ASCO has released its first clinical practice guideline focused specifically on the management of locally advanced rectal cancer.1 “Rectal cancer, and especially locally advanced rectal cancer, is a complex disease that requires individualized approaches using multimodality therapies to have the...
Multicancer early detection (MCED) tests are beginning to enter clinical practice, but how useful will they be? “This is an exciting field, with many competing technologies. MCED assays will be coming across your desk in the near future if they haven’t already. But they are not a panacea. They are ...
Clinical trials are now demonstrating the value of immune checkpoint inhibitors as neoadjuvant therapy in certain subsets of patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO, described this newer approach—specifically, which subsets of patients may...
Medical oncology had a turbulent beginning, as we explained in part 1 of this commentary published in the September 25, 2024, issue of The ASCO Post. And although no other specialty we know of struggled as much, with perseverance and time, it had become a stable specialty of internal medicine by...
Medical oncology had a turbulent beginning. No other specialty we know of struggled as much. But by 1980, it had become a stable specialty of internal medicine and was off and running—with the major problem of how to marshal available resources to freely test the myriad opportunities presented by ...
The second planned interim analysis of the global phase III AEGEAN trial—reported by John V. Heymach, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, and colleagues at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Laura A. Dawson, MD, of the University Health Network–Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University of Toronto, and colleagues, the Canadian phase III CCRG HE1 trial showed that the addition of a single fraction of palliative radiotherapy to best supportive care...
On September 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft guidance to provide sponsors with recommendations for conducting multiregional clinical trials in support of applications for drugs intended to treat cancer, according to a notice published in the Federal Register....
Researchers have found that chemotherapy prior to surgery may reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed in patients with advanced nasal and paranasal sinus squamous cell carcinoma, according to recent findings presented by Saba et al at the European Society for Medical Oncology...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seeking consumer representatives to serve on the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC). A consumer representative must be able to analyze scientific data, understand research design, discuss benefits and risks, and evaluate the safety and...
In long-term follow-up of the French phase III GETUG-13 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Fizazi et al reported that intensified chemotherapy was associated with significantly better progression-free survival among patients with poor-prognosis nonseminomatous germ cell tumors with ...
The PanCan nodule management protocol may be superior at triaging lung cancer screening participants compared with the LungRADSv1.1 approach, according to new findings presented by McWilliams et al at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2024 World Conference on Lung...
In a phase III study conducted in China, the bispecific antibody ivonescimab demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival compared with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab as a first-line treatment of PD-L1–positive advanced non–small...
A fewer number of U.S. youths have reported current use of e-cigarettes in 2024 compared with 2023, according to new findings published by Park-Lee et al in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Background E-cigarettes and nicotine pouches are two categories of tobacco products the U.S. Food...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new presentation of bortezomib (Boruzu) for ready-to-use subcutaneous or intravenous administration. This new ready-to-use oncology product reduces the compounding preparation steps typically required with administration. Bortezomib, a...
In a Canadian study reported in JAMA Network Open, Hamilton et al found that use of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (5-ARIs) prior to the diagnosis of prostate cancer was not associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer–specific or overall mortality. Study Details The study involved data from...
In two studies recently reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Upshaw and colleagues1 examined the impact of preexisting heart failure on mortality in older patients in the United States with newly diagnosed Hodgkin lymphoma, and Gon and colleagues2 analyzed the incidence and impact of arterial...
In patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer, the addition of atezolizumab to standard adjuvant chemotherapy provided no benefit over chemotherapy alone in the final analysis of the phase III ALEXANDRA/IMpassion030 trial. The results were presented at the 2024 European Breast Cancer...
Researchers have found that a liquid biopsy may help to predict whether patients with cancer may be at risk of developing venous thromboembolism, according to a recent study published by Jee et al in Nature Medicine. Background Liquid biopsy tests—such as MSK-ACCESS—increasingly play a role in...
Researchers have explored whether an artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool could help to detect immune-related adverse events in patients with cancer, according to a recent study published by Sun et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Background Although immune checkpoint inhibitors can...
In a meta-analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Nielsen et al estimated the risk of cardiotoxicity associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment of cancers. Study Details The meta-analysis included 83,315 unique patients in 589 unique trials of ICIs and ICI combination therapies. The...
On April 5, 2024, fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) was granted accelerated approval for adults with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive (immunohistochemistry 3+) solid tumors who received prior systemic treatment and have no satisfactory alternative treatment options.1 Supporting...
Nivolumab (Opdivo) was approved for use in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for first-line treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on the open-label CheckMate 901 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier...
A joint guideline from the International Society of Oral Oncology–Multinational Association for Supportive Care in Cancer and ASCO seeks to fill a gap in the clinical guidance for patients with head and neck cancers who develop osteoradionecrosis following their head and neck radiation therapy.1...
Investigators have found that there may not be an association between mobile phone use and an increased risk of brain cancer, according to a recent World Health Organization (WHO)-commissioned review published by Karipidis et al in Environmental International. Background The WHO and other...
Clinical trials are now demonstrating the value of immune checkpoint inhibitors as neoadjuvant therapy in certain subsets of patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO, described this newer approach—specifically, which subsets of patients may...
In a long-term follow-up of Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) randomized trials reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Rowan T. Chlebowski, MD, PhD, and colleagues identified risks of ovarian and endometrial cancers associated with the use of menopausal hormone therapy. Study Details The...
In patients with hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancers with HER2-low or HER2-ultralow expression, treatment with the antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) was found to be superior to chemotherapy after one or more lines of endocrine therapy. In...
In an analysis from the phase III EORTC 1325-MG/KEYNOTE-054 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Bührer et al found that adjuvant pembrolizumab was not associated with significant differences in long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) compared with placebo in patients with stage III...
In an Australian phase II/III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Grimison et al found that oral cannabis extract improved the antiemetic complete response rate vs placebo in patients with cancer who had refractory chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) despite use of...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vijaya Raj Bhatt, MS, MBBS, and colleagues found that ruxolitinib produced responses in patients with corticosteroid-refractory sclerotic chronic graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) after transplantation for hematologic malignancies. Study ...
The rate of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination may be lower among female individuals with mental health issues or neurodevelopmental conditions compared with their peers, according to a recent study published by Hu et al in The Lancet Public Health. Background The HPV vaccine is capable of...
Early-stage research demonstrated the synergistic effects of a novel nanoparticle drug–delivery system to activate an immune pathway in combination with tumor-targeting agents in mice with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, according to a preclinical study published by Chibaya et al in Science...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the in vitro diagnostic TruSight Oncology (TSO) Comprehensive test and its first two companion diagnostic indications. This targeted sequencing panel interrogates over 500 genes to profile a patient's solid tumor, helping to increase the...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Zhao et al, meta-analyses of trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with advanced EGFR-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progressing on EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment indicate that the optimal treatment strategy is...
In a Chinese single-center trial (Fudan CUP-001) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Liu et al found that site-specific therapy guided by a 90-gene expression assay improved progression-free survival vs empirical chemotherapy in previously untreated patients with cancer of unknown primary (CUP) who...
Researchers have found that a blood test may effectively identify patients with type 2 diabetes who may be at a higher risk of developing certain cancers, according to new findings to be presented by Bennetsen et al at the upcoming European Association for the Study of Diabetes Annual Meeting 2024...
In a subgroup analysis of the EVEREST trial reported in JAMA Network Open, Gulati et al found that adjuvant everolimus did not improve recurrence-free survival vs placebo in patients with localized papillary or chromophobe non–clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Study Details In the trial,...
I was a track and field athlete throughout college, and my goal was to try out for the Olympics, but cancer had other plans for me. In 2010, while in my senior year in college, I began having sharp, shooting pains in my shoulders, which I initially attributed to overzealous training. But the pain...
On March 19, 2024, ponatinib (Iclusig) was granted accelerated approval for use with chemotherapy in adults with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome–positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).1 Ponatinib is a multitargeted kinase inhibitor. Supporting Efficacy Data and How It Is Used Approval ...
On March 6, 2024, the anti-CD22 monoclonal antibody inotuzumab ozogamicin (Besponsa), which is bound to a toxic natural calicheamicin, was approved for pediatric patients aged 1 year or older with relapsed or refractory CD22-positive B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.1 Supporting...
The risk of encountering tobacco products being advertised, marketed, or promoted on streaming services based on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and smoking habits was identified in a recent study published by Onyeaka et al in JAMA Network Open. Background The World Health Organization...
Researchers may have uncovered the germline mutational landscape of Chinese patients with ovarian cancer and identified an enriched RAD51D variant in these patients, according to a recent study published by Feng et al in JCO Global Oncology. The findings could serve as a critical reference for...
Twenty minutes of mindful breathing, which focuses a person’s attention on their breath, seems to rapidly reduce the intensity and unpleasantness of cancer pain and relieve the associated anxiety, suggest findings from a small comparative study published by Tan et al in BMJ Supportive &...
At the 2024 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology Conference, sponsored by Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute, cardiologist-by-training Anant Mandawat, MD, FACC, briefly reviewed how the emerging field of cardio-oncology is blazing a path toward “bigger and bolder cancer care” and offered...
A subgroup analysis of data from the LIBRETTO-431 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04194944) showed that the selective RET inhibitor selpercatinib safely improved progression-free survival compared to chemotherapy plus pembrolizumab in East Asian patients diagnosed with RET fusion–positive...
Although esophageal cancer in the United States is relatively rare, affecting about 22,400 people each year and making up about 1% of all cancer cases,1 the disease is common in East and Central Asia countries. Nearly 90% of patients with esophageal cancer in Asia are diagnosed with the squamous...
New modeling data have been released that describe the projected impact of the first and only multitarget stool DNA test (marketed as Cologuard) on patients, health-care professionals, and the U.S. health-care system since its U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval 10 years ago. About the ...
It was a hot and humid Tuesday in July, and I distinctly remember being grateful for the air conditioning in the pastel-shaded waiting room of the oncology outpatient clinic. My father sat silently beside me. We knew this room well, as we did the doctor we had arrived to see. He had been my...
Endometrial cancer is most frequently diagnosed among women aged 55 to 65, with a median age at diagnosis of 64 years.1 In epidemiologic studies, women diagnosed with endometrial cancer at an older age are more likely to have high-grade disease, aggressive histology, deep myometrial invasion, lower ...