In the final overall survival analysis of the phase III PROSPER trial reported at the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program1 and published in The New England Journal of Medicine,2 Cora N. Sternberg, MD, and colleagues found that enzalutamide plus androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) significantly...
As reported at the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program1 and in The New England Journal of Medicine2 by Neal D. Shore, MD, FACS, of Carolina Urologic Research Center, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and colleagues, the phase III HERO trial showed sustained castrate testosterone levels and lower risk of...
Positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging with the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radiotracer fluorine F-18 DCFPyL (PyL) successfully identified areas of occult metastasis in men with biochemically recurrent metastatic castration-resistant prostate...
Discussant Scott T. Tagawa, MD, MS, of Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, congratulated Dr. Hofman and coauthors on this first randomized trial of any PSMA-targeted therapy and was cautiously optimistic about the targeted radioligand treatment being adopted as post-docetaxel therapy in men with...
Initial results of the randomized phase II TheraP trial showed that therapy directed to prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) with lutetium-177–labeled PSMA-617 (LuPSMA) significantly improved prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response compared with cabazitaxel in men with metastatic...
Robert A. Winn, MD, of Virginia Commonwealth University and the Massey Cancer Center, discusses the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is exacerbating disparities in cancer care among racial and ethnic minorities and the medically underserved who are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus...
Kala Visvanathan, MD, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, discusses her analysis of data from more than 10,000 women with ovarian cancer. The results suggest that atorvastatin and simvastatin, lipophilic statin cholesterol-lowering drugs, reduced ovarian cancer death rates (Abstract ...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) has published new guidelines to help older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and their health-care providers make critical care decisions, including if and how to proceed with cancer treatment and the need for blood transfusions for those in hospice...
The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) lauded the adoption of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global strategy toward eliminating cervical cancer as a public health problem. WHO Member States adopted the strategy alongside other health resolutions as part of the silence procedure...
A new 10-year analysis, led by Igor Puzanov, MD, MSci, FACP, Director of Early Phase Clinical Trials and Chief of Melanoma at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and recently published in JAMA Oncology,1 provides new insights into an important question: whether BRAF V600E/K–mutation status or ...
Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) recently announced a $5 million grant from Bristol Myers Squibb to fund research and education efforts aimed at achieving health-care equity for underserved patients with lung cancer, including Black individuals and those living in rural communities. The disease remains...
The Prostate Cancer Foundation and Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vista Equity Partners, have announced a new effort to reduce deaths from prostate cancer, one of the largest health disparities facing Black men today. “As African American men are at an...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA) have approved record numbers of new cancer drugs recently. This is extraordinarily good news for physicians, patients, and drug companies, but it raises important questions as to how effective these drugs are, whether...
Florida Cancer Specialists and Research Institute (FCS) announced its Chief Financial Officer, Nathan H. Walcker, MBA, has been named Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Mr. Walcker succeeds the current CEO, Brad Prechtl, MBA, who is retiring but will continue to serve as a consultant. Mr. Prechtl has...
Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center recently announced news about the following physicians, including the appointment of four new staff members: Shilpa Gupta, MD, received a 2-year, $573,850 grant from the Department of Defense to study biomarkers of response and resistance to immunotherapy and to apply ...
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center–Jefferson Health (SKCC) a supplemental grant (P30) to study the role of telehealth in delivering cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project will evaluate the impact of telehealth on health outcomes, patient...
The NRG Oncology Biospecimen Bank will be awarded an additional 6 years of funding from the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This grant will provide biospecimen banking support for the NCI National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) group NRG Oncology. During the peer-review grant-renewal process, the...
Fox Chase Cancer Center has announced the hiring of three new staff members who will begin their work with the cancer center this month. Brandon Bachert, MD, joins the Department of Diagnostic Imaging as Assistant Professor. He comes to Fox Chase from Albert Einstein Healthcare Network, where he...
Three American Cancer Society (ACS) researchers will receive the Real-World Data Impact Award. The joint grant-making program, supported by the ACS and Flatiron Health, seeks to accelerate cancer research and improve treatment and outcomes for patients. The researchers, already funded by the ACS,...
After years of development, engineering, and enhancement, researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis have made available a software system that enables better detection of gene fusions. The system, called CICERO, offers additional insights into cancers as well as new targets...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) recently announced that the NCCN Distress Thermometer has been translated into 46 languages. This free resource helps providers worldwide identify and address the multifactorial aspects of distress patients with cancer can experience. The NCCN...
It was February 1996, and the first annual meeting of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) was drawing to a close, when Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Bruce R. Ross, MD, invited comments from the floor. An oncologist who had attended at the urging of a friend—somewhat reluctantly—stood ...
Mustafa Raoof, MD, MS, a surgical oncologist and researcher specializing in gastrointestinal cancers at City of Hope, was recently awarded a Pancreatic Cancer Action Network Career Development Award (PanCAN) and a Young Investigator Award from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN). “I’m ...
In the midst of a global pandemic, while the entire country grapples with recent events highlighting systemic racism, national breast cancer patient organizations are committing to an unprecedented health-equity initiative that focuses on diversity and inclusion. As a result, the San Antonio Breast ...
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center Deputy Director Kunle Odunsi, MD, PhD, FRCOG, FACOG, announced the promotion of three staff members to leadership positions. “The dedication of this trio of physicians to their patients and Roswell Park’s mission is unmatched,” said Dr. Odunsi, who also...
Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System recently announced that Edward Chu, MD, MMS, has been named Director of the National Cancer Institute-designated Albert Einstein Cancer Center, Vice President for Cancer Medicine at Montefiore Medicine, Professor of Medicine and of...
A $4.5 million gift from the Huntsman family will fund the expansion of a unique program at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah that brings specialty cancer care directly to patients in their homes. With this gift, HCI’s Huntsman at Home will extend to rural Utah. The goal is...
The members of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) have elected four new officers to ASTRO’s Board of Directors. Geraldine Jacobson, MD, MPH, MBA, FASTRO, will begin her term as President-Elect in October during ASTRO’s 62nd Annual Meeting, alongside Gopal K. Bajaj, MD, MBA,...
Ludwig Cancer Research recently welcomed Juanita L. Merchant, MD, PhD, to the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. Dr. Merchant is a practicing clinician and an accomplished researcher at the University of Arizona, Tucson, where she is Professor and Chief of...
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) recently announced the establishment of the Marie-Josée Kravis Women in Science Endeavor (WiSE) to provide financial and professional support to women scientists pursuing biomedical research at MSK, pledging its commitment to gender equity in science and ...
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center announced the addition of two new members to its Board of Trustees, along with a new Chair and Vice Chair. Kathy Surace-Smith, JD, will take over the Board Chair position from Matt McIlwain, MBA, who now becomes immediate Past Chair. Ms. Surace-Smith, who is...
The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) held its 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting on July 11–14, during which officers for the current term were elected, including Alan B. Packard, PhD, as President, and Richard L. Wahl, MD, as President-Elect. Raising Recognition “SNMMI’s strength ...
Jessica Y. Islam, PhD, MPH, of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses findings from the COVID-19 Impact Survey, which showed that cancer survivors are adhering to many of the recommended COVID-19 preventive behaviors, such as wearing masks and social distancing.
Nancy E. Davidson, MD, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, talks about a panel she moderated in which speakers discussed the importance of communicating with patients to ease their concerns about cancer care during the COVID-19 pandemic, allocating protective gear for the most vulnerable...
A new study published by Minami et al in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons found that longer time from diagnosis to surgical treatment did not lower overall survival in women with early-stage breast cancer. These findings may be reassuring for women with early-stage breast cancer who...
Findings from a study published by Eisfeld et al in the journal Leukemia could refine an important set of prognostic and treatment recommendations for younger adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The retrospective study evaluated the molecular characteristics and outcomes of 863...
Over the past few weeks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued designations and accepted applications for novel agents, as well as approved companion diagnostics. We summarize these regulatory movements below. Breakthrough Therapy Designation for MK-6482 in von Hippel-Lindau...
On August 5, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to belantamab mafodotin-blmf (Blenrep), an anti-B-cell maturation antigen antibody-drug conjugate, for adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior therapies,...
Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, summarizes the opening plenary session that addressed epigenetics and early detection, how the aging microenvironment governs response to therapy, AI-driven precision medicine, reprogramming...
Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the President of AACR, discusses this special conference that focused on emerging data related to COVID-19 and cancer, ways in which the coronavirus pandemic has altered treatment of...
Catherine H. Marshall, MD, MPH, of Johns Hopkins Hospital, discusses phase II trial results on bicalutamide, an oral antiandrogen used to treat prostate cancer. Bicalutamide may be helpful in downregulating the TMPRSS2 and ACE proteins needed for the SARS-CoV-2 virus; upregulating estradiol to help ...
Karen E. Knudsen, MBA, PhD, of the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health, summarizes a panel she moderated on telehealth, which included discussion of usage in urban vs rural populations, preventing the technology from becoming a new source of disparities in cancer care, and uncertainties ...
Arthur L. Caplan, PhD, of New York University–Langone Health, discusses the areas in cancer care that need to be improved in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, including a better definition of essential medical services based on the potential to save lives, offer good quality of life, and ease...
Findings from a report published by Bass et al in JAMA Oncology show that childhood cancer survivors with severe hearing loss are at a significant increased risk for neurocognitive deficits, independent of what type of therapy they receive. This study is the first to objectively measure hearing and ...
Ralph R. Weichselbaum, MD, of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center, explores the question of whether radiotherapy is the principal curative treatment with immunotherapy or activates immunotherapy. He also discussed how to improve the interaction of these treatments, perhaps with...
Ramaswamy Govindan, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine, discusses sex differences in lung cancer, including variations in treatment response, and the state of research in the field (Session ED20).
Silvia Formenti, MD, of Weill Cornell Medical College, discusses her continuing work, and the promising results emerging, in combining radiotherapy with immunotherapy to boost abscopal response rates. This combination therapy extends the use of radiotherapy to promote antitumor T-cell responses for ...
Considered the “guardian of the genome,” TP53 is the most commonly mutated gene in patients with cancer. TP53's normal function is to detect DNA damage and prevent cells from passing this damage on to daughter cells. When TP53 is mutated, the protein made from this gene, called p53, can no longer...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) announced its decision not to hold the 62nd ASH Annual Meeting in San Diego as planned given the continuing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting will be offered as a virtual experience from December 5–8, 2020. The Society commented, “While there is...
Research published by London et al in JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics found significant decreases nationwide in the number of patients seen for cancer-related care as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed during the first few months of 2020. The most significant decline was seen in encounters related to ...