On November 14, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to zanubrutinib (Brukinsa) for adult patients with mantle cell lymphoma who have received at least one prior therapy. “Mantle cell lymphoma usually responds well to initial treatment, but eventually returns or ...
In a phase II trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Liu et al found evidence of the activity of combined nivolumab and bevacizumab in relapsed ovarian cancer, with activity appearing to be greater in platinum-sensitive disease. Study Details In the trial, 38 women with relapsed epithelial ovarian cancer ...
A novel treatment approach may help to alleviate one of the most common and debilitating symptoms associated with cancer and its treatments—fatigue. According to data presented at the 2019 Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium,1 the combination of short-course dexamethasone plus standardized...
For the treatment of BRAF V600-mutated advanced melanoma, we now have three BRAF/MEK inhibitor combinations that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration: dabrafenib/trametinib, vemurafenib/cobimetinib, and encorafenib/binimetinib. Although the toxicity profiles for these combinations ...
The ESMO Congress continues to grow as a pivotal platform for research in clinical oncology. At the ESMO Congress 2019, important findings were showcased in more than 2,200 studies, including 93 late-breaking abstracts. The ASCO Post summarized much of that news in separate articles over several...
In studies reported at the ESMO Congress 2019, immunotherapy yielded encouraging outcomes in two gynecologic cancer populations in need of new treatments, including patients with advanced cervical cancer that is microsatellite-stable and patients previously treated for advanced endometrial cancer. ...
In a phase IIb study (STORM Part 2) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Ajai Chari, MD, of Tisch Cancer Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and colleagues found that oral selinexor and dexamethasone were active in some patients with multiple myeloma refractory to prior...
Data from a new study presented by Dang et al at The Liver Meeting (Abstract 40) found that patients with hepatitis C virus–related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who achieved sustained virologic response (denoting an undetectable level of the virus) with any oral direct-acting antiviral therapy...
Only about 6 in 10 patients with lung cancer in the United States receive the minimal lung cancer treatments recommended by National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) Guidelines, according to new research published by Blom et al in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society. Erik F. Blom, MD,...
In a single-center phase II trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Andrea Cercek, MD, and colleagues found that hepatic arterial infusion of floxuridine in combination with systemic gemcitabine/oxaliplatin produced high response and disease control rates and was associated with promising overall survival ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ness et al found a high rate of exercise intolerance among adult survivors of childhood cancer, irrespective of exposure to cardiotoxic treatment. Exercise intolerance was associated with poorer overall survival. The study involved 1,041...
Formal discussant of the CheckMate 227 trial, Sanjay Popat, FRCP, PhD, of the Royal Marsden Hospital, London, had some reservations about endorsing nivolumab/ipilimumab as a new standard of care, mainly related to toxicity. “The landscape of treating advanced non–small cell lung cancer has changed ...
Immunotherapy studies reported at the ESMO Congress 2019 yielded encouraging outcomes in patients with advanced cervical cancer that is microsatellite-stable and patients previously treated for advanced endometrial cancer. The combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab, with two different dosing...
Data from a new study presented by Singal et al at The Liver Meeting found that patients with cirrhosis in the United States have substantial financial burden and this is associated with underuse of surveillance for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (Abstract 201). Improved intervention strategies are ...
Results from a preliminary research study showed the majority of patients aged 85 years and older were still alive in the short-term after undergoing segmental colectomy for stage II and III colon cancer. Kaur et al presented these findings at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress...
In the phase II Fol-BRITe study reported in Clinical Cancer Research, Lansigan et al found that a short course of bendamustine/rituximab followed by consolidation with yttrium Y-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan (Y-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan) was associated with a high response rate and a high rate of...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Turcotte et al, analysis of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study Cohort showed that childhood cancer survivors treated with chemotherapy alone—particularly higher cumulative doses of platinum and alkylating agents—are at an increased risk of...
Although stem cells throughout the body acquire genetic mutations over time, usually these alterations do not affect how the stem cells function or cause disease. However, recent research in clonal hematopoiesis and aging has found an association between clonal expansion of hematopoietic cells with ...
On May 15, 2019, venetoclax was approved for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings from the open-label phase III CLL14 trial (ClinicalTrials.gov...
Lung cancer remains the number one cancer killer, leading to about 150,000 deaths per year in the United States and accounting for approximately 25% of all cancer deaths in the nation. Early detection has improved survival in other malignancies such as breast, colon, and cervical cancers, but...
Advances in systemic therapy and supportive care, as well as ongoing improvements in surgical techniques, have led to improved survival for many patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. We have observed increased survival with FOLFIRINOX (leucovorin, fluorouracil, irinotecan,...
Third-line treatment with cabazitaxel extended progression-free survival and overall survival in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in the CARD trial. These results provide the first evidence from a randomized phase III trial for a survival benefit with third-line therapy, and ...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Ken Kato, MD, and colleagues, the phase III ATTRACTION-3 trial conducted in predominantly Asian patients has shown a survival benefit with nivolumab vs paclitaxel or docetaxel in patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who were refractory to...
Men with higher levels of free (biologically active) testosterone and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in their blood are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to research presented by Travis et al at the 2019 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference....
Testing for levels of the serum biomarker cancer antigen 125 (CA125) in the blood may be a useful tool for the detection of ovarian cancer, and could help detect other types of cancer among patients in primary care, according to research presented by Funston et al at the 2019 National Cancer...
A study using a technique called Mendelian randomization to investigate the causal role played by bacteria in the development of colorectal cancer was presented at the 2019 National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference. First study author Kaitlin Wade, PhD, of the University of...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
On September 26, 2019, daratumu-mab (Darzalex) was approved in combination with bortezomib, thalidomide, and dexamethasone for the treatment of multiple myeloma in newly diagnosed adult patients eligible for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT).1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based ...
Several oncology organizations have created guidelines for oncology specialists to help patients with cancer to quit smoking. ASCO has far-reaching goals aimed at tobacco reduction, including cessation tools and other resources. To shed light on the current work in this area, The ASCO Post spoke...
A study by Geoffrey R. Oxnard, MD, and colleagues using bisulfite sequencing of plasma cell-free DNA to identify methylomic signatures for multicancer detection and tissue-of-origin determination found the assay achieved accurate detection of multiple cancers across stages and tissue-of-origin...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recognized the recipients of its 2019 Gold Medal awards and other high-profile honors at the 2019ASTRO Annual Meeting. Gold Medalists and Honorary Member Walter J. Curran, Jr, MD;Silvia C. Formenti, MD, FASTRO; and Thomas R. Mackie, PhD, were...
The treatment landscape for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma has changed drastically over the past several years with the introduction of many new therapeutic options for patients. The revolution began with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of nivolumab and ipilimumab...
Unplanned hospitalizations may be common among patients with cancer, but they diminish quality of care while racking up high costs for patients and the health-care system alike. According to data presented at the 2019 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, however, a new predictive model may help providers...
Despite the spate of recent drug approvals in blood cancer, it’s been more than 13 years since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a treatment for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a bone marrow disorder characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis. Nevertheless, data from a...
Formal discussant Mafalda Oliveira, MD, PhD, of Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, commented that monarcHER was a “well-designed, hypothesis-generating trial that addresses clinically relevant questions,” including whether cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 inhibition now has broader...
Two new studies published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics focused on the use of proton radiation therapy to treat patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. The first study, by Sanford et al, found that proton radiation may extend overall survival compared to...
Founded in 1887, the Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU) is located in Portland, Oregon, and is home to the cutting-edge Coussens Lab, which focuses on the role of immune cells and their mediators as critical regulators of cancer development. The lab’s eponymous Director, Lisa Coussens, PhD,...
Treatment with atezolizumab plus chemotherapy extended progression-free survival by 1.9 months vs chemotherapy alone in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer, according to the early results of the IMvigor130 trial, which were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO)...
Women with early-stage breast cancer treated with lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy rated the cosmetic results for whole-breast and partial-breast irradiation to be equivalent, according to a new analysis of results from the phase III NRG Oncology/NSABP B39-RTOG 0413 clinical trial. Results...
The American College of Physicians has issued a new guidance statement on colorectal cancer screening, which recommends screening for average-risk adults who do not have symptoms and are between the ages of 50 and 75 years. The guidelines were published by Qaseem et al in Annals of Internal...
Nearly one in four oncologists report rarely or never discussing the costs of genomic testing with their patients, according to a new study led by American Cancer Society investigators. The study, published by Yabroff et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that oncologists...
In a cohort biomarker study reported in JAMA Oncology, Tie et al showed that the circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)-positive status after surgery and chemotherapy was associated with an increased risk of disease recurrence in patients with stage III colon cancer. Study Details The Australian multicenter ...
The American Thyroid Association held its 2019 Annual Meeting from October 30 to November 3 in Chicago. Below are brief summaries of important oral presentations on thyroid cancer from the meeting. Incidence and Incidence-Based Mortality in a State Results of a retrospective analysis of thyroid...
In a long-term analysis of the TEXT/SOFT trials reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pagani et al found that potential benefits of escalating adjuvant endocrine therapy beyond tamoxifen alone in preventing distant recurrence may be minimal in premenopausal women with hormone...
In a press release issued by the White House today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intention to nominate Stephen Hahn, MD, FASTRO, to be the Commissioner of Food and Drugs at the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Hahn has been Chief Medical Executive at The University of Texas...
The investigational MEK inhibitor selumetinib showed clinical activity in adult patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1)-associated plexiform neurofibromas, according to preliminary results from an ongoing phase II study presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Jackson et al found that postdiagnosis aspirin use was associated with significantly improved overall survival across biliary tract cancer types. Study Details The study involved 2,934 adult patients diagnosed with biliary tract cancer...
A small phase II study investigating the efficacy and safety of the investigational farnesyl transferase inhibitor tipifarnib in patients with recurrent and metastatic HRAS-mutant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma found the agent produced objective responses in the patient population. Based on...
An article published by Lin et al in the American Journal of Roentgenology has identified sonographic biomarkers that may predict eventual malignant transformation of pathologically confirmed cirrhotic nodules for patients at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma. Lead investigator Manxia Lin, MD, of...
One in four Americans say they incorporate cancer prevention into their daily lives, according to ASCO’s third annual National Cancer Opinion Survey, despite research showing that as many as half of all cancer cases are preventable. The survey found low levels of awareness of known cancer risk...