As reported in JAMA Oncology by Leora Horn, MD, MSc, FRCPC, and colleagues, the phase III eXalt3 trial has shown significantly prolonged progression-free survival with ensartinib vs crizotinib in patients with advanced, recurrent, or metastatic anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non–small...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Robert H.I. Andtbacka, MD, and colleagues found that intratumoral injection of the oncolytic RNA virus Coxsackievirus A21 (V937) was well tolerated and produced responses in some patients with unresectable stage III or stage IV...
In a Canadian population-based cohort study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Abdel-Qadir et al found that ibrutinib treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is associated with increased risks of atrial fibrillation, bleeding, and heart failure, but not ischemic stroke or acute...
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the tragedy of patients dying in isolation, separated from family and friends to limit infection in hospital settings. The process has altered the experience of serious illness for patients and their loved ones, including their ability to grieve, share important...
Guest Editor’s Note: Despite the high prevalence of cancer-related fatigue, there are few effective management strategies for this debilitating condition. Music therapy is a nonpharmacologic modality that has been shown to reduce anxiety in oncology settings. In this installment of The ASCO Post’s...
Requirements instituted to address racial and ethnic disparities in clinical trial enrollment did not lead to increased inclusion of Black and Hispanic participants in clinical acute leukemia research, according to a new study published by Andrew Hantel, MD, and colleagues in the journal Blood...
The inherited condition neurofibromatosis type 1, or NF1, is responsible for the development of benign tumors that grow along the nerves; in some individuals, however, these benign tumors transform into aggressive and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors. Determining whether this transformation ...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tracy L. Rose, MD, MPH, and colleagues found that neoadjuvant therapy with pembrolizumab, gemcitabine, and primarily split-dose cisplatin resulted in pathologic downstaging (< pT2N0) in more than half of patients undergoing...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Mangum et al found that focal deletions in chromosome 22q11.22 were associated with poor outcomes in pediatric patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with IKZF1 alterations. As stated by the investigators, “Alterations in the IKZF1 gene drive...
Chloe Atreya, MD, PhD, was born and reared in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Her mother is a poet, and her father is a planetary physicist and a professor at the University of Michigan. “Some of my early memories that influenced my decision to go into medicine stem from conversations I had with my father...
In the phase II PEMDAC study, researchers showed that the combination of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab and the histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor entinostat resulted in durable responses in a small group of patients with metastatic uveal melanoma. These findings were published by Ny et al in...
In a Global Registry of COVID-19 in Childhood Cancer cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Mukkada et al found that approximately one-fifth of children with cancer infected with COVID-19 worldwide had severe illness, with an associated mortality rate exceeding that reported in the general...
In a phase I study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bahlis et al found that venetoclax plus daratumumab/dexamethasone (VenDd) and VenDd with bortezomib (VenDVd) produced high rates of durable responses in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma with t(11;14) translocation ...
On August 31, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revised the label for the anti–PD-1 therapy pembrolizumab for its indication in first-line advanced urothelial carcinoma. The FDA converted the indication from an accelerated approval to a full approval. In addition, as part of the label...
The invited discussant for the BERENICE trial was Evandro de Azambuja, MD, PhD, Head of the Medical Support Team at the Institut Jules Bordet in Brussels. He concluded from the study that pertuzumab plus trastuzumab, combined with an anthracycline/taxane regimen given every 2 weeks or every 3...
In a phase II trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Sumanta K. Pal, MD, FASCO, and colleagues found that the addition of the ATR inhibitor berzosertib to cisplatin/gemcitabine provided no benefit in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma. The triplet did not prolong progression-free survival, and ...
As reported in The Lancet by Sun et al, the phase III KEYNOTE-590 trial showed that the addition of first-line pembrolizumab to chemotherapy resulted in improved overall and progression-free survival in patients with advanced esophageal and Siewert type 1 gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancers....
Where does triplet therapy fit in the treatment of patients with stage IV BRAF-mutated melanoma? Is there strong evidence for combining a BRAF inhibitor, MEK inhibitor, and checkpoint inhibitor? Ragini Kudchadkar, MD, Chair of the Protocol Review and Monitoring Committee at Winship Cancer Institute ...
A recent study published by Ronden et al in JTO Clinical and Research Reports highlights the gap between treatment guidelines and real-world care with the monoclonal antibody durvalumab for patients with non–small cell lung cancer. Researchers studied treatment decision-making by three Dutch...
Patients with lymphoma or other lymphoid cancers should continue to take steps to protect themselves from COVID-19 even if they have been vaccinated against the disease, a new study by Jennifer Crombie, MD, and colleagues published in Blood Advances suggests. The study found that patients who had...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, and colleagues found that the addition of the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitor veliparib to platinum-based chemotherapy did not improve overall survival in current smokers with previously untreated...
Advances in molecular imaging are having a big impact on prostate cancer management and outcomes, according to Ashesh B. Jani, MD, the James C. Kennedy Professor in Prostate Cancer, Department of Radiation Oncology at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta. Dr. Jani described his ...
In a new study published by Hallet et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, among patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs), the risk of dying of cancer was higher than that of dying of other causes, but mortality varied by primary tumor site. According to the authors,...
In a letter to the editor published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Bagchi et al describe the course of treatment in a 3-year-old child with an intracranial tumor and his response to therapy with the kinase inhibitor lorlatinib. Key Points Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the head in a...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Casal et al showed that removing race as a factor in the Chronic Kidney Disease–Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) would result in calculation of a lower eGFR in Black patients. This might result...
Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced that it has made the decision to voluntarily withdraw the U.S. accelerated approval for atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in combination with nab-paclitaxel for the treatment of adults with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast...
The measurement of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is changing the way gastrointestinal cancers are managed, according to Bassel F. El-Rayes, MD, Professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Research in the Department of Hematology and Oncology, Emory University, and Associate Cancer Center Director,...
A new study found that during the COVID-19 pandemic, breast cancer screening rates declined among women aged 50 to 74 years at 32 community health centers that serve lower-income populations in the United States. The report, published by Stacey A. Fedewa, PhD, and colleagues in the journal Cancer,...
Communication between patients and their primary care providers is key to ensuring effective cancer care, both before diagnosis and after treatment, according to two recent papers authored by University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center researchers. Although each study analyzed different stages of...
In a phase I/II trial (HOVON124/ECWM-R2) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kersten et al found that the combination of oral ixazomib with subcutaneous rituximab and dexamethasone showed efficacy in patients with relapsed or refractory Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, with a manageable...
In a Canadian study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cullinan et al found that the McGill Interactive Pediatric OncoGenetic Guidelines (MIPOGG) tool provided predictive value for risk of subsequent malignant neoplasms in childhood cancer survivors beyond risk associated with treatment...
Commonly used blood pressure drugs may improve survival for patients with colorectal cancer, a recent study published by Balkrishnan et al in Cancer Medicine suggests. After reviewing outcomes of almost 14,000 patients with colorectal cancer, researchers determined that angiotensin-converting...
In an analysis of long-term outcomes from the phase III NRG/RTOG 9804 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Beryl McCormick, MD, and colleagues found that whole-breast irradiation vs observation was associated with reduced risk of all and invasive ipsilateral breast recurrence at 15...
On August 25, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ivosidenib (Tibsovo), a small-molecule inhibitor of isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1), for adult patients with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma with an IDH1 mutation as detected by an FDA-approved ...
When added to regular screening and guidelines, evidence-based interventions implemented at the patient, health professional, and service levels did not significantly improve cancer pain, according to research led by Melanie Lovell, MBBS, PhD, Medical Head of Palliative Care at HammondCare and...
Even before my breast cancer diagnosis in early 2002, the year was shaping up to be life-altering for me and my family. We had moved from Seattle to Houston for a new career opportunity for my husband and were just settling into our new home when I felt a pea-sized nodule in my left breast during a ...
In this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with Pamela Kunz, MD, Director, Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center. Dr. Kunz is an international leader in the clinical care of patients with neuroendocrine...
ASCO and Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario) have collaborated to release a new clinical practice guideline on the management of the axilla in early-stage breast cancer.1 “A lot has changed in the past several years with regard to de-escalating the amount of treatment women are offered in the...
On March 31, 2021, the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody isatuximab-irfc was approved for use in combination with carfilzomib and dexamethasone for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received one to three prior lines of therapy.1 Supporting Efficacy Data...
Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, Executive Director, Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance, and Ingram Professor of Cancer Research, was recently promoted to Professor of Radiation Oncology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). “Grateful to those who paved the way,” said Dr. Winkfield on Twitter, noting...
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women around the world, making it a significant public health problem.1 The disease affects both men and women, although it is rare in men, accounting for just 1% of all breast cancer diagnoses in the United States and less than 0.1% of...
Every interaction with patients is an opportunity to change the course of their lives. In the context of screening for disease, every encounter is an opportunity to detect the precursors or early changes that signal early pathophysiology. Smoking status and age are the factors that currently...
For the treatment of relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, updated data from the ZUMA-5 trial, as compared with the findings of the external control cohort of SCHOLAR-5, showed substantial improvement in all key clinical endpoints with axicabtagene ciloleucel, ZUMA-5 investigators reported in ...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to an agent for the prevention of acute graft-vs-host disease; Breakthrough Therapy designation to an anti–PD-1 monoclonal antibody for the treatment of metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma; and Fast Track designation to a ...
Patients with metastatic melanoma who were previously treated with PD-1 or MAPK inhibition are significantly less likely to develop durable objective responses to adoptive cell transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (ACT-TIL) than patients naive to these treatments, according to a study...
An updated analysis of the PALOMA-3 randomized, placebo-controlled trial demonstrated continued superiority for the combination of palbociclib (CDK4/6 inhibitor) plus fulvestrant over fulvestrant plus placebo in women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer whose...
On August 23, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, and will now be marketed as Comirnaty, for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals aged 16 years and older. The vaccine also...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reminding patients and health-care providers that the safety and effectiveness of robotically assisted surgical devices for use in mastectomy procedures or in the prevention or treatment of breast cancer have not been established. In addition, the FDA...
In the phase I/II ITCC-050 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Gaspar et al found that the combination of lenvatinib with etoposide/ifosfamide showed antitumor activity, including good progression-free survival outcomes, in patients with relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma. Study Details...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Elizabeth A. Salerno, PhD, MPH, and colleagues found that higher levels of physical activity before and during chemotherapy in women with early-stage breast cancer was associated with better cognitive function outcomes at up to 6 months...