This week, the American College of Surgeons issued guidelines on triage of patients undergoing elective cancer surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, hospital leadership and individual providers are facing increasingly difficult decisions about how to conserve...
In a first-in-human phase I trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Desai et al found that the RAF family kinase inhibitor lifirafenib produced responses in several solid tumor types in patients with BRAF or KRAS/NRAS mutations. Study Details The study, conducted in Australia and New...
The coronavirus-related pandemic has affected nearly every corner of the globe. What originated in one country is on course to likely affect every country in the world. In a few countries, the disease has peaked and is on the downward trend. In some, including the United States, the disease is on...
In some patients with advanced ovarian cancer, the combination of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors can produce responses, but up until now, investigators have been unable to predict which patients would not benefit from the treatment and...
The Association for Clinical Oncology, ASCO's affiliated 501(c)(6) organization, is urging the White House and leaders in Congress to swiftly work together to meet the needs of patients and health-care professionals in response to the COVID-19 crisis. In a letter to the President, Vice President,...
In a post hoc analysis of the phase III IDEA France trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Delattre et al found that the presence of tumor deposits was associated with poorer prognosis in patients with stage III colon cancer receiving 3 or 6 months of adjuvant FOLFOX (fluorouracil,...
In a study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Chambers et al found that use of molecular testing across tumor types often varied widely in several countries, sometimes reflecting regional differences in the incidence of cancer types. Study Details The study involved the use of aggregated results of ...
In the phase II FIGHT-202 study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, and colleagues found that the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1), FGFR2, and FGFR3 inhibitor pemigatinib was active in patients with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic...
Help patients with cancer identify, manage, and cope with side effects by giving them in-depth information from ASCO Answers. Direct, easy to understand, and in a convenient single-page format, ASCO Answers fact sheets are the ideal take-home resource for your patients. Popular titles include: ...
It is devasting for a doctor to tell a patient there is nothing that can be done to help him. For Nizar Tannir, MD, FACP, the words of a young father still ring in his ears: “I was trying to tell him that, unfortunately, despite all our efforts, I didn’t have any more treatments to offer him. And...
Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, and Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research (RTFCCR) have partnered to establish the Conquer Cancer–Rising Tide Foundation for Clinical Cancer Research Career Pathway Grants in Symptom Management. These grants will support research in symptom...
A new study in JCO Oncology Practice (JCO OP) highlights an effective effort to increase the use of evidence-based state smoking cessation programs among patients with cancer and survivors who use tobacco. In Michigan, state agencies and the Michigan Oncology Quality Consortium partnered to create...
ASCO applauds the Office of the Surgeon General for releasing its first report on smoking cessation in 30 years. The report provides the latest evidence-based information on the public health consequences of tobacco use and effective ways to help people quit smoking. Smoking rates in the United...
An American medical student travels to rural Uganda; there, he finds most villagers walking miles to receive health care at the nearby district hospital. Upon arrival, they spend hours waiting in line. Some patients make this trip monthly. Before entering internal medicine residency, Daniel O’Neil, ...
Cancer care for patients in rural areas is challenging—for example, in the United States, only 3% of medical oncologists practice in rural areas, and patients must travel long distances to see specialists. Patients may also have trouble managing complications from care or follow-up from treatment....
The parker institute for cancer immunotherapy (PICI) recently announced awards for six early-career researchers through the Parker Scholars, Parker Bridge Fellows, and Parker Senior Fellows programs. They are receiving a total of up to $2.75 million in funding to advance their research in profound...
Although more transgender patients are presenting to breast centers for imaging, many “report significant social stigma when seeking care,” according to a study in the Journal of Breast Imaging.1 Reported verbal abuse and other forms of harassment “can lead to transgender patients concealing their...
An analysis of breast imaging center websites and a literature search for research articles on transgender breast health found that “issues related to transgender breast imaging are not well addressed in the radiology literature or in the radiology community, even though more transgender patients...
ABSTRACT 355: MURANO study: Four-year analysis confirms sustained benefit (compared to bendamustine and rituximab; n = 195) of time-limited venetoclax/rituximab (n = 194) in relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL; ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02005471)1...
To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2019 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on novel therapies for newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and...
The analysis of the National Cancer Database is one of a number of studies describing sociodemographic-related disparities in colorectal cancer outcomes, according to session Co-Chair John M. Carethers, MD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan,...
The incidence of colorectal cancer among adults younger than age 50 has risen more than 50% over the past 25 years. Researchers are attempting to understand this phenomenon, as described in several studies presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium that offered new insights....
The American Urological Association (AUA) announced its support for the Veterans Prostate Cancer Treatment and Research Act, introduced on March 5 by Rep. Neal Dunn, MD (R-FL-3), and Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC-1). This bill supports the development and implementation of a Veterans Health...
This Clinical Trials Resource Guide lists actively recruiting trials on colorectal cancer, focusing on novel treatments, combinations of treatments, and testing options to determine which patients may be most likely to benefit from further treatment. More information on these trials is available on ...
Despite recent enthusiasm for combining stereotactic body radiation therapy with immunotherapy in renal cell carcinoma, two preliminary studies presented at the 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium suggest that it may not be the best path forward. In one study, the combination of nivolumab plus...
On February 25, 2020, neratinib (Nerlynx) was approved for use in combination with capecitabine for treatment of adult patients with advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer who have received two or more prior anti–HER2-based regimens in the metastatic setting.1,2 Supporting Efficacy ...
Immune modulation with checkpoint inhibitors has shown beneficial effects in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, but responses have been limited to a small number of patients. According to data presented at the 2020 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium, however, an...
As has often been written, “Cancer is the greatest equalizer.” It tends to strike its victims regardless of their financial status. In low- and middle-income countries, however, the impact of poverty on the treatment of cancer is strikingly conspicuous. It is the major catalyst for delay in seeking ...
Researchers from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recently reviewed hundreds of epidemiologic studies on the link between physical activity and both cancer risk and cancer mortality. A subsequent analysis of the findings by a panel of experts representing 17 partner organizations,...
It may be possible to use a platinum-free combination as first-line treatment for advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma in cisplatin-ineligible patients, if results of the phase Ib/II EV-103 trial hold up. The combination of the newly approved antibody-drug conjugate (enfortumab vedotin) and...
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is dramatically affecting health-care systems. This is the first in a series of interviews The ASCO Post will conduct with oncologists, to learn what they and their cancer centers are doing to deal with the crisis. In this article, we talk with John Cole, MD, a...
People with a history of cancer have an over twofold risk of developing atrial fibrillation, the most common heart rhythm disorder, compared to the general population, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (Abstract 1216-235). In...
In the phase I/II ADVL1412 study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Davis et al identified the phase II dosage of nivolumab monotherapy in children and young adults with relapsed or refractory solid tumors or lymphoma. Objective responses were observed in patients with lymphoma, but not in those with ...
In the phase III JAVELIN Gastric 100 trial, a strategy called “switch maintenance” with the immune checkpoint inhibitor avelumab after 12 weeks of first-line induction chemotherapy did not statistically improve overall survival for treatment-naive patients with HER2-negative advanced gastric or...
The analysis by Chao et al “highlights how well patients with MSI-H tumors do, compared to microsatellite-stable patients, and how much better they do in a randomized setting, being exposed to immunotherapy as compared to standard-of-care chemotherapy…The data also show that this is a...
The survival benefit of pembrolizumab in advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction cancer with microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) tumors or a combined positive score (CPS) ≥ 10 was established in post hoc subanalysis of three KEYNOTE trials. Findings were presented at the 2020...
Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FSCT, FASCO, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of ASCO, called the 74% response rate to cisplatin/gemcitabine “remarkable.” “What’s impressive to me is the high response rate, as well as the progression-free and overall survival data—these data are...
Routine genetic counseling and multigene testing of patients with pancreatic cancer result in the detection of mutations that are actionable, not only for patients, but also for at-risk family members. At the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, the use of a systemized, automated referral system ...
New findings from a prespecified analysis of the pivotal IMbrave150 trial revealed improved quality of life for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in the first-line setting. These results were reported by Peter R. Galle, MD, at the 2020...
Dr. Armitage presents a case and asks Dr. Holstein to comment about her approach to treatment. The patient is be a 59-year-old man who had presented with symptomatic myeloma with bone pain and he was feeling unwell. He had bone lesions on images. He was anemic. This all happened 2 years ago. He was ...
In this episode, Dr. Armitage presents a case and asks Dr. Holstein to comment on her approach to treatment of this individual. The patient is a 65-year-old man who was referred because of a monoclonal protein found in his blood. The patient was asymptomatic. He had a normal exam. He had an IgG...
A special feature in JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network by Ueda et al highlighted the unique circumstances and challenges of providing treatment to patients with cancer during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Physicians from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Fred Hutchinson...
A new study published by Conant et al in the journal Radiology found that the advantages of digital breast tomosynthesis over digital mammography, including increased cancer detection and fewer false-positive findings, are maintained over multiple years and rounds of screening. In addition,...
The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has announced that all spring 2020 maintenance of certification (MOC) assessment administrations are canceled in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. They issued the following communication: As frontline health-care professionals, many board-certified...
In a Children’s Oncology Group study (AREN0321) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Daw et al found that the addition of vincristine/irinotecan to a regimen used in the National Wilms Tumor Study 5 (NWTS-5; vincristine, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, carboplatin, and etoposide plus...
In a study of the COVID-19 crisis in China reported in The Lancet Oncology, Liang et al found that patients with cancer may be at a higher risk of COVID-19 respiratory disease requiring admission to hospital than individuals without cancer, and that those with cancer who contract the virus have a...
For Patients Patients undergoing active treatment for cancer and cancer survivors may be at increased risk of becoming infected with the coronavirus because of their compromised immune system and their susceptibility to other illnesses. ASCO has developed information on Cancer.Net on how patients...
On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) took the step it had been avoiding for weeks and declared that the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and the virus that causes it, now identified as SARS-CoV-2, had reached global pandemic levels, the first pandemic sparked by a...
The ASCO Post has reported on the pivotal trials presented at the 2020 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium in several issues. Featured here are the findings of several additional abstracts worthy of mention. Intermittent Oxaliplatin in Stage II or III Colon Cancer As adjuvant treatment for stage II...
New research from the American Cancer Society published by Zheng et al in JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found that younger cancer survivors are more likely to experience significant financial strain for daily living necessities—such as food, housing, and monthly...