As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Daniel O. Persky, MD, of the University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson, and colleagues, the phase II Intergroup National Clinical Trials Network Study S1001 has shown good outcomes with positron-emission tomography (PET)-directed therapy in...
Basem M. William, MD, MRCP (UK), FACP, Director of the T-Cell Lymphoma Program and a member of the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, said many of the new-generation bispecific antibodies are “highly promising.” He said they...
Studies of second-generation bispecific antibodies were among the highlights of the 2019 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition. The bispecific T-cell engager blinatumomab was the first such agent to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in...
As chemotherapy and chemoimmunotherapy regimens reach their maximal impact in follicular lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma, clinicians are turning to chemotherapy-free approaches to achieve better control, less toxicity, and (hopefully) a cure. During the ASCO20 Virtual Education Program, Sonali...
At the 2020 Debates and didactics in Hematology and Oncology Virtual Conference, sponsored by Emory University School of Medicine and Winship Cancer Institute, Pamela Allen, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Emory, described recent trials on therapeutic approaches that are informative on this ...
The European Intergroup for Childhood Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma/Children’s Oncology Group (EICNHL/COG) recently reported a significant improvement in event-free survival among children and adolescents (aged 6 months to 18 years) with high-risk mature B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) following the...
On October 16, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to venetoclax (Venclexta) in combination with azacitidine, decitabine, or low-dose cytarabine for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in adults aged 75 or older or who have comorbidities precluding...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) has published new guidelines to help older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and their health-care providers make critical care decisions, including if and how to proceed with cancer treatment and the need for blood transfusions for those in hospice...
In the treatment of adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), use of newer antibodies and de-intensification of chemotherapy have greatly improved outcomes, according to Hagop Kantarjian, MD, FASCO, who has been very involved in much of the research in ALL treatment. Dr. Kantarjian, Professor ...
Population-wide screening for genetic variants linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancers may be cost-effective in women between the ages of 20 and 35, according to a study published by Guzauskas et al in JAMA Network Open. However, screening for older women was not cost-effective, the...
People of color diagnosed with lung cancer face worse outcomes compared to White Americans, according to the American Lung Association’s third annual State of Lung Cancer report. The 2020 State of Lung Cancer report tracks the toll of lung cancer by state, and for the first time, this year’s report ...
In a study (Life After Stopping TKIs; LAST) reported in JAMA Oncology, Atallah et al found that stopping tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy in patients with controlled chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was associated with maintenance of major molecular response and achievement of treatment-free...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology, Prat et al have developed a prognostic risk score model—HER2DX—that can be used to identify patients with early-stage HER2-positive breast cancer who might be candidates for escalated or de-escalated systemic treatment. As stated by the investigators, “In...
A new study by Tsay et al sheds light on the role the lung microbiome may play in lung cancer pathogenesis and prognosis. According to the study’s findings, enrichment of the lungs with oral commensal microbes was associated with advanced-stage disease, worse prognosis, and tumor progression....
On November 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the first COVID-19 diagnostic test for self-testing at home. The Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One Test Kit, which provides rapid results, is a molecular (real-time loop mediated amplification...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designations to novel agents in the treatment of liver and pancreatic cancers. Fast Track Designation for SRF388 in Liver Cancer The FDA granted Fast Track designation to SRF388 for the treatment of patients with...
In a 7-year follow-up of the phase III CALGB 40601/Alliance neoadjuvant trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Fernandez-Martinez et al found that paclitaxel combined with trastuzumab/lapatinib was associated with improved survival outcomes vs paclitaxel/trastuzumab in women with...
In a Chinese phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Zhu et al found that the addition of irinotecan to neoadjuvant capecitabine chemoradiation (CapIriRT)—with irinotecan dosing guided by UGT1A1 genotype—followed by capecitabine/irinotecan (XELIRI) significantly improved...
In a Canadian prospective cohort study (SENTOR) reported in JAMA Surgery, Cusimano et al found that sentinel lymph node biopsy showed “acceptable diagnostic accuracy” compared with lymphadenectomy in detecting nodal metastatic disease in patients with intermediate- and high-grade endometrial...
On November 13, 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with locally recurrent unresectable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer whose tumors express PD-L1...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Shaji K. Kumar, MD, and colleagues, the phase III BELLINI trial has shown that the addition of venetoclax to bortezomib/dexamethasone significantly prolonged progression-free survival in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma but was associated...
The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the availability of evidence-based information on integrative and complementary therapies sometimes used by patients with cancer. In this installment, Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, and Jyothirmai Gubili, MS, focus on the role of virtual...
A portion of patients with cancer may be less likely to enroll in a clinical trial due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. According to a report published as a research letter by Mark E. Fleury, PhD, and colleagues in JAMA Oncology, nearly one in five patients with cancer surveyed said the...
Studies have shown that utilizing a PARP inhibitor in the management of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer and BRCA1/2 mutation is clinically beneficial. New research published by Wu et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network sought to determine whether such...
In a study reported as a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Brajcich et al found that higher-rated surgical technical skill was associated with significantly improved long-term survival in patients undergoing surgery for colon cancer. Study Details In the study, surgeons were recruited from the...
Two common genetic variants appear to be linked to toxicity induced by bevacizumab, researchers reported at the 32nd European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)–National Cancer Institute (NCI)–American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Symposium on Molecular Targets and...
Fatigue could be an important baseline stratification factor for cancer treatment, according to data presented during the 2020 ASCO Quality Care Symposium.1 An analysis of four SWOG treatment trials has found an association between patient fatigue and outcomes in advanced cancer. Data from the...
A new study published by Stacey A. Fedewa, PhD, and colleagues in JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that state-level lung cancer screening rates were not aligned with the national lung cancer burden. The report provides the first population-based state-level screening data for...
In a study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Anand P. Jillella, MD, and colleagues found that physician education on the main causes of death during induction treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)—and comanagement of cases with expert physicians—resulted in a low early mortality rate...
In a United Arab Emirates single-institution study reported as a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Al-Shamsi et al found a high rate of COVID-19 infection among asymptomatic patients with solid tumors undergoing cancer treatment. Study Details The study included 109 patients receiving treatment for ...
Launched in 2018 at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, the Integrative Oncology Scholars Program has trained 50 oncology professionals in evidence-based complementary therapies in the treatment of patients with cancer. Another 50 trainees are expected to complete the program by ...
In states that have expanded Medicaid availability as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), mortality rates for three major types of cancer are significantly lower than in states that have not expanded their Medicaid, according to findings from a new study published by Miranda B. Lam, MD, MBA, and ...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Philip M. Poortmans, PhD, and colleagues, 15-year outcomes of the phase III EORTC 22922/10925 trial show continued reductions in both breast cancer mortality and recurrence with postsurgery internal mammary and medial supraclavicular (IM-MS) lymph node chain...
In a Chinese phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gao et al found that prophylactic recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) and minimal-dose decitabine reduced the risk of relapse vs no intervention among patients with high-risk, minimal residual...
In a Dutch study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Blok et al found a significant association between an increased number of cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy and a reduced risk of metachronous contralateral testicular cancer. As noted by the investigators, patients with testicular...
Kimberly Irvine was used to taking care of the people she loved. Conquering breast cancer—twice—forced the young mom to learn how to take care of herself in a whole new way. In the Your Stories episode “Being Your Own Advocate,” she shares with fellow philanthropist Riccardo Braglia, Board Member, ...
As the world continues to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, ASCO is committed to providing the most current information and resources to its members and the larger oncology community to help ensure that patients with cancer receive high-quality care. Here, members of the ASCO International Affairs...
I think my age and apparent good health contributed to a delay in my diagnosis of glioblastoma multiforme. The first symptom I had of the cancer appeared on December 26, 2014, when I was 32 years old. My family and I had just gotten home from celebrating the Christmas holiday with our relatives...
As recently reported in The Lancet Oncology and reviewed in the October 10, 2020, issue of The ASCO Post, the phase III BROCADE3 trial has shown that the addition of veliparib to carboplatin and paclitaxel improved progression-free survival in previously treated BRCA-mutated advanced breast...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Thomas Powles, MD, of Barts Cancer Institute, Queen Mary University of London, and colleagues, the phase III DANUBE trial showed that durvalumab monotherapy did not prolong overall survival vs standard chemotherapy in previously untreated patients with...
Formal discussant Kilian M. Gust, MD, of the Medical University of Austria, Vienna, reminded listeners that JAVELIN Bladder 100 was designed at a time when no checkpoint inhibitor was approved for the treatment of metastatic urothelial cancer. In the past 5 years, five immune checkpoint inhibitors...
“What am I doing here? This question kept running through my mind as the incoming freshman medical students at the University of Chicago assembled for the first time.” The person asking the introspective question was Marvin Stone, fresh out of college, recently married to his wife, Jill, and now a...
A strategy of front-line maintenance treatment with the PD-L1 inhibitor avelumab combined with best supportive care improved both progression-free and overall survival vs best supportive care alone across prespecified subgroups of patients with advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma that had...
Medical memoir dramas, especially those centered in the emergency room (ER), are often met with the anticipation of top-rated medical shows portrayed on TV, in which there is nonstop blood-and-guts action and sizzling tensions between shouting doctors and nurses. In her recently published memoir,...
The Advanced Practitioner Society for Hematology and Oncology (APSHO) presented the third annual Mary Pazdur Award for Excellence in Advanced Practice in Oncology to Christina Cone, DNP, APRN, ANP-BC, AOCNP, of Duke Cancer Institute, at this year’s JADPRO Live Virtual conference, an annual...
Coronary artery calcification scores based on routine computed tomography (CT) scans used for planning radiotherapy therapy may be able to predict which women with breast cancer have a high probability of developing cardiovascular disease. The promise of this research is that once high-risk...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recognized the recipients of its 2020 Gold Medal awards and other honors at the 62nd ASTRO Annual Meeting, which was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ASTRO Gold Medal Bruce Haffty, MD, FASTRO, and Brian O’Sullivan, MD, FASTRO, were each...
The ASCO Post asked Charles L. Shapiro, MD, Professor of Medicine, Director of Translational Breast Cancer Research, and Director of Cancer Survivorship at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, for his thoughts on the exploratory analysis of PALOMA-3. He first pointed out that the...
A large body of research has shed light on how the cancer experience and related losses often leave patients and their families struggling to find a sense of meaning in their lives.1-7 The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified these difficulties, as meaningful activities and experiences have been...
The phase III PALOMA-3 trial significantly reduced the risk of disease progression by 50% in patients with hormone receptor–positive/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, but the improvement in overall survival did not reach statistical significance.1 An exploratory subgroup analysis has now shown...