The phase III IMpower133 study recently met its coprimary endpoints of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) at its first interim analysis. The study demonstrated that first-line treatment with the combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) plus chemotherapy (carboplatin and...
In a phase III International Liver Tumor Strategy Group trial (SIOPEL 6) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Brock et al found that sodium thiosulfate reduced cisplatin-induced hearing loss in pediatric patients with standard-risk hepatoblastoma. Study Details The trial enrolled a...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently accepted a supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for nivolumab (Opdivo) plus low-dose ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the first-line treatment of advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients with a tumor mutational burden...
In the phase III DERMA trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Dreno et al found that an adjuvant MAGE-A3 immunotherapeutic provided no benefit vs placebo in patients with resected MAGE-A3–positive stage IIIB or IIIC melanoma. Development of the agent for use in melanoma has been stopped. The ...
In the phase III LILAC equivalence trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, von Minckwitz et al found similar efficacy and safety with the trastuzumab biosimilar ABP 980 vs reference trastuzumab (Herceptin) in HER2-positive early breast cancer. On local review, the risk difference and risk ratio (RR) ...
As reported in The Lancet by Shitara et al, the phase III KEYNOTE-061 trial showed no significant overall survival benefit with pembrolizumab vs paclitaxel in patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer progressing on platinum-fluoropyrimidine treatment with programmed cell...
New research led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute investigators suggests that patients treated for nonmetastatic colon cancer may sharply reduce the risk that the disease will return by following a diet low in carbohydrates and other foods that raise insulin levels. In a study published by...
As reported by Slamon and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the phase III MONALEESA-3 trial has shown significant improvement in progression-free survival with the addition of the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib (Kisqali) to fulvestrant (Faslodex) in hormone receptor (HR)-positive,...
As reported at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Socinski et al, the phase III IMpower150 trial has shown that the addition of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) to bevacizumab (Avastin) plus chemotherapy significantly improved progression-free and overall survival in ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted accelerated approval to the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for use in combination with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). KEYNOTE-021 This...
In a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Cortes et al found that the next-generation FLT3 inhibitor quizartinib had good activity in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with greater activity in patients with FLT3-ITD mutations. Study Details The study...
ON JUNE 13, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved bevacizumab (Avastin) for the treatment of patients with epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by single-agent bevacizumab, for stage III or IV...
The final results of a phase III trial reported by Roger Stupp, MD, of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, and colleagues in JAMA indicate that adding antimitotic treatment with tumor-treating fields to maintenance temozolomide is associated with improved...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies sometimes used by patients with cancer. Gary Deng, MD, PhD, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, present information on the potential health benefits ...
This year’s ASCO Research Community Forum (RCF) 2018 Annual Meeting will not be one to miss! Though still a few months away, I am thrilled to share the work that is already underway to bring the research community together for 2 days of learning and collaboration. During my term as Chair of the...
After about 70 years with no significant progress, the landscape for men with de novo metastatic prostate cancer has changed dramatically in the past 4 years, with statistically significant and highly clinically meaningful survival improvement reported from multiple phase III trials when...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Michael J. Morris, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medicine, and colleagues, ASCO has released a clinical practice guideline on optimizing anticancer therapy in men with metastatic non-castrate prostate cancer.1 To ...
The combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) improved progression-free survival compared with chemotherapy as first-line treatment for patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and a high tumor mutational burden irrespective of programmed cell death ligand 1...
Biologics are credited with increasing median overall survival in colorectal cancer to approximately 30 months. Their optimal use was discussed by Axel Grothey, MD, Professor of Oncology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, in an article he coauthored for the Journal of Oncology Practice 1...
An updated analysis of a randomized phase III trial showed that taking a high dose of esomeprazole with low-dose aspirin for at least 7 years may moderately reduce the risk of developing high-grade dysplasia or esophageal cancer and may delay death from any cause in people with Barrett’s esophagus. ...
In patients with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, the risk of disease progression was reduced by 80% with the combination of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and rituximab (Rituxan) over rituximab alone, in the international phase III iNNOVATE trial, reported at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting1 and...
With a growing emphasis on value in cancer care, some types of resource-intensive therapies may need to be reconsidered. One such treatment may be hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, which showed no benefit during surgery for colorectal cancer confined to the peritoneum in the PRODIGE 7...
The addition of durvalumab -(Imfinzi) to anthracycline/taxane-based chemotherapy had encouraging results as neoadjuvant therapy for early triple-negative breast cancer in the randomized phase II GeparNuevo study presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 The results were positive in a subgroup of...
In the modern era of targeted therapy, some patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma may be able to forgo nephrectomy and be treated with sunitinib (Sutent) alone, according to results of the phase III CARMENA trial reported during the Plenary Session at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 The...
Testing for minimal residual disease (MRD) has become an established part of the management of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the technology still warrants validation. To address issues and set new standards, the European LeukemiaNet Working Party recently ...
A new comparison study showed that among polycythemia vera patients who were resistant or intolerant to hydroxyurea, those treated with ruxolitinib (Jakavi) had a significantly reduced risk of thrombosis and death compared to those who received best available therapy. The study findings are based...
Results from the phase III QuANTUM-R study of single-agent quizartinib in relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were presented by Cortes et al at the 23rd Annual Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA) (Abstract LB2600). Study Findings QuANTUM-R study results showed...
Investigational data from a new analysis of undetectable minimal residual disease (MRD) rates from the phase III MURANO trial of venetoclax (Venclexta, a first-in-class oral B-cell lymphoma 2 [BCL2] inhibitor) in combination with rituximab (Rituxan) in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic...
An interim analysis of the phase III ARROW trial reported in The Lancet Oncology by Moreau et al indicated that a higher-dose once-weekly schedule of carfilzomib was associated with prolonged progression-free survival vs a twice-weekly schedule in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple...
Adjuvant treatment with modified FOLFIRINOX resulted in the longest overall survival yet reported for patients with resected pancreatic cancer, according to the results of the phase III Unicancer GI PRODIGE 24/CCTG PA.6 trial, presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 With adjuvant modified...
Data from the final analysis of the CLL11 study evaluating obinutuzumab (Gazyva)-based treatment in previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was presented by Goede et al during the Presidential Symposium at the 23rd Annual Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA)...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Zhu et al, the phase II KEYNOTE-224 study has shown activity of pembrolizumab in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) pretreated with sorafenib. Study Details In the study, 104 eligible patients who were intolerant of or progressed on sorafenib were...
As reported by Solomon and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the final overall survival results of the phase III PROFILE 1014 trial showed evidence of survival benefit of first-line crizotinib (Xalkori) vs chemotherapy in advanced ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ...
In a Dutch phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, De Ruysscher et al found that prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) prevented symptomatic brain metastases vs observation in patients with stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving treatment with curative...
In a single-institution phase II trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Murphy et al found that total neoadjuvant therapy with FOLFIRINOX (fluorouracil [5-FU], irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) and individualized chemoradiotherapy was associated with a high R0 resection rate and good outcomes in patients with ...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel) followed by bevacizumab as a single agent for the treatment of women with advanced (stage III or IV) ovarian cancer following initial surgical resection....
The phase III iLLUMINATE (PCYC-1130) trial recently met its primary endpoint of improvement in progression-free survival. The study evaluated ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in combination with obinutuzumab (Gazyva) in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic...
As reported by Neelima Denduluri, MD, of US Oncology Network, Virginia Cancer Specialists, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, ASCO has issued a focused update on the clinical practice guideline on optimal chemotherapy and targeted therapy in early breast cancer. To develop the...
In a secondary analysis of the phase III 10TASQ10 trial comparing tasquinimod vs placebo in chemotherapy-naive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, the automated Bone Scan Index (aBSI) was shown to be predictive of overall survival. The findings were reported in JAMA Oncology by...
A national retrospective study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found no association between intensity of posttreatment surveillance and detection of recurrence or overall survival (OS) in patients with stage I, II, or III colorectal cancer. Published by...
PATIENTS UNDERGOING minimally invasive radical hysterectomy for early cervical cancer had higher rates of disease recurrence and worse disease-free, progression-free, and overall survival than did women who had the open approach, according to results from the phase III LACC trial, presented by...
USE OF THE FOLFIRINOX regimen (fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) was associated with a 4.9-month improvement in overall survival compared to gemcitabine/ nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) in the neoadjuvant treatment of resectable and borderline-resectable pancreatic head...
IN A PILOT study of recurrent glioma, 26% of patients treated with the optimal dose of vocimagene amiretroprepvec (aka Toca 511), a novel oncolytic virus therapy, achieved durable, long-term responses and remained alive 3 or more years later. This outcome far exceeded “historical benchmarks” for...
A STUDY OF local recurrence rates following lumpectomy has shown significant improvement in patients receiving modern, multimodal therapies, suggesting breast-conserving surgery may be an option for more patients with breast cancer, according to data presented at the 2018 American Society of Breast ...
Dr. Hayes, ASCO President 2016–2017, is Professor of Internal Medicine; Stuart B. Padnos Professor in Breast Cancer; and Clinical Director of the Breast Oncology Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor. AS I COMPLETE my 3-year term as ASCO President, I am...
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED results of the phase III TAILORx study are in—and they indicate that the vast majority of patients with “intermediate-risk” early-stage breast cancer can forgo chemotherapy. “Our study shows that chemotherapy may be avoided in about 70% of women with hormone...
Elderly patients with stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) showed improved overall survival when treated with chemoradiation compared with definitive radiation alone, according to findings published by Eric D. Miller, MD, PhD, of The Ohio State University, Columbus, and colleagues in the...
Colon cancer survivors who followed guidelines for healthy eating, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying physically active had higher 5-year survival rates than those who did not adhere to those guidelines, according to a study among 992 patients treated with stage III colon cancer.1 The 5-year ...
Following guidelines for proper nutrition, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying physically active may improve survival among patients treated for colon cancer, according to the results of a study with nearly 1,000 patients followed for a median of 7 years.1 “The study suggests that if...
Results from RELEVANCE, a phase III, randomized, open-label, international clinical study conducted in partnership with the Lymphoma Academic Research Organisation (LYSARC), were presented by Fowler et al at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 7005). This study evaluated the investigational...