Tumors send out signals that impair normal blood flow, which makes them hard to treat with multiple therapies, including radiation, chemotherapy, targeted therapies, and immunotherapy. Impaired blood supply creates an environment low in oxygen levels, which causes the tumors to take on aggressive...
ASCO and the Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) have jointly released recommendations that address the lack of equity, diversity, and inclusion in cancer clinical trials. Published by Randall A. Oyer, MD, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the research statement details ...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in JAMA Network Open, Khoury et al found that SARS–CoV-2 infection was associated with a higher risk of mortality among patients with cancer vs those without cancer. Risk vs those with no cancer was increased with younger age, and patients with...
In the INSITE study reported in JAMA Surgery, E. Shelley Hwang, MD, MPH, and colleagues found that use of an intraoperative imaging agent with a pegulicianine fluorescence–guided system (pFGS) was effective in detecting residual cancer in the tumor bed of women with breast cancer undergoing...
In an ancillary study of the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group E4112 study reported in JAMA Network Open, Fazeli et al found that patient preference of type of surgery and type of surgery received for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) were influenced by preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)...
Smitha S. Krishnamurthi, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute, discusses prognostic assays for localized colon cancer, the potential clinical uses and current limitations of prognostic assays for stage II to III disease, and checkpoint inhibitor therapy for metastatic colorectal...
In 1996, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) published its first set of Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology® covering eight tumor types. Guidelines are now published for more than 60 tumor types, subtypes, and topics. During the NCCN’s 27th Annual Conference, which was again...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Debu Tripathy, MD, and colleagues, the phase III ATTAIN trial has shown no difference in overall survival with etirinotecan pegol vs physician’s choice of chemotherapy for patients with metastatic breast cancer and brain metastases. As noted by the investigators,...
New findings from researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center published by Shukla et al in Nature Communications reported the results of using a comprehensive sequencing approach on 114 pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients with solid tumors. The researchers found that their...
In a cohort study reported in JAMA Surgery, Franssen et al found little difference in median overall survival with hepatic arterial infusion pump (HAIP) floxuridine chemotherapy vs resection in patients with multifocal intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. Study Details The study population consisted of ...
A large study led by researchers at the American Cancer Society showed that Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was associated with an increase in 2-year overall survival rates among patients newly diagnosed with cancer, especially among non-Hispanic Black people and people...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bruinink et al constructed a transcriptomic classifier for primary plasma cell leukemia (PCL) that identified high-risk PCL-like disease in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. As stated by the investigators, “Primary PCL is an...
Matthew L. Meyerson, MD, PhD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses study findings that suggest the variation in frequency of EGFR and KRAS mutations in lung cancer may be associated with genetic ancestry in patients from Latin America. The results indicate it may be possible to identify...
Although community oncology practice may have been changing before the COVID-19 pandemic, it amplified industry trends. At the 2022 Community Oncology Alliance’s Community Oncology Conference, a panel of experts discussed issues related to the future of community cancer care, including...
Treatment with the anti–PD-1 therapy nivolumab after surgery helped reduce cancer recurrence in patients with urothelial cancer of the bladder or other sites in the urinary tract that had invaded the muscle and therefore posed a high risk for recurrence, according to clinical trial results...
The risk of invasive breast cancer in men may be associated with self-reported infertility, according to a study published by Swerdlow et al in the journal Breast Cancer Research. The authors interviewed 1,998 males in England and Wales diagnosed with breast cancer, with 112 (5.6%) also...
In a Dutch nationwide trial reported by Smits et al in The Lancet, researchers in the Dutch Pancreatic Cancer Group found that algorithm-based early postsurgical care was associated with a reduced risk of the composite outcome of bleeding requiring invasive intervention, organ failure, and 90-day...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Singleton et al found that electronic health interventions were associated with improved quality of life, distress, self-efficacy, and fatigue vs usual care during or after treatment in patients with breast...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Foerster et al, the African Breast Cancer–Disparities in Outcomes prospective cohort study has shown that a high proportion of women with newly diagnosed nonmetastatic breast cancer in sub-Saharan Africa did not initiate, did not fully complete, or abandoned...
CoVac-1, a multipeptide COVID-19 vaccine candidate, elicited immunogenicity in patients with cancer and disease-related or treatment-related immunoglobulin deficiency in a phase I/II trial reported at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2022.1 These patients are...
Recent research underlines the importance of following up with a colonoscopy exam after a positive result on an at-home stool test to screen for colorectal cancer. The test, known as the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), checks for traces of blood in patient-collected stool samples, which can be an...
The first bladder cancer drug targeting a cancer-driving gene mutation has been used relatively little despite its clear efficacy in a clinical trial, suggests a report published as a research letter by Nimgaonkar et al in JAMA Oncology. Researchers analyzed a large, nationwide database of cancer...
In a phase III trial (NRG Oncology/RTOG 0534 SPPORT) reported in The Lancet, Alan Pollack, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that both the addition of short-term androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) and the addition of ADT and pelvic lymph node radiotherapy (PLNRT) to salvage prostate bed radiotherapy...
In a French phase I/II trial (VICTORIA) reported in JAMA Oncology, Heudel et al found that the addition of the mTOR inhibitor vistusertib to anastrozole improved outcomes in women with hormone receptor–positive recurrent or metastatic endometrial cancer. As stated by the investigators, “Endometrial ...
In an analysis from the GLIOMAP study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Gerritsen et al found that awake craniotomy for glioblastoma in eloquent brain areas (essential areas for carrying out basic neurological functions) was associated with reduced risk of neurologic deficits and improved survival...
Pedro T. Ramirez, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the final analysis of the LACC trial (Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer), which showed that women with early cervical cancer who need a radical hysterectomy may have worse outcomes with minimally invasive...
Ursula A. Matulonis, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses findings from the SORAYA study on the efficacy and safety of mirvetuximab soravtansine in patients who have platinum-resistant ovarian cancer with high folate receptor–alpha expression. Based on the results, Dr. Matulonis believes...
The first-in-human, first-in-class trial of the next-generation PARP (poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase) 1–selective inhibitor AZD5305 suggests this drug may be a welcome advance over its U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved predecessors in the treatment of solid tumors with alterations in...
Delays in surgery for esophageal cancer did not appear to have much impact on patients’ relative survival for early-stage cancer compared with patients who had surgery early, but they did reduce the relative survival rate by almost half for patients with more advanced disease, according to an...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Ma et al found that the initiation of lower gastrointestinal endoscopy screening in women younger than age 50 was associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer vs no screening, and a greater absolute risk reduction compared with screening starting at age...
A study published by Jackson et al in Cancer Discovery investigated the reasons for decreased remission rates for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma treated with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. "CAR T-cell therapy is a promising treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, especially for...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Garcia-Aguilar et al found that total neoadjuvant therapy followed by a watch-and-wait strategy vs total mesorectal excision based on response allowed for organ preservation in approximately half of patients with rectal...
Although considered a rare occurrence in adolescents and young adults (AYAs), aged 15 to 39 years, the incidence of cancer in this age group has been increasing by approximately 30% since the 1970s. This year, it is estimated that nearly 90,000 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in this...
On this episode, we’ll be discussing an updated overall survival analysis from the MONALEESA-3 trial presented at the ESMO Breast Cancer Congress 2022. Then, we’ll hear from a researcher about the current state of cancer research and anticipated trends in the field.
Nickolas Papadopoulos, PhD, of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses early detection as the key to reducing cancer mortality and the lack of tests for many malignancies. Liquid biopsies have the potential to screen for various tumor types, albeit with varying levels of...
Maria Alma Rodriguez, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the need for various types of vaccinations in patients with cancer, who are vulnerable to infection while under active treatment and whose immune deficits may persist long after treatment is finished. Dr....
The use of a polygenic score incorporating variations in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values that are not due to cancer may allow for more precise PSA screening, according to findings of a large genome-wide association study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual ...
In a study reported in the British Journal of Haematology, Staron et al found that the prevalence of plasma cell and lymphoproliferative disorders among blood relatives of probands with light chain (AL) amyloidosis was low overall and varied according to proband AL amyloidosis subtype. Despite...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Yoshino et al, the final analysis of survival and safety of the Japanese phase III ACHIEVE trial (part of the IDEA Collaboration) has shown no difference in disease-free or overall survival with 3 vs 6 months of adjuvant mFOLFOX6 (fluorouracil,...
In a Swedish population-based cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Mortezavi et al found that robot-assisted radical cystectomy with intracorporeal urinary diversion was associated with reduced all-cause mortality, reduced high-grade complications, and improved perioperative outcomes vs open ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Timmerman et al found that chromosome 3p25.3 gain was present in all cisplatin-resistant germ cell tumor (GCT) lines in vitro; was more common in patients with relapsed or cisplatin-resistant male type II GCTs; and was associated with poorer...
In a German single-institution retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Wasilewski et al found that treatment with immune checkpoint inhibition plus radiotherapy was associated with prolonged overall survival vs platinum-based chemotherapy plus radiotherapy in patients with brain...
Ara Klijian, MD, of Scripps Health, discusses findings on the safety of AVATS (awake video-assisted thoracic surgery), a procedure that may benefit select patients, including those whose early non–small cell lung cancer was previously deemed inoperable due to poor pulmonary function. Performed...
In women aged 70 and older with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, low-risk breast cancers, sentinel lymph node biopsy may not be a reliable indicator of the need for adjuvant chemotherapy, researchers reported at the 2022 American Society of Breast Surgeons Annual Meeting.1 “We found that...
New research published by Ramsey et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network has found that the inclusion of the smoking cessation tool Electronic Health Record–Enabled Evidence-Based Smoking Cessation Treatment (ELEVATE) into electronic health records may increase...
In a study reported as a letter to the editor in The New England Journal of Medicine, Alexander M. Menzies, MD, and colleagues found that patients with metastatic melanoma who had progressive disease while receiving relatlimab/nivolumab had poor responses to anti–CTLA-4–based treatment. As noted...
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified a novel strategy to reduce immune-related adverse events caused by immunotherapy by targeting the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). The study, published by Hailemichael et al in Cancer Cell, establishes a proof of concept ...
In a single-institution study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Kenzik et al found substantial rates of rehospitalization and emergency department visits after chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy among commercially insured patients with cancer. Study Details The study...
In a single-institution case series reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Terrero et al found that the combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab was active in patients with chemotherapy-refractory metastatic pancreatic or biliary cancer with homologous recombination deficiency (HRD)...
The advent of PD-1 and PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors has changed the treatment landscape of advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but only approximately 20% of patients treated with immunotherapy will be alive at 5 years. According to Melissa L. Johnson, MD, Director, Lung Cancer Research,...