Frailty is a better predictor than age of poor outcomes in patients with ovarian cancer, according to studies reported at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer. Researchers found that frail patients are less likely to undergo surgery, have more...
The combination of dabrafenib plus trametinib led to encouraging and durable responses in patients with low- and high-grade gliomas harboring BRAF V600E mutations, according to the results of the phase II basket study known as ROAR. Results were presented during the virtual edition of the American...
Complete morphologic remission is considered the first requirement for achieving long-term, leukemia-free survival and a potential cure in patients with acute leukemia, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and is the goal of all therapeutic strategies to date. Recognizing that the majority of...
A phase II trial has found found that BK virus (BKV)-specific T cells from healthy donors were safe and effective as an off-the-shelf therapy for BKV-associated hemorrhagic cystitis, a painful complication that is common after allogeneic stem cell transplants for patients with leukemia or lymphoma. ...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research recently announced five grants to support innovative research focused on understanding the influence of a patient’s biology on the genesis, development, treatment, and survivorship of cancer. Each...
A new JCO Global Oncology special article details the process and results of a Multidisciplinary Cervical Cancer Prevention Course that ASCO volunteers led in Nepal, where cervical cancer remains the most common cancer among women and most patients present with an advanced stage of the disease.1...
The novel targeted agent CPI-0610 enhanced responses to ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis enrolled in the global phase II MANIFEST-2 trial, investigators reported at the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition.1,2 “Preliminary data demonstrate the...
A report published by Kotecha et al in JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network suggests that baseline brain imaging should be considered in most patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Researchers found incidental brain metastases occur in a clinically significant...
In the next 2 decades, rankings of incidence and death across cancer types in the United States will undergo important changes, according to new research published by Lola Rahib, PhD, and colleagues in JAMA Network Open. The study estimates that pancreatic cancer is on course to become the...
Vivek Subbiah, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses data on selpercatinib that showed promising activity across a variety of RET fusion–positive cancers, including treatment-refractory gastrointestinal malignancies. This analysis highlights the need for genomic...
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. Increasingly, patients with cancer desire nonpharmacologic strategies for managing their...
In a phase III trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Guillermo Garcia-Manero, MD, and colleagues found that oral azacitidine significantly improved red blood cell (RBC) transfusion independence vs placebo in patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes. An increase in early...
The novel targeted agent infigratinib (BGJ398) showed clinically meaningful activity against chemotherapy-refractory cholangiocarcinoma in patients with fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR2) fusions and rearrangements. The confirmed overall response rate was 23% (34% confirmed/unconfirmed), the ...
At the 2021 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, the KEYNOTE-177 investigators updated their previously reported findings by showing further data relating to subsequent lines of therapy after disease progression. Their conclusion was that patients who received pembrolizumab initially still achieved...
The treatment of colorectal cancer has always been something of an art—but never more so than during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the spring of 2020, The ASCO Post asked three experts in this malignancy to share their concerns and their approaches to achieving good patient outcomes while minimizing...
Amir A. Jazaeri, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses data on the safety and efficacy of adoptive cell transfer using autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (LN-145) to treat patients with recurrent, metastatic, or persistent cervical carcinoma whose tumors have...
The Prevent Cancer Foundation has announced funding for nine scientists who are researching cancer prevention and early detection. Each scientist is being awarded $100,000 for 2 years. Areas of focus include the pancreas, esophagus, liver, lungs, skin, prostate, colon-rectum, and blood/bone ...
Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) and University of Utah (U of U) Health announced the appointment of Sachin Apte, MD, MS, MBA, as Chief Clinical Officer of HCI and Physician-in-Chief of the cancer hospital. “Dr. Apte will lead HCI’s clinical efforts at a time when we are poised to dramatically...
“Now we know enfortumab vedotin-ejfv is here to stay in the armamentarium of treatment for advanced urothelial cancer,” said Arlene O. Siefker-Radtke, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, during her discussion of both EV-301 and EV-201. “As we saw, overall survival was quite...
Enfortumab vedotin-ejfv continues to move the needle forward as a validated treatment option for advanced urothelial carcinoma. At the 2021 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, results from the phase III EV-301 study1 and EV-201 Cohort 22 provided support for the use of this agent in both patients...
Combined results of two parallel phase II studies reported in JAMA Oncology by Milind Javle, MD, and colleagues indicated that olaparib may have therapeutic value in previously treated patients with platinum-sensitive pancreatic ductal carcinoma with DNA damage repair (DDR) genetic alterations...
Frailty may be a better predictor of poor surgical outcomes in patients with ovarian cancer than age, according to two studies reported at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer. Researchers found that frail patients are less likely to undergo...
In the phase I/II BRUIN trial reported in The Lancet, Anthony R. Mato, MD, and colleagues found that the noncovalent Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor pirtobrutinib produced durable responses in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies, including those previously treated with ...
High tumor mutational burden (TMB) was useful for predicting clinical responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors only in a subset of cancer types, according to a study published by McGrail et al in Annals of Oncology. The findings suggest that TMB status may not be reliably used as a universal...
The holistic benefits derived from exercise in preventing and ameliorating chronic health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes are well documented. However, less is known about the salutary effects exercise may have across the cancer setting, especially during treatment....
Type I collagen produced by cancer-associated fibroblasts may not promote cancer development, but instead, may play a protective role in controlling pancreatic cancer progression. This new understanding supports novel therapeutic approaches that bolster collagen rather than suppress it, according...
In a study reported in JCO Oncology Practice, Zhao et al found that 5-year adherence to adjuvant hormonal therapy was low among commercially insured women with breast cancer in the United States. The retrospective observational study used data from the IBM MarketScan Research Databases to identify...
At the 2021 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, Motzer et al presented the clinical results of the CLEAR trial, adding a novel regimen, lenvatinib plus pembrolizu-mab, to the growing armamentarium of first-line treatments for patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The...
At the 2021 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, the KEYNOTE-177 investigators updated their previously reported findings by showing further data relating to subsequent lines of therapy after disease progression. Their conclusion was that patients who received pembrolizumab initially still achieved...
Lucia Masarova, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, said the updated long-term data for momelotinib show “durable efficacy and exciting outcomes” in patients with myelofibrosis, regardless of prior exposure to...
Treatment with the novel JAK inhibitor momelotinib led to long-term overall survival and sustained transfusion independence in patients with intermediate- or high-risk myelofibrosis, according to updates from the SIMPLIFY-1 and SIMPLIFY-2 trials presented at the 2020 American Society of Hematology...
Joan H. Schiller, MD, FASCO, was recently honored by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) with the Paul A. Bunn, Jr, Scientific Award. Dr. Schiller’s many accomplishments include helping to break the taboo of talking about lung cancer and expanding public...
Legendary oncologist Emil J Freireich, MD, FASCO, died from COVID-19 on February 1, 2021, at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where he had worked for 50 years. He was 93. During a career that spanned more than 6 decades, Dr. Freireich was relentless in pursuing cures...
The novel targeted agent infigratinib (BGJ398) showed clinically meaningful activity against chemotherapy-refractory cholangiocarcinoma in patients with fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR2) fusions and rearrangements. The confirmed overall response rate was 23% (34% confirmed/unconfirmed), the ...
The randomized phase II NEOSTAR trial, which examined single-agent and combined neoadjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in patients with stage I to III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), found combination therapy produced a significant clinical benefit (as assessed by major pathologic...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) recognized three Choosing Wisely® Champions, practitioners working to tackle overuse of hematology tests and treatments, at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition. Choosing Wisely is a program of the ABIM Foundation and Consumer Reports that aims to...
Results from a phase II study presented by Nicholas J. Short, MD, and colleagues at the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition showed that first-line treatment with a regimen of chemotherapy combined with the monoclonal antibody blinatumomab resulted in increased...
People living in regions with high levels of outdoor artificial light at night may face a higher risk of developing thyroid cancer, according to a study published by Zhang et al in the journal Cancer. Link Between Nighttime Light and Cancer Risk Over the past century, nightscapes—especially in...
Lucia Masarova, MD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, said the updated long-term data for momelotinib show “durable efficacy and exciting outcomes” in patients with myelofibrosis, regardless of prior exposure to...
Treatment with the novel JAK inhibitor momelotinib led to long-term overall survival and sustained transfusion independence in patients with intermediate- or high-risk myelofibrosis, according to updates from the SIMPLIFY-1 and SIMPLIFY-2 trials presented at the 2020 American Society of Hematology...
The study’s invited discussant, Michael J. Overman, MD, Professor of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, said the findings of the study presented by Henriksen et al1 add to a convincing body of data showing that “the use of circulating...
Emil J Freireich, MD, an oncologist who developed groundbreaking therapies for childhood leukemia and came to be recognized as a founding father of modern clinical cancer research, passed away on February 1. He was 93. Dr. Freireich was a faculty member at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer ...
In a phase II trial (SWOG S1406) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Scott Kopetz, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the addition of vemurafenib to irinotecan and cetuximab significantly improved progression-free survival in previously treated patients with BRAF V600E–mutant metastatic...
Researchers have developed the first comprehensive framework to classify small cell lung cancer (SCLC) into four unique subtypes based on gene expression and have identified potential therapeutic targets for each type. These findings were published by Gay et al in Cancer Cell. SCLC is known for...
Nearly 500 members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) have earned the lifetime distinction of AAAS Fellow. The Fellows are elected each year by their peers serving on the Council of AAAS, the organization’s member-run governing body. The title recognizes important...
The primary outcome analysis of the phase III monarchE trial, an update of previous data, continued to show significant benefit for abemaciclib in the adjuvant setting, reducing the risk for invasive disease recurrence by 28.7%. Meanwhile, the first results of the phase III PENELOPE-B trial of...
Russ Kridel, MD, Chair of the American Medical Association (AMA) Board of Trustees, recently released the following statement on December 17, 2020: The American Medical Association strongly supports the nominations of Xavier Becerra, JD, to be the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS)...
Laura Goff, MD, Medical Director of the Hematology and Oncology Division at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, was born in Chicago but reared in Lewisville, a suburb of Dallas. “I come from a long line of nurses, which early on influenced my decision to pursue a career in medicine....
Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation, is pleased to announce Clinton Yam, MD, as the recipient of the 2020 Fairman Career Development Award (CDA). Dr. Yam’s research will focus on identifying novel immune markers to predict response to treatment and identifying if tumor response is influenced by gut ...
ASCO has elected Eric P. Winer, MD, FASCO, a long-time member and volunteer, to serve as President for the term beginning in June 2022. He will take office as President-Elect during the ASCO Annual Meeting in June 2021. Five new members were also elected to the ASCO Board of Directors and the...