Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a fascinating disease from which many groundbreaking medical and oncologic lessons have been learned. Since the Irish surgeon Denis P. Burkitt, MD, FRCS, FRS, first described rapidly enlarging jaw and facial tumors in Ugandan children in 1958,1 the study of BL has led to...
In its programming for the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting, ASCO included a special Education Session on “Gender-Based and Sexual Orientation Inequities: Promoting Inclusion, Visibility, and Data Accuracy in Oncology.” The session offered a comprehensive discussion on the challenges that sexual and gender ...
Researchers have discovered that whole-genome sequencing—rather than the current standard of exome sequencing—may allow physicians to better identify genetic changes that drive cancer development and growth, and create the most effective, personalized treatment plans for patients with classical...
Combination regimens beyond lenalidomide/dexamethasone were shown to significantly delay—and potentially prevent altogether—progression from smoldering disease to active multiple myeloma, according to researchers who reported findings from two studies at the 2022 American Society of Hematology...
As in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 ASCO GI Cancers Symposium—its 20th such gathering—played to a full ballroom. It featured a stellar lineup of experts in the field as well as high-quality, impactful research in esophageal, gastric, hepatocellular, pancreatic, biliary tract, and ...
Although there is no history of cancer in my family, I guess it isn’t surprising that I would develop an aggressive form of melanoma on my scalp after years of ultraviolet radiation from sun exposure. Still, getting the diagnosis was devastating. I first noticed a small lump on the top of my head ...
The widespread use of immune checkpoint inhibitors has led to significant benefits in younger patients with advanced lung cancer; however, older patients have not experienced similar survival benefits, according to research from Yale Cancer Center. The study was published in JAMA Oncology.1 “There ...
In the phase III FORMULA-509 trial, the addition of abiraterone acetate/prednisone and apalutamide—compared with bicalutamide—to salvage radiation therapy plus 6 months of treatment with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist failed to improve progression-free survival postprostatectomy in ...
This is Part 4 of Updates in Melanoma, a four-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this Roundtable. In this video, Drs. Omid Hamid, Sapna Patel, and Ryan Sullivan discuss the second- and third-line therapy options for unresectable and metastatic melanoma. The...
Robert A. Brodsky, MD, a renowned expert in classical hematology, will serve as President of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) for a year-long term through December 2023. Dr. Brodsky is Professor of Medicine and Oncology and Director of Hematology at Johns Hopkins University School of...
In the phase I/II MonumenTAL-1 trial, the novel bispecific antibody talquetamab produced responses in more than 70% of heavily pretreated patients with multiple myeloma.1 Of note, the safety profile confirmed results of the phase I portion of the study (recently published in TheNew England Journal...
Offering their thoughts on the study by Williams et al from the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort were Jane N. Winter, MD, Immediate Past President of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), and Catherine Bollard, MBChB, MD. Both moderated press briefings where the results were presented or discussed....
Long-term follow-up of survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma from the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort showed signs of “epigenetic accelerated aging,” and many of these survivors had signs of neurocognitive impairment by their late 30s, researchers reported at the 2022 American Society of Hematology...
Longer follow-up of a phase II study of venetoclax combined with cladribine, idarubicin, and cytarabine (CLIA) as a front-line induction regimen for younger patients with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) shows a pattern of durable efficacy consistent with...
“Standard treatment of older or less fit adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is now venetoclax/azacitidine, which has been shown to improve overall survival vs azacitidine monotherapy. Since that backbone was established, there has been a tsunami of trials looking at drugs added to this...
The most humbling—and fortunate—experience I’ve had since I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma 13 years ago at the age of 43 was being treated in the pediatric wing of a major cancer center in New York City. It is pretty difficult to feel sorry for yourself when you are sitting next to a 14-year-old...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Kristin Flowers, MD, a general surgeon at Tanana Valley Clinic at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in rural Alaska. Dr. Flowers’ surgical areas of interest include treating...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Derek Raghavan, MD, PhD, FACP, FRACP, FASCO, Founding President of the Levine Cancer Institute. Established in 2011, the Levine Cancer Institute is part of Atrium Health (formerly the...
At the inaugural MD Anderson Clinical Education Symposium on Immunotherapy Organ Toxicity Management (IOTOX), a panel of experts discussed common immune-related adverse events associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, including gastrointestinal (GI), hepatic, dermatologic, pulmonary, and ...
What is team-based cancer care, and how has it evolved over the past decade? A special series in ASCO’s JCO Oncology Practice highlights transformations in team-based delivery models within the cancer care system and their potential direction. A carefully curated series of 15 peer-reviewed articles ...
Press briefing moderator Virginia Kaklamani, MD, Professor of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio and leader of the Breast Cancer Program at UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, said the findings from RxPONDER and those regarding the tumor microenvironment of metastasis (TMEM) doorway are ...
In an analysis of the SOFT trial, the Breast Cancer Index accurately identified premenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive early breast cancer who may benefit from ovarian function suppression in addition to adjuvant endocrine therapy. The findings were reported by Ruth O’Regan, MD, Chair...
The advent of the BCR::ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was a therapeutic miracle that changed the management paradigm of CML. The first of them, imatinib, was developed in the late 1990s.1,2 Within a few...
Initial data from the global phase III SPOTLIGHT trial may herald the use of a new targeted agent for a subset of patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.1 The addition ofzolbetuximab, which targets the transmembrane protein claudin18.2 (CLDN18.2), to chemotherapy ...
Investigators have found further evidence to quantify the vast, lingering impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on timely cancer screening—highlighting the urgent need for health-care providers to address significant delays to cancer screenings in populations most likely to delay testing,...
Biliary tract cancer is particularly difficult to treat, with a median overall survival of about 1 year with standard-of-care gemcitabine-based regimens. Advanced biliary tract cancer is an area of significant unmet need because of its aggressive nature, limited treatment options, and poor...
The newly identified category of “HER2-low” breast cancer has raised many new issues in this malignancy now that the DESTINY Breast-041 trial determined that fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) may effectively treat this tumor. Among the issues are challenges in accurately identifying just...
A new study from University Hospitals (UH) Connor Whole Health found children, adolescents, and young adults with cancer or sickle cell disease treated at a pediatric academic medical center reported clinically significant reductions in pain, stress, and anxiety in response to massage therapy....
Soon after my marriage, in 2003, I noticed swelling in the glands around my throat. Although I otherwise felt fine, I went to see my primary care physician for a checkup and a blood test. The results of the test showed that I had an abnormally high number of lymphocytes circulating in my...
Most of us have felt our stomachs sink as we opened a patient’s radiology or laboratory report and realized the patient faced a grave situation. If we’re lucky, we have a couple of days before a scheduled patient appointment to prepare ourselves to deliver that bad news. Other times, we may have...
Isaac Craig Henderson, MD, passed away at the age of 81 at his home in San Francisco on December 26, 2022, after a brief illness. Dr. Henderson was an internationally known medical oncologist who specialized in breast cancer, beginning his career at Harvard’s then-designated Sidney Farber Cancer...
Jaime A. Suarez-Londono, MD, a medical oncologist at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center and Assistant Professor of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, said the results of the ASAP study provide a basis for discussion with the transplant team. “The landscape of treatment of acute...
Precision medicine has revolutionized cancer treatment—but only for patients who have access to treatments. Nearly 2 million people in the United States are diagnosed each year with cancer, but access to targeted treatments varies widely, and only about half of the eligible people receive them,...
As an oncologist, I had cared for patients facing grave illness and death. I imagined the loss of loved ones and expected grief to be an unbearable sadness, most poignant in the earliest days and lessening with time. I somehow expected that counseling people who grieved would make me more prepared. ...
OCE Insights is an occasional column developed for The ASCO Post by members of the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this installment, Julie A. Schneider, PhD, Associate Director for Research Strategy and Partnerships, OCE; Jennifer J. Gao, MD,...
A new ASCO guideline on opioids in managing pain from cancer or cancer treatment in adults provides recommendations on administering them in the midst of interventions to address the public health crisis from their misuse and related deaths across the country.1 “ASCO took wonderful leadership in...
The formal discussant of ARC-7 was Solange Peters, MD, PhD, Chair of Medical Oncology, Centre D’Oncologie Chuv, Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland, and President of the European Society for Medical Oncology. Dr. Peters described how TIGIT (T-cell immunoglobulin and ITIM domain) plays a role ...
Offering their thoughts on the study by Williams et al from the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort were Jane N. Winter, MD, Immediate Past President of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), and Catherine Bollard, MBChB, MD. Both moderated press briefings where the results were presented or discussed....
Long-term follow-up of survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma from the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort showed signs of “epigenetic accelerated aging,” and many of these survivors had signs of neurocognitive impairment by their late 30s, researchers reported at the 2022 American Society of Hematology...
Tolerability and efficacy results—including the first overall survival data—from a phase II trial examining first-line zanidatamab, an investigational HER2-targeted bispecific antibody, in combination with chemotherapy for patients with HER2-expressing metastatic gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma...
“Standard treatment of older or less fit adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is now venetoclax/azacitidine, which has been shown to improve overall survival vs azacitidine monotherapy. Since that backbone was established, there has been a tsunami of trials looking at drugs added to this...
Neil J. Shah, MBBS, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, called the cohort study “one of a kind” because of the ability to match baseline cohorts of people living with and without HIV and metastatic non–small cell lung cancer. “These findings should be very...
“There is a clear suggestion from SERENA-2 that camizestrant might be a better treatment than fulvestrant,” said press briefing moderator Carlos L. Arteaga, MD, Director of the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center and Associate Dean of Oncology Programs at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. “As ...
“These results [from the TRIO-US B-12 TALENT trial] are exciting and impressive in HER2-low, hormone receptor–positive patients. The authors were testing the waters and got a positive signal,” said Jason Aboudi Mouabbi, MD, a medical oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. “The beauty of ...
The opportunity to write this commentary on cancer disparities comes at a sorrowful time for me. Despite practicing as a surgical oncologist for more than 20 years and understanding the unequal burden that cancer visits on the Black community, I was woefully unprepared for the premature death of my ...
In the phase I/II MonumenTAL-1 trial, the novel bispecific antibody talquetamab produced responses in more than 70% of heavily pretreated patients with multiple myeloma.1 Of note, the safety profile confirmed results of the phase I portion of the study (recently published in TheNew England Journal...
For more than 2 decades, Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, FASCO, has devoted his medical career to the care of women’s cancers and the sexual health of cancer survivors of all genders and sexual identities. Early in his career, Dr. Dizon founded the Center for Sexuality, Intimacy, and Fertility at Women...
A specific colonization of pathogenic microbes in the reproductive tract may be commonly found in patients with ovarian cancer, according to a new study published by Asangba et al in Scientific Reports. The discovery strengthens evidence that the bacterial component of the microbiome may be an...
In recognition of continuing issues with the process of melanocytic pathology assessments, an expert panel of three dermatopathologists—with assistance from an expert team of researchers—has developed and now revised the Melanocytic Pathology Assessment Tool and Hierarchy for Diagnosis schema...
Researchers have performed the first postmarkert analysis of a novel delivery system of mitomycin—a gel formation, also known as UGN-101—to treat upper tract urothelial cancers, according to a novel study published by Woldu et al in Urologic Oncology. Their findings showcase how the treatment is...