Advanced melanoma has become a different entity in the era of immunotherapy and targeted agents. Considering the potential for good outcomes from systemic therapy in advanced disease, has the role of surgery changed? Should it be offered up front or limited to patients with oligometastatic ...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Panagiotis A. Konstantinopoulos, MD, PhD, and colleagues found evidence of promising activity of the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor avelumab in mismatch repair–deficient (MMRD) recurrent or persistent endometrial...
THE NATIONAL COMPREHENSIVE Cancer Network® (NCCN®) recently announced the publication of a new set of recommendations focused on cancers in the small intestine. The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) for Small Bowel Adenocarcinoma are the first treatment guidelines in...
At the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, and simultaneously in The New England Journal of Medicine, we heard the third paper reporting results from TAILORx.1,2 The first, in 2015,3 indicated that women with node-negative breast cancers with Oncotype DX recurrence scores less than 11 did extremely well...
A cell-free DNA test based on the presence of DNA methylation has proven highly specific as a multicancer detection test and appears especially good at detecting high-risk malignancies. In most cases, it can also accurately pinpoint the tumor’s tissue of origin, researchers reported at the 2019...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to acalabrutinib in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), accepted a new drug application for avapritinib in some types of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), and granted 501(k) clearance to market the...
On July 26, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a new report, “Global Tobacco Epidemic 2019,” to discuss national efforts being made to implement effective strategies from the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that have been proven to reduce the demand for tobacco....
In a phase I trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Martine Bagot, MD, and colleagues found that IPH4102—a first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting KIR3DL2—was safe and showed activity in patients with relapsed or refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, particularly those with Sézary syndrome....
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. In this installment, Yen Nien Hou, PharmD, DipIOM, LAc, explores the potential health benefits of...
This Clinical Trials Resource Guide lists actively recruiting clinical research trials that focus on cancer survivorship. The studies here are examining the effects of Web-based platforms, as well as patient navigators and other tools. and the value of improving our understanding of the...
On July 10, ASCO led a coalition in a day of action in support of the Covering Life-Saving Investigations Needed in Cancer and Other Life-Threatening Conditions Through Timely Use of Resources for Easy and Affordable Treatment from Medicaid for Enrollees in Need Today Act (CLINICAL TREATMENT Act,...
On June 10, 2019, the CD79b-directed antibody-drug conjugate polatuzumab vedotin-piiq was granted accelerated approval for use in combination with bendamustine and a rituximab product for adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), not otherwise specified,...
On June 17, 2019, pembrolizumab was granted accelerated approval for the treatment of patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one other prior line of therapy.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based...
Intimacy changes after a cancer diagnosis. Both male and female survivors can experience significant sexual dysfunction, pain with sex, loss of desire, and a slew of other clinical and psychological sequelae. To make matter worse, sexual function is often not discussed by patients and their...
Many governments are making progress in the fight against tobacco, with 5 billion people today living in countries that have introduced smoking bans, warnings on packaging, and other effective tobacco control measures—four times more people than a decade ago. However, a new World Health...
On November 16, 2018, brentuximab vedotin was approved for use in combination with chemotherapy for previously untreated systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma or other CD30-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphomas (PTCLs), including angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma and PTCL–not otherwise...
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. In this installment, Ting Bao, MD, DABMA, MS, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, explore the current...
In a phase I trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Bagot et al found that IPH4102—a first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting KIR3DL2—was safe and showed activity in patients with relapsed or refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, particularly those with Sézary syndrome....
Researchers at the University of Washington are developing a user-friendly vest with technology that collects data to tailor personalized therapy for patients with metastatic, somatostatin receptor 2–positive neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). Their study was presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting...
In the French phase III PHARE trial reported in The Lancet, Pivot et al found that noninferiority of 6 months vs 12 months of adjuvant trastuzumab combined with standard chemotherapy could not be demonstrated for disease-free survival in HER2-positive early breast cancer. An earlier interim...
NYU Langone Health has opened the doors to a new multispecialty outpatient facility in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. This new location features the capabilities of the Perlmutter Cancer Center. Previously, patients received radiation treatment at NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn and chemotherapy and other...
A new study published by McDonough et al in the Journal of Oncology Practice found that while primary care physicians are often involved in cancer survivorship care, many do not feel adequately prepared for key components of it. The study shared the results of a survey of 117...
Results from an experimental arm of the phase II NRG-GI002 trial using veliparib, a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, as part of total neoadjuvant therapy (induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy and surgery) in patients with locally advanced rectal adenocarcinoma were...
In addition to its well-known cardioprotective benefits, aspirin has a substantial body of observational, preclinical, and clinical evidence supporting its efficacy in preventing cancer, most strongly for colorectal cancer.1 The strength of this evidence led the U.S. Preventive Services Task...
Delivery of prophylactic cranial irradiation to patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) has declined significantly since the publication of a study by Takahashi et al, according to a recent survey of academic radiation oncologists.1 Data presented at the 2019 Multidisciplinary...
In an effort to advance cancer data sharing and improve the quality and coordination of patient care, three health and technology organizations have established a core set of data elements and recommended technical specifications (the Minimal Common Oncology Data Elements [mCODE]) that are...
A study that examined 10,500 health records of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer from ASCO’s CancerLinQ database found that the use of expanded clinical trial inclusion criteria—as proposed by ASCO and Friends of Cancer Research in 2017—would nearly double...
The randomized, phase III KEYNOTE-062 trial achieved its primary endpoint, showing that for patients with programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-positive, HER2-negative, advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer, initial therapy with pembrolizumab resulted in noninferior overall...
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. In this installment, Shelly Latte-Naor, MD, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, explore the use of...
A must-attend event in cancer care, the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting will bring thousands of oncology professionals from around the world to Chicago. The theme for this year’s meeting, selected by 2018–2019 ASCO President Monica M. Bertagnolli, MD, FACS, FASCO, sets an exciting tone for the...
CLINICAL TRIALS are vital for advancing cancer care for our patients. Each trial represents an unanswered problem for which researchers are committed to solving. Designing, funding, recruiting, and completing a trial are tremendous undertakings for each researcher, physician, patient, and...
Findings from a secondary analysis of the phase III OLYMPUS trial were presented by Kleinmann et al during the Plenary Session at the 2019 American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting (Abstract LBA-16). Results showed that instillation of UGN-101, an investigational formulation of mitomycin ...
A comparison of three types of radiotherapy for pediatric brain tumors suggests that a type of proton therapy called pencil-beam scanning (PBS) offers the best hope of preserving cognitive functions. The study, presented by Toussaint et al at ESTRO 38, the annual congress of the European Society...
GUEST EDITOR Integrative Oncology is guest edited by Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine and Chief of Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to...
The experimental oncolytic adenovirus telomelysin in combination with radiotherapy was safe and showed early clinical efficacy in vulnerable patients with esophageal cancer, according to results from a phase I clinical trial presented by Fujiwara et al at the American Association for ...
ASCO’S CONQUER CANCER FOUNDATION is pleased to announce the recipients of the Gastrointestinal Cancers, Genitourinary Cancers, and Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium Merit Awards. Conquer Cancer Merit Awards recognize oncology fellows’ and trainees’ high-quality research submitted in abstracts to...
WHEN BRANDON CANYON’S mother Leone was diagnosed with uterine cancer, he drove her to treatment sessions at the nearest cancer center—a 200-mile round trip on rough roads. Gas was a significant expense, but their only other option was to forgo treatment. The Canyons are members of the Navajo...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gulley et al found that PROSTVAC, a viral vector-based immunotherapy, did not improve overall survival or 6-month event-free survival vs placebo in patients with asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic metastatic castration-resistant...
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, explore the use of omega-3 fatty acids, which have...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) has published a new book of patient information that explains prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for squamous cell skin cancer. Squamous cell and basal cell skin cancers are responsible for about 5 million annual incidents of nonmelanoma...
The Pancreatic Cancer Collective—the strategic partner of the Lustgarten Foundation and Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C)—has awarded a total of $7 million in first-round New Therapies Challenge grants to 7 teams of top cancer researchers to explore new pancreatic cancer treatments. Each team will receive...
A recent study by the American Cancer Society (ACS) has found that while colorectal cancer incidence in the United States is rapidly declining overall, colorectal cancer rates are increasing among young adults. According to the study, compared with adults born in the 1950s, those born in the 1990s...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. On October 30, 2018, pembrolizumab in combination with...
THERE IS little doubt that the U.S. health-care system is under assault from many directions.1 It is clear that the costs of health management are no longer sustainable, and the United States has one of the highest per capita health costs among the 36 member nations of the Organisation for...
Initial findings from a first-in-human trial have provided proof of principle for a groundbreaking approach to gene therapy for sickle cell disease, according to data presented at the 2018 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition.1 Early results of genetic targeting of...
In the phase III RAINFALL trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Fuchs et al found no apparent benefit of the addition of the VEGFR-2 inhibitor ramucirumab to first-line cisplatin and fluoropyrimidine treatment in metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. Study Details The...
THE PRINCIPALS and staff of Harborside, publisher of The ASCO Post, congratulate Harborside Medical Education (HSME) for staff recognition by the Alliance for Continuing Education (CE) in the Health Professions (the Alliance). Two senior staff were honored during the awards ceremony preceding the...
As reported in JAMA Dermatology, Jianqiang Wu, MD, PhD, and Gary S. Wood, MD, found that the widely available nonprescription topical antimicrobial agent gentian violet has potent activity against cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in studies in vitro and ex vivo. The study involved high-throughput ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted the following designations and applications and also issued a statement: Priority Review for Pexidartinib in Tenosynovial Giant Cell Tumor The FDA has accepted a new drug application (NDA) and granted Priority Review for pexidartinib...
Pancreaticoduodenectomy, or the Whipple procedure, is one of the most complex abdominal surgeries, and is commonly prescribed as a first line of therapy for cancer located within the pancreatic head. Investigators reported that following a 5-day accelerated recovery pathway after surgery helped to...