Survivors of low-risk breast cancer may experience wide-ranging and significant physical and psychological symptoms after cancer treatment, according to a new study presented by Jessica Schumacher, PhD, and colleagues at the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) Annual Meeting. Researchers...
Nonsurgical breast cancer cryoablation, which destroys tumor cells by exposing them to subfreezing temperatures, is proving to be an effective alternative to surgery for small breast tumors with low-risk features in women older than age 60. These were the early findings from 3-year results of the...
The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly altered breast cancer treatment approaches, with a significant rise in neoadjuvant endocrine therapy for estrogen receptor–positive tumors, enabling immediate evidence-based treatment of women with an extremely common form of breast cancer, while delaying surgery and...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Aditya Bardia, MD, of the Division of Medical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, and colleagues, the phase III ASCENT trial has shown prolonged progression-free and overall survival with the Trop-2–directed antibody-drug...
Social media platforms are valuable tools for educating patients about serious health topics, but they can also spread false and biased information with potentially harmful results, according to recent research published by Stacy Loeb, MD, MSc, and colleagues in European Urology. Researchers...
Using data from the 2010–2018 National Health Interview Surveys, Chen et al found that just 16% of men who were 18 to 21 years old had received at least one dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine at any age. In comparison, 42% of women in the same age bracket had gotten at least one shot of ...
Roche announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) voted seven to two in favor of maintaining accelerated approval of atezolizumab in combination with chemotherapy (nanoparticle albumin-bound paclitaxel, or nab-paclitaxel) for the treatment of ...
Ursula Matulonis, MD; Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH; and Bobbie J. Rimel, MD, discuss a case of a woman with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer who was found to have a germline BRCA1 mutation. They address the question of how to choose the optimal chemotherapy regimen for patients who are...
Disease regression was observed in 82% of women with endometrial hyperplasia with atypia and 43% of women with endometrial cancer after treatment for 6 months with a hormonal intrauterine device in a phase II study reported during the virtual edition of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO)...
Editor’s note: Dr. Gale is an authority on medical response to nuclear and radiation accidents and participated in rescue efforts at the Chernobyl disaster, as well as at Goiania, Tokaimura, and Fukushima, among other radiation and nuclear accidents. Anyone reading the popular press or even...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research recently announced five grants to support innovative research focused on understanding the influence of a patient’s biology on the genesis, development, treatment, and survivorship of cancer. Each...
On March 2, 2021, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) issued the following statement: As one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the NIH [National Institutes of Health], the National Cancer Institute stands with [NIH Director] Dr. Francis Collins and the entire NIH in supporting UNITE. “I ...
Autism spectrum disorder refers to a group of conditions characterized by difficulty in navigating normal social situations and having all-absorbing repetitive behaviors or stereotyped interests. At the milder end of the spectrum is Asperger’s syndrome, generally confined to people with higher...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will present Distinguished Public Service Awards to three individuals whose extraordinary work has exemplified the AACR’s mission to prevent and cure all cancers through research, education, communication, collaboration, science policy, advocacy,...
Patients with cancer expressed more interest in complementary and integrative medicine services when these services were recommended by an oncologist or other medical professional or were provided for free in a clinical trial, according to a survey reported in JCO Oncology Practice.1 The survey...
The top two barriers to accessing complementary and integrative therapies, according to a survey of 576 patients with cancer and caregivers, were cost, cited by 56%, and a lack of knowledge about the therapies, cited by 52.1%. “Other barriers included a lack of time (29.2%), location of the...
Everything about my breast cancer diagnosis, from my presentation to diagnosis, was strange. In the spring of 2006, I was performing my monthly breast self-exam when I felt a hard lump in the upper left quadrant of my left breast. Having lost a good friend to breast cancer 4 years earlier, I was...
Located on the northeast coast of Central America, Belize is a small, upper middle–income country bordered by Mexico, Guatemala, and the Caribbean Sea. Belize has a population of about 405,000 people (Table 1), of which about 15% are immigrants. Belize is considered to be one of the most...
Sudan is one of Africa’s largest countries, rich in underutilized natural resources but rife with conflicts and civil wars that have been ongoing since it gained its independence in 1956. These problems have reflected negatively on the health-care system. Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, is a busy...
On February 5, 2021, umbralisib was granted accelerated approval for the following indications: adult patients with relapsed or refractory marginal zone lymphoma who have received at least one prior anti–CD20-based regimen and adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma who have...
"The noblest pleasure is the joy of understanding.” —Leonardo da Vinci To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on novel...
The International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) has begun a multiyear, multidisciplinary initiative, M-Power Charlotte, which is designed to promote the early diagnosis and treatment of myeloma in the Black community. The IMF is working with Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute’s Disparities &...
Randomized clinical trials are highly regulated initiatives that must comply with multiple requirements while maintaining high epistemic standards, a balance that becomes increasingly difficult as the research questions surrounding immunotherapy and targeted agents become more complex. To shed...
For this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with Griffin P. Rodgers, MD, MACP, Director of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Rodgers, a physician-scientist,...
On February 9, 2021, cemiplimab-rwlc was granted regular approval for the treatment of patients with locally advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) who were previously treated with a Hedgehog pathway inhibitor or for whom this type of therapy is not appropriate and granted accelerated approval for...
Leading cardiothoracic surgeon and researcher Brendon Stiles, MD, has been appointed Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery & Surgical Oncology in the Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Stiles will also...
In a Perspective article in The New England Journal of Medicine, Julia A. Beaver, MD, and Richard Pazdur, MD, of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Oncology Center of Excellence (OCD), discussed issues surrounding “dangling” accelerated approvals of anti–PD-1/PD-L1 antibodies—ie,...
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...
JCO Oncology Practice recently published an editorial that examines the intensified burnout oncology practitioners are experiencing due the COVID-19 pandemic and outlines critical interventions to support oncologists now and throughout a long-term recovery.1 The article was written by past,...
ASCO has released a new guideline regarding the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, endocrine therapy, and targeted therapy in breast cancer.1 “This is the first time ASCO has embarked on a guideline for neoadjuvant therapy,” said Larissa A. Korde, MD, of the National Cancer Institute, and guideline...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to bemarituzumab as first-line treatment for patients with fibroblast growth factor receptor 2b (FGFR2b)-overexpressing and HER2-negative metastatic and locally advanced gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma...
New recommendations to advance racial equity, ways to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care, and ongoing strategies for preventing and controlling human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers led the conversation at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 2021...
Lisa Baumann Kreuziger, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Hematology/Oncology at Versiti/Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, introduced Terry B. Gernsheimer, MD, at the Plenary Session and spoke with The ASCO Post about the results of the study. “The investigators of the A-TREAT trial tested a...
In the first randomized trial to evaluate prophylactic antifibrinolytic therapy in patients with hematologic malignancies, tranexamic acid failed to reduce bleeding or the need for transfusion vs placebo. The study was featured as a Plenary Session during the 2020 American Society of Hematology...
In a recent study published by Uson Junior et al in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, researchers found one in six patients with colorectal cancer had an inherited cancer-related genetic mutation, which may be linked to a predisposition to the disease. In addition, the researchers...
Aaron T. Gerds, MD, MS, Associate Professor of Medicine, Deputy Director for Clinical Research at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute and Medical Director of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center Clinical Research Office, found the MANIFEST-2 findings to be highly noteworthy. He cited a...
A national survey conducted by Zhu et al to identify patient preferences among colorectal cancer screening modalities to improve population adherence to colorectal cancer screening has found, when presented with a choice, most individuals with an average risk of colorectal cancer prefer stool-based ...
The novel targeted agent CPI-0610 enhanced responses to ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis enrolled in the global phase II MANIFEST-2 trial, investigators reported at the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition.1,2 “Preliminary data demonstrate the...
Landmark changes in the treatment of genitourinary cancers have occurred over the past year, as summarized in this year’s Genitourinary Oncology Almanac from The ASCO Post. Starting with our area of focus, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, the saga continues with two more positive phase III trials...
In an individual participant data meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials reported in The Lancet Oncology, Emma Copland, MSc, and colleagues found “no consistent evidence” of an association between antihypertensive treatment and risk for cancer. A potential increase in risk was observed for...
Immune checkpoint inhibitors have transformed treatment for many advanced cancers, but short-term clinical trials and small observational studies have linked the medications with various side effects, most commonly involving the skin. A more comprehensive, population-level analysis now provides a...
After a great response to Acute Myeloid Leukemia World Awareness Day (AML WAD) in 2020, Know AML looks forward to commemorating AML WAD in 2021. AML WAD will take place on April 21, 2021, with the aim to facilitate and improve knowledge of AML worldwide through collaborative participation. Know AML ...
Despite decades of scientific progress against cancer, access to treatment remains highly unequal. Some of the reasons—like institutional racism and poverty—are a reflection of our broader society. Other inequities may go unrecognized but are no less damaging. People with underlying health...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued regulatory decisions related to treatments for urothelial cancer, cervical cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, solid tumors, and colorectal cancer. Acceptance of Two Supplemental Biologics License Applications for Enfortumab Vedotin-ejfv in...
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....
Breast cancer survivors who are overweight have a statistically significant increased risk of developing second primary cancers, according to results from a study conducted by Feigelson et al and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. “These findings have important public health ...
Two new studies published in the journal Blood suggest that the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine may have reduced efficacy in individuals with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and multiple myeloma. According to researchers, these studies could help inform the ideal time for vaccination of these...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved nivolumab (Opdivo) in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy for advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. CheckMate 649 The efficacy of the...
Karen H. Vousden, PhD, of The Francis Crick Institute, and Matthew G. Vander Heiden, MD, PhD, of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, discuss emerging evidence that diet may affect which nutrients are available to tumor cells, which can influence both tumor growth and response ...
As reported in JCO Oncology Practice by Roth et al, many participants in a biomarker-driven master protocol trial (Lung Cancer Master Protocol [Lung-MAP]; SWOG S1400GEN) did not display correct knowledge or expectations about using the results of genomic testing. Study Details Lung-MAP is a...