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Showing 8051 - 8100In Case You Missed It: Short Takes on Current Cancer Research
It would be impossible to cover all of the important presentations from the 5,000-plus abstracts accepted for the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. In addition to our regular meeting coverage of the top news stories, the following highlights focus on novel investigational approaches to therapy for various...
Oral Taxane Shows Strong Activity and Good Tolerability in Metastatic Breast Cancer
As first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer, the oral taxane tesetaxel produced a 45% confirmed response rate and was well tolerated, producing little alopecia or neuropathy, according to Andrew D. Seidman, MD, and colleagues from several cancer centers. Dr. Seidman, of Memorial Sloan...
Geographic Differences in End-of-Life Cancer Care
When it comes to how much end-of-life care a patient with cancer receives, geography may, indeed, be destiny, according to new research led by Harvard Medical School that found differences in this type of cancer care across different parts of the country. The findings, published by Keating et al...
FDA Expands Ribociclib Indication in Hormone Receptor–Positive, HER2-Negative Advanced or Metastatic Breast Cancer
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the indication for ribociclib (Kisqali) in combination with an aromatase inhibitor for premenopausal or perimenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer as initial...
MSI-High Status and Lynch Syndrome Found in Surprising Variety of Cancers
In a study that many consider to be practice-changing, Lynch syndrome, a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome, was found in many persons who would not ordinarily be suspected of having it.1 The study, which was presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, has implications for broader testing...
Expert Point of View: David Graham, MD, FASCO and Richard Schilsky, MD, FACP, FASCO, FSCT
ASCO expert David Graham, MD, FASCO, of the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, was encouraged by the IMpower131 findings. “This is one more example of how immunotherapy is making steady gains against a number of cancers. Immunotherapy has been shown to be effective in other...
Atezolizumab Plus Chemotherapy Extends Survival in Squamous NSCLC Regardless of PD-L1 Level
Patients with advanced squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had a greater benefit from first-line treatment with the combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) plus chemotherapy vs chemotherapy alone in the randomized, phase III, IMpower131 clinical trial.1 At the landmark of 12-month...
8-Year Update of SOFT and TEXT Trials: Positive but Not Definitive
At the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), the International Breast Cancer Study Group (IBCSG) and its collaborators presented the 8-year updates of the key modern trials of ovarian function suppression after local treatment for young women with resected breast cancer.1 These updates...
Expert Point of View: Selma Ugurel, MD
Selma Ugurel, MD, of the Skin Cancer Center Essen at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, discussed the Merkel cell carcinoma presentations at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. “Immunotherapy is of high interest in Merkel cell because of the high immunogenicity of the tumor—viral-induced and...
Immunotherapy in Merkel Cell Carcinoma: ‘Field Has Been Thrown on Its Head’
At the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, investigators presented long-term follow-up data for immunotherapy in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma and new data for its use in the neoadjuvant setting. The results drew high interest from attendees and a number of questions were raised following the...
Expert Point of View: Colin D. Weekes, MD, PhD and Manish A. Shah, MD, FASCO
Two pancreatic cancer specialists commented on the PREOPANC-1 study for The ASCO Post: Colin D. Weekes, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, who had discussed the abstract at the ASCO Annual Meeting, and Manish A. Shah, MD, FASCO, Chief of the Solid Tumor...
Early Study Shows Elasticity of Cancer Cells May Determine Where Pancreatic Cancer Metastases Form
Pancreatic cancer often metastasizes to the liver or lungs. The prognosis is better for patients with metastases in the lungs. However, the organ that is more likely to be affected depends on the cancer cells’ ability to alter their characteristics and shape—as a research team at the...
American Cancer Society Outlines Blueprint for Cancer Control in the 21st Century
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is outlining its vision for cancer control in the decades ahead in a series of articles that began publishing in early July in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The series of articles forms the basis of a national cancer control plan, with a blueprint...
NCI and VA Launch NAVIGATE to Boost Veterans’ Access to Cancer Clinical Trials
Veterans with cancer who receive treatment from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will now have easier access to clinical trials of novel cancer treatments, thanks to an agreement between the VA and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. The NCI...
Palliative Care Preferences in Male Patients With Cancer
Men with advanced cancer are 30% less likely than women to consider palliative care, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) study. Researchers believe the findings reflect social norms about gender roles, as well as widespread messages in the media and society about...
Human Papillomavirus Vaccine in Cutaneous Basaloid Squamous Cell Carcinomas
Squamous cell carcinoma is the second-most-common form of skin cancer. Evidence suggests the human papillomavirus (HPV) plays a role in the development of some types of this skin cancer. Two years ago, a 97-year-old woman whose right leg was covered with squamous cell tumors went to see...
Statement by FDA Commissioner on Opioid Access for Patients With Chronic and End-of-Life Pain
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, recently issued the following statement. The opioid epidemic continues to take an emotional, physical, and financial toll on Americans. The FDA is committed to taking every possible step to address the many facets of this...
ESHRE 2018: Large Population Study Does Not Find Causal Link Between Assisted Reproduction and Ovarian Cancer Risk
Following concerns over many years that hormonal stimulation of the ovaries necessary for in vitro fertilization (IVF) may increase the risk of ovarian cancer, a nationwide cohort study from Denmark has now concluded that any perceived increase in risk is actually a statistical bias resulting from...
ESHRE 2018: Early-Stage Research Shows Potential of Artificial Ovary for Fertility Preservation Without the Risk of Reintroducing Malignancy
Important steps in the development of an artificial ovary have been successfully completed. Researchers from the Rigshospitalet in Copenhagen, Denmark, reported that they have—for the first time—isolated and grown human follicles to a point of biofunctionality on a bioengineered ovarian ...
Adding Motolimod to Standard Chemotherapy and Cetuximab in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck
In a phase II trial (Active8) reported in JAMA Oncology, Ferris et al found that the addition of the toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8) agonist motolimod to platinum-fluorouracil plus cetuximab (Erbitux) did not improve progression-free survival among all patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous...
Study Finds Inherited Gene Variants in 10% of Patients With Pancreatic Cancer
A large study of pancreatic cancer patients found that almost 10% harbored inherited genetic variations or mutations that may have increased their susceptibility to the disease. At the same time, some of these mutations were associated with more favorable responses to certain chemotherapy agents,...
ASCO Supports NCI-Designated Cancer Centers’ Goal of Eliminating HPV-Related Cancers
ASCO HAS officially 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...
Excerpt From the 2018 ASCO Presidential Address: ‘Delivering Discoveries: Expanding the Reach of Precision Medicine’
In my area of research, lung cancer, precision medicine is indeed transforming the treatment of this disease and has important implications for other cancers and for the future of our patients with cancer. Today’s achievement of being able to systematically identify genomic changes that can be...
Testicular Cancer Survivors and Adequate Screening for Long-Term Heart Disease
TESTICULAR CANCER is among the most common cancers in young men. The majority of patients are cured of their disease, but a newly published study shows many remain at risk for later complications from chemotherapy or other treatments. The study, published by Mohammad Abu Zaid, MD, Assistant...
A Humble Beginning Built on Commitment: The Life and Times of Lee S. Schwartzberg, MD, FACP
In this edition of the Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, interviewed medical oncologist Lee S. Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, Executive Director at the West Cancer Center, Memphis. Dr. Schwartzberg’s major research interests are new therapeutic approaches to breast cancer,...
Treatment Beyond Disease Progression in Melanoma: Challenge Centers on Knowing Who May Benefit
Dr. Weiss is Assistant Professor (Medical Oncology), Developmental Therapeutics, Melanoma Program, Yale Cancer Center. Dr. Sznol is Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology); Co-Director, Cancer Immunology Program, Yale Cancer Center Co-Director, Yale SPORE in Skin Cancer, New Haven, Connecticut. ...
Expert Point of View: David Rimm, MD, PhD
“TUMOR MUTATIONAL burden is an emerging biomarker independent of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) level. There are a few reasons for enthusiasm. Tumor mutational burden is a compelling biomarker for response and progression-free survival. Six-month progression-free survival is 50% with a...
Evidence Builds for Tumor Mutational Burden as Biomarker in Lung Cancer
TUMOR MUTATIONAL burden is emerging as a predictive biomarker for the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as well as other tumor types. However, experts say tumor mutational burden has hurdles to overcome. At the 2018 Annual Meeting of...
Expert Point of View: Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD
“THIS IS a wonderful presentation and a very exciting trial,” said formal discussant Jedd Wolchok, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. Despite the remarkable advances achieved with anti–programmed cell death protein 1 and ligand 1 (anti–PD-1/anti–PD-L1) treatment, “there...
Expert Point of View: Harold Burstein, MD, PhD
HAROLD BURSTEIN, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, where he is Associate Professor of Medicine, commented on the SANDPIPER trial during a press briefing at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. PIK3 mutations are probably the most common mutation in breast cancer, and...
Study of PI3K Inhibitor Added to Fulvestrant in Advanced Breast Cancer Affirms Proof-of-Principle
IN PATIENTS with advanced breast cancer harboring a PIK3CA mutation, the addition of the PI3 kinase (PI3K) inhibitor taselisib to endocrine therapy with fulvestrant (Faslodex) significantly improved progression-free survival compared with fulvestrant alone, in the international phase III SANDPIPER...
Expert Point of View: David Graham, MD, FASCO
ASCO EXPERT David Graham, MD, FASCO, Medical Director at the Levine Cancer Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, was enthusiastic about this new technology. “This is an important first step showing there is an easier way to detect lung cancer at earlier stages. If the promise of this report...
Genome Sequencing of Blood Samples May Lead to Detection of Early- Stage Lung Cancer
IF THE INITIAL promise of research presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting bears fruit, we may one day have a simple blood test to screen for early-stage lung cancer and possibly other cancers. Although it is still very early days for this test, an initial report from the ongoing Circulating...
Expert Point of View: Marina Chiara Garassino, MD, and Justin Gainor, MD
“TODAY WE HAVE good news, because IMpower 150 is another clear positive trial on the combination of chemotherapy with immunotherapy. This is true in terms of progression-free and overall survival, which are both statistically significant [for atezolizumab (Tecentriq) plus bevacizumab (Avastin)...
Expert Point of View: Bruce D. Cheson, MD
BRUCE D. CHESON, MD, Director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington, DC, agreed that rituximab (Rituxan) plus lenalidomide (Revlimid; R2) is a reasonable first-line option, considering the findings of the RELEVANCE trial. “Dr. Fowler showed ...
Chemotherapy-Free Regimen Comparable to Rituximab-Chemotherapy as Front-Line Therapy for Follicular Lymphoma
IN PATIENTS with previously untreated advanced follicular lymphoma, the chemotherapy-free combination of rituximab (Rituxan) plus lenalidomide (Revlimid), the so-called R-squared (R2) regimen, yielded outcomes as good as those in patients who received standard rituximab-chemotherapy, in the interim ...
With European Protocol, Maintenance Therapy Improved 5-Year Survival in Rhabdomyosarcoma
THE ADDITION OF 6 months of maintenance chemotherapy in the treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma improved 5-year survival by 13%, in the European RMS2005 Maintenance study reported at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 “At the end of this long, not-easy study, we concluded that maintenance is an effective and ...
Expert Point of View: Susan O'Brien, MD, and Bruce Cheson, MD
SUSAN O’BRIEN, MD, Associate Director for Clinical Science, Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California Irvine Health, told The ASCO Post that the pairing of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and venetoclax (Venclexta) “is clearly a very powerful combination.” The next question, she...
With Compassion Toward None, With Technology for All?
Imagine health care in the not too distant future… JOHN IS GOING about his usual Saturday at home, when his health-care–enabled smart watch alerts him to a sudden rise in his heart rate. As he is wondering about the reason, he feels a sharp pain in his left lower quadrant. The tachycardia...
Expert Point of View: Charles Drake, MD, PhD
“THIS TRIAL is a clear winner for the treatment of squamous non–small cell lung cancer [NSCLC],” stated formal discussant Charles Drake, MD, PhD, of Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University Medical Center, New York. “The concept underlying the combination of checkpoint...
KEYNOTE-407: Pembrolizumab Plus Chemotherapy Benefits Response, Survival in Squamous NSCLC
THE COMBINATION of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus platinum-based chemotherapy improved overall survival, response rates, and duration of response in patients with advanced squamous cell non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with chemotherapy alone irrespective of programmed cell death ligand 1 ...
Many Childhood Cancer Survivors Not Concerned About Their Future Health
A research team led by a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital epidemiologist has conducted the largest analysis to date of how adult survivors of childhood cancer view their health risk. The scientists found that a surprisingly high number of survivors showed a lack of concern for their...
Lessons in the Chill of Early Morning
The following essay by Sushil Bhardwaj, MD, is adapted, with permission, from The Big Casino: America’s Best Cancer Doctors Share Their Most Powerful Stories, which was coedited by Stan Winokur, MD, and Vincent Coppola and published in May 2014. The book is available on Amazon.com and...
Apalutamide in Nonmetastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. Earlier this year, apalutamide (Erleada) was approved for ...
A Conversation With the Author: Mark Scholz, MD
To dig a bit deeper into some of the issues touched upon in the new book, The Key to Prostate Cancer: 30 Experts Explain 15 Stages of Prostate Cancer, The ASCO Post recently spoke with the author, Mark Scholz, MD. Dr. Scholz is a medical oncologist who exclusively treats men with prostate cancer....
New Guide Helps Clinicians Navigate Immunotherapy in Merkel Cell Carcinoma
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center researchers have published a new guide to help clinicians navigate a recent revolution in care for advanced Merkel cell carcinoma. The guide was published in JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, and it accompanies NCCN’s new...
A Medical Oncologist Urges Men to Keep Their Prostates
With the development of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test in the early 1990s, the urology community advocated for population screening of all men of a certain age, igniting a heated argument about the test’s clinical value vs potential harms that has not abated to this day. Moreover, from...
STAG2 Genetic Test Could Reduce Overtreatment in Some Patients With Bladder Cancer
A new genetic test in bladder cancer could be key to reducing the cost of care while avoiding overtreatment in some patients, according to research published by Waldman et al in Clinical Cancer Research. Deciding whether to treat bladder cancer aggressively can be difficult—predictive...
Expensive Cancer Drugs Don’t Work if Patients Can’t Afford Them
Eight years ago, I was having a series of colds I couldn’t shake and pain that radiated throughout my back. Still, my symptoms weren’t concerning until, on Halloween morning in 2010, I stepped out of bed and fell to the floor in excruciating pain, unable to move. A visit to the emergency room and a ...
FDA Grants Priority Review for Glasdegib in Patients With Previously Untreated AML
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently accepted a new drug application and granted Priority Review designation for glasdegib, an investigational oral smoothened inhibitor being evaluated for the treatment of adult patients with previously untreated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in...
