Invited discussant Laura Huppert, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, Comprehensive Cancer Center, focused her remarks on the need for biomarkers for selection of immunotherapy as part of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. “Hormone...
At a median follow-up of 8.4 years, adjuvant use of ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) continued to improve invasive disease–free survival and overall survival compared with trastuzumab in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer with residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant therapy. These ...
The addition of inavolisib to first-line treatment with palbociclib plus fulvestrant more than doubled progression-free survival in patients with recurrent PIK3CA-mutated, hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, according to a late-breaking primary analysis of the phase III ...
Invited discussant of the HER2CLIMB-02 trial, Valentina Guarneri, MD, of Padeva Istituto Oncologica Veneto, Italy, hailed these results as important, especially for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer and brain metastases. However, she noted, “HER2CLIMB-02 is not likely to challenge the...
Adding the antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1) to the HER2-targeted agent tucatinib extended progression-free survival by about 2 months vs treatment with T-DM1 alone among patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, according to...
ASCO is deeply saddened by the death of oncology luminary, health equity champion, and ASCO Humanitarian Award honoree Edith P. Mitchell, MD, MACP, FCCP, FRCP (London), on January 21, 2024. At the time of her passing, Dr. Mitchell was Director of the Center to Eliminate Cancer Disparities,...
Invited discussant Lisa Pickering, PhD, FRCP, Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, considered belzutifan to be a major advance in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). “LITESPARK-005 met both its primary endpoints of progression-free survival and overall response...
Belzutifan is a first-in-class, oral hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α inhibitor, and active HIF-2α is a key oncogenic driver in clear cell renal cancer. The manufacturer has filed a new drug application for the treatment of adults with RCC who experienced disease progression after PD-1/PD-L1– and...
Investigators used low recurrence scores on a genomic assay as guidance for selection of favorable-risk patients, and they found most postmenopausal patients (aged 50–69) with stage I hormone receptor–positive breast cancer who omitted adjuvant radiation therapy but continued endocrine therapy for...
Updates of two key phase III trials presented at the 2024 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium showed the benefit of adding a checkpoint inhibitor to standard perioperative chemotherapy with FLOT (fluorouracil, leucovorin, oxaliplatin, docetaxel) in locally advanced, resectable gastric and...
About 4 years ago, I [Jo Cavallo] wrote about the death of my brother Dom from multiple myeloma in 2011 and my subsequent enrollment in the PROMISE trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03689595). My goal for enrolling in the study was twofold: to honor Dom and others with the cancer and to make ...
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched the Cancer Screening Research Network, a clinical trials network to evaluate emerging cancer screening technologies. The new network will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s Cancer Moonshot initiative by investigating how to identify cancer ...
Investigators have found that annual breast cancer screening beginning at age 40 and continuing to at least 79 may result in the greatest reduction in mortality with minimal risks, according to a recent study published by Monticciolo et al in Radiology. Background Breast cancer is the second most...
For the treatment of high-risk, treatment-naive myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), the regimen of venetoclax plus azacitidine led to high response rates, durable responses, and encouraging overall survival, in a phase Ib study reported at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting...
Session co-moderator Carla Casulo, MD, offered her thoughts on the response-adapted use of ultra-low–dose radiotherapy in gastric MALT (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue) lymphoma, as reported by the investigators from MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Casulo is Associate Professor of Medicine and...
For patients with gastric MALT (mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue) lymphoma, an “ultra-low dose” of radiotherapy was as effective as the higher, standard dose in providing local control and freedom from distant relapse, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported at...
In a press briefing at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, Cynthia E. Dunbar, MD, ASH Secretary and Chief of the Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, Intramural Research Program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, offered her thoughts on...
At the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, researchers from Emory University presented a real-world comparison of the largest cohort of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma consecutively treated with either bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone ...
In the phase III IsKia trial in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, therapy incorporating the CD38-directed monoclonal antibody isatuximab-irfc with a carfilzomib-based regimen led to high rates of minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity at postconsolidation cutoffs, as reported at the 2023...
Patients with multiple myeloma treated in the “real world” had worse outcomes than patients who received the same treatment on clinical trials, according to research presented at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition.1 In a pooled analysis of clinical trial...
Among Black patients with prostate cancer, racial representation may be a key factor affecting their trust in websites offering information on the disease, according to a recent study published by Loeb et al in The Journal of Urology. Background Black men may have higher rates of prostate cancer...
Research shows that about half of adults near the end of life in the United States are too ill to participate in decisions about whether to accept life-prolonging treatment,1 requiring family members and other proxies to serve as surrogate decision-makers for their critically ill loved ones....
Patients with soft-tissue sarcoma treated with neoadjuvant immunotherapy had very little residual tumor at the time of surgery and promising long-term survival, according to phase II trial results published by Roland et al in Nature Cancer. Background About 13,000 new cases of soft-tissue...
Plant-based diets may be linked to a lower risk of erectile dysfunction, urinary incontinence, and other common side effects experienced by patients receiving treatment for prostate cancer, according to a new study published by Loeb et al in Cancer. The findings indicated that nutrition may lead to ...
Low-dose positron-emission mammography (PEM) may provide high sensitivity for detecting breast cancer and significantly reduce the likelihood of false-positive results, according to a recent study published by Freitas et al in Radiology: Imaging Cancer. The innovative breast imaging technique may...
Men with high-risk localized prostate cancer had a significant survival benefit when treated with a more intensified regimen of dose-escalated radiation therapy plus long-term androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) vs standard radiation therapy plus ADT, according to long-term follow-up from the...
Positive results were reported for belantamab mafodotin-blmf plus bortezomib and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, according to data from the phase III DREAMM-7 study presented at the ASCO Plenary Series: February 2024 Session (Abstract 439572). DREAMM-7...
Investigators have uncovered high rates of reoperation following initial breast-conserving surgery in patients with breast cancer that may contribute to increased costs of cancer care and a higher risk of postoperative complications, according to a recent study published by Kim et al in the Annals...
Over the past 2 years, my family and I have experienced firsthand the challenges of cancer. In the spring of 2021, my mother was diagnosed with stage IIB pancreatic cancer. She died in mid-2023 after developing metastatic disease, including peritoneal carcinomatosis. The experience has caused me to ...
Combination therapy with two or more antihypertensive drugs may reduce blood pressure in patients receiving ibrutinib, according to a recent study published by Samples et al in Blood Advances. Background Ibrutinib was the first Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor to receive U.S. Food and Drug...
Researchers have identified a next-generation Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) degrader that could help patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and related hematologic malignancies overcome treatment resistance, according to a recent study published by Montoya et al in Science. The findings...
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), has released updated findings of the current global burden of cancer alongside World Cancer Day on February 4, 2023. The WHO indicated that a majority of countries do not adequately finance...
We have been taught that early cancer detection and treatment save lives. The way to cure cancer is to find it early and treat it aggressively. The public has subscribed to this approach in our struggle to “eradicate cancer.” In certain disease types, there is merit to this philosophy. The ability...
The incidence and mortality of cervical cancer may be rising in patients residing in low-income areas of the United States, according to a recent study published by Amboree et al in the International Journal of Cancer. Study Methods and Results In the recent study, investigators used the...
Unintentional weight loss may be associated with an increased risk of receiving a cancer diagnosis within the next year, according to a recent study published by Wang et al in JAMA. Background Patients with advanced cancer often experience weight loss. However, weight loss is often not thought to...
Recent studies by multidisciplinary teams at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Massachusetts General Hospital are illuminating novel ways to address health-care challenges faced by patients with cancer. The research, presented at the 2023 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, highlights the...
Invited discussant Laura Huppert, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, Comprehensive Cancer Center, focused her remarks on the need for biomarkers for selection of immunotherapy as part of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. “Hormone...
In a press briefing at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, Cynthia E. Dunbar, MD, ASH Secretary and Chief of the Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, Intramural Research Program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, offered her thoughts on...
Patients with multiple myeloma treated in the “real world” had worse outcomes than patients who received the same treatment on clinical trials, according to research presented at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition.1 In a pooled analysis of clinical trial...
At the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, researchers from Emory University presented a real-world comparison of the largest cohort of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma consecutively treated with either bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone ...
This is Part 2 of Clinical Considerations in the Treatment of Metastatic ROS1 Fusion–Positive NSCLC, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this Roundtable. In this video, Drs. Narjust Florez, Christine Bestvina, and Debora Bruno discuss the management of ...
Subgroup analyses of the randomized double-blind phase III MATTERHORN trial continue to show the benefit of adding perioperative durvalumab to standard chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced, resectable gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer. Detailed findings on pathologic complete...
The novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based Molecular Twin Precision Oncology Platform may be capable of identifying biomarkers that may outperform the standard test for predicting pancreatic cancer survival, according to a recent study published by Osipov et al in Nature Cancer. Background...
In May 2023, The ASCO Post launched a new feature, View From the Top: The Future of Cancer Care Delivery, which explores how leaders in oncology are developing strategies to ensure continued innovative oncology care in an ever-changing health-care environment. In this installment, Guest Editor Jame ...
A novel chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK)-cell therapy may be effective at treating patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies, according to a novel study published by Marin et al in Nature Medicine. Study Methods and Results In the new phase I/II trial, researchers...
The addition of inavolisib to first-line treatment with palbociclib plus fulvestrant more than doubled progression-free survival in patients with recurrent PIK3CA-mutated, hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, according to a late-breaking primary analysis of the phase III ...
A recent study underscored the need for integrating cost-of-care conversations in cancer treatment. Results of the population-based analysis, presented at the 2023 ASCO Quality Care Symposium,1 showed that only about 25% of patients with newly diagnosed advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)...
Investigators have found that Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act may be associated with a reduced risk of early mortality following surgical resection in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a recent study published by Nogueira et al in JAMA Network Open. The ...
Investigators have uncovered substantial state variations in health insurance coverage among U.S. patients newly diagnosed with cancer, according to a recent study published by Hu et al in Health Affairs Scholar. Background Over the past decade, health insurance coverage—which has been found to be...
A novel blood test may accurately detect neuroendocrine prostate cancer and differentiate it from castration-resistant prostate adenocarcinoma, according to a recent study published by Franceschini et al in Cancer Discovery. Background Approximately 10% to 15% of patients with metastatic prostate...