Investigators have found that female patients aged 65 years or older with high-risk breast cancer who are treated with chemotherapy may be more likely to experience a substantial decline in physical function, according to a recent study published by Sedrak et al in the Journal of Cancer...
Appendectomy may be associated with a reduced risk of a colorectal cancer subtype positive for the tumor-promoting Fusobacterium nucleatum bacteria, according to a recent study published by Kawamura et al in the Annals of Surgery. Background Despite being historically dismissed as an unnecessary...
Nearly half (49%) of patients with cancer and cancer survivors report being burdened by medical debt, alongside some (13%) who report expecting to incur medical debt as part of their treatment plan, according to a new Survivor Views survey conducted by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action...
Standard-of-care treatment comprising venetoclax plus hypomethylating agents was found to be safe and effective in some patients aged 80 years and older with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a recent study published by Madarang et al in Blood Neoplasia. Background Older adult patients...
Cancer is not an unfamiliar disease to me. My mother died of cancer when I was 12. My oldest sister died of breast cancer, an aunt died of cancer (I don’t know which type), and my older brother is a prostate cancer survivor. So, when I was diagnosed with prostate cancer in October 2021, the news...
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 ...
On December 1, 2023, pirtobrutinib (Jaypirca), a selective, noncovalent Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor that inhibits both wild-type and C481-mutant BTK with equal low nanomolar potency and is designed to address several of the limitations of covalent BTK inhibitors, was granted...
On October 31, 2023, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was approved for use with gemcitabine/cisplatin in first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic biliary tract cancer.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on the double-blind KEYNOTE-966 trial...
On December 14, 2023, the hypoxia-inducible factor inhibitor belzutifan (Welireg) was approved for patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma with disease progression on previous treatment with a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor and a vascular endothelial...
In a single-institution study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Watson et al identified risk factors for osteoradionecrosis of the jaw and developed a classification system for the condition in patients receiving radiation therapy for head and neck cancer. Study Details The study...
Olivier Elemento, PhD, Director of the Englander Institute for Precision Medicine (EIPM) at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, recently announced that Bishoy M. Faltas, MD, has been named Chief Research Officer of EIPM effective immediately. EIPM is a large multidisciplinary institute that uses...
In updated findings from the phase III KEYNOTE-756 trial, the addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting improved the rates of pathologic complete response for patients with high-risk estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, regardless of their age or...
New research findings have highlighted the importance of personalized treatment approaches with the monoclonal antibody durvalumab based on mismatch repair (MMR) status in newly diagnosed patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer, according to data presented during the Society of...
Treatment with the first-in-class PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody cadonilimab plus XELOX (capecitabine, oxaliplatin) chemotherapy demonstrated a survival advantage for patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma as first-line treatment, regardless of PD-L1...
According to Google Chief Executive Officer Sunder Pichai, artificial intelligence (AI) is “the most profound technology humanity is working on—more profound than fire or electricity or anything that we’ve done in the past.” The impact of AI on health care and especially cancer care will not be...
A recent survey by ASCO measuring postpandemic burnout among oncologists in the United States shows that professional satisfaction and work-life balance have significantly deteriorated over the past decade, with 59% of respondents reporting one or more symptoms of burnout, compared with 34% in...
Two studies presented at the 2024 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium added support for the deintensification of radiotherapy in early-stage oropharyngeal squamous cell cancers associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV), a subtype typically more responsive to therapy compared to...
Investigators have examined the historical evolution of Community Outreach and Engagement initiatives at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and NCI-designated cancer centers and provided recommendations to guide future efforts, according to a recent study published by Pohl et al in CA: A Cancer...
Researchers have identified novel biomarkers in renal cell carcinoma subtypes, according to a new study published by Li et al in Cell Reports Medicine. The findings may help identify therapeutic targets in non–clear cell renal cell carcinomas. Background Renal cell carcinoma is a diverse cancer...
In a phase III study (ORANGE II PLUS) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Fichtinger et al found that among patients with indications for hemihepatectomy suitable for both laparoscopic and open approaches, of whom the majority had cancer, the laparoscopic approach was associated with a...
In patients with ovarian cancer, second-look surgery may find a role again. The evaluation of measurable residual disease (MRD) using second-look laparoscopy identified more women who had detectable MRD after front-line treatment than did circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), according to a study...
Adding the phosphatidylserine-targeting antibody bavituximab to the immunotherapy agent pembrolizumab may improve response rates without compromising safety in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Hsieh et al in Nature Communications. The findings...
Testing for measurable residual disease (MRD) prior to bone marrow transplant may be effective and practical in patients in remission after receiving treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a recent study published by Dillon et al in JAMA Oncology. Study Methods and Results In the...
A novel artificial intelligence (AI) model may accurately predict which patients with cancer may require mental health services during cancer care, according to a recent study published by Nunez et al in Communications Medicine. Background Mental health has been shown to have a significant impact...
Listening to mindfulness audio recordings may effectively alleviate the side effects of radiation therapy in men with prostate cancer, according to a recent study published by Victorson et al in Global Advances in Integrative Medicine and Health. Background Men with prostate cancer who receive...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety communication,1 which was updated2 on March 22, 2023, informing the public that there have been reports of squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) and various lymphomas of the breast in the capsule or scar of breast implants. These lymphomas are ...
Today, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published a final recommendation statement on screening for breast cancer. The USPSTF now recommends that all women get screened for breast cancer every other year starting at age 40 and continuing through age 74 (B grade recommendation). More ...
The addition of a component of the ketogenic diet—a preketone dietary supplement—to immunotherapy showed efficacy in potentially treating prostate cancer in a laboratory setting, according to a recent study published by Murphy et al in Cancer Research. Background Although immune checkpoint blockade ...
Research shows that the average cost of medical care and drugs can top $42,000 in the first year following a cancer diagnosis, with the cost of some treatments, including chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies, exceeding $1 million. For many cancer survivors, these costs can have a lingering...
Investigators have uncovered that the emotional and physical health of breast cancer survivors may be influenced by their relationship with their partners, according to a recent study published by Vachon et al in Healthcare. Background The diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer often place...
Patients with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer now have a new medication option that extends survival, according to an ASCO rapid guideline update.1 The update was designed to orient clinicians to outcomes from the CAPItello-291 trial, which led to the U.S. Food...
The recent approval of mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx is a testament to the emerging benefit of antibody-drug conjugates in recurrent ovarian cancer. Other agents of this class are now eliciting excitement as they demonstrate high response rates in a population with unmet clinical needs, according...
Glenn J. Hanna, MD, Director, Center for Cancer Therapeutic Innovation (Early Drug Development Program), medical oncologist at the Center for Head & Neck Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, was interviewed for his...
A blood-based, machine learning assay that combines cell-free DNA (cfDNA) fragmentomes and protein biomarkers was able to differentiate patients with ovarian cancer from healthy controls at a high specificity of more than 99%, according to study results by Medina et al.1 It noninvasively recognized ...
The session’s invited discussant at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2024 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer was Gini F. Fleming, MD, Professor of Medicine, and Medical Director of Gynecologic Oncology at the University of Chicago. She was elated with the findings of several studies showing...
Although KRAS was once considered an untargetable mutation, KRAS inhibitors are now approved for the treatment of KRAS-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and are emerging as a potential option for the treatment of KRAS G12C–mutated colorectal cancer in combination with other therapies....
My maternal grandmother, mother, and two of my mother’s sisters were all diagnosed with breast cancer when they were relatively young, so I figured one day, the disease would come for me. Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among Alaska Native women,1 and at a very early age, my...
On March 7, 2024, the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor zanubrutinib (Brukinsa) was granted accelerated approval in combination with the monoclonal antibody obinutuzumab for patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy.1 Supporting Efficacy...
Classical Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a highly curable disease, but up to 25% of patients will develop relapsed or refractory classical HL. Although most patients achieve complete response following front-line therapy, key unmet clinical needs include reducing the relapse rate, decreasing acute and...
A neoadjuvant chemohormonal therapy combination may offer extended control of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels in patients with locally advanced prostate cancer compared with hormonal therapy alone, according to a recent study published by Qian et al in The Journal of Urology. Background...
This is Part 3 of Treatment Options for Relapsed/Refractory Follicular Lymphoma: What Comes Next, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this roundtable. In this video, Drs. Andrew M. Evens, L. Elizabeth Budde, and Carla Casulo discuss the third-line...
Deeper sedation with the anesthetic drug propofol may improve detection of serrated polyps in patients undergoing colonoscopy to screen for colorectal cancer, according to a recent study published by Quaye et al in Anesthesiology. Background Nearly all colorectal cancers start as polyps....
On April 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the tyrosine kinase inhibitor alectinib (Alecensa) for adjuvant treatment after tumor resection in patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as detected by an FDA-approved test. Alectinib is an orally...
A novel single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) acquisition method using lead (Pb)-212–prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-based targeted alpha therapy may provide convenient detection of radiopharmaceutical biodistribution and could lead to improved practice ...
The College of American Pathologists in collaboration with the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, the Pulmonary Pathology Society, the Association for Molecular Pathology, and the LUNGevity Foundation have developed evidence-based recommendations on the use of certain...
Researchers have identified a novel strategy to screen for pancreatic cancer in high-risk patients, according to a recent study published by Zogopoulos et al in JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The findings demonstrated the feasibility of improving the early detection and ...
Investigators have found a higher rate of mortality among patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities diagnosed with breast cancer, colorectal cancer, or lung cancer, according to a recent study published by Hansford et al in the Canadian Journal of Public Health. Study Methods and...
Pain, a debilitating consequence of cancer and its treatments, is highly prevalent among patients with advanced cancer.1 Often persistent and undertreated, it is associated with poor functional and emotional well-being and typically occurs along with insomnia and fatigue.2 The use of opioids,...
Researchers may have uncovered the mechanisms behind conventional immunotherapy resistance as well as the efficacy of adoptive therapy in metastatic uveal melanoma, according to a recent study published by Leonard-Murali et al in Nature Communications. The findings demonstrated the potential to...
Investigators have uncovered persistent inequities in breast cancer that may systematically leave many patients behind in spite of recent improvements in research, treatment, and survival, according to a recent report from The Lancet Breast Cancer Commission. These findings were published by Coles...