A phase III randomized clinical study evaluating the optimum dose of a combination chemotherapy regimen of oxaliplatin and capecitabine in the treatment of advanced gastroesophageal cancer in frail and elderly patients has found that the patients prescribed the lowest dose tested experienced less...
A study investigating the frequency of targetable molecular alterations in pediatric cancer among patients enrolled in the National Cancer Institute–Children’s Oncology Group Pediatric Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (MATCH) trial has found that about one-quarter of patients with...
A phase I/IB study evaluating the activity of entrectinib in children and adolescents with recurrent or refractory solid tumors, including central nervous system (CNS) tumors, has found that the agent produced responses in children with tumors harboring target aberrations...
Excluding skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the United States. In 2019, the American Cancer Society estimates that about 268,600 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed in women, and about 41,760 women will die from their disease. ...
A phase III randomized trial (E3A06) by Lonial et al testing the effect of single-agent lenalidomide vs observation in patients with intermediate- or high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma has found that lenalidomide significantly reduces the risk of smoldering multiple myeloma progressing to active ...
On May 14, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved avelumab (Bavencio) in combination with axitinib (Inlyta) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). This is the first FDA approval for an anti–programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)...
Foundational research recently published by Schrock et al in Annals of Oncology may help patients with microsatellite instability (MSI)-high metastatic colorectal cancer decide whether to choose immunotherapy or chemotherapy as their first treatment option. “Immunotherapy is the new,...
Elderly survivors of breast cancer, lung cancer, and melanoma face risk of brain metastasis later in life, and may require extra surveillance in the years following initial cancer treatment, according to results of a study published by Ascha et al in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers, &...
A team of researchers have identified 34 genes that are associated with an increased risk for developing the earliest stages of ovarian cancer. The findings, published by Gusev et al in Nature Genetics, may help identify women who are at highest risk of developing ovarian cancer and pave the way...
Although arterial-phase hyperenhancement is a key feature of untreated or recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma, standard response assessment such as modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) should be used with caution, particularly in the early phases after stereotactic body...
When appropriate, short-interval follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to identify early-stage breast cancer and avoid unnecessary biopsies, according to a study presented by Lamb et al at the American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) 2019 Annual Meeting (Abstract 2367). Utilization of ...
IMMUNOTHERAPY IS changing the way that cancer is being treated, but the understanding of the side effects of these treatments is still a developing field. The ASCO Answers “Side Effects of Immunotherapy” fact sheet helps patients learn about which side effects may arise from treatment with...
ASCO HAS KICKED OFF its Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 advocacy campaign in support of increased funding for federal cancer research. ASCO is urging Congress to provide $41.6 billion to the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—a $2.5 billion increase from FY 2019— and $6.5 billion to the National Cancer...
THE ASCO ANNUAL Meeting is 5 bustling days of cutting-edge research presentations, educational sessions, and networking events. To enhance conference takeaways and connect attendees more closely with content from the 2019 Annual Meeting, ASCO will host a podcast listening station onsite at...
ASCO and ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation have a new partner in supporting innovative cancer research. For over 30 years, Swim Across America (SAA) has been hosting charity swims, with the proceeds being granted to fund high-risk, high-reward cancer research. SAA is among the newest organizations...
ALTHOUGH IMMUNOTHERAPIES have had limited success in pancreatic cancer to date, findings from a molecular analysis of the tumor microenvironment suggest that certain subtypes may be more responsive to treatment. According to data presented at the 2019 Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Cancer...
ON MARCH 27, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced important new steps to modernize breast cancer screening and help empower patients with more information when they are considering important decisions regarding their breast health care. For the first time in more than 20...
AT THE 2019 Miami Breast Cancer Conference, William J. Gradishar, MD, FASCO, presented a vision of the future in the treatment of advanced hormone receptor–positive breast cancer.1 The refinement of disease subsets, the development of agents targeting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, the use of novel...
THE AMERICAN Association for Cancer Research (AACR) recognized Emil J Freireich, MD, FAACR, with the 2019 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research at the opening ceremony of this year’s AACR Annual Meeting. Dr. Freireich was honored for his work in establishing combination...
USE OF the anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (anti–PD-1) checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab after two or more prior lines of therapy led to responses in patients with advanced small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in a pooled analysis of two clinical trials: phase Ib KEYNOTE-028 and phase II...
THE 2019 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting was held March 29 to April 3 in Atlanta. In addition to our regular coverage of news stories from the meeting, here are some brief highlights of additional noteworthy studies. Stage IV HER2-Positive Breast Cancer: Surgery or No ...
“THIS REPRESENTS the fruits of years of research. Umbralisib is a more potent and selective PI3K inhibitor targeted to the delta isoform. This provides a more precise target for drugs that block that protein, and it more effectively disables signaling. The B cell is central to the survival of...
COMBINING TWO established immunotherapy agents achieved tumor shrinkage in rare, aggressive, extrapancreatic high-grade neuroendocrine tumors, according to the results of SWOG S1609, a phase II clinical basket trial also known as DART (Dual Anti– CLTA-4 and Anti–PD-1 Blockade in Rare Tumors). The...
FORMAL STUDY discussant, Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Chief of Medical Oncology at the Yale Cancer Center, New Haven, Connecticut, stated that the findings of the TATTON analyses are “compelling,” and the combination of osimertinib plus savolitinib can be considered a “win,” although randomized trials...
CLINICAL TRIALS are vital for advancing cancer care for our patients. Each trial represents an unanswered problem for which researchers are committed to solving. Designing, funding, recruiting, and completing a trial are tremendous undertakings for each researcher, physician, patient, and...
ACCORDING TO DATA from a small prospective study presented at the 2019 Society of Surgical Oncology Annual Cancer Symposium,1 neoadjuvant immunotherapy significantly prolonged relapse-free survival vs adjuvant immunotherapy in patients with stage III or oligometastatic stage IV melanoma intended...
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted a Fast Track designation to a treatment for CCR5-positive metastatic triple-negative breast cancer; granted Breakthrough Device designation to a test for the postsurgical detection and quantification of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA);...
A 12-year retrospective clinical study of patients who received peptide receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) for malignant neuroendocrine tumors demonstrated the long-term effectiveness of this treatment, which also allows patients to maintain a high quality of life. The study was published by...
According to findings published by Drucker et al in JAMA Dermatology, patients undergoing health-care screening practices for skin cancer have a higher likelihood of being diagnosed—particularly for squamous cell and basal cell carcinomas—than those who do not. Researchers...
Published by Rodon et al in Nature Medicine, results of the WINTHER study showed that RNA profiling together with DNA testing matches more patients with advanced cancer to personalized therapies than DNA profiling for tumor mutations alone. The WINTHER trial aimed to...
Comprehensive postoperative mastectomy home recovery programs significantly increased same-day patient discharge with no decrease in quality of care, according to two new studies presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS). “Research demonstrates the...
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), exposure to certain environmental factors, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection may increase the risk of developing bladder cancer, according to new data presented this week at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA). The...
A breast surgery opioid prescription management program that analyzed current physician patterns and provided education and guidelines successfully reduced the volume of narcotics given postoperatively to patients at a large institution. These results were presented by Fan et al at the Annual...
Nipple-sparing mastectomy complication and implant failure rates have decreased significantly since introduction of the procedure, while the patient population undergoing nipple-sparing mastectomy increasingly includes more advanced cancers and women traditionally considered at risk for...
The latest results from the REQUITE project, which aimed to discover what makes patients more likely to experience adverse effects after radiotherapy, have shown that a combination of biologic markers and certain genetic changes can predict radiation sensitivity. In addition, the international team ...
A comparison of three types of radiotherapy for pediatric brain tumors suggests that a type of proton therapy called pencil-beam scanning (PBS) offers the best hope of preserving cognitive functions. The study, presented by Toussaint et al at ESTRO 38, the annual congress of the European Society...
A single high dose of radiation that can be delivered directly to a treatment site within a few minutes is a safe and effective technique for treating men with localized, low-risk prostate cancer, according to a study presented by Tharmalingam et al at ESTRO 38, the annual congress of the ...
Patients with mesothelioma are twice as likely to survive for 2 years or longer if they are treated with a high dose of radiation to the affected side of the trunk, according to research presented by Minatel et al at ESTRO 38, the annual congress of the European Society for Radiotherapy...
Patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma with bulky lesions at the time of diagnosis may benefit from radiotherapy after chemotherapy, according to late-breaking results presented by Ricardi et al at ESTRO 38, the annual congress of the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology...
Women with early-stage, low-risk, hormone receptor–positive breast cancer may be less likely to experience disease recurrence if they have radiotherapy after surgery as well as antihormonal treatment, according to results from a trial that has followed 869 women for 10 years. These findings...
Continuous chemotherapy showed greater benefit in patients with advanced breast cancer by both improving survival and maintaining quality of life compared to intermittent scheduling, according to analyses of the Stop&Go study presented by Erdkamp et al and Claessens et al at the European...
The ongoing dialogue regarding health-care payment reform that attempts to incentivize high-value care by linking reimbursement to quality rather than quantity has largely ignored the ultimate consumer/buyer—the patient. Yet, in the minds of clinicians, policymakers, and the public at large,...
In the phase III BILCAP trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, John N. Primrose, FMedSci, and colleagues found evidence that adjuvant capecitabine may improve overall survival vs observation following surgery for patients with resected biliary tract cancer. The open-label study included 447...
A year and a half ago, when I was 33, the thought of having a life-threatening disease was unimaginable. In hindsight, the weight loss I began experiencing in the fall of 2017 should have raised concern because I’ve always had to be mindful of my diet if I wanted to lose weight. But denial can be a ...
Robert O. Hickman, MD, a pediatric nephrologist and inventor of a catheter that revolutionized care for patients with cancer, died on April 4, 2019. He was 92. Dr. Hickman was born on September 27, 1926, in Monticello, Utah. He served in the U.S. Air Force in the mid-1940s and married Lucy Jean...
Imagine a 70-year-old patient who is scheduled for a pancreaticoduodenectomy. On the morning of surgery, the patient is checked in at the front desk by the “data-entry provider.” The patient is taken to the preoperative area, where the appropriate formalities are completed by multiple “bedside-care ...
In an analysis from the Children’s Oncology Group phase III AHEP0731 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Katzenstein et al found that minimal adjuvant chemotherapy with two cycles of cisplatin, fluorouracil, and vincristine was associated with disease control in pediatric patients with...
In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that all people born between 1945 and 1965 undergo one-time screening for the hepatitis C virus (HCV), because the rates of HCV infection are markedly higher for baby...
On April 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to erdafitinib (Balversa) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma with susceptible FGFR3 or FGFR2 genetic alterations that has progressed during or following platinum-containing...
GUEST EDITORS Dr. Abutalib is Assistant Director, Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Director, Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Apheresis Service, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Zion, Illinois, Editor-in-Chief, Advances in Cell & Gene Therapy. Dr. Medeiros is Professor and...