In a Danish study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pedersen et al identified risk of breast cancer mortality among women with breast cancer recurrence at ≥ 10 years after primary diagnosis and found that mortality risk was reduced after late vs early recurrence. Study Details The study ...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Peter Schmid, MD, PhD, and colleagues, a preplanned interim analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-522 trial has shown improved event-free survival with the addition of pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab, in ...
In a first-in-human phase I/Ib study (KRYSTAL-1) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ou et al identified the phase II dose of the oral small-molecule KRAS G12C inhibitor adagrasib and found that the agent was active in patients with advanced KRAS G12C–mutant solid tumors. Study Details...
In a phase II/III trial reported in The Lancet, David M. Gershenson, MD, and colleagues found that trametinib improved progression-free survival vs standard of care treatment in women with low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma. As stated by the investigators, “Low-grade serous carcinoma of the ovary...
On February 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved FoundationOne CDx to be used as a companion diagnostic to identify patients with microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) status solid tumors who may be appropriate candidates for treatment with pembrolizumab. FoundationOne CDx is...
Partners In Health announced that its founder, Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, unexpectedly passed away on February 21 in Rwanda from an acute cardiac event. He was 62 years old. Dr. Farmer was the Kolokotrones University Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard...
The ASCO Post asked Joseph Mikhael, MD, Chief Medical Officer of the International Myeloma Foundation and Professor in the Applied Cancer Research and Drug Discovery Division at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (an affiliate of City of Hope Cancer Center), to comment on the GMMG-HD7...
For the first-line treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, the percentage of patients achieving measurable residual disease (MRD, previously called minimal residual disease) negativity was significantly greater when the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody isatuximab was added to a standard...
The ASCO Post invited myeloma expert Philip L. McCarthy, MD, Director of the Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York, to comment on the trials evaluating early detection of myeloma at the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual ...
Precursors to multiple myeloma were identified by population screening in two studies reported at the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition. The prevalence of monoclonal gammopathies was determined in the PROMISE trial using cutting-edge technology in a high-risk ...
The phase III PANTHER trial, which evaluated pevonedistat plus azacitidine vs azacitidine alone in higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, and low–blast count acute myeloid leukemia (AML) failed to meet its primary endpoint of event-free survival,1 though lessons...
The bispecific antibody mosunetuzumab achieved deep and durable remissions as monotherapy in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, according to the results of a pivotal phase II trial presented at the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition.1 In ...
Laurie H. Sehn, MD, MPH, Clinical Professor with the BC Cancer Centre for Lymphoid Cancer and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, and Alex Herrera, MD, Associate Professor in Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte,...
In the primary analysis of the phase III ZUMA-7 trial, examining second-line therapy for relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma, the CAR T-cell therapy axicabtagene ciloleucel led to a fourfold increase in event-free survival over the standard of care. These findings were presented at the...
The moderator of the session, Laurie H. Sehn, MD, MPH, Clinical Professor at the BC Cancer Centre for Lymphoid Cancer and University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, called the results of the TRANSFORM trial “quite remarkable” and said chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has the...
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy with lisocabtagene maraleucel could prove to be the new standard-of-care treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma in the second-line setting, according to data presented at the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH)...
Jane N. Winter, MD, Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and 2022 President of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), and Christopher R. Flowers, MD, MS, Chair of the Department of Lymphoma/Myeloma at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center,...
As a first-line treatment of intermediate- or high-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the addition of the antibody-drug conjugate polatuzumab vedotin-piiq to standard-of-care therapy resulted in a 27% reduction in the relative risk of disease progression, relapse, or death, with a similar safety...
The first 6 months of fellowship in a nutshell: Waves. July A move back to the waves of the Atlantic Calmly and incessantly recoiling while The Greek alphabet regains traction. August The fallout of Delta. Telemedicine for goals of care, While reciting the ABCs of chemotherapy. September Boards,...
Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, FACS, formally assumed the role of Executive Director of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) on January 1, 2022, ushering in a new era of leadership for the educational and professional society for surgeons. Dr. Turner succeeds David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS, MAMSE, who led ...
The three most common reasons patients with cancer surveyed at an outpatient infusion therapy clinic gave for not having received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine were: My doctor has not told me to get the vaccine. I do not think it is safe for me because I have cancer. I’m afraid of the side ...
“My doctor has not told me to get the vaccine.” That was the number one reason patients with cancer gave in a survey at an outpatient infusion therapy clinic for not having received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Rivalling that reason were concerns about safety and fear of vaccine side...
When I got the call from the radiology department telling me I had to come back for a follow-up mammogram right before Christmas of 2020, I wasn’t surprised or initially concerned. I have dense breasts, and my first mammogram 2 years earlier had also detected suspicious areas in one of my breasts...
Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP, Associate Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, commented on the promising emergence of bispecific T-cell engaging (bispecific) antibodies, as represented by studies presented at the 2021...
Poor outcomes are observed in patients with myeloma who are refractory to multiple classes of therapies, with the average patient experiencing disease progression in up to 6 months and living no longer than 6 to 15 months. Patients often rapidly cycle through regimens that use less effective or...
In December 2021, Nobel laureates, cancer center directors, physicians, scientists, politicians, public health officials, and patient advocates gathered at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum in Yorba Linda, California, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the National...
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCCCC) has appointed renowned cancer researcher M. Eileen Dolan, PhD, as its Deputy Director. Dr. Dolan, Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago, has spent the past 8 years working as UCCCC’s Associate Director for Cancer...
A new clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) provides guidance on the use of external-beam radiation therapy (EBRT) to treat adults with primary liver cancers. The guideline, ASTRO’s first for primary liver cancers, is published in Practical Radiation ...
In an effort to synthesize findings from multiple guidelines on various management approaches for brain metastases, ASCO, the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO), and the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) spearheaded the development of a novel publication to inform and update physician...
On February 2, 2022, Howard A. “Skip” Burris III, MD, FACP, FASCO, Board Chair of the Association for Clinical Oncology, issued the following statement: “The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) applauds President Biden for his decision to relaunch the Cancer Moonshot with ambitious and worthy ...
A rapid update to the ASCO guideline on optimal adjuvant chemotherapy and targeted therapy for early breast cancer provides guidance on the use of the oral cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor abemaciclib with endocrine therapy in patients with high-risk early breast cancer.1 The...
ASCO and the American Cancer Society (ACS) initiated a collaboration to ensure that people can easily find the trusted, expert-approved cancer content they need when turning to either organization for information. As an initial step, the organizations are cross-sharing select cancer prevention,...
The 2022 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium kicked off this week. On this episode, we’ll hear about two studies presented at the meeting: one, focused on a genetic risk score that may aid in identifying men with high vs low lifetime risks of developing metastatic prostate cancer or dying from...
Jenny C. Chang, MD, the Emily Herrmann Chair in Cancer Research and Director of the Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, found the results from imaging mass cytometry to be exciting and intriguing.1 The researchers examined “spatial connectivity” among cancer...
A next-generation technology that focuses on protein expression at the single-cell level has yielded a wealth of information about “spatial connectivity” between cancer cells and their microenvironment. It also provided information on the benefit of adding the immune checkpoint inhibitor...
On January 25, 2022, tebentafusp-tebn, a bispecific gp100 peptide-HLA–directed CD3 T-cell engager, was approved for treatment of adults with HLA-A*02:01–positive, unresectable or metastatic uveal melanoma.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the open-label, multicenter...
The GAIA trial raises some important points, according to Susan M. O’Brien, MD, Associate Director for Clinical Research at the UCI Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in Irvine, California. Dr. O’Brien co-moderated the session where Dr. Eichhorst presented study results. “The CLL14 trial...
Administering time-limitedcombination regimens of venetoclax plus obinutuzumab or venetoclax plus obinutuzumab and ibrutinib was superior to chemoimmunotherapy in achieving undetectable measurable residual disease (MRD) in the peripheral blood at month 15 in fit patients with chronic lymphocytic...
COVID has upended our world, and medical conferences have had to adapt to ever-shifting sands depending on the behavior of the variants of the virus that emerge. The 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition was no exception, offering a hybrid meeting for in-person...
New research published by Keith et al in BMC Cancer showed that angiotensin blockers—commonly prescribed to treat high blood pressure—may also impact survival in patients with pancreatic cancer. The results are from the largest population-based study of this question and suggest that a broader,...
Rona Yaeger, MD, Associate Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, discussed the results of the GALAXY trial,1 first putting them into context with previous studies. As she pointed out, the finding of an 11-fold increase in risk of recurrence in patients who...
The use of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) assays in early-stage colorectal cancer is highly prognostic for recurrence and may help identify patients who could benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy, according to findings from the GALAXY trial, presented at the 2022 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers...
New data validating the clinical utility of the Decipher prostate genomic classifier for guiding treatment selection in men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer was presented at the 2022 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (Abstract 269). Data from the randomized phase III NRG/RTOG 0126 study,...
Nearly 200 years ago, Thomas Hodgkin for the first time described a peculiar disease with undulating fever, enlarged lymph nodes, and a big spleen. Its nature was obscure. It was a fatal illness, affecting mainly young adults and children. In 1865, Samuel Wilks named this illness Hodgkin’s...
The combination of the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor niraparib plus abiraterone acetate and prednisone as first-line therapy significantly improved radiographic progression-free survival vs abiraterone and placebo alone in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer...
Melanoma is often curable when detected and treated in its early stages. However, the disease can rapidly spread to other organs in the body and become deadly. Immune checkpoint inhibitors have transformed the treatment of certain cancers, including melanoma, and improved patient care. But despite...
Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning, intersexed (LGBTQI+) community face numerous challenges and barriers when accessing the health-care system in the United States, including cancer care; as a result, they may be at greater risk for developing cancer and...
An interim analysis of an ongoing phase III study indicated that using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to guide stereotactic body radiotherapy for patients with prostate cancer reduced side effects associated with the treatment. The findings were presented at the 2022 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers...
ASCO invited comments on the INTRIGUE study from George D. Demetri, MD, FASCO, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Center for Sarcoma and Bone Oncology, Senior Vice President for Experimental Therapeutics, and Quick Family Chair in Medical Oncology at Dana-Farber...
In the INTRIGUE trial, reported during the January 2022 session of the virtual ASCO Plenary Series, the tyrosine kinase inhibitor ripretinib was not superior to sunitinib in the second-line treatment of patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) but was better tolerated.1...