In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Greenup et al found that cancer treatment costs influenced women’s decisions on breast cancer surgery. Researchers reported many women, even at the highest income levels, said that costs were higher than expected, and that most women...
Immunotherapy as a treatment for advanced solid cancers has rapidly evolved over the past decade—often yielding remarkable results. However, its use has also given way to new adverse effects, including drug-induced gastrointestinal and liver toxicities. “Checkpoint inhibitors are a...
Diversity, inclusion, and gender equality were prevalent themes for 2019 that ran throughout the ASCO Annual Meeting. From the first year that featured free onsite child care for attendees, to a session on “Establishing a Mutually Respectful Environment in the Workplace,” as well as a Plenary...
GUEST EDITOR Addressing the evolving needs of cancer survivors at various stages of their illness and care, Palliative Care in Oncology is guest edited by Jamie H. Von Roenn, MD, FASCO. Dr. Von Roenn is ASCO’s Vice President of Education, Science, and Professional Development. During the 2019...
The three-drug combination of encorafenib (a BRAF inhibitor), binimetinib (a MEK inhibitor), and cetuximab (an EGFR inhibitor) significantly improved overall survival in patients with BRAF-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer, according to the results of the phase III BEACON CRC clinical trial....
Artificial intelligence (AI) may improve the efficiency and accuracy of an advanced imaging technology used to screen for breast cancer, according to a study published by Conant et al in Radiology: Artificial Intelligence. Digital breast tomosynthesis is an advanced method for cancer...
In a study published by Louvanto et al in Clinical Infectious Diseases, researchers investigated the ability of a DNA methylation panel to determine between disease progression and regression among women of childbearing age with untreated cervical intraepithelial dysplasia. In the majority of...
On August 2, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval to pexidartinib (Turalio) capsules for the treatment of adult patients with symptomatic tenosynovial giant cell tumor (TGCT) associated with severe morbidity or functional limitations and not responsive to improvement with...
Immunotherapy as a treatment for advanced solid cancers has rapidly evolved over the past decade—often yielding remarkable results. However, its use has also given way to new adverse effects, including drug-induced gastrointestinal and liver toxicities. “Checkpoint inhibitors are a game changer...
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to bempegaldesleukin in combination with nivolumab for advanced melanoma and cleared an investigational new drug application for a phase I trial of SB 11285 in advanced solid tumors. Breakthrough...
Many patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma contract Staphylococcus aureus infections in the skin. In a new study, researchers have shown that aggressive treatment with antibiotics for patients with these infections not only inhibits the staphylococcal bacteria—but also the cancer...
Results from a large cohort study showed that psychological stress is associated with increased cancer-specific mortality among women with cervical cancer, independent of tumor characteristics and treatment modality. The findings support the integration of psychological screening and intervention...
In patients with prostate cancer with surgical positive margins or extracapsular extension of their disease, the risk of disease recurrence postprostatectomy is higher than in cases where the cancer cells are confined within the prostate. The Finnish FinnProstataX study investigated...
A recent analysis looked at the global burden of pediatric cancer through the lens of years of affected and lost life. This work shows a much greater burden of childhood cancer, placed largely in low- and middle-income countries, than previous estimates. The findings were published in The Lancet...
Nearly-three quarters of Americans are not familiar with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, the second most common type of cancer in the United States, according to a new survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of The Skin Cancer Foundation. Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is more common...
Findings from a cohort of a phase II study reported by Stacchiotti et al in The Lancet Oncology indicated activity of the antiangiogenic agent pazopanib in advanced extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma. As noted by the investigators, this rare sarcoma has low sensitivity to cytotoxic chemotherapy,...
As reported by Topalian et al in JAMA Oncology, long-term follow up of patients from a phase I expansion cohort study indicated 5-year overall survival rates of 34.2%, 27.7%, and 15.6% among patients who received nivolumab monotherapy for advanced melanoma, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and...
A new laboratory test developed to identify chemical changes to a group of cancer-related genes may be able to accurately detect which breast tumors are cancerous or benign. Such a test could result in a more timely diagnosis of breast cancer for women in developing countries with less access to...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Loriot et al, the fibroblast growth factor receptor 1-4 tyrosine kinase inhibitor erdafitinib showed activity in FGFR-altered advanced urothelial carcinoma. Study Details The study enrolled patients from sites in 14 countries between May...
In a study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine, Kerlikowske et al found that the combined use of Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) breast density and Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC)-defined risk for breast cancer may be an effective way of identifying women with dense...
A research team led by investigators from Georgetown University Medical Center and Fudan University in China has devised a noninvasive and individualized technique for detecting and treating bladder cancer. Their findings were published by Jiang et al in Protein & Cell. The method uses a...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Lyons et al found that transfer to the intensive care unit (ICU) or on-ward death occurred in 9% of admissions to cancer wards at an urban tertiary cancer hospital. Investigators identified factors associated with clinical deterioration...
In a Dutch phase II study reported in JAMA Oncology, Theelen et al found that although use of stereotactic body radiotherapy prior to pembrolizumab increased the objective response rate vs pembrolizumab alone in metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the difference did not meet study...
ASCO’S CENTER FOR Research and Analytics (CENTRA) is now accepting research applications from ASCO members who wish to conduct surveys of the Society’s membership for research purposes. The Research Survey Pool (RSP) is a service made available to ASCO members who engage in survey research. It...
In April 2019, a 3-year-old boy, Noah McAdams, missed the third round of chemotherapy for his acute lymphoblastic leukemia. His parents wanted instead to focus on alternative remedies of cannabidiol oil, alkaline water, mushroom tea, and herbal extracts. The sheriff was summoned; Noah’s parents...
Developed in 1925 by British statistician Sir Ronald Fisher, the P value is a measure that is ever-present in abstracts and studies, a small statistical tool that has enormous power to aid research being published in the literature or support drug approval. Over the past several years, however, a...
THE INVITED discussants of the presentations on repotrectinib and AMG 510 were enthusiastic about these agents. Sarina Anne Piha-Paul, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discussed AMG 510, and Benjamin Besse, MD, PhD, Head of the Cancer Medicine Department at the Institut...
FRIENDS OF CANCER RESEARCH (Friends) is launching the next phase of its Real-World Evidence pilot project after a broad stakeholder meeting in February 2019. At the meeting, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and various data partners expressed interest in continuing to address several...
A handful of investigational drugs in early-phase trials always create a buzz at ASCO Annual Meetings. Two that garnered attention this year, and could eventually change outcomes in the clinic, are the first-in-class KRAS inhibitor AMG 510 and the ROS1 inhibitor repotrectinib. Should late-phase...
As part of The ASCO Post’s coverage of the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, featured here are summaries of five abstracts of different clinical trials evaluating newer treatments for follicular and marginal zone lymphomas as well as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Follicular and Marginal Zone Lymphomas...
ON JUNE 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the anti– programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) therapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as monotherapy for patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based...
In addition to our regular coverage of major news stories from the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, here is an additional roundup of important studies related to prostate cancer. ARAMIS: Darolutamide and Quality of Life Darolutamide, a next-generation androgen receptor antagonist, significantly prolonged...
Mark Pegram, MD, the Susy Yuan-Huey Hung Professor of Medical Oncology and Director of the Stanford Breast Oncology Program, said the Dana-Farber study “independently confirms that HER2 heterogeneity is a distinct clinical entity with lower levels of HER2 expression and pathologic complete...
Breast cancers that display heterogeneity of HER2 expression may represent a distinct subset of HER2-positive breast cancer that is associated with lower rates of pathologic complete response, according to a phase II study from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. This trial evaluated HER2 heterogeneity...
At the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, two pivotal breast cancer trials reported final or additional analyses: one confirmed the negative results seen in earlier reports,1 and the other supported a new survival benchmark.2 KRISTINE: Neoadjuvant T-DM1/Pertuzumab Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, of the David Geffen...
Earlier this year, ASCO announced plans for its first-ever international meeting, ASCO Breakthrough: A Global Summit for Oncology Innovators, which will be held October 11–13, 2019, in Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting is a joint effort by ASCO and the Thai Society of Clinical Oncology to bring...
IT WAS a chilly Chicago morning, and I was sitting at the lobby of my hotel when I saw a smiling gentleman cheerfully waving at me from his car. It was Lawrence H. Einhorn, MD, picking me up for our drive to Indiana. I was one of the recipients of the ASCO International Development and Education...
Just weeks after my wedding in late summer of 2017, I had a sudden bout of abdominal pain so severe that it sent me to the emergency room. I was just 29 years old and in great physical shape. In the emergency room, a physician examined me and was about to release me with a prescription for a...
Active surveillance of patients with early-stage prostate cancer “is tackling the problem of overtreatment” and, with rigorous monitoring, “is safe and allows us to treat only patients who need treatment when their cancer progresses,” Ronald C. Chen, MD, MPH, affirmed in an interview with The ASCO...
In a retrospective analysis published by Si et al in Surgical Endoscopy, researchers found minimally invasive surgery led to higher survival and lower local recurrence in patients with small hepatocellular carcinoma vs radiofrequency ablation, whereas radiofrequency ablation was associated with...
The Hippocratic Oath calls on physicians to “use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment,” but not all versions of the oath call on us to prevent disease. Here we urge our colleagues to acknowledge that additional mandate and renew their commitment to preventing what could ...
GUEST EDITOR Integrative Oncology is guest edited by Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine and Chief of Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series is intended to facilitate the...
Although genetic aberrations are considered a major reason for cancer development, the importance of metabolic alterations in cancer development has emerged as a crucial aspect of contemporary cancer research. Better understanding of the metabolic traits in cancer cells could aid researchers in...
Over the past several decades, the field of psychosocial oncology has matured into an invaluable subspecialty that helps patients with cancer and their caregivers deal with the existential issues that arise in cancer, especially in the advanced-disease setting. In an effort to add to this...
A study by Wei et al in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology has found that individuals with a first-degree relative with a history of melanoma are at an increased risk for melanomas and keratinocyte cancers such as squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. Methods...
In a cohort study reported in JAMA Surgery, Armer et al found that longer duration of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and increasing body mass index (BMI) were associated with increased risk of lymphedema in women with node-positive breast cancer who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and axillary...
In the phase II CLARITY trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hillmen et al found that the combination of ibrutinib and venetoclax resulted in high rates of minimal residual disease eradication in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In the...
To learn more about the processes that lead to chemotherapy-associated cardiotoxicity, a team of researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) conducted a study to investigate whether early changes in energy-related metabolites in the blood—measured shortly after...
In a proof-of-concept study, an international scientific team has shown that a laboratory test using artificial intelligence tools has the potential to more accurately sort out which people with pancreatic cysts will eventually develop pancreatic cancers. Their findings were published by Springer...
Findings from a small phase I study investigating a nonengineered, multiantigen-specific T-cell therapy for the treatment of pancreatic cancer has found that the therapy had clinical activity and was safe and well tolerated. The early results suggest that the immune cell therapy may provide a...