A clinical trial recently published by Kutny et al in JAMA Oncology found that the combination of all-trans retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide was highly effective in children with standard- and high-risk acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Nearly all patients in the trial survived for 2 years...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Tawbi et al, final results of the phase II CheckMate 204 trial indicate good long-term outcomes with the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab in patients with asymptomatic active melanoma brain metastases, with poorer outcomes observed in those with...
In an analysis of the pivotal CLL14 trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Al-Sawaf et al found that venetoclax plus obinutuzumab was associated with higher rates of undetectable measurable residual disease (MRD) and prolonged MRD doubling time vs chlorambucil plus obinutuzumab at 3...
Patients with solid tumors who are ineligible for clinical trials receive immune checkpoint inhibitors at greater rates than patients who are eligible, despite no survival benefit, according to a recent study by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The...
President Joseph Biden has nominated Robert M. Califf, MD, MACC, for the position of Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Dr. Califf is an internationally recognized expert in clinical trial research, health disparities, health-care quality, and cardiovascular medicine....
In an Italian phase III trial (FOLL12) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Luminari et al found that a response-adapted postinduction strategy resulted in poorer progression-free survival vs standard rituximab maintenance in patients with previously untreated advanced follicular lymphoma...
“MC1675 is an important and exciting trial,” stated invited discussant Farzan Siddiqui, MD, PhD, of the Henry Ford Cancer Institute, Detroit. “Congratulations to the authors and to Dr. Ma for his award.” “There is strong evidence to suggest that patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancers...
As reported in The Lancet by Falcaro et al, a register-based observational study has shown that the England national human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine program, initiated in 2008 using a bivalent vaccine (Cervarix; HPV16/18), has been successful in reducing the rates of cervical cancer and grade 3...
In a cross-sectional analysis reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Chino et al found that a minority of National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated cancer centers (NCI-CCs) were fully compliant with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) price transparency rules. Study ...
De-escalated adjuvant radiotherapy appears to be safe in patients with surgically resectable, human papillomavirus (HPV)--positive oropharyngeal cancers, particularly in patients without extranodal extension or pN2 disease by American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) 8th edition. These findings...
Sophia C. Kamran, MD, a radiation oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the RTOG 0815 study, commented: “The results of RTOG 0815 demonstrate that in the setting of contemporary dose-escalated...
Both dose-escalated radiation therapy and short-course androgen-deprivation therapy have been shown to improve outcomes in intermediate-risk prostate cancer, but it is not clear whether giving both modalities upfront to newly diagnosed patients is of benefit. The phase III RTOG 0815 study presented ...
Patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma receiving first-line therapy with a checkpoint inhibitor combination of nivolumab plus ipilimumab experienced over twice as long treatment-free survival without toxicity compared with patients receiving the targeted therapy sunitinib, according to data...
Stress can have a significant negative effect on health, but our understanding of how stress impacts the development and progression of cancer is just beginning. A team from Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has identified an important mechanism by which chronic stress weakens immunity and...
Most children and adolescents with cancer have mild COVID-19 disease and make a full recovery, a new study by Haeusler et al in the European Journal of Cancer has found. But pediatric patients with cancer and underlying health conditions, severe infections, and low white blood cell counts were...
In a multicenter international retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Nebhan et al found that single-agent immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in patients with cancer aged ≥ 80 years appeared to be effective and generally well tolerated. As stated by the investigators, “Geriatric...
Patients with two out of the three most common types of advanced breast cancer now have an average survival time of at least 5 years, according to a panel of experts at the Advanced Breast Cancer Sixth International Consensus Conference (ABC6), which was held virtually this year. The Advanced...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s 2021 Virtual Congress on Hematologic Malignancies took place from October 14 to October 16. The meeting focused on updates to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology; new, emerging, and novel therapeutic agents; advances in cancer care; and the...
ASCO has partnered with the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) for a new initiative to improve COVID-19 vaccination rates among high-risk adults. The partnership is the result of a 5-year cooperative agreement the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) awarded CMSS, a coalition ...
Oncology practices that participated in a quality improvement project that included ASCO’s Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) and ASCO Quality Training Program (QTP) were able to make improvements in the care provided to underserved populations in their communities, according to a recent...
On September 30, 2021, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury (“the Departments”), along with the Office of Personnel Management, released an interim final rule with comment period, entitled “Requirements Related to...
The AACR Cancer Progress Report 2021, published on October 13, celebrates the gains made in cancer research since President Richard Nixon signed the National Cancer Act into law on December 23, 1971, especially against such life-threatening cancers as metastatic melanoma and lung cancer.1 The...
About 10 years ago, on a flight to Detroit, while returning from the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, I had a conversation with Lori Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, radiation oncologist at the University of Michigan, who went on to become ASCO President for the 2020–2021 term. I recall inviting her...
David Morse Livingston, MD, formerly the Charles A. Dana Chair in Human Cancer Genetics at Dana-Farber and the Emil Frei III Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, died unexpectedly on October 17, 2021. He was Deputy Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) ...
The Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF) has announced the recipients of the 2021 LCRF Research Grant on Disparities in Lung Cancer, awarding $300,000 in research grants for projects focused on disparities in lung cancer. This funding mechanism will provide $150,000 over a period of 2 years...
The invited discussant of BrighTNess,1 Monica Arnedos, MD, PhD, Head of the Breast Cancer Research Program at the Institut Bergonié in Bordeaux, France, said the findings add to growing support for using carboplatin in triple-negative breast cancer, but their clinical application could be...
In patients with early resectable triple-negative breast cancer, not only did the addition of carboplatin to standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy improve pathologic complete response rates, it also improved 4-year event-free survival, regardless of BRCA status, according to the latest analysis of the...
Women Leaders in Oncology has named Pamela Kunz, MD, the 2021 Woman Oncologist of the Year. Dr. Kunz is Associate Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology), Director of the Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center, Chief of GI Medical Oncology, and Vice...
Individuals with solid tumors had an appropriate, protective immune response to vaccination against SARS–CoV-2, at least with the mRNA-1273 vaccine, and side effects were no more common than in the general population, according to a large Dutch study.1 The study was reported during the European...
Mary Pasquinelli, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, was the recipient of this year’s James L. Mulshine, MD, National Leadership Award presented during the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s Quantitative Imaging Workshop held virtually earlier in November. Dr. Pasquinelli is a nurse practitioner in the Division of...
Invited discussant of the study on medication nonadherence, Michaela A. Dinan, PhD, Co-Leader of Cancer Prevention and Control at Yale Cancer Center and Associate Professor of Chronic Disease Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health, in Connecticut, noted that the CAHPS survey data provide...
Approximately 1 in 10 long-term survivors of cancer fails to take medications as prescribed due to financial hardship, according to research presented at the 2021 ASCO Quality Care Symposium.1 However, indirect health-care costs—not drug copays—may be responsible, the study investigators ...
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, MD, honored the late Henrietta Lacks with a WHO Director-General’s award, recognizing her world-changing legacy. Ms. Lacks, a Black American woman, died of cervical cancer 70 years ago, on October 4, 1951. While she...
When I was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in 1992, at age 38, I remember thinking, “I wish I had breast cancer.” Breast cancer elicits such sympathy from people. A diagnosis of small cell lung cancer mainly gets you stern looks of disapproval and disappointment. There is so much stigma...
Susan G. Komen, the world’s leading breast cancer organization, recently announced the award of $1.5 million for three new research projects that examine unique areas focused on metastatic breast cancer. The grants are part of the Susan G. Komen Metastatic Breast Cancer Collaborative Research...
Jennifer A. Woyach, MD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, talks about whether modifications of treatment based on minimal residual disease is beneficial to patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic lymphoma.
Alice S. Mims, MD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the many positive changes over the past 5 years in treating patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia in the upfront setting. She also details future directions, including further combining therapies...
Howard M. Sandler, MD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, discusses whether hypofractionation can be safely employed in the post-prostatectomy setting and the role of short-term hormone therapy in the management of intermediate-risk prostate cancer with radiotherapy.
Over the arc of his notable career, Joseph R. Bertino, MD, garnered many honors for his scientific contributions leading to curative treatments for leukemia and lymphoma, such as ASCO’s David A. Karnofsky Award. Yet his legacy was perhaps most prominently punctuated by the multitude of patients...
The Association of the American Cancer Institutes (AACI) Vice President/President-Elect Robert A. Winn, MD, Director of Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center, recently received the AACI Cancer Health Equity Award. Dr. Winn is the inaugural recipient of the award, which was presented ...
The Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center–Jefferson Health (SKCC) has named Marcia Brose, MD, PhD, FASCO, as Vice Chair of Medical Oncology and SKCC Regional Chief of Cancer Services at Jefferson Torresdale Hospital in Northeast Philadelphia. Dr. Brose’s areas of expertise include thyroid cancer, rare...
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) recognized the recipients of its 2021 Gold Medal awards and other honors at the 63rd ASTRO Annual Meeting, held October 24 to 27 in Chicago. ASTRO Gold Medal Colleen A.F. Lawton, MD, FASTRO, and Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, received the Gold ...
“A lot of times, younger bright physicians are afraid to say what they really think, out of fear of challenging the dogma. One of the things I do when mentoring is to ask why we are doing a particular therapy or intervention. I tell my mentees not to let the data interfere with your knowledge,”...
In this installment of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, spoke with Aleix Prat, MD, PhD, Head of the Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. Dr. Prat, a breast cancer researcher, is currently working to identify strategies to tailor treatment for...
Daniel F. Hayes, MD, of the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center, discusses whether liquid biopsies can provide insight into the challenge of curing metastatic breast and possibly other cancers, how oligometastases are similar to a primary cancer, and why some kinds of local therapy for...
In an exploratory U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pooled analysis reported in The Lancet Oncology, Jennifer J. Gao, MD, and colleagues found that the addition of CDK4/6 inhibitor treatment to fulvestrant resulted in a consistent overall survival benefit vs placebo plus fulvestrant in...
Hossein Borghaei, DO, MS, Chief of the Division of Thoracic Medical Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been named one of three winners of the second annual Lung Cancer Heroes awards program. Dr. Borghaei, who is a co-leader of the Molecular Therapeutics Program at Fox Chase and an authority...
People with blood cancers are at a higher risk than healthy individuals for severe infection with COVID-19; furthermore, research suggests that they do not always achieve optimal protection from vaccination. A new study published by Pagano et al in the journal Blood—the first to report on...
Fox Chase Cancer Center recently announced the hiring of Teresa Y. Lee, MD, PhD, as Assistant Professor. Dr. Lee will focus on caring for patients with sarcoma and head and neck cancer. Dr. Lee began her tenure at Fox Chase following her completion of a hematology/oncology fellowship at Thomas...
Invited discussant Benjamin Besse, MD, of Gustave Roussy Cancer Center, Villejuif, France, was generally positive about the findings of Impower010 but said that longer-term follow-up of overall survival will be very important. “IMpower010 is the first adjuvant study establishing an immune...