As reported in JAMA Oncology by Osama E. Rahma, MD, and colleagues, initial results of the phase II NRG-GI002 trial showed no improvement in mean neoadjuvant rectal score with the addition of pembrolizumab to chemoradiotherapy in total neoadjuvant therapy for patients with locally advanced rectal...
On July 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an expanded label for pembrolizumab, an anti–PD-1 agent, as monotherapy for patients with locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma that is not curable by surgery or radiation. This approval is based on data from the second...
Despite new and effective treatments for melanoma with checkpoint inhibitors and targeted therapies, patients with metastatic melanoma who progress on frontline treatment generally do very poorly. “We really need to make sure we give these patients access to drugs that we know have some efficacy,”...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Alison J. Moskowitz, MD, and colleagues found that second-line therapy with pembrolizumab plus gemcitabine, vinorelbine, and liposomal doxorubicin (GVD) in relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma produced responses in all...
In a Chinese phase II/III trial (ORIENT-32) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ren et al found that the combination of the PD-1 inhibitor sintilimab and the bevacizumab biosimilar IBI305 prolonged progression-free and overall survival vs sorafenib in previously untreated unresectable or metastatic...
In an interim analysis of a Chinese phase III trial (CAPTAIN-1st) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Yang et al found that the addition of camrelizumab to gemcitabine and cisplatin significantly prolonged progression-free survival in the first-line treatment of recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal ...
Adjuvant pembrolizumab following surgery significantly improved disease-free survival compared with placebo among patients with high-risk clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to the international phase III KEYNOTE-564 study presented at the Plenary session during the 2021 ASCO Annual...
This past October, in a virtually held ceremony of the General Assembly of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), Anil K. D’Cruz, MBBS, MS, DNB, FRCS (Hon), Director of Oncology at Apollo Hospitals in Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi, India, began his 2-year tenure as President of the global...
The breakthrough KRAS-specific inhibitor sotorasib achieved responses in patients with KRAS G12C–mutated non–small lung cancer (NSCLC) who had experienced disease progression on platinum-based chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or both treatments. The objective response rate was 37.1%, and responses...
Over the past month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Priority Review to therapies for multiple myeloma, cervical cancer, chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, and myelofibrosis. The FDA also granted a number of Breakthrough Therapy designations, including those for treatments in ...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Eric Pujade-Lauraine, MD, and colleagues, the phase III JAVELIN Ovarian 200 trial showed no significant improvement in progression-free or overall survival with avelumab alone or in combination with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) vs PLD alone in patients ...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Chung-Han Lee, MD, and colleagues, findings in a cohort of the phase Ib/II Study 111/KEYNOTE-146 trial showed that the combination of lenvatinib and pembrolizumab produced high response rates among patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma...
On June 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the tyrosine kinase inhibitor avapritinib (Ayvakit) for adult patients with advanced systemic mastocytosis, including patients with aggressive systemic mastocytosis, systemic mastocytosis with an associated hematologic neoplasm, and...
In a single-institution phase I/II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Courtney D. DiNardo, MD, and colleagues found that the combination of venetoclax with FLAG-IDA (fludarabine, cytarabine, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and idarubicin) in induction and consolidation...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Matthew J. Matasar, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and colleagues, the phase III CHRONOS-3 trial has shown that the addition of the pan-class I PI3K inhibitor copanlisib to rituximab significantly improved progression-free survival vs rituximab ...
In a phase II study (innovaTV 204/GOG-3023/ENGOT-cx6) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Robert L. Coleman, MD, and colleagues found that the antibody-drug conjugate tisotumab vedotin produced durable responses in previously treated patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer. In the...
The members of the oncology community who spend time and energy addressing the growing global cancer burden in low- and middle-income countries have a kind of selfless dedication beyond the scope of the profession itself. One such medical oncologist was Gouri Shankar Bhattacharyya, MD, FRCP, a...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Thomas Powles, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III KEYNOTE-361 trial has shown no significant improvement in progression-free or overall survival with first-line pembrolizumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy vs chemotherapy alone in patients with advanced...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Arjun V. Balar, MD, and colleagues, the phase II KEYNOTE-057 trial showed that pembrolizumab produced enduring responses in a cohort of patients with high-risk non–muscle invasive bladder cancer unresponsive to bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) who were ineligible ...
An Australian study published by Chow et al in The Lancet Infectious Diseases found a 70% reduction in one type of human papillomavirus (HPV) in gay and bisexual men after the implementation of the school-based HPV vaccination program. The HYPER2 study found that there was a significant reduction...
In the second interim analysis of the phase III CATNON trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Martin J. van den Bent, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that adjuvant temozolomide—but not temozolomide concurrent with radiotherapy—was associated with an overall survival benefit in patients with newly...
Researchers, patient advocates, and global oncology leaders who have worked to reshape cancer care around the world are among the recipients of ASCO’s Special Awards—the Society’s highest honors—and the Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Awards from Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation. “The...
For patients with relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), salvage chemotherapy followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is the standard of care and can induce long-term remissions in at least 60% of patients.1,2 Patients with progression of disease after...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by John Kuruvilla, MD, of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-204 trial has shown significantly improved progression-free survival with pembrolizumab vs brentuximab vedotin in patients with...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will recognize the St. Baldrick’s Foundation–Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) Pediatric Cancer Dream Team with the 2021 AACR Team Science Award. In early 2013, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation and SU2C collaborated to create a Pediatric Cancer Dream Team...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to zanubrutinib in pretreated patients with marginal zone lymphoma, and accepted a biologics license application for sintilimab injection in combination with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy for the first-line...
In a cohort of a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Assuntina G. Sacco, MD, and colleagues found that the combination of pembrolizumab and cetuximab produced durable responses in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma who had received no prior PD-1, ...
Single-agent pembrolizumab achieved durable responses and promising survival in patients with locally advanced or recurrent/metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, according to the second interim analysis of the phase II KEYNOTE-629 study, which was presented at the virtual American...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Olson et al found that pembrolizumab plus low-dose ipilimumab produced durable responses in patients with advanced melanoma whose disease had progressed on immediate prior PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor therapy. Study Details In the U.S....
By way of her family lineage, Aparna Parikh, MD, seemed destined for a career in medicine. “Both of my parents are physicians, as well as my maternal grandfather. I have two other siblings, all of whom are in the medical field. Medicine has always been part of my life since childhood. My parents...
As reported in The Lancet by Javier Cortes, MD, of the International Breast Cancer Center, Quiron Group, Madrid and Barcelona, and colleagues, the second interim analysis of the phase III -KEYNOTE-355 trial has shown that the addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy improved progression-free...
On May 5, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with trastuzumab plus fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic...
“It is possible that within the next several years, perhaps 75% of cancers can be detected by screening,” Bert Vogelstein, MD, PhD, projected at the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) 2021 International Conference on Surgical Cancer Care.1 “I anticipate that perhaps 50% of cancers can be detected...
More news has emerged from this week’s meeting of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC). The group voted 8 to 0 in favor of continuing the accelerated approval for pembrolizumab in sorafenib-pretreated patients with hepatocellular carcinoma; 6 to 2...
As reported by Martin Reck, MD, PhD, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the 5-year follow-up of the pivotal phase III KEYNOTE-024 trial shows maintained overall survival benefit in patients treated with pembrolizumab vs chemotherapy—despite substantial crossover to the...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Andrew Bottomley, PhD, and colleagues, an analysis of the phase III EORTC 1325-MG/KEYNOTE-054 trial showed no clinically significant decline in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with adjuvant pembrolizumab vs placebo in resected high-risk stage III...
In a phase IIa study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jagasia et al found that the oral ROCK2 inhibitor belumosudil produced high response rates and reduced corticosteroid use among patients with chronic graft-vs-host disease after allogeneic bone marrow or hematopoietic cell...
Eight oncology practices in eight different U.S. metropolitan areas with high rates of breast cancer disparities between Black and White Americans have been selected to participate in ASCO’s quality programs, including the Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®)and Quality Training Program...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Luis Paz-Ares, MD, of the Universidad Complutense & CiberOnc, Madrid, and colleagues, the phase III CheckMate 9LA trial has shown improved overall survival with first-line nivolumab/ipilimumab plus two cycles of chemotherapy vs four cycles of chemotherapy...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Alexander M.M. Eggermont, MD, and colleagues, the pivotal phase III EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial has shown significant improvement in the secondary endpoint of distant metastasis–free survival—as well as continued benefit in the primary endpoint of...
In a phase II study (innovaTV 204/GOG-3023/ENGOT-cx6) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Robert L. Coleman, MD, and colleagues found that the tissue factor–directed antibody-drug conjugate tisotumab vedotin produced durable responses in previously treated patients with recurrent or metastatic...
Findings from the ASCO-designed phase II Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) basket trial, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Alva et al, indicated that pembrolizumab showed activity in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic breast cancer and high mutational...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Robert J. Motzer, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), and colleagues, the phase III CLEAR trial has shown prolonged progression-free survival with lenvatinib/pembrolizumab and with lenvatinib/everolimus vs sunitinib and...
In the ENACT study, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Murphy et al found that use of the 12-gene Genomic Prostate Score (GPS) in a predominantly Black patient population with relatively low-risk prostate cancer tended to be associated with reduced selection of active...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Sibylle Loibl, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III PENELOPE-B trial has shown that palbociclib plus endocrine therapy did not improve invasive disease–free survival vs placebo plus endocrine therapy in patients with residual invasive hormone...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, MD, and colleagues, the Children’s Oncology Group ARAR0332 Protocol has identified outcomes associated with different treatment strategies according to disease stage in patients with pediatric adrenocortical carcinoma....
Separate studies presented at the 2021 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium provide supportive evidence for belzutifan (formerly MK-6482) as an active treatment for metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). One study showed single-agent activity for this novel approach in an early-phase trial,...
In the first report from the pivotal phase III KEYNOTE-775/Study 309 trial, the combination of lenvatinib, a multikinase inhibitor of VEGFR1, VEGFR2, and VEGFR3 kinases, and pembrolizumab significantly improved multiple outcomes compared with standard single-agent chemotherapy in patients with...
The treatment paradigm for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma has undergone a dramatic shift over the past few years, improving outcomes for many patients but leaving many unanswered questions as to how to optimally choose the best treatment for an individual patient. The changes are...
As reported in two articles in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by David F. McDermott, MD, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and colleagues, the phase II KEYNOTE-427 study showed that pembrolizumab monotherapy produced durable responses as first-line treatment in cohorts of patients with...