In a single-institution Italian phase I/II trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Del Bufalo et al found that treatment with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting the disialoganglioside GD2 expressed on tumor cells (GD2-CART01) produced responses in pediatric patients...
Pancreatic cancer is a rare disease, accounting for about 3% of all cancers in the United States. It is the deadliest of all solid malignancies, accounting for about 7% of all cancer deaths each year, and carries a 5-year survival rate of just 11.5%. According to the American Cancer Society, in...
Researchers have found that the hypomethylating agent azacitidine plus the MEK inhibitor trametinib may be a promising new combination to treat patients with juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML), according to a preclinical study published by Pasupuleti et al in Molecular Therapy. Background JMML ...
City of Hope in Duarte, California, recently announced that its subsidiary, Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), will fully transition its clinical locations to City of Hope’s brand. CTCA locations in different cities will now be called City of Hope Atlanta, City of Hope Chicago, and City of ...
The questions I am challenged to answer are twofold: (1) Should you attend the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting? (2) If you attend, how is your time best spent? Most people agree scientific conferences are important venues for cancer researchers and clinicians to share and discuss research findings,...
Researchers have demonstrated that patients with low-grade lymphomatoid granulomatosis who were treated with the immunotherapy interferon alfa-2b may survive for a median of 20 years after diagnosis, according to a novel study published by Melani et al in The Lancet Haematology. The findings...
Patients with hematologic malignancies may experience a significant improvement in their reported quality of life 6 months after receiving chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, according to a new study published by Johnson et al in Blood Advances. Background Although CAR T-cell therapy...
Researchers have found that a novel approach to administer intrathecal and intravenous nivolumab has proven safe and improved survival in a subset of patients who developed leptomeningeal disease from metastatic melanoma, according to a new study published by Glitza Olivia et al in Nature ...
After comparing the efficacy of the anti–PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab prior to and concurrently with chemoradiation, researchers have indicated favorable outcomes for 2-year disease-free survival and demonstrated evidence of improved immunogenicity with neoadjuvant atezolizumab in patients with...
Brown adipose tissue may not be associated with cachexia, according to an article published by Eljalby et al in the American Journal of Physiology Endocrinology and Metabolism. The findings also suggested that brown adipose tissue does not increase cancer mortality. Background Brown adipose tissue...
ASCO is working with eight oncology health systems to develop, test, and measure strategies to improve immunization rates as part of an initiative with the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) to improve vaccination rates among high-risk adults. Through this project, known as Specialty...
March is widely recognized worldwide as Colorectal Cancer Awareness month. Several advocacy groups and professional organizations recognize Colorectal Cancer Awareness month by promoting screening for eligible individuals and working to increase awareness. Here, the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, an...
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer among men and women of all ages in the United States and is on track to be the leading cause of cancer death in adults younger than 50 by 2030. The alarming rise of colorectal cancer in people younger than age 50 prompted the U.S. Preventive...
In an analysis from the French GAZEL study reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Thomas Van Sloten, MD, PhD, of the Université Paris Cité, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Paris, and colleagues found that better cardiovascular health (CVH) scores at baseline and improvement in ...
The American Associationfor Cancer Research (AACR) will award Carl H. June, MD, FAACR, Fellow of the AACR Academy, with the 2023 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research during the 2023 AACR Annual Meeting, April 14–19 in Orlando, Florida. Dr. June is the Richard W. Vague Professor in ...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
An advanced surgical therapy may be more efficacious than conventional treatments for patients with uveal melanoma that has spread to the liver, according to results from the phase III SCANDIUM trial published by Bagge et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Infusing the liver with high doses of ...
As reported in JAMA Surgery by Etoh et al, 5-year follow-up of the Japanese phase II/III JLSSG0901 trial has shown noninferiority in relapse-free survival with laparoscopic-assisted distal gastrectomy vs open distal gastrectomy in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer. Study Details In the...
Investigators have found that Black cancer survivors who reported high levels of discrimination showed greater biological aging and frailty than those who reported lower levels of discrimination, according to a new study published by Mandelblatt et al in the journal Cancer. Background...
Use of the novel menin inhibitor revumenib has led to remissions in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and associated findings have suggested the mechanisms through which cancer cells may become resistant to such treatment, according to two studies published by Issa et al and Perner et al, ...
Consuming a diet rich in vitamin A or its analogs may help prevent pediatric and young adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) reduce their risk of developing pancreatitis during chemotherapy, according to a recent study by Tsai et al in Science Translational Medicine. Background For ...
Researchers have revealed how microorganisms in the gut may influence the outcomes of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma undergoing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, according to a study published by Stein-Thoeringer et al in Nature Medicine. Background Microorganisms live in or on...
Patients with prostate cancer who undergo active monitoring may experience the same 15-year survival rates as those who undergo radiotherapy or surgery, according to new findings published by Hamdy et al in The New England Journal of Medicine and simultaneously presented at the 2023 European...
Testing for genetic mutations in urine may help clinicians detect bladder cancer years before the disease shows clinical symptoms, according to new findings presented by Le Calvez-Kelm et al at the 2023 European Association of Urology Annual Congress (Abstract A0268). The researchers identified...
The American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (ASTCT) has chosen Miguel-Angel Perales, MD, as President of the Society in 2023–2024. Dr. Perales first served on the Board of Directors in 2017 and has been a member of ASTCT since 2001. He is Chief of the Adult Bone Marrow...
Discussant of the February ASCO Plenary session, Anjali S. Advani, MD, Staff Physician in the Department of Hematologic Oncology and Blood Disorders and Director of the Inpatient Leukemia Program, Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, noted that the PhALLCON study is the only prospective...
Ponatinib appears to be a more effective tyrosine kinase inhibitor than imatinib in newly diagnosed, Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) when combined with reduced-intensity chemotherapy, according to data presented during the ASCO Plenary Series: February 2023...
In an Australian phase III trial (ONTRANS) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Allen et al found that 1 year of treatment with nicotinamide (vitamin B3) vs placebo did not reduce the risk of keratinocyte cancers or actinic keratoses in immunosuppressed solid organ transplant...
Researchers have found that screening for residual disease prior to a bone marrow transplant may help physicians identify which adult patients in remission from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are at risk of relapsing after the procedure, according to a novel study published by Dillon et al in JAMA....
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored that public health is the product of one global, integrated ecosystem. Although it is tempting to focus on specific aspects of local health-care systems, or the political or physical environment, health and health care in other countries also impacts the United ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Star et al found that cancer screening remained below prepandemic levels in the United States during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Study Details Data on past-year receipt of age-eligible screening for breast cancer (women aged 50...
This is Part 2 of Clinical Considerations in Chronic Graft-vs-Host Disease, a two-part video roundtable series. In this video, Dr. Yi-Bin Chen and Dr. Mitchell E. Horwitz discuss the case of a 65-year-old woman with inversion 16 acute myeloid leukemia who is in second complete remission. She...
This is Part 1 of Clinical Considerations in Chronic Graft-vs-Host Disease, a two-part video roundtable series. In this video, Dr. Yi-Bin Chen and Dr. Mitchell E. Horwitz discuss the case of a 55-year-old man with FLT3-ITD–mutated acute myeloid leukemia in first complete remission who received a...
This is Part 2 of Updates in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms, a three-part video roundtable series. In this video, Dr. Srden Verstovsek and Dr. Abdulraheem Yacoub discuss the management of patients with anemia as a presenting symptom of myelofibrosis. The patient is a 68-year-old woman who...
Research that addresses the compounding effects of age and race/ethnicity on access to quality health care and patient-centered outcomes such as physical function, frailty, and survival continues to be an emerging area of inquiry in hematology. Accordingly, novel research employing qualitative and...
As reported in the journal Blood by Sattva S. Neelapu, MD, and colleagues, 5-year outcomes from the the phase II ZUMA-1 trial showed that axicabtagene ciloleucel was associated with maintained response in one-third of patients with refractory large B-cell lymphoma. The estimated 5-year overall...
Researchers have discovered that vitamin B5 in combination with existing drugs may be the key to improving outcomes in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and ineffective red blood cell production, according to a novel study published by Mian et al in Science Translational Medicine....
In an analysis from the French GAZEL study reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Van Sloten et al found that better cardiovascular health scores at baseline and improvement in scores over 7 years were associated with a reduced risk of incident cancers. As stated by the investigators, “The commonality...
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis of KIT exon mutations may help to predict which second-line therapy is best for patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), according to data presented during the ASCO Plenary Series: January 2023 Session.1 Exploratory analysis of the phase...
Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a fascinating disease from which many groundbreaking medical and oncologic lessons have been learned. Since the Irish surgeon Denis P. Burkitt, MD, FRCS, FRS, first described rapidly enlarging jaw and facial tumors in Ugandan children in 1958,1 the study of BL has led to...
Researchers have discovered that whole-genome sequencing—rather than the current standard of exome sequencing—may allow physicians to better identify genetic changes that drive cancer development and growth, and create the most effective, personalized treatment plans for patients with classical...
As in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 ASCO GI Cancers Symposium—its 20th such gathering—played to a full ballroom. It featured a stellar lineup of experts in the field as well as high-quality, impactful research in esophageal, gastric, hepatocellular, pancreatic, biliary tract, and ...
In a German phase III trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Bornhäuser et al found that allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) was not associated with improved overall survival vs standard consolidation chemotherapy in patients aged ≤ 60 years with cytogenetically defined intermediate-risk...
In an analysis from the U.S. Lymphoma CAR T Consortium reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wang et al found that standard-of-care treatment with brexucabtagene autoleucel in relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma since its approval in this setting has been associated with response...
The TALAPRO-2 phase III clinical trial found that combining the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor talazoparib with the androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide resulted in significantly better progression-free survival vs the current standard of care for patients with metastatic...
Robert A. Brodsky, MD, a renowned expert in classical hematology, will serve as President of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) for a year-long term through December 2023. Dr. Brodsky is Professor of Medicine and Oncology and Director of Hematology at Johns Hopkins University School of...
Insights on findings from the phase II MonumenTAL-1 trial1 were offered by Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH, Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, and Medical Director of the Winship Data and Technology Applications Shared Resource, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University School ...
The first-line combination of obinutuzumab, ibrutinib, and venetoclax appears to be effective in treating high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to data presented at the 2022 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition.1 Results of the CLL2-GIVe trial, which...
The combination of ponatinib and blinatumomab has led to rapid and durable remissions in patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to data presented at the 2022 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and...
Offering their thoughts on the study by Williams et al from the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort were Jane N. Winter, MD, Immediate Past President of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), and Catherine Bollard, MBChB, MD. Both moderated press briefings where the results were presented or discussed....