PATIENTS UNDERGOING minimally invasive radical hysterectomy for early cervical cancer had higher rates of disease recurrence and worse disease-free, progression-free, and overall survival than did women who had the open approach, according to results from the phase III LACC trial, presented by...
PRETREATMENT CLINICAL findings may predict early treatment discontinuation in patients with ovarian cancer receiving checkpoint blockade immunotherapy agents. Data presented by MD candidate Julia L. Boland at the 2018 Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer revealed that...
THE QUANTITY of original research presented at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) Annual Conference has been growing, and at the 2018 meeting, 121 researchers presented their work. The ASCO Post captured some of the findings for this report. Blood Markers Correlate With Anti–PD-1...
USE OF THE FOLFIRINOX regimen (fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) was associated with a 4.9-month improvement in overall survival compared to gemcitabine/ nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) in the neoadjuvant treatment of resectable and borderline-resectable pancreatic head...
IN A PILOT study of recurrent glioma, 26% of patients treated with the optimal dose of vocimagene amiretroprepvec (aka Toca 511), a novel oncolytic virus therapy, achieved durable, long-term responses and remained alive 3 or more years later. This outcome far exceeded “historical benchmarks” for...
A NEW STUDY has found that early detection along with a simple intervention can be highly effective in preventing breast cancer–related lymphedema for at-risk women. According to data presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons,1 82% of women identified at an...
NEW RESEARCH suggests that current genetic testing guidelines for breast cancer are far too restrictive, excluding nearly half of high-risk patients. According to a pair of studies presented at the 2018 American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) Annual Meeting, women with breast cancer who did not ...
AN ECONOMIC model comparing different types of genetic testing in metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) found using next-generation sequencing to test for all known lung cancer–related gene changes at the time of diagnosis was less costly and faster than sequentially testing one or a...
AN ANALYSIS of 1,800 lung cancer screening sites nationwide found that only 1.9% of more than 7 million eligible current and former heavy smokers were screened for lung cancer in 2016, despite U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) and ASCO screening recommendations. Results from this...
“THIS STUDY represents a true milestone in the field of lung cancer. For the first time, the vast majority of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can receive immunotherapy with pembrolizumab (Keytruda),” said ASCO expert John Heymach, MD, PhD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston,...
Dr. Hayes, ASCO President 2016–2017, is Professor of Internal Medicine; Stuart B. Padnos Professor in Breast Cancer; and Clinical Director of the Breast Oncology Program at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor. AS I COMPLETE my 3-year term as ASCO President, I am...
ADVANCES IN cancer treatment have been nothing short of breathtaking in recent years. Among the most important has been the advent of effective oral therapies, marking a significant change in the way many patients receive treatment and in the oversight required by the cancer care team. As with...
LISA CAREY, MD, the Richardson and Marilyn Jacobs Preyer Distinguished Professor in Breast Cancer Research at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, commented as the invited discussant for TAILORx, and Dawn L. Hershman, MD, FASCO, Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology and Leader of the...
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED results of the phase III TAILORx study are in—and they indicate that the vast majority of patients with “intermediate-risk” early-stage breast cancer can forgo chemotherapy. “Our study shows that chemotherapy may be avoided in about 70% of women with hormone...
The ASCO Post is pleased to reproduce installments of the Art of Oncology as published previously in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These articles focus on the experience of suffering from cancer or of caring for people diagnosed with cancer, and they include narratives, topical essays,...
In the fall of 2015, I was feeling great. At age 37, I had just completed running my fourth half-marathon and regularly hiked trails near my home in Arlington, Texas, to stay fit in-between races. The only symptom that foretold what was in my future was some light watery discharge I was...
Colon cancer survivors who followed guidelines for healthy eating, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying physically active had higher 5-year survival rates than those who did not adhere to those guidelines, according to a study among 992 patients treated with stage III colon cancer.1 The 5-year ...
Following guidelines for proper nutrition, maintaining a healthy weight, and staying physically active may improve survival among patients treated for colon cancer, according to the results of a study with nearly 1,000 patients followed for a median of 7 years.1 “The study suggests that if...
The text and photographs on this page are excerpted from a four-volume series of books titled Oncology: Tumors & Treatment, A Photographic History, by Stanley B. Burns, MD, FACS, and Elizabeth A. Burns. The photos below are from the volume titled “The X-Ray Era: 1901–1915.” The photographs...
Underrecognized and inadequately managed, insomnia is a significant burden for many cancer survivors. Often persistent over several years following diagnosis and treatment, sleep problems negatively affect quality of life and elevate the risk of depression and anxiety. In this installment of The...
The Colorectal Cancer Alliance has opened its third annual international survey of young-onset colorectal cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers, with the intent of learning about and tracking the medical and psychosocial experiences of this often overlooked group, which comprises 11% of...
ASCO has endorsed a statement by the 70 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers calling for increased human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and screening to eliminate HPV-related cancers. The full uptake of the vaccine and screening could prevent 12,000 cervical cancers and...
BOOKMARK Title: The Group: Seven Widowed Fathers Reimagine LifeAuthors: Donald L. Rosenstein, MD, and Justin M. Yopp, PhDPublisher: Oxford University PressPublication Date: January 2018Price: $28.95; hardcover, 192 pages Looking back, the cancer advocacy movement took shape in two waves: the first ...
Many patients with follicular lymphoma relapse within 2 years of initial therapy, and for a number of these individuals, hematopoietic cell transplantation is a good treatment option. Transplant, however, both autologous and allogeneic, is vastly underutilized in these patients, according to Mehdi ...
For over a decade, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been the standard first-line agents in the management of patients with advanced or metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma.1-3 Historically, phase III trials of first-line VEGF therapies included...
Updated results of the global phase III ALEX trial comparing alectinib (Alecensa) with crizotinib (Xalkori) as first-line treatment against ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) show a median progression-free survival of 34.8 months in 152 patients treated with alectinib vs 10.9...
Premenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer and a high risk of recurrence who are treated with an aromatase inhibitor plus ovarian function suppression may gain a 10% to 15% improvement in freedom from distant recurrence at 8 years, according to a ...
An updated analysis of a randomized phase III trial showed that taking a high dose of the acid-reducing medicine esomeprazole with low-dose aspirin for at least 7 years can moderately reduce the risk of developing high-grade dysplasia or esophageal cancer and delay death from any cause in people...
A randomized phase III clinical trial showed that people with advanced colorectal cancer may not need a frequently considered component of treatment—heated chemotherapy delivered to the abdomen during surgery. There was no difference in survival between patients with metastases in the abdomen ...
The randomized phase III Carmena trial showed that many people with advanced kidney cancer can avoid nephrectomy without compromising survival. The median overall survival for people who received the targeted therapy sunitinib (Sutent) alone was 18.4 months, compared with 13.9 months for those who...
The federally funded, phase III TAILORx clinical trial showed that most women with hormone receptor (HR)–positive, HER2-negative, axillary node–negative early-stage breast cancer and a mid-range score on a 21-tumor gene expression assay (Oncotype DX® Breast Recurrence Score) do not...
A new chemotherapy strategy seems to improve cure rates for children with rhabdomyosarcoma who are at high risk for cancer recurrence. In a randomized phase III clinical trial, adding 6 months of low-dose maintenance chemotherapy after initial treatment increased the 5-year overall survival rate...
A large, randomized phase III trial shows that the immunotherapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is a more effective initial treatment than chemotherapy (the current standard of care) for the majority of patients with the most common type of lung cancer. People with advanced non–small cell lung...
In a phase III clinical trial, the investigational PI3K inhibitor taselisib combined with standard hormone therapy fulvestrant (Faslodex) halted the growth of advanced breast cancer growth by 2 months longer than hormone therapy alone. In addition, the novel combination decreased the chance of...
An initial report from the large, ongoing Circulating Cell-Free Genome Atlas (CCGA) study provides preliminary evidence that a blood test may be able to detect early-stage lung cancer. This is one of the first studies to explore blood tests analyzing free-floating or cell-free DNA as a tool for the ...
Initial findings from a randomized phase III clinical trial showed that patients with advanced squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) benefit more from initial treatment with the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)-targeted immunotherapy atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and chemotherapy than...
A genomic study of more than 15,000 tumor samples showed that people who have tumors with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H)—a genomic marker associated with a large number of genetic mutations in the tumor—are more likely to have Lynch syndrome, a hereditary condition that...
Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of consecutive, prospectively molecularly profiled patients with advanced cancer who participated in a large, personalized medicine trial. They found that using molecular tests of tumors to select targeted therapy resulted in slower cancer growth and...
An analysis of pooled data from 9 randomized phase III trials of more than 8,000 men with advanced prostate cancer who received chemotherapy shows chances of survival are as good for black men as white men. The median survival was the same in black men and white men overall (21 months), but black...
In a prospective clinical trial of 100 men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, the response to the hormone treatment abiraterone (Yonsa, Zytiga) was greater and longer-lasting in black men than in white men. Black men were more likely to have a decline in prostate-specific antigen ...
An analysis of cancer registry data from a California hospital system showed that women with head and neck cancer were less likely to receive intensive chemotherapy (35% vs 46%) and radiation (60% vs 70%) compared to men. Controlling for factors such as age and serious medical conditions, a...
A federally funded randomized study demonstrated that the use of geriatric assessment in routine care of older adults with advanced cancer significantly improved doctor-patient communication about age-related concerns as well as patient satisfaction with the communication. The study was featured in ...
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, released the following statement today: For patients with serious or immediately life-threatening diseases, the FDA remains committed to enhancing access to promising investigational medicines for those unable to access...
An updated American Cancer Society guideline now says colorectal cancer screening should begin at age 45 for people at average risk, based in part on data showing rates of colorectal cancer are increasing in young and middle-aged populations. The updated recommendations were published by Wolf et al ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted Orphan Drug designation to galinpepimut-S for the treatment of multiple myeloma. The drug is licensed from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and targets the Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) protein, which is present in an array of tumor...
Nationally regarded radiation oncologist Karen M. Winkfield, MD, PhD, was born and reared in Wheatley Heights, a suburban hamlet on Long Island, New York, that shares borders with the prosperous community of Dix Hills and one of the Island’s lowest-income towns, Wyandanch. “I was fortunate to live ...
India, with the world’s second-largest population and more than 2,000 ethnic groups, is a vastly complex nation, noted for its rich history and boundless intellectual capital, but also for its poverty and inequities in areas such as access to health care. The State of Kerala, situated in the...
Lung cancer expert Alice Tsang Shaw, MD, PhD, was born and reared in Gaithersburg, a small suburb located to the northwest of Washington, DC. Both her parents were chemists, and during high school, Dr. Shaw had a keen interest in science, particularly biology, yet the thought of pursuing a career...
Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have completed a detailed genomic analysis, known as the PanCancer Atlas, on a data set of molecular and clinical information from over 10,000 tumors representing 33 types of cancer, according to a release issued by the NIH late last...
Beverly Moy, MD, MPH, grew up in Brooklyn, New York, in a modest working-class home. Both her parents were immigrants from China. “Education is highly prized in Chinese culture, and my home life was no exception. I didn’t speak any English when I began kindergarten, so that was a bit challenging,...