Computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated that 39% of patients diagnosed with stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) presented with de novo brain metastases during the COVID-19 pandemic. This percentage was higher than the historic rate of 25%, and many of these...
Adjuvant nivolumab is the first therapy to provide a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in disease-free survival in patients with resected esophageal and gastroesophageal junction cancer, according to research presented by Guillaume Piessen, MD, PhD, and colleagues at...
In a single-institution phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH, and colleagues found that the WEE1 inhibitor adavosertib produced durable responses in women with recurrent uterine serous carcinoma. The investigators stated, “Uterine serous carcinoma is a...
The FIGHT study’s invited discussant, Rutika Mehta, MD, MPH, a gastrointestinal oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, noted the emergence of new biomarkers and their targeted agents in HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer. Two important ones are FGFR2b—now...
Gastric cancer appears to have a new druggable target: fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b (FGFR2b). Targeting FGFR2b with bemarituzumab plus chemotherapy led to clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements in progression-free survival, overall survival, and response rate in...
As first-line treatment for advanced gastric cancer, nivolumab plus chemotherapy leads to significantly improved progression-free and overall survival over chemotherapy alone, investigators reported during a Presidential Symposium of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Congress ...
The advent of effective combination chemotherapies has changed the treatment landscape for metastatic pancreatic cancer, extending median survival and leading to durable responses in a subset of patients. However, perpetual chemotherapy is cumulatively toxic, leading to progressive bone marrow...
The much-anticipated SWOG S1505 trial has failed to show that one preoperative regimen is better than another in resectable pancreatic cancer.1 “Perioperative modified FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel appear to have similar efficacy, with acceptable safety and resectability rates,”...
A large survey of patients with cholangiocarcinoma indicates the toll this cancer takes on patients, even those with early-stage disease, as reported at the 2021 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium by Kristen Bibeau, PhD, MSPH, Head of Global Health Outcomes and Real-World Evidence Generation at...
A novel inhibitor of casein kinase 2 (CK2) has shown preliminary evidence of efficacy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma, according to a phase I/IIb study presented at the 2021 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.1 Silmitasertib (CX-4945) is an oral small-molecule...
With inhibitors of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) fusion and other genetic alterations now in clinical trials for cholangiocarcinoma, there is interest in better understanding what FGFR2 genetic alterations mean for patients. In particular, little is known about the effects of FGFR2...
The novel targeted agent infigratinib (BGJ398) showed clinically meaningful activity against chemotherapy-refractory cholangiocarcinoma in patients with fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR2) fusions and rearrangements. The confirmed overall response rate was 23% (34% confirmed/unconfirmed), the ...
Ivosidenib, an inhibitor of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1), improved overall survival by almost 3 months in previously treated patients with advanced IDH1-mutated cholangiocarcinoma, compared with placebo, researchers of the global phase III ClarIDHy trial reported at the 2021 Gastrointestinal...
In 2007, sorafenib became the first approved systemic therapy for hepatocellular cancers and the first agent to improve overall survival in these patients.1 In a similar multikinase inhibitor strategy, lenvatinib was found to be noninferior to sorafenib in overall survival in the same patient...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Richard S. Finn, MD, of Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and colleagues, the phase III IMbrave150 trial has shown that anti–PD-L1 plus anti-VEGF therapy with...
Excluding skin cancer, colorectal cancer is the third most prevalent and lethal cancer among both men and women in the United States.1 Although the risk of developing colorectal cancer increases with age—more than 90% of cases occur in people aged 50 or older2—recent research shows that the...
The past year has witnessed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a number of novel drugs and new indications for treating patients with gastrointestinal malignancies. A summary of these approvals is provided herein. Nivolumab plus ipilimumab: On March 10, 2020, the FDA granted...
“In line with the emergence of targeted therapies, molecular biomarker testing in metastatic colorectal cancer has evolved over the past decade,” noted Jeanne Tie, MD, MBChB, FRACP, who acknowledged there is confusion about the best ways to use molecular testing in the clinic. Dr. Tie, who is...
The invited discussant for the RAPIDO and PRODIGE 23 trials, Christopher Leigh Hallemeier, MD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, noted the standard approach to locally advanced rectal cancer has been, for the past 2 decades, a long course of chemoradiotherapy ...
In the treatment of resectable, locally advanced rectal cancer, researchers are trying to identify the most effective chemotherapy regimens, the best radiotherapy approaches, and the optimal sequence of these modalities. Two phase III trials presented during the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program...
DESTINY-CRC01 study discussant, Michael S. Lee, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, called the findings “most promising” for the subsequent anti-HER2 treatment of HER2-positive metastatic colorectal cancer. The...
Having recently gained approval in metastatic breast cancer, fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) is now proving its worth in metastatic colorectal cancer, according to results of the phase II DESTINY-CRC01 study in patients with HER2-positive disease.1 T-DXd is an antibody-drug conjugate...
In an updated analysis of the pivotal phase III KEYNOTE-177 trial of pembrolizu-mab for microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer, the benefit of first-line pembrolizumab continued beyond disease progression on the subsequent line of treatment, despite a high crossover to ...
The treatment of colorectal cancer has always been something of an art—but never more so than during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the spring of 2020, The ASCO Post asked three experts in this malignancy to share their concerns and their approaches to achieving good patient outcomes while minimizing...
Cancers of the digestive tract account for 338,090 new cases and 169,280 deaths annually in the United States. Although the overall mortality from these cancers is decreasing, this has been countered by an increase in the incidence of colorectal cancer in young adults. The rising incidence and poor ...
In a Dutch study reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Leerink et al found that the addition of ejection fraction measurement at the time of first surveillance echocardiogram improved prediction of 10-year risk of left-ventricular systolic dysfunction vs prediction based on cumulative anthracycline and ...
In a single-institution study reported in JAMA Oncology, Reyngold et al found that definitive hypofractionated ablative radiation therapy following induction chemotherapy was associated with prolonged locoregional control and favorable survival in patients with inoperable locally advanced...
Younger women with breast cancer differ from their older counterparts in ways that should be appreciated by their clinicians, according to Ann H. Partridge, MD, MPH, FASCO, Vice Chair of Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. At PER’s...
The Association for Clinical Oncology congratulates the 11 practices that prioritized the quality of care they provide by achieving the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) Certification in the second half of 2020. These practices have shown that they are committed to providing the...
With the widespread use of multigene panels for germline genetic testing, understanding the cancer risks associated with pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants (ie, mutations) has become increasingly necessary. To identify which genes are breast cancer susceptibility genes, population studies...
Sybil R. Green, JD, RPh, MHA, has been named Diversity and Inclusion Officer by ASCO. A health-care policy expert with experience in both corporate and nonprofit organizations, Ms. Green will guide ASCO’s internal and external initiatives aimed at achieving the Society’s equity, diversity, and...
Egypt is a country of 1,010,408 km2 located on the northeast corner of Africa with a population exceeding 100 million. In 2018, there were about 134,632 new cancer cases and 89,042 cancer-related deaths in Egypt. Liver and breast cancers are the most common tumors in terms of incidence and...
“I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy.” —Marie Curie To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are two abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on...
Lydia Pace, MD, MPH, was inspired to a become a doctor by her grandfather, a general surgeon in New York City, who spoke effulgently of his career in medicine, and by her mother, a social worker who was equally passionate about her profession. A primary care physician, Dr. Pace developed an...
Antibody-drug conjugates directed against HER2, HER3, and trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2) are showing encouraging antitumor activity in advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to research presented during the virtual edition of the International Association for the Study...
On January 22, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the combination of nivolumab and cabozantinib as first-line treatment for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.1-3 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on the findings of the phase III, open-label CheckMate 9ER trial...
For this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with physician-scientist Brian J. Druker, MD, Director of the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, Portland. In 2009, Dr. Druker won the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research ...
Tailoring adjuvant chemotherapy based on the expression of two molecular markers did not lead to a survival advantage in patients with completely resected stage II to III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the phase III ITACA trial. This result was presented during the virtual edition of the...
A novel strategy of combining a drive-by flu vaccination clinic with an opportunity for participants to use a take-home fecal immunochemical test (FIT) increased access to colorectal screening among Black Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results related to access to colorectal cancer...
Roswell Park comprehensive Cancer Center and the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation announced a $3.3 million program to address the cancer burden in rural areas and Native Nations across New York State, with an emphasis on the Western New York region. The grant from the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation ...
Invited discussant of the ACIS study, Joshi J. Alumkal, MD, leader of the Genitourinary Medical Oncology Section at the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, noted that the toxicities were slightly higher with apalutamide plus abiraterone acetate/prednisone, including fatigue, hypertension,...
The phase III ACIS trial met its primary endpoint at 6 months showing that apalutamide plus abiraterone acetate/prednisone (AAP) extended radiographic progression-free survival vs abiraterone acetate/prednisone alone in patients with chemotherapy-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate...
Cabozantinib achieved a statistically significant and clinically meaningful extension in progression-free survival compared with sunitinib in patients with metastatic papillary renal cell carcinoma, a relatively uncommon type of renal cell carcinoma, according to the randomized phase II SWOG 1500...
A dose-intensified approach to salvage radiotherapy failed to show superiority to a conventional-dose strategy in patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer who had undergone radical prostatectomy, according to the phase III SAKK 09/10 trial presented at the 2021 Genitourinary Cancers...
Following disease progression on docetaxel, prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radionuclide therapy reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 37% vs cabazitaxel in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in the TheraP phase II trial reported at the 2021...
“Now we know enfortumab vedotin-ejfv is here to stay in the armamentarium of treatment for advanced urothelial cancer,” said Arlene O. Siefker-Radtke, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, during her discussion of both EV-301 and EV-201. “As we saw, overall survival was quite...
Enfortumab vedotin-ejfv continues to move the needle forward as a validated treatment option for advanced urothelial carcinoma. At the 2021 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, results from the phase III EV-301 study1 and EV-201 Cohort 22 provided support for the use of this agent in both patients...
In just a few years, immunotherapy has risen to become a pillar of cancer care, leading to significantly improved response rates and even cures in previously intractable diseases. Leveraging the immune system to treat cancer, however, also increases the potential for serious off-target effects....
According to the invited discussant of UNIRAD,1Peter Schmid, MD, PhD, Lead of the Centre for Experimental Medicine at Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, it remains unclear whether or not everolimus plus hormone therapy is an effective adjuvant regimen for high-risk patients...
Everolimus plus hormone therapy improves outcomes in the advanced disease setting but apparently not in the adjuvant setting, according to the results of the UNIRAD trial, presented as a part of the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Plenary program.1 “In the UNIRAD study, after...