The Companion of the Most Distinguished order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG) is generally reserved for ambassadors and leaders of the United Kingdom’s defense and security services. Only 1, 750 appointees are permitted. This year, the Head of M16, the Secret Intelligence Service, was in the...
On July 30, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as monotherapy for the treatment of patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic esophageal cancer whose tumors express programmed cell death ligand 1...
In the final analysis from a phase II California Cancer Consortium trial (NCI-9653) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sadeghi et al found the combination of gemcitabine and eribulin showed activity in cisplatin-ineligible patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma. Study Details...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Chera et al found that deintensified chemoradiotherapy produced favorable outcomes in human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Study Details In the multicenter trial, 114 patients were recruited...
GUEST EDITOR Dr. Abraham is the Director of the Breast Oncology Program at Taussig Cancer Institute, and Professor of Medicine, Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic. For this installment of the Living a Full Life series, Guest Editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Gilberto de Lima...
In late 2018, atezolizumab was approved for use in combination with bevacizumab, paclitaxel, and carboplatin for the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberration.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was ...
Hundreds of oncologists are working “side gigs” as expert witnesses in a wide range of medicolegal settings. With increasing conflict related to liability and insurance coverage, the demand continues to grow for objective physicians who are not involved in a specific case, have no personal...
Physicians should attempt to maintain full doses of chemotherapy, especially early in the course of treatment, for patients with intermediate- or high-risk breast cancer, according to research published by Veitch et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The...
In a phase I dose-escalation trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cuneo et al established the phase II dose of the Wee1 kinase inhibitor adavosertib in combination with gemcitabine and radiotherapy in locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Wee1 inhibition impedes DNA damage response and ...
In a meta-analysis reported in JAMA Network Open, Mincu et al found that the risk of some types of cardiovascular adverse events was higher with combined BRAF and MEK inhibitor treatment vs BRAF inhibitor monotherapy in patients with melanoma. The meta-analysis included 2,317 patients in five...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Zinzani et al, findings in a phase II expansion cohort of the CheckMate 436 study indicated high levels of activity with the combination of nivolumab and brentuximab vedotin in relapsed or refractory primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma. As...
In a first-in-human phase I/II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Doran et al found that autologous genetically engineered T cells expressing a T-cell receptor directed against the human papillomavirus (HPV)16 E6 oncoprotein were capable of inducing tumor regression in metastatic,...
In the phase II LORELEI trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Saura et al found that the addition of the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor taselisib to neoadjuvant letrozole improved objective response rates but not pathologic complete response rates in women with estrogen receptor...
In an analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Antonia et al identified long-term survival rates with nivolumab therapy in patients with previously treated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The pooled analysis included data from the CheckMate 017, 057, 063, and 003 trials, each...
Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who engaged in moderate exercise while undergoing chemotherapy tended to have delayed progression of their disease and fewer severe side effects from treatment, according to the results of a new study published by Guercio et al in the Journal of Clinical...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to acalabrutinib in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), accepted a new drug application for avapritinib in some types of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), and granted 501(k) clearance to market the...
In a single-institution study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hamilton et al found that relapses of clinical stage I nonseminomatous germ cell tumors (NSGCT) during postorchiectomy active surveillance most frequently occurred in the retroperitoneum and were cured by single-modality...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Garcia-Murillas et al found that detection of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) during follow-up after initial treatment for early breast cancer was associated with a high risk of relapse. Detection at diagnosis was also associated with poorer relapse-free...
In a single-center analysis reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Balaji et al found that immune-related adverse events associated with immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment often require hospitalization and multidisciplinary management. The study involved data from patients who had...
In the phase II SWOG S0905 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tsao et al found that the addition of the epidermal growth factor receptor and platelet-derived growth factor receptor inhibitor cediranib to cisplatin/pemetrexed was associated with limited benefit and greater toxicity...
In the French Sarcoma Group noncomparative phase II DESMOPAZ trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Toulmonde et al found that the oral vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor inhibitor pazopanib was active in adult patients with progressive desmoid tumors. As noted by the investigators, ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Twist et al, use of reduced therapy for subsets of pediatric patients with intermediate-risk neuroblastoma in the Children’s Oncology Group (COG) study ANBL0531 did not affect the excellent overall survival rates observed in prior COG studies ...
The staff of The ASCO Post were sad to learn of the passing of Michael D. Becker on July 9, 2019. When Michael was diagnosed with human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer in 2015, he made the decision to go public with his diagnosis to raise awareness of the importance of having...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Olivier Lambotte, MD, PhD, found that rechallenge with an immune checkpoint inhibitor after occurrence of immune-related adverse events was associated with occurrence of an immune-related adverse event in approximately half of patients, with no increase in...
In the phase II ReDOS trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD, and colleagues found that a regorafenib dose-escalation strategy compared favorably with standard dosing in regard to toxicity profile and activity in patients with refractory advanced colorectal cancer. Study...
In a phase I trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Martine Bagot, MD, and colleagues found that IPH4102—a first-in-class monoclonal antibody targeting KIR3DL2—was safe and showed activity in patients with relapsed or refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, particularly those with Sézary syndrome....
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Georgina V. Long, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III ECHO-301/KEYNOTE-252 trial showed no improvement in progression-free or overall survival with the addition of the IDO1 inhibitor epacadostat to pembrolizumab in unresectable stage III or stage IV melanoma....
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, Yen Nien Hou, PharmD, DipIOM, LAc, explores the potential health benefits of...
Late in 2018, pembrolizumab was granted accelerated approval in the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with recurrent locally advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on Cancer Immunotherapy Trials Network protocol 9 (CITN-09), also known...
In medical school, I learned a five-step model on how to deliver bad news to a patient. I still fall back on this method, time and again, in my primary care clinic; I have even used it when giving really tough feedback to a learner who is struggling in some aspect of performance. But I honestly...
ASCO published its first statement on genetic testing and its impact on oncology practice over 2 decades ago. Since then, ASCO has revised the statement three times, the most recent in 2015, in response to advances propelled by the sequencing and mapping of the human genome and the identification...
The symptoms related to childhood cancers that first prompt parents to seek medical care may be as nonspecific as those of the flu or a number of other common ailments. Therefore, a suspicion of cancer sometimes emerges during a visit to the child’s primary care physician. Although primary care...
Each year, investigators from the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR), London, and the Royal Marsden NHS Trust collaborate to showcase images from their research to highlight the often unseen beauty of science. Maxine Lam, PhD, a postdoctoral training fellow at ICR captured an image of a cancer...
Researchers have developed a new method for tracking residual disease in patients with breast cancer that could one day help doctors better tailor treatments and prevent unnecessary surgeries for some people with the disease. Findings were published by McDonald et al in Science Translational...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Duckworth et al found that many patients with cancer had more optimistic treatment goals vs their physicians and that patients who did not understand adverse effects associated with treatment had higher distress scores. As stated by the...
GUEST EDITOR Geriatrics for the Oncologist is guest edited by Stuart M. Lichtman, MD, FACP, FASCO, and developed in collaboration with the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG). Dr. Lichtman is an Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Commack, New York, and...
In the phase II EV-201 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Rosenberg et al found the antibody-drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin showed high activity in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma who had previously received platinum-based therapy and anti–programmed cell...
On August 7, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized the decision to cover U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy among recipients of Medicare benefits. FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapies are approved to...
On June 10, 2019, the CD79b-directed antibody-drug conjugate polatuzumab vedotin-piiq was granted accelerated approval for use in combination with bendamustine and a rituximab product for adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), not otherwise specified,...
COTA, Inc, a precision medicine technology company, announced that it has signed a 2-year Research Collaboration Agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Information Exchange and Data Transformation (INFORMED) Program, the Agency’s data science and technology incubator that...
As part of The ASCO Post’s coverage of the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, featured here are four abstracts from different clinical trials evaluating newer treatments for Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia and T-cell lymphomas. Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia ABSTRACT 7509: Outcomes with bendamustine plus ...
In the phase III ECOG-ACRIN 5508 trial, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ramalingam et al, maintenance pemetrexed or bevacizumab was associated with no significant improvement in overall survival vs the bevacizumab control group alone, and was associated with greater toxicity in...
On June 17, 2019, pembrolizumab was granted accelerated approval for the treatment of patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one other prior line of therapy.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based...
Intimacy changes after a cancer diagnosis. Both male and female survivors can experience significant sexual dysfunction, pain with sex, loss of desire, and a slew of other clinical and psychological sequelae. To make matter worse, sexual function is often not discussed by patients and their...
On March 18, 2019, atezolizumab was approved for use in combination with carboplatin and etoposide in the first-line treatment of adult patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cance (SCLC).1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the phase III double-blind IMpower133...
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy is a major clinical problem, and better therapies are needed for both its treatment and prevention. According to Charles Loprinzi, MD, a medical oncologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, to devise better preventive and treatment approaches,...
The 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting featured a wealth of presentations on important topics. In addition to our regular news coverage of the meeting, we present below some highlights of other studies that add to our knowledge base for treatment of various cancers. Olaratumab in Soft-Tissue Sarcoma...
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....