Patients in rural areas who received surgery locally for their lung or colon cancer had comparable surgical outcomes and mortality rates to patients who underwent surgery in an urban facility, according to the results of an analysis published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons....
In the phase III COMMIT trial, a regimen combining atezolizumab plus bevacizumab and standard chemotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival and response rates over atezolizumab monotherapy in patients with previously untreated mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) or microsatellite...
Aromatase inhibitors are a cornerstone of adjuvant therapy for hormone receptor–positive breast cancer, significantly reducing recurrence and mortality. However, by suppressing estrogen production, aromatase inhibitors can accelerate bone loss and increase fracture risk. To counter this,...
In a French phase II trial (IMMUNEBOOST-HPV) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mirghani et al found that use of induction nivolumab prior to chemoradiation (CRT) did not meet the endpoint of ‘receipt of full treatment in due time’ (FTDT) in patients with high-risk human papillomavirus...
Treatment with a single injection of an oncolytic virus induces persistent T cell–mediated immunity in glioblastoma, according to findings from a trial published in Cell. “Patients with glioblastoma have not benefited from immunotherapies that have transformed patient care in other cancer types...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) has released clinical practice guidelines on the diagnosis of light chain (AL) amyloidosis, which were published in Blood Advances. Additionally, the expert panel behind the guidelines also published a scoping review about the clinical features of systemic...
In a Swedish trial (MASAI) reported in The Lancet, Gommers et al found that artificial intelligence (AI)-supported mammography was noninferior to standard double reading without AI in identifying interval breast cancers in women undergoing breast cancer screening. Study Details In the study,...
A national survey of independent community oncology practices has found that utilization management tactics imposed by health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) delay cancer treatment, interfere with physician-directed care, and increase administrative and financial burdens on practices...
Earlier this week, 25 health-care organizations proposed that the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General adopt a new regulatory safe harbor from the Anti-Kickback Statute that would allow clinical trial sponsors to financially support patients to offset indirect or nonmedical costs...
New research published by Nikitas et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found that incorporating information from prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans may be able to predict progression-free survival...
The first-in-human clinical trial of an in vivo CAR T-cell therapy for multiple myeloma has shown encouraging clinical outcomes at an early time point, with a safety profile and ease of administration that indicates the off-the-shelf KLN-1010 could be easily deployable, researchers from Australia...
For myelofibrosis, the treatment landscape is poised for change as new targets have emerged, and treatments are evolving beyond the standard Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors. Novel therapies are being paired with the commonly used JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib, as reflected by a wealth of studies...
In patients with CALR exon 9–mutated myelofibrosis who were resistant or intolerant to prior Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor therapy or ineligible for such treatment, the first-in-class mutant calreticulin–specific monoclonal antibody INCA033989 as monotherapy or in combination with ruxolitinib...
In patients with follicular lymphoma who received at least one prior line of therapy, the combination of the bispecific antibody epcoritamab-bysp and rituximab–lenalidomide (R2) reduced the risk of disease progression or death by almost 80% over R2 alone, based on the primary analysis of the phase...
At this year’s American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition in Orlando, we had the opportunity to navigate both manned and unmanned traffic, contend with temperamental weather, and count our steps as we took in the most consequential developments in hematologic oncology....
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Tung et al, findings in expansion cohorts of the phase II Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC) 048 study showed that olaparib was active in patients with metastatic breast cancer with germline PALB2 mutations (gPALB2m) and in...
A nationwide, real-world analysis using the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) General Thoracic Surgery Database (GTSD) from 2012 to 2023 evaluated over 16,000 adults who underwent esophagectomy for primary esophageal cancer to develop and validate a long-term all-cause mortality risk model. The...
In a phase III single-blind randomized clinical trial reported in JAMA Network Open, Zick et al found that self-acupressure—taught via a mobile app—provided a safe, low-cost approach for managing fatigue in ovarian cancer survivors. “In this randomized clinical trial, true self-acupressure and sham ...
For patients with previously treated multiple myeloma, the greatest risk reduction yet achieved in a phase III clinical trial was reported with the BCMA-directed CD3 T-cell engager teclistamab-cqyv plus daratumumab and hyaluronidase-fihj. Treatment with this combination resulted in an 83% reduction ...
Based on the phase III CLL17 trial, a fixed duration of targeted treatment demonstrated noninferiority to continuous treatment with respect to progression-free survival in previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The findings were presented at the Plenary Session of...
Testing menstrual blood for human papillomavirus (HPV) could be a “robust alternative or replacement” for current cervical cancer screening by a clinician, according to findings from a Chinese study published by Tian et al in The BMJ. The researchers say using menstrual blood for HPV testing is...
The first unified, pan-tumor guideline framework has been released for how pathologists should evaluate and score response in the neoadjuvant setting. These consensus guidelines, which were a joint effort by the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's (SITC) Pan-tumor Harmonization of Pathologic...
Consumption of higher quantities of ultraprocessed food was associated with increased all-cause and cancer mortality rates in cancer survivors, irrespective of the quality of their diet, according to findings published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. “These results suggest...
The scientific revolution in determining the genetic basis of cancer is finally bearing fruit in hematologic neoplasms such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML), where over the past decade a number of effective new drugs have expanded our armamentarium and provided effective—and in some cases...
Breakthrough research presented at the 2026 Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Annual Meeting shows that additional lymph node evaluation is needed during surgery for non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to accurately identify cancer spread (Abstract A-1588). Globally, surgical standards vary on the...
Colorectal metastases isolated to the liver no longer portend a universally fatal outcome. In 2024, the TransMet study1demonstrated that liver transplantation in select patients could be life-saving—thus changing the treatment paradigm—but so can surgical resection when appropriately applied....
Metastasis-directed therapy significantly improved progression-free survival, radiologic progression–free survival, and castration resistance–free survival in patients with oligometastatic prostate cancer, according to a new study published by Tang et al in The Lancet Oncology. The study is a...
Almost 40% of all new cancer cases could be attributed to at least one of 30 modifiable risk factors, according to a new global analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO) and its International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). The analysis of preventable cancers was published in Nature...
“Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.” – Ovid The 2025 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition delivered multiple practice-changing data sets surrounding T-cell–redirecting therapies in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma....
As the organizer of World Cancer Day on February 4, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) is mobilizing organizations and individuals worldwide to ensure that the voices of people affected by cancer are heard and drive a new vision of cancer care. Now in its second year, the World...
In a phase III trial (PATINA) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Metzger et al found that the addition of palbociclib to anti-HER2 and endocrine therapies significantly prolonged progression-free survival in patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-positive metastatic breast...
When patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) progress, as is common with such an aggressive malignancy, brain metastasis is a known possibility. As such, guidelines have recommended prophylactic cranial irradiation for patients with SCLC who respond well to first-line therapy to decrease the...
The first prospective, randomized phase III trial of a noncovalent Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor exclusively in treatment-naive patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL)—BRUIN CLL-313—demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically...
An artificial intelligence (AI)-based risk prediction model, ONCO-ACS, showed possible favorable clinical utility as a practical tool for predicting cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and ischemic stroke events in patients with cancer and acute coronary syndrome, according to findings...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Iveson et al, final results of the UK-based noninferiority phase III SCOT trial have shown noninferiority of 3 vs 6 months of adjuvant oxaliplatin plus fluoropyrimidine chemotherapy in overall survival among patients with colorectal cancer....
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Zhang et al, the Chinese phase III ARTS trial showed superior disease-free survival with the third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor aumolertinib as adjuvant therapy vs placebo in patients with completely resected stage II to IIIB EGFR-mutated non–small ...
A response-adapted approach to treatment decision-making for patients with resectable cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma demonstrated that with the use of neoadjuvant pembrolizumab, many patients could avoid surgery and/or radiotherapy. Findings from the De-Squamate study were published in the...
In patients with advanced HER2-positive gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma, treatment with the bispecific antibody zanidatamab-hrii and chemotherapy, with or without the PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab-jsgr, reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 35% over trastuzumab plus chemotherapy in the...
A randomized, controlled clinical trial for artificial intelligence (AI)–supported mammography readings, called the MASAI trial, demonstrated that AI reads of mammogram scans led to fewer interval breast cancer diagnoses than with standard double reads by radiologists, according to findings...
A team of researchers and physicians found that utilizing ultrasound-guided diffuse optical tomography (DOT) technology may reduce unnecessary breast biopsy rates by nearly 25%. Using this new method first—rather than starting with a biopsy—may help to determine if additional diagnoses are needed...
In a phase III trial (Canadian Cancer Trials Group BR.31) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Goss et al found that adjuvant durvalumab did not improve disease-free survival vs placebo in patients with completely resected early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Study Details In...
The Spray Cryotherapy Esophageal Consortium has developed a set of expert and evidence-based consensus recommendations guiding the use of liquid nitrogen spray cryotherapy in Barrett's esophagus and esophageal cancer. The recommendations, decided upon through a modified Delphi process, were...
A prognostic scoring system for predicting 1-year survival in patients with advanced cancer and spinal metastases was enhanced with machine learning for greater accuracy, according to the results of a Japanese multicenter study published in Spine. "This model provides a practical risk assessment...
The second annual report from the National Cancer Database (NCDB) of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) documents a substantial rise in neoadjuvant treatments, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and hormone therapy, often allowing for less invasive surgery and helping clinicians assess how a...
A global meta-analysis combined detailed patient data from six major clinical trials to compare two types of immunotherapies for advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC): dual immunotherapy (a combination of CTLA-4 and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors) and single immunotherapy (PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Einsele et al, an updated analysis of the phase III CARTITUDE-4 trial has shown that a single infusion of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel), a B-cell maturation antigen–directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, prolonged overall survival vs...
Color vision deficiency is an inherited condition affecting 1 in 12 males (8%) and 1 in 200 females (0.5%), most often impairing the ability to distinguish the color red. A recent study published in Nature Health examined the possible impact of color vision deficiency on survival outcomes among...
A recent, innovative study provides radiation oncologists with practical guidance to identify and protect female sexual organs during pelvic cancer treatment. Published by Greenwald et al in Practical Radiation Oncology, the report’s authors address a long-standing gap in cancer care by bringing...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Higgins et al, the phase III NRG Oncology/Alliance LU005 trial showed no overall survival benefit with the addition of atezolizumab to concurrent chemoradiation (CRT) in patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). Study Details In ...
Long-term proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use may not be associated with an increased risk of gastric adenocarcinoma, according to findings from a Nordic health study published by Duru et al The BMJ. According to the report's authors, “This finding should offer relief for patients needing long-term...