Helena Linardou, MD, PhD, Director of the 4th Department of Oncology and the Comprehensive Clinical Trials Center, Metropolitan Hospital, Athens, served as discussant of the session on antibody-drug conjugates at the 2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer. Calling antibody-drug conjugates “the next...
The treatment of patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated lung cancer that progresses on EGFR-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors has been challenging. In the phase II HERTHENA-Lung01 trial, the topoisomerase-1 HER3-targeting antibody-drug conjugate patritumab deruxtecan...
Investigators have discovered that reliable educational materials about breast cancer surgery may be difficult to access and are often presented at much higher reading levels than recommended, according to the findings of two new studies presented by Brennan et al and Satarasinghe et al at the...
Researchers have developed a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based Cancer Survival Calculator for estimating long-term survival in patients with newly diagnosed cancer, according to new findings presented by Janczewski et al at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress 2023....
Researchers have discovered that it may be possible to detect and treat dormant tumor cells in breast cancer survivors, according to new findings presented by DeMichele et al at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2023 (Abstract 244MO). The results may have offered a...
In exploratory analyses of results from the SWOG S1801 trial in patients with stage III to IV resectable melanoma, researchers saw a major pathologic response in more than half of surgical specimens taken from patients who had been treated with neoadjuvant pembrolizumab. These and other results of...
Researchers have found that a short course of induction chemotherapy prior to chemoradiation may be effective at reducing the rate of relapse and mortality among patients with locally advanced cervical cancer, according to new preliminary findings presented by McCormack et al at the European...
The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy idecabtagene vicleucel may offer an overall survival benefit in patients with multiple myeloma, regardless of their race or ethnicity, according to a novel study published by Peres et al in Blood Advances. Background Multiple myeloma—a cancer of...
The drug shortage crisis in the United States may continue to impact the care of 10% of patients and survivors of cancer, according to a new survey from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). Survey Findings In the new survey, researchers asked 1,222 patients and survivors of...
Among the 198 new oncology drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 1998 and 2022, approximately 43% of them were precision therapies, according to a recent study published by Suehnholz et al in Cancer Discovery. Background Precision oncology therapies often require...
The MONARCH 3 study’s invited discussant, Meritxell Bellet Ezquerra, MD, PhD, a senior researcher at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology in Barcelona, commented: “The second interim analysis for overall survival in MONARCH 31 indicates a positive trend, which was also observed for the subgroup...
Breast medical oncologist Virginia Kaklamani, MD, Professor of Medicine, UT Health San Antonio, MD Anderson Cancer Center, believes the results of the POSITIVE trial will help patients with breast cancer make decisions. “The trial is important because it helps us give advice to younger patients,”...
Preserving fertility is a driving concern for many young women with breast cancer. Many of these women have hormone receptor–positive breast cancer and are treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy for 5 to 10 years, which is known to compromise fertility. Younger women who may want to take a break...
The invited discussant of the SOFT analysis was Polly Niravath, MD, Associate Professor and Director of the Cancer Survivorship Program at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas. She noted that the study evaluated the use of the Breast Cancer Index (BCI) as a prognostic tool in early hormone...
In an analysis of the SOFT trial, the Breast Cancer Index accurately identified premenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive early breast cancer who may benefit from ovarian function suppression in addition to adjuvant endocrine therapy. The findings were reported by Ruth O’Regan, MD, Chair...
Virginia Kaklamani, MD, Professor of Medicine at the University of Texas (UT) Health Science Center San Antonio and leader of the Breast Cancer Program at UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, was enthusiastic about the results of the phase III CAPItello-291 trial. “The phase III...
Commenting on the DESTINY-Breast03 presentation at the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Neelima Vidula, MD, a medical oncologist at Mass General Cancer Center, said: “The results highlight the important survival differences of T-DXd [fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki] compared to T-DM1...
The antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) proved to be superior to the antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1), significantly improving progression-free survival and overall survival, in women with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer as ...
Elacestrant—an investigational oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD)—achieved longer progression-free survival vs standard-of-care endocrine monotherapy as second- or third-line therapy in patients with estrogen receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer in the ...
Nancy Chan, MD, Director of Breast Cancer Clinical Research at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, New York, commented on the monarchE analysis for The ASCO Post. She noted that the study investigated the addition of adjuvant abemaciclib (an oral CDK4/6 inhibitor) to endocrine therapy in a...
The invited discussant of the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (EBCTCG) meta-analysis, Ines Vaz-Luis, MD, PhD, of the Breast Cancer Survivorship Group, Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France, pointed out that the benefit of ovarian suppression or ablation in reducing breast cancer...
Monitored by immune positron-emission tomography (PET) imaging, a novel therapeutic approach combining HER2-targeted therapies with the lipid-lowering drug lovastatin may reduce the number of cancer treatments required to prevent tumor growth, according to a recent study published by Brown et al in ...
The children of adolescent and young adult female patients with a history of cancer may face a higher risk of birth defects, according to a recent study published by Murphy et al in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Background “Concerns like the health of future children are at the ...
As a first-line treatment for advanced biliary tract cancer, an experimental formulation of gemcitabine, NUC-1031, given with cisplatin failed to improve outcomes over standard gemcitabine/cisplatin in the global phase III NuTide:121 trial.1 “NuTide:121 has not advanced the field in biliary tract...
The Alliance Data and Safety Monitoring Board has determined that adjuvant pembrolizumab may improve disease-free survival in patients with localized muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma and locally advanced urothelial carcinoma, according to the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology. ...
Residing in more walkable neighborhoods could protect against the risk of overall obesity-related cancers in female patients, according to a recent study published by India-Aldana et al in Environmental Health Perspectives. Background Obesity has previously been linked to an increased risk of...
In August 2014, just a few weeks after my 15th birthday, my body began sending me a lot of worrisome signals that life as I knew it would soon be over. The year before, I had developed a hematoma in my right femur, which was resolved with surgery. But now the pain I was experiencing in that leg was ...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Seema A. Khan, MD, MPH, Professor of Breast Cancer Surgery at Northwestern Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine. Along with her surgical and academic pursuits, Dr. Khan is an active...
The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) recognizes the enduring legacies of exceptional U.S. patent holders on an annual basis. On October 26, 2023, three female inductees will be recognized for their extraordinary contributions to cancer care and clinical research. Biochemist Jennifer...
Patients with multiple myeloma who also have diabetes may experience worse overall survival outcomes compared with patients who don’t have diabetes, according to a recent study published by Shah et al in Blood Advances. The new findings demonstrated that the differences in survival may be dependent ...
Using previously taken diagnostic computed tomography (CT) scans in place of CT simulation scans to plan simple palliative radiation treatments may substantially reduce the time spent waiting for urgent treatment, improving the patient experience, a new study suggests. Patients who may benefit from ...
People who engage in sexual activity or vaginal dilation after chemoradiation for cervical cancer are at lower risk for long-term side effects, according to a new study from researchers in Austria. Findings of the EMBRACE study were presented by Kirchheiner et al at the 2023 American Society for...
Recent developments in surgery and therapeutics are changing the perioperative approach to non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These advances were discussed at the 2023 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology conference, sponsored by Emory University, by Jennifer W. Carlisle, MD, Assistant ...
Two liquid biopsy tests designed to detect the human papillomavirus (HPV) in the blood may accurately identify patients at high risk of cervical cancer recurrence following the completion of chemoradiation, according to new findings presented by Han et al at the 2023 American Society for Radiation...
In a first-of-its-kind study, patients with breast cancer who underwent implant-based breast reconstruction immediately following a mastectomy reported that getting fewer, higher doses of radiation was just as effective as standard radiation, did not increase side effects, and saved them time and...
Researchers have found that low-grade intestinal inflammation may be a side effect of radiotherapy, according to a recent study published by Devarakonda et al in eBioMedicine. Background Radiotherapy is often necessary to cure cancer or slow down cancer development. Although today’s radiotherapies...
Gender inequalities and discrimination may adversely impact women’s rights and opportunities to avoid cancer risk factors and impede their ability to seek and obtain timely diagnoses and quality cancer care, according to The Lancet Commission on Women, Power, and Cancer published by Ginsburg et al...
Researchers have uncovered elevated rates of hyperglycemia among patients who have breast cancer receiving treatment with alpelisib, according to a recent study published by Shen et al in Cancer. Background Alpelisib is designed to target the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) protein, which is...
The majority of information related to gynecologic cancers on the social media platform TikTok may be misleading or inaccurate, according to a recent study published by Morton et al in Gynecologic Oncology. Background “The intent of this study was to understand the needs of patients that may go...
This is Part 3 of Ovarian Function Suppression in Breast Cancer, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this Roundtable. In this video, Drs. Jame Abraham, Erin Roesch, and Azka Ali discuss the management of a patient with de novo metastatic estrogen...
This is Part 2 of Ovarian Function Suppression in Breast Cancer, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this Roundtable. In this video, Drs. Jame Abraham, Erin Roesch, and Azka Ali discuss the management of a patient with recurrent estrogen...
This is Part 1 of Ovarian Function Suppression in Breast Cancer, a three-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this Roundtable. In this video, Drs. Jame Abraham, Erin Roesch, and Azka Ali discuss the management of stage I breast cancer. The patient is a...
Investigators have discovered that significantly higher levels of endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and phenols may be present in patients with breast, ovarian, skin, and endometrial cancers, according to a recent study published by Cathey et al in...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Gil Morgan, MD, a clinical oncologist formerly at the Division of Medical and Radiation Oncology at Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden and now full-time Director of the OncoAlert...
Investigators have found that residing in areas with high levels of particulate air pollution may be associated with an increased risk of developing breast cancer, according to a recent study published by White et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Background Particulate matter...
The biomarker-driven Lung Cancer Master Protocol (Lung-MAP) may have enrolled a higher percentage of patients who are older, are from rural or socioeconomically deprived areas, and have Medicaid or no insurance compared with conventional, standalone clinical trials in advanced non–small cell lung...
The Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) and ASCO have partnered to develop a new guideline on integrative oncology care of symptoms of anxiety and depression in adults with cancer. The guideline reviews the evidence for a range of integrative approaches, including mindfulness-based...
Andrea Porpiglia, MD, MSc, FACS, Associate Professor in the Department of Surgical Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been promoted to Assistant Program Director for the Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship. “Dr. Porpiglia has been an instrumental part of teaching the next generation ...
The 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting again demonstrated the Society’s commitment to improving cancer care for all older adults. Pertinent questions related to treatment and management in this population were addressed in educational and oral abstract sessions, clinical science symposia, and case-based...
The anti–PD-L1 monoclonal antibody durvalumab in combination with other immuno-oncology agents may outperform treatment with durvalumab alone in the neoadjuvant setting for patients with early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a recent study published by Cascone et al in Cancer ...