As outbreaks of the COVID-19 pandemic spiked across the country earlier this year, federal health officials and cancer societies advised people to delay seeking routine cancer screenings, including mammograms and colonoscopies, to keep them out of medical centers and away from potential exposure to ...
More than 70% of women with multiple tumors in a single breast reported good or excellent satisfaction with the cosmetic results of breast-conserving therapy, Alliance (ACOSOG) Z11102 investigators reported at the 2020 American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) Virtual Scientific Session.1 In...
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) recently announced the establishment of the Marie-Josée Kravis Women in Science Endeavor (WiSE) to provide financial and professional support to women scientists pursuing biomedical research at MSK, pledging its commitment to gender equity in science and ...
Radiation oncologist Gita Suneja, MD, was born and reared in St. Louis, the first-generation daughter of two Indian immigrants. “My father came to the United States to pursue a degree in engineering and decided to remain here, feeling it offered greater opportunities for the family,” Dr. Suneja...
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center announced the addition of two new members to its Board of Trustees, along with a new Chair and Vice Chair. Kathy Surace-Smith, JD, will take over the Board Chair position from Matt McIlwain, MBA, who now becomes immediate Past Chair. Ms. Surace-Smith, who is...
Improvements in protocol-driven clinical trials and supportive care for children and adolescents with cancer have markedly reduced mortality rates over the past 5 decades. Yet, along with clinical advances, oncologists and their young patients with cancer face a host of ethical issues, made more...
Jessica Y. Islam, PhD, MPH, of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses findings from the COVID-19 Impact Survey, which showed that cancer survivors are adhering to many of the recommended COVID-19 preventive behaviors, such as wearing masks and social distancing.
Cancer-related anxiety has negative impacts on emotional, physical, and social well-being, with data indicating older patients are likely to remain undiagnosed, leading to poor outcomes. In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Integrative Oncology series, Drs. Trevino, Saracino, and Roth highlight...
Findings from a study published by Eisfeld et al in the journal Leukemia could refine an important set of prognostic and treatment recommendations for younger adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The retrospective study evaluated the molecular characteristics and outcomes of 863...
In the French phase II TROPHIMMUN trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Benoit You, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that avelumab normalized human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels in approximately half of women with gestational trophoblastic tumors resistant to single-agent...
Over the past few weeks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued designations and accepted applications for novel agents, as well as approved companion diagnostics. We summarize these regulatory movements below. Breakthrough Therapy Designation for MK-6482 in von Hippel-Lindau...
The ASCO guideline on the use of antiemetics has been updated to include new anticancer agents, antiemetics, and regimens.1 The guideline also addresses a growing concern among some oncologists that corticosteroids and their immunosuppressive abilities could potentially compromise the efficacy of...
Findings from a report published by Bass et al in JAMA Oncology show that childhood cancer survivors with severe hearing loss are at a significant increased risk for neurocognitive deficits, independent of what type of therapy they receive. This study is the first to objectively measure hearing and ...
Considered the “guardian of the genome,” TP53 is the most commonly mutated gene in patients with cancer. TP53's normal function is to detect DNA damage and prevent cells from passing this damage on to daughter cells. When TP53 is mutated, the protein made from this gene, called p53, can no longer...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) announced its decision not to hold the 62nd ASH Annual Meeting in San Diego as planned given the continuing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting will be offered as a virtual experience from December 5–8, 2020. The Society commented, “While there is...
Research published by London et al in JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics found significant decreases nationwide in the number of patients seen for cancer-related care as the COVID-19 pandemic progressed during the first few months of 2020. The most significant decline was seen in encounters related to ...
In an analysis from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Dixon et al found that 5-year survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) diagnosed and treated with risk-stratified therapy in the 1990s had reduced morbidity and health-related late ...
On July 31, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved tafasitamab-cxix (Monjuvi) in combination with lenalidomide for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)–not otherwise specified, including DLBCL arising from low-grade...
Although the United States spends billions of dollars each year on cancer research, very little of that funding is dedicated to mental health research in patients with cancer, despite the fact that cancer survivors have a six-time higher risk for psychological disability than people without...
A new multi-institution, dose-determining clinical trial of a compound for patients with metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer showed the combination “demonstrated acceptable tolerability and potential efficacy,” reported Aggarwal et al in Clinical Cancer Research. The phase Ib/IIa study ...
A European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) interdisciplinary expert consensus paper on how to manage patients with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic was published by Giuseppe Curigliano, MD, PhD, and colleagues in Annals of Oncology. The guidance encourages medical oncologists worldwide not...
Peripheral neuropathy is one of the most prominent chronic side effects of chemotherapy and can linger for years, causing discomfort as well as impaired functionality and quality of life. Yet oncologists have struggled to identify definitive treatment and prevention strategies. In an effort to help ...
Xavier Llor, MD, PhD, of Yale University School of Medicine, discusses the steep rise of early-onset colorectal cancer over the past 15 years, which cannot be explained by genetic predisposition but may be prompted by environmental factors (Session ED35).
In a study of genome-wide somatic alterations in multiple myeloma reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Samur et al identified a subgroup of patients with superior outcomes who are not adequately identified by traditional risk markers. The study involved analysis of deep whole-genome...
Periodontal disease was associated with an increased risk of two precursors of colorectal cancer, according to results of a study published by Lo et al in Cancer Prevention Research. “Periodontal disease is prevalent among adults, with periodontitis affecting more than 40% of the U.S. population,”...
An updated cervical cancer screening guideline from the American Cancer Society released today has called for less—and more simplified—screening. The guideline was published by Fontham et al in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The updated guideline recommends that individuals with a cervix...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Meeting: COVID-19 and Cancer took place from July 20 to 22, 2020, attracting top scientific minds from around the world to present preliminary research on the ever-evolving COVID-19 pandemic and its intersection with cancer care. In an...
Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, summarizes a special panel discussion on ways to eliminate cancer health disparities among racial and ethnic minorities. Increasing minority representation in clinical trials, thus ensuring...
Study results documenting parental hesitancy to begin and complete their child's human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine series were published by Sonawane et al in The Lancet Public Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends a two-dose HPV vaccination regimen for children if the...
In a population-based modeling study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Maringe et al estimated that delays in diagnosis due to the COVID-19 pandemic could result in 3,291 to 3,621 additional deaths from breast, colorectal, esophageal, and lung cancers within 5 years. As stated by the investigators,...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Matteo Lambertini, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that pregnancy after breast cancer in women harboring deleterious germline BRCA mutations did not appear to be associated with worsened maternal prognosis or fetal...
American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) President Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, of UCLA School of Medicine, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, commented on this study with statins and ovarian cancer: “This large study based on the records of more than 10,000 women over a 10-year...
Lipophilic statin use was associated with a reduced risk of dying of epithelial ovarian cancer in a large observational study. Compared with never users, women with epithelial ovarian cancer who were taking any type of statins had a reduced mortality of 40%, and those taking lipophilic statins had...
Study discussant Michele Teng, PhD, of QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia, commented: “Cancer immunotherapy is a new pillar of cancer treatment. The aim is to improve the overall survival of patients with cancer, but there is room for improvement, and various...
Tiragolumab, an anti-TIGIT antibody, plus the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab exhibited early clinical activity and was tolerated in patients with advanced solid tumors, including those with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that was PD-L1–positive and untreated with prior checkpoint...
Today, the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) Executive Committee announced that the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium will take place in 2020. However, in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic, the Executive Committee has made the decision—out of necessity to...
According to research published by Russell et al in Frontiers in Oncology, patients with a longer-established diagnosis of cancer are at increased risk for more severe infection with COVID-19, as well as death from the virus. Patients of Asian ethnicity or who were receiving palliative treatment...
The study’s invited discussant, Philip A. Philip, MD, PhD, FRCP, Professor of Oncology, Pharmacology, and Medicine and the Kathryn Cramer Endowed Chair in Cancer Research at Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, asked whether another triplet regimen was...
In a small single-center randomized trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, David Hui, MD, MS, MSc, and colleagues found that increasing haloperidol dose, rotating to chlorpromazine, and combining haloperidol and chlorpromazine each appeared to improve refractory agitation in patients with terminal...
In patients with newly diagnosed locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma, treatment with liposomal irinotecan plus fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (NALIRIFOX) resulted in a median progression-free survival of 9.2 months and a median overall survival of 12.6 months, ...
Jonathan W. Friedberg, MD, MMSc, has been appointed as the next Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO), the flagship journal of ASCO. JCO publishes cutting-edge research on the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cancer and is one of the most highly cited oncology journals...
On July 24, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus), a CD19-directed genetically modified autologous T-cell immunotherapy, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma. “Tremendous...
David Sallman, MD, Assistant Member of the Malignant Hematology Department at Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, Florida, commented on these findings for The ASCO Post. “Although the hypomethylating agent azacitidine represents a standard of care for higher-risk myelodysplastic...
“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhumane because it often results in physical death. I see no alternative to direct action and creative nonviolence to raise the conscience of the nation.” —Martin Luther King, Jr, speaking before the Medical...
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 hindsight, the symptoms I began experiencing in the winter of 2013, including pains in my chest and shoulders and a persistent cough, should have rung loud alarm bells. However, having undergone a pancreatectomy and splenectomy to cure a history of mucinous cystic neoplasms of the pancreas 5...
Carolyn J. Anderson, PhD, has been named the 2020 recipient of the Paul C. Aebersold Award. Dr. Anderson is a Professor in the Departments of Medicine, Radiology, Bioengineering, Chemistry, and Pharmacology and Chemical Biology at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. The award was...
LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr, MD, the Charles R. Drew Professor of Surgery at Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC, died on May 25, 2019, at the age of 89. The ASCO Post paid tribute to Dr. Leffall in its July 10, 2019, issue. Here, as part of our 10-Year Anniversary Series, we...
As medical professionals increasingly turn to online learning opportunities in the midst of COVID-19 restrictions on travel and gatherings, ASCO eLearning delivers valuable, up-to-date clinical care courses for physicians, nurses, and advanced practitioners on a robust platform that can be easily...
ASCO’s CancerLinQ® has launched the SmartLinQ™ QOPI® Certification Pathway, an application that empowers oncology practices to automate quality measure tracking and reporting for participation in ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) Certification Program, a 3-year certification...