Paolo A. Ascierto, MD, of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori–Fondazione Pascale, discusses phase III study findings on encorafenib plus binimetinib vs vemurafenib or encorafenib in BRAF-mutant melanoma (Abstract 9504).
Pirkko-Liisa Irmeli Kellokumpu-Lehtinen, MD, PhD, of Tampere University Hospital, discusses phase III findings on adjuvant docetaxel and surveillance after radical radiotherapy for intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer (Abstract 5000).
Geertjan Van Tienhoven, MD, PhD, of the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Group, discusses phase III study findings on preoperative chemoradiotherapy vs immediate surgery for resectable and borderline resectable pancreatic cancer (Abstract LBA4002).
Helena Margaret Earl, MBBS, PhD, of the University of Cambridge, discusses phase III study findings on 6 vs 12 months of adjuvant trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer (Abstract 506).
Naoki Furuya, MD, PhD, of the St. Marianna University School of Medicine, discusses phase III study findings on a comparison of bevacizumab plus erlotinib to erlotinib in patients with untreated non–small cell lung cancer with activating EGFR mutations (Abstract 9006).
An updated analysis of a randomized phase III trial showed that taking a high dose of the acid-reducing medicine esomeprazole with low-dose aspirin for at least 7 years can moderately reduce the risk of developing high-grade dysplasia or esophageal cancer and delay death from any cause in people...
A randomized, phase III trial found that patients who received chemoradiotherapy before pancreatic cancer surgery had better disease-free survival than those who started their treatment with surgery, which is the current standard of care. In addition, the 2-year survival rate was higher for those...
In a randomized phase III trial, patients with surgically removed pancreatic cancer who received mFOLFIRINOX (a modified regimen containing oxaliplatin, leucovorin, irinotecan, and fluorouracil) lived a median of 20 months longer and were cancer-free 9 months longer than those who received the...
A randomized phase III clinical trial showed that people with advanced colorectal cancer may not need a frequently considered component of treatment—heated chemotherapy delivered to the abdomen during surgery. There was no difference in survival between patients with metastases in the abdomen ...
Peter Hillmen, MB, ChB, of St James’s University Hospital, discusses phase III study findings on minimal residual disease negativity with venetoclax plus rituximab in relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (Abstract 7508).
Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of the City of Hope, and Neeraj Agarwal, MD, of the Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, discuss the ongoing phase III Talapro-2 study of talazoparib with background enzalutamide in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer with DNA damage–repair deficiencies...
Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Nathan Hale Fowler, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discuss phase III study findings on lenalidomide plus rituximab vs chemotherapy plus rituximab, followed by rituximab maintenance, in patients with ...
Joseph A. Sparano, MD, of Montefiore Medical Center, discusses phase III study results on chemoendocrine treatment vs endocrine treatment alone in hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, node-negative breast cancer and an intermediate prognosis 21-gene recurrence score (Abstract LBA1).
Gilberto Lopes, MD, MBA, of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami, discusses phase III findings on pembrolizumab vs platinum-based chemotherapy as first-line treatment for advanced/metastatic non–small cell lung cancer with a PD-L1 tumor proportion score ≥ to 1%...
The randomized phase III Carmena trial showed that many people with advanced kidney cancer can avoid nephrectomy without compromising survival. The median overall survival for people who received the targeted therapy sunitinib (Sutent) alone was 18.4 months, compared with 13.9 months for those who...
The federally funded, phase III TAILORx clinical trial showed that most women with hormone receptor (HR)–positive, HER2-negative, axillary node–negative early-stage breast cancer and a mid-range score on a 21-tumor gene expression assay (Oncotype DX® Breast Recurrence Score) do not...
A new chemotherapy strategy seems to improve cure rates for children with rhabdomyosarcoma who are at high risk for cancer recurrence. In a randomized phase III clinical trial, adding 6 months of low-dose maintenance chemotherapy after initial treatment increased the 5-year overall survival rate...
A large, randomized phase III trial shows that the immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is a more effective initial treatment than chemotherapy (the current standard of care) for the majority of patients with the most common type of lung cancer. People with advanced non–small cell lung...
Robert M. Jotte, MD, PhD, of Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, discusses phase III study findings on atezolizumab plus carboplatin plus paclitaxel or nab-paclitaxel vs carboplatin plus nab-paclitaxel, as first-line therapy in advanced squamous non–small cell lung cancer (Abstract LBA9000).
Meletios A. Dimopoulos, MD, of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, discusses phase III findings on ibrutinib/rituximab vs placebo/rituximab in Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (Abstract 8003).
Martee L. Hensley, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses phase III study findings on adjuvant gemcitabine plus docetaxel followed by doxorubicin vs observation for uterus-limited, high-grade leiomyosarcoma (Abstract 5005).
In a phase III clinical trial, the investigational PI3K inhibitor taselisib combined with standard hormone therapy fulvestrant (Faslodex) halted the growth of advanced breast cancer growth by 2 months longer than hormone therapy alone. In addition, the novel combination decreased the chance of...
An initial report from the large, ongoing Circulating Cell-Free Genome Atlas (CCGA) study provides preliminary evidence that a blood test may be able to detect early-stage lung cancer. This is one of the first studies to explore blood tests analyzing free-floating or cell-free DNA as a tool for the ...
Initial findings from a randomized phase III clinical trial showed that patients with advanced squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) benefit more from initial treatment with the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-targeted immunotherapy atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and chemotherapy than...
An analysis of pooled data from 9 randomized phase III trials of more than 8,000 men with advanced prostate cancer who received chemotherapy shows chances of survival are as good for black men as white men. The median survival was the same in black men and white men overall (21 months), but black...
On May 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for filing the supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for cabozantinib (Cabometyx) tablets as a treatment for patients with previously treated advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The filing has been assigned a Prescription Drug...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted, with Priority Review, a new drug application (NDA) for gilteritinib for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and a mutation in the FLT3 gene, as detected by an FDA-approved test....
Over the past year (June 2017–May 2018), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval to a number of new oncology drug products, including several biosimilar products. Here we provide the labeling approved for these novel drugs and new indications. EPOETIN ALFA-EPBX (RETACRIT)...
A post-hoc analysis from the phase III SPARTAN study that showed treatment with apalutamide (Erleada) significantly reduced the risk of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression in patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who had a rapidly rising PSA while receiving ...
In a study in the PETACC-8 trial population reported in JAMA Oncology, Julien Taieb, MD, PhD, of the Université Paris Descartes, and colleagues found that the risk of recurrence in patients with stage III colon cancer differed for the primary tumor location according to RAS- and BRAF-mutation...
In a German phase III trial (PETAL) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dührsen et al found that interim 18F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) findings were associated with survival in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas receiving R-CHOP (rituximab [Rituxan]...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Goodman et al found that adjuvant radiotherapy was associated with better outcome in patients with early breast cancer who had detectable circulating tumor cells (CTCs). Study Details The analysis included data from patients with stage pT1 to pT2 and pN0 to...
In an Indian phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vanita Noronha, MD, of Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, and colleagues found that curative-intent adjuvant chemoradiation with cisplatin at 100 mg/m2 every 3 weeks produced better locoregional control vs cisplatin at 30...
Based on pharmacokinetic and preclinical data, there appears to be a biologic advantage to the use of intraperitoneal chemotherapy in treating some malignancies confined to the abdomen. Since most ovarian, fallopian tube, and peritoneal cancers present and recur in the peritoneal cavity, this...
In a Dutch/Belgian phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Willemien J. van Driel, MD, PhD, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, and colleagues, the addition of hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (aka HIPEC) to interval cytoreductive surgery following neoadjuvant...
Pfizer recently announced that the independent data monitoring committee for the phase III ATLAS trial, which is evaluating axitinib (Inlyta) as adjuvant therapy for patients at high risk of recurrent renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after nephrectomy, recommended stopping the trial at a planned interim...
Register now to join research colleagues from across the United States at the ASCO Research Community Forum Annual Meeting. The meeting offers physician researchers and research staff from a variety of programs a unique platform to collaborate and develop solutions to common challenges with...
On March 20, 2018, brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) was approved for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated stage III or IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma in combination with chemotherapy.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on the findings of the open-label phase III...
On May 7, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA) approved daratumumab (Darzalex) in combination with bortezomib (Velcade), a proteasome inhibitor; melphalan, an alkylating agent; and prednisone—VMP—for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are ineligible for...
Radiotherapy given in high doses over a shorter period of time is safe and effective for patients with prostate cancer, according to research from a phase III trial presented at the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO) 37 Conference.1 The treatment—called ultrahypofractionated...
In 1996, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) published its first set of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) covering 8 tumor types. Guidelines are now published for more than 60 tumor types and topics. Some of the key updates were presented at NCCN’s 23rd...
“Endocrine therapy remains the most effective and least toxic treatment for breast cancer, but we have many problems to solve. And there will have to be many different solutions,” according to George W. Sledge, MD, FASCO, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Oncology at Stanford...
Upfront use of nelarabine plus standard Children’s Oncology Group–augmented Berlin-Frankfurt-Münster (aBFM) chemotherapy boosted survival rates in children and young adults with newly diagnosed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) and T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia (T-LL), according to the...
The ASCO Post obtained comments about the Persephone trial results from two breast cancer experts. William M. Sikov, MD, is Associate Director of Clinical Research at the Program in Women’s Oncology at Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and Associate Professor of Medicine and of...
The noninferiority phase III Persephone trial could shake up the standard of care for adjuvant trastuzumab (Herceptin), showing that patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer derived as much benefit from 6 months of trastuzumab as 12 months, according to research from the United Kingdom ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lee et al determined risk levels for interval invasive second breast cancers after negative surveillance mammography and identified factors associated with higher risk. Study Details The study involved 65,084 surveillance mammograms...
In the phase III NGR015 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Gregorc et al found no benefit of adding NGR-hTNF to best investigator choice of treatment in patients with previously treated malignant pleural mesothelioma. NGR-hTNF consists of human TNFα conjugated to the tumor-targeting ...
Persephone, a large phase III randomized noninferiority study conducted in the United Kingdom comparing 6 months to 12 months of trastuzumab (Herceptin) in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer has found 6 months of trastuzumab to be noninferior to 12 months of the therapy. In addition,...
A large randomized phase III clinical trial by the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) investigating the safety and efficacy of adding nelarabine (Arranon) to COG-augmented Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster chemotherapy (aBFM) to treat newly diagnosed patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Caan et al found that computed tomography (CT)-derived sarcopenia and adiposity were associated with overall survival in women with nonmetastatic breast cancer. Study Details The study involved data from 3,241 women from Kaiser Permanente of Northern...