultrasound to guide surgery for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ may yield better results than the standard technique of using a wire inserted into the breast, according to a new study published by Esgueva et al in the European Journal of Cancer. The findings were also...
In a secondary analysis of the Geriatric Assessment for Patients 70 Years and Older (GAP70+) trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Eva Culakova, PhD, MS, and colleagues found that providing geriatric assessment–based recommendations to community oncologists was associated with reduced ...
In an individual patient meta-analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Shankar Siva, PhD, and colleagues found that patients receiving stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) for primary localized renal cell carcinoma had long-term outcomes indicating that the treatment is safe and...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Bartels et al, 10-year outcomes from the phase III EORTC 10981-22023 AMAROS trial were similar with axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) vs axillary radiotherapy in patients with cT1–2, node-negative breast cancer and a positive sentinel node...
Lori Wilson, MD, FACS, was the first woman to hold the surgical oncology division chief position at Howard University Hospital and the first woman to be promoted to full professor in surgery at Howard University College of Medicine. Known as a fierce advocate for patients with cancer in underserved ...
There is a 2-decades-long separation between the time I was diagnosed with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma in 1996 and my laryngectomy in 2016. The surgery was necessary because of the long-term damage to my larynx from the radiation therapy I received. In 1996, I had a low-grade sore throat...
A RECENT REPORT published in Neuro-Oncology1 exposes an alarming reality for children, adolescents, and families facing pediatric brain cancer across the country. The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (PBTF) funded this groundbreaking report by the Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States...
JAMES TURKSON, PhD, Professor in the Division of Medical Oncology in the Department of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai, is uniquely positioned for a new role developed at Cedars-Sinai Cancer: Director for Diversity, Inclusion, and Strategy. “I have great confidence that Dr. Turkson will provide superb...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, Guest Editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with C.S. Pramesh, MS, FRCS, Director of the Tata Memorial Hospital and Professor and Head of Thoracic Surgery at the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, India. Dr. Pramesh is the Convener of the...
Myeloma expert Sarah A. Holstein, MD, PhD, was born and reared in Iowa City, a college town in eastern Iowa along the banks of the Iowa River. “The town itself is small, but it doubles in population when all the college students are present. Both my parents had a PhD in humanities, so I had no...
Jonathan Chen, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses “immunity hubs” that interact with a reservoir of stem-like CD8 T cells and appear to be associated with subsequent response to anti–PD-1 blockade in patients with non–small cell lung cancer. Hybrid hubs, Dr. Chen says, are a...
Saman Maleki, PhD, of Canada’s Western University and Lawson Health Research Institute, discusses modifying the gut microbiome in patients with advanced melanoma to induce a response to anti–PD-1 therapy and potentially reduce primary resistance to immunotherapy. A fecal microbiota transplant from...
Julia Tchou, MD, PhD, of the University of Pennsylvania, discusses preliminary results of the phase Ib/II BreastVax study, which suggested a single preoperative pembrolizumab dose plus a tumor-targeting radiation boost may result in pathologic response in patients with early-stage triple-negative...
On October 25, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to teclistamab-cqyv (Tecvayli), the first bispecific B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed CD3 T-cell engager, for adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four...
An ASCO guideline rapid update is revising guidance for the use of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor therapy for the management of ovarian cancer to include updated considerations for the use of several different PARP inhibitor therapies based on recent phase III clinical trial data.1...
“Adjuvant osimertinib has been adopted widespread as a standard of care as a result of the primary results of ADAURA,” said formal discussant Sanjay Popat, FRCP, PhD, medical oncologist and lung specialist at the Royal Marsden Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, London. “We have more granularity about ...
With longer-term follow-up, adjuvant treatment with osimertinib led to a 77% reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death following complete resection vs placebo-treated patients with EGFR-mutated, stage II to IIIA non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Disease-free survival was improved...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In this installment, Drs. Syed Ali Abutalib and Mrinal M. Patnaik explore the current treatment and prognosis of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. For each quiz question...
In a presentation that followed the discussion of symptom self-management,1 Manali I. Patel, MD, MPH, MS, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, emphasized the need to improve symptom management in diverse populations. “We’ve had more than 60 years of...
An easy-to-deploy, automated self-management intervention may prove to be of benefit in supporting competence and symptom management among cancer survivors, according to data presented during the 2022 ASCO Quality Care Symposium.1 Analysis of the randomized controlled trial found that 12 months...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) recently announced the election of four new members to its Executive Committee for terms beginning after the 2022 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition in December in New Orleans. Belinda R. Avalos, MD, will serve a 1-year term as Vice President, followed...
Researchers have discovered that patients with type 2 diabetes who develop cancer are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced disease if they do not undergo routine screenings, according to a new study published by Jansana et al in the European Journal of Cancer. The new findings were also...
On August 5, 2022, fam-trastuzumab deruxte-can-nxki was approved for patients with unresectable or metastatic HER2-low (immunohistochemistry [IHC] 1+ or IHC 2+/in situ hybridization–negative) breast cancer who have received prior chemotherapy in the metastatic setting or developed disease...
Researchers have created a model for predicting an individual’s breast cancer risk that could be used to create personalized breast cancer screening strategies, according to a new study published by Louro et al in the European Journal of Cancer. The research, also presented at the 13th European...
Fabrice André, MD, PhD, Professor of Medical Oncology at the Gustave Roussy Cancer Center, Villejuif, France, and Chairman of the Biomarker Group at UNICANCER, provided comments on the stage IIA cohort of the PALLAS trial. “The key message from PALLAS1 is there is no signal for efficacy of...
In a preplanned analysis of the stage IIA cohort of the PALLAS trial, the addition of adjuvant palbociclib to standard endocrine therapy did not improve outcomes over endocrine therapy alone. This finding suggests this agent provides no benefit in reducing the risk of early relapse in patients with ...
Marking World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (taking place November 18 to 24), the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) emphasized the danger that drug resistance poses to individuals who are particularly vulnerable to infection, such as people living with cancer. There has been substantial...
A 3-week course of radiation therapy including a concomitant boost of radiation to the surgical site appears to be as safe and effective as 4 to 6 weeks of radiation therapy given with a sequential boost of radiation for patients with early-stage breast cancer who have a high risk of recurrence....
Colorectal cancer ranks third among cancer deaths in both men and women in the United States, with an estimated 150,000 new cases and 52,000 deaths anticipated in 2022.1 Colorectal cancer rates have declined by approximately 2% per year from 2014 to 2018 in people older than age 50, which is...
In response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion and returning the power to regulate reproductive health for women to the states, ASCO, the American Cancer Society Action...
In a phase I/II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Eric Bouffet, MD, and colleagues found that trametinib alone or in combination with dabrafenib was safe and showed activity in pediatric patients with BRAF V600–mutant low-grade glioma. Study Details In the international four-part ...