Researchers have identified genetic risk factors that may contribute to prostate cancer in a diverse group of African men, according to a recent study published by Janivara et al in Nature Genetics. The findings could uncover new treatment options in this patient population. Background Certain...
Researchers found that a higher dosage of radioembolization treatment using yttrium (Y)-90 microspheres than previously recommended may benefit patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Chen et al in Liver Cancer. The findings could be practice-changing....
For women with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer, KEYNOTE-522 changed the treatment paradigm several years ago. Support for neoadjuvant use of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab, was bolstered by the positive overall survival analysis...
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and Vanderbilt University have received a $3.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to pioneer a novel approach to prostate cancer surgery that combines advanced robotics and low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology. Overview...
A recent study found that measuring circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is a reliable way to predict later treatment response and survival prospects in men when metastatic prostate cancer is first diagnosed. The test may help providers to decide which patients should receive standard treatment vs who...
A recent study suggests that for people older than age 65 who have cancer, physical activity may be key to reducing the chances of a dangerous fall. People with lung cancer, colorectal cancer, or prostate cancer, in particular, had a lower risk of falling when they talked with their doctor...
Researchers have found that common breast cancer treatments—including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery—may accelerate the biological aging process among breast cancer survivors, according to a new study published by Carroll et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The findings...
The ASCO Annual Meeting brings together oncologists, researchers, and health-care professionals to share the latest advancements in cancer care. The 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting (ASCO24) was particularly momentous for those of who received the international development and education award (IDEA). As...
Three years ago, it had become clear that I needed to be tested for the BRCA1/2 mutation. I knew my family history of cancer was not good. My paternal grandmother died of breast cancer when she was just 41, and her mother had likely died of cervical cancer when she was in her 50s. More recently,...
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded jointly to two U.S. scientists: Victor Ambros, PhD, and Gary Ruvkun, PhD, for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation. The recipients were named in a news release issued by The Nobel Assembly at ...
The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), along with 46 state oncology societies, sent a letter to U.S. House and Senate leadership urging Congress to pass the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 8702/S. 4532), which would streamline prior authorization practices within Medicare...
The American Society for Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and the University of Utah announced updated recommendations for managing intravenous fluid shortages and conserving supply after Hurricane Helene forced the closure of a critical manufacturing plant in North Carolina. The management and...
An artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm may be effective at writing physician’s letters, according to a recent study published by Heilmeyer et al in JMIR Medical Informatics. Background According to recent surveys, physicians may spend almost 3 hours per day on documentation activities. “The...
In the field of radiology, where a correct diagnosis is critical to ensure proper patient care, large language models such as ChatGPT may improve accuracy or offer a second opinion in assessing brain tumor magnetic response imaging (MRI) reports, according to a recent study published by Mitsuyama...
Total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) followed by rectal surgery is the standard of care in proficient mismatch repair (pMMR) locally advanced rectal cancer, but studies are finding that patients with clinical complete response may often avoid surgery and be followed “nonoperatively.” In the first...
Spiritual beliefs and a historically based distrust of clinical research may influence Black patients’ decisions about whether to participate in cancer trials, according to new findings presented by Gomez et al at the 2024 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting (Abstract...
A radiopharmaceutical therapy has demonstrated early efficacy in patients with difficult-to-treat meningioma, according to new findings presented by Merrell et al at the 2024 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 2) and simultaneously published in the...
A common mutation in the KRAS gene seems to be associated with improved overall survival in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma compared with other variants, in part because the mutation appears to lead to less invasiveness and weaker biological activity, according to a recent study published in...
A substantial number of patients with brain metastases who experience cognitive side effects after radiation therapy may fully regain cognitive function, according to recent findings presented by Cherng et al at the 2024 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 150). ...
OCE Insights is an occasional department developed for The ASCO Post by members of the Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In this installment, the OCE’s Steven Clark Cunningham, MD, MLA, FACS, Clinical Reviewer on the Gastrointestinal Cancers Team, ...
An accelerated course of postmastectomy radiation therapy may not increase complications in patients with breast cancer undergoing breast reconstruction, according to recent findings presented by Poppe et al at the 2024 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Annual Meeting (Abstract 1) and ...
It is not often that the oncology community looks to the Supreme Court to forecast its future. In 2024, two decisions seemingly unrelated to health care were issued that are likely to have a monumental impact on oncology care delivery. The Court’s rulings—on June 28, Loper Bright Enterprises et ...
An updated overall survival analysis of the phase III HIMALAYA study, now at 5 years, confirms the benefit for the STRIDE regimen of the monoclonal antibodies durvalumab plus tremelimumab in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.1 [The STRIDE regimen consists of a single priming dose of...
The American Cancer Society (ACS) recently released Breast Cancer Statistics, 2024, the organization’s biennial update on breast cancer occurrence and trends in the United States. The new report finds breast cancer mortality rates overall have dropped by 44% since 1989, averting approximately...
Deintensified treatment involving a lower radiation dose and immunotherapy in place of chemotherapy may not perform as well as a more rigorous chemoradiation treatment approach in patients with early-stage human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer, according to new findings...
Two types of contemporary radiation therapy—proton-beam therapy or intensity-modulated radiation therapy—may provide comparable rates of tumor control with no differences in patient-reported quality of life among patients with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer, according to new findings...
Findings of a multi-institutional phase III trial indicated that people with limited-stage small cell lung cancer may benefit from the addition of immunotherapy to chemoradiotherapy, but not if both treatments are given simultaneously, new research finds. The results suggest that the timing of when ...
Investigators have uncovered a higher risk for strokes, heart attacks, and hospital admissions for heart failure in older cancer survivors, according to a recent study published by Muhandiramge et al in Cancer. Background Although advances in cancer treatment have led to decreased mortality rates...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has always prided itself on its commitment to evidence-based, expert consensus–driven recommendations for cancer care, with a special focus on breaking down the barriers that contribute to disparities in outcomes across all patients with cancer. With ...
Advancing surgical and pathologic techniques may improve overall survival rates in high-risk patients with lung cancer, according to new findings presented by Akinbobola et al at the 2024 ASCO Quality Care Symposium (Abstract 278). Background “Over the past 15 years, a quality improvement...
Communication between health-care providers and older patients with cancer regarding the significance of physical activity may help reduce the risk of falls during cancer therapy, according to new findings presented by Lu and Zheng at the 2024 ASCO Quality Care Symposium (Abstract 224). Background...
West African genetic ancestry may be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer among men residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods but not among those residing in more affluent neighborhoods, according to a recent study published by Pichardo et al in JAMA Network Open. The findings...
Treatment with the immunotherapy agent pembrolizumab may nearly double the length that patients with high-risk, muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma are cancer free following surgical removal of the bladder, according to a recent study published by Apolo et al in The New England Journal of...
Symptoms related to sexual health may be associated with decreased adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy among Black women with early-stage breast cancer, according to new findings presented by Anderson et al at the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference on the Science of ...
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has increased guideline-concordant care for colorectal cancer among non-White patients, those from rural areas, and those from the most deprived neighborhoods in Pennsylvania, according to new findings presented by Kudaravalli et al at the 2024 American Association for ...
The results from a phase Ib/II study of a five-drug targeted therapy regimen—venetoclax, ibrutinib, prednisone, obinutuzumab, and lenalidomide (ViPOR)—in the treatment of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) showed the treatment produced durable remissions and potential...
Researchers have found that about 50% of patients with metastatic melanoma treated with a combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab experienced cancer-free survival of 10 years or longer, according to a recent study published by Wolchok et al in The New England Journal of Medicine. Background In...
ASCO has released its first clinical practice guideline focused specifically on the management of locally advanced rectal cancer.1 “Rectal cancer, and especially locally advanced rectal cancer, is a complex disease that requires individualized approaches using multimodality therapies to have the...
Multicancer early detection (MCED) tests are beginning to enter clinical practice, but how useful will they be? “This is an exciting field, with many competing technologies. MCED assays will be coming across your desk in the near future if they haven’t already. But they are not a panacea. They are ...
Clinical trials are now demonstrating the value of immune checkpoint inhibitors as neoadjuvant therapy in certain subsets of patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO, described this newer approach—specifically, which subsets of patients may...
Investigators have found that Black women may have a higher risk of dying from all subtypes of breast cancer compared with White women, according to a recent study published by Torres et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The findings demonstrated that higher mortality rates among Black women...
Researchers have identified thousands of genetic changes in a gene that may increase the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers, according to a recent study published by Olvera-León et al in Cell. The findings may pave the way for better risk assessment and more personalized care. ...
Medical oncology had a turbulent beginning, as we explained in part 1 of this commentary published in the September 25, 2024, issue of The ASCO Post. And although no other specialty we know of struggled as much, with perseverance and time, it had become a stable specialty of internal medicine by...
Medical oncology had a turbulent beginning. No other specialty we know of struggled as much. But by 1980, it had become a stable specialty of internal medicine and was off and running—with the major problem of how to marshal available resources to freely test the myriad opportunities presented by ...
On September 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a draft guidance to provide sponsors with recommendations for conducting multiregional clinical trials in support of applications for drugs intended to treat cancer, according to a notice published in the Federal Register....
A study by Hutchinson et al quantifying the socioeconomic burden of ovarian cancer in 11 countries, including the United States, estimates that nearly $70 billion in socioeconomic losses may be attributable to ovarian cancer. Moreover, health expenditures to cover treatment in the first 2 years...
The results of numerous large international studies reported at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 showed that immunotherapy improves long-term overall survival in patients with a variety of cancer types, including advanced melanoma,1,2 triple-negative breast cancer,3...
An updated overall survival analysis of the phase III HIMALAYA study, now at 5 years, has confirmed the robust benefit for the STRIDE regimen of durvalumab plus tremelimumab in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.1 At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 (Abstract...
Researchers have found that chemotherapy prior to surgery may reduce the amount of normal tissue that needs to be removed in patients with advanced nasal and paranasal sinus squamous cell carcinoma, according to recent findings presented by Saba et al at the European Society for Medical Oncology...
Women who breastfeed after treatment for breast cancer—including those with germline BRCA-mutated disease—may not be at increased risk of cancer recurrence or new breast cancers, according to two recent international studies presented by Blondeaux et al (Abstract 1815O) and Peccatori et al...