Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered computational program that may be capable of predicting the activity of thousands of genes within tumor cells based on standard microscopy images of a biopsy, according to a recent study published by Pizurica et al in Nature...
A recent analysis of pancreatic cancer data in young adults (aged 15–39) has found that although there is an increase in incidence, the mortality rate remains stable. According to Patel et al, who published their findings in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the rise in incidence is primarily due to ...
The treatment landscape for patients with prostate cancer, especially individuals with advanced disease, has dramatically changed in recent years. However, aside from drug or hormonal therapies, other targets to treat prostate cancer are still necessary to prolong life and slow the progression of...
A phase II clinical trial investigating the safety and efficacy of a triple combination of radiation, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy in patients with unresectable locally advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma found that the therapy was effective in shrinking tumors, allowing for surgery, and ...
Presurgical treatment with the novel drug vidutolimod and the PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab may improve outcomes in patients with stage III cutaneous melanoma, according to a recent study published by Davar et al in Cancer Cell. The findings supported the development of vidutolimod for...
Researchers may have uncovered a novel strategy to detect cancer cells with a liquid biopsy that’s designed to be simpler, faster, and more informational than current methods, according to a recent study published by Walker et al in the nanoscience publication Small. Study Methods and Results In...
In a phase II/III trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Sarkaria et al found that the addition of veliparib to temozolomide did not improve overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma with MGMT promoter hypermethylation. Study Details In the double-blind Alliance for Clinical Trials...
Recent advances in urothelial carcinoma treatments may offer a path to curative care for more patients, including those with high-risk localized, muscle-invasive disease, according to an editorial published by Milowsky in The New England Journal of Medicine. The findings indicated that...
Just 50% of patients with early-onset cancers may report discussing fertility preservation options with their physicians prior to receiving oncology treatments, according to a recent study published by Keller et al in JAMA Network Open. Background “From an early-onset cancer diagnosis through to...
In addition to our in-depth analysis of important clinical trials presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024, there is always room for more coverage from The ASCO Post, including these brief summaries of other presentations of interest. They focus on a potential...
“Cancer in young adults is more complicated in part [because of the risk of] infertility and premature menopause,” commented Ann H. Partridge, MD, MPH, FASCO, Interim Chair, Department of Medical Oncology; the Eric P. Winer, MD Chair in Breast Cancer Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and ...
In a prospective analysis reported in JAMA Network Open, Patel et al found that long-term health-related quality of life (HRQOL) was poorer among patients with prostate cancer who received postprostatectomy radiotherapy vs those who did not, with little difference observed among patients with early ...
Researchers have found that combining the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab with standard chemotherapy may improve treatment outcomes in patients with small cell bladder cancer and small cell/neuroendocrine prostate cancer, according to a recent study published by Gu et al in Cell Reports Medicine....
Beyond the physical toll of the disease and its treatments, cancer often presents a host of legal and social issues that can significantly worsen a patient’s well-being and treatment outcomes. This column explains how medical-legal partnerships can offer a powerful tool to address these challenges ...
Caris Life Sciences announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved MI Cancer Seek for use as a companion diagnostic assay to identify patients with cancer who may benefit from targeted therapies. Caris Life Sciences is a next-generation artificial intelligence techbio...
Researchers have uncovered insights into a novel investigational vaccine aimed at preventing triple-negative breast cancer. The findings by Rhoades et al were presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) 2024 Annual Meeting (Abstract 631) and simultaneously published in the Journal...
Researchers have assessed the efficacy of targeting the CD47 protein combined with traditional immunotherapy drugs in patients with colorectal cancer, with a recent study published by Arai et al in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer. The findings indicated that the combination approach could...
The novel trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2)-directed antibody-drug conjugate datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) vs docetaxel conferred a numerical improvement in overall survival in previously treated patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the phase III,...
The multicenter phase III CARMEN-LC03 trial did not meet its dual primary endpoints of progression-free and overall survival with the CEACAM5-directed antibody-drug conjugate tusamitamab ravtansine vs standard chemotherapy with docetaxel in previously treated patients with advanced nonsquamous...
Two novel oral HER2 tyrosine kinase inhibitors have demonstrated promising efficacy in patients with HER2-mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), potentially transforming the treatment landscape for this challenging subset of lung cancer cases. According to data presented at the International...
Firmonertinib (AST2818; formerly furmonertinib), a novel EGFR inhibitor, has shown activity and tolerability in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR P loop and aC-helix compressing (PACC) mutations, according to data presented at the International Association for ...
The combination of the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor osimertinib and the MET inhibitor savolitinib has demonstrated clinically meaningful improvements compared with osimertinib alone as a first-line treatment of patients with de novo MET-aberrant, EGFR-mutant advanced non–small cell lung cancer...
The combination of the EGFR-MET bispecific antibody amivantamab-vmjw and the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor lazertinib continues to demonstrate superior efficacy compared with the kinase inhibitor osimertinib alone in the first-line treatment of EGFR-mutant advanced non–small cell lung cancer...
In a phase III study conducted in China, the bispecific antibody (targeting both PD-1 and the vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF]) ivonescimab was compared with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab as first-line treatment of PD-L1–positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Ivonescimab ...
At the 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC), more than 7,000 clinicians and scientists gathered in San Diego in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). In this supplement to The ASCO Post, we review impactful abstracts from...
In a single-institution phase II study reported in JAMA Oncology, Sehgal et al found evidence of activity of nivolumab plus ipilimumab in patients with aggressive thyroid carcinoma. Study Details In the trial, 49 evaluable patients enrolled at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute between October 2017 and...
Guest Editor’s Note: Oncology guidelines recommend prehabilitation exercises to minimize postoperative complications. However, the COVID-19 pandemic imposed severe restrictions on patient access to in-person exercise programs offered by hospitals and clinics. In this article, Dr. Krupali Desai...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) introduced expanded NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) to account for the advanced understanding of hereditary cancer risk in breast, ovarian, pancreatic, and prostate cancers. The new guidelines followed the recent...
Investigators have uncovered a potential link between the availability and use of tanning beds and the rising rates of melanoma in New England, according to a recent study published by Wei et al in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. The findings may provide critical insights to inform public ...
Researchers may have uncovered the immune basis for the development of myocarditis in patients with cancer receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to a recent study published by Blum et al in Nature. The findings revealed changes in specific types of immune and stromal cells in the heart...
Researchers may have developed ultrasensitive, nanoscale sensors that distinguished a key change in the chemistry of the breath of patients with lung cancer, according to a recent study published by Cheng et al in ACS Sensors. Background Individuals breathe out many gases, such as water vapor and...
The studies summarized below were reported online over the past month in The ASCO Post, generating a high number of visitors. For comprehensive news of these studies and more, visit ASCOPost.com. Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Phase III KEYNOTE-522 The phase III KEYNOTE-522 trial has...
The University of Arizona Health Sciences announced it has received a $3.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health to continue testing a novel imaging method for breast cancer detection that could provide an alternative to mammography. According...
In a recent issue of The New York Times, Barron Lerner discussed Betty Ford’s breast cancer diagnosis in 1974.1 He described the state of the art of breast cancer treatment at the time and how her diagnosis accelerated the uptake of screening across the country. But her cancer was not...
Researchers have provided new insights into acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and its resistance to venetoclax, according to a recent study published by Sango et al in Nature. Although AML is a rare disease, approximately 20,800 U.S. patients will be diagnosed in 2024, according to the American Cancer...
Researchers have identified genes that breast cancer cells may use to survive in the bloodstream after escaping the low-oxygen regions of a tumor, according to a novel study published by Godet et al in Nature Communications. Each of the genes may serve as a potential therapeutic target to prevent...
“Inequities are a major obstacle in delivering safe, timely, respectful, and affordable cancer care globally,” commented moderator John Varallo, MD, MPH, FACOG, of the Global Surgery Foundation, at the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) World Cancer Congress (WCC) 2024 in Geneva.1...
In a phase II trial (IMbrave151) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Macarulla et al found that atezolizumab/bevacizumab plus chemotherapy produced a “modest” improvement in progression-free survival vs atezolizumab/placebo plus chemotherapy in first-line treatment of patients with...
In a phase II trial (SERENA-2) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Oliveira et al found that the next-generation oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) camizestrant improved progression-free survival vs fulvestrant in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive, HER2-negative...
On May 16, 2024, tarlatamab-dlle (Imdelltra) was granted accelerated approval for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) with disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.1 Tarlatamab is a bispecific delta-like ligand 3 (DLL3)-directed CD3 T-cell engager. Supporting Efficacy...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Surgery, Sakowitz et al found that R0 resection was more commonly achieved in patients with stage I to III thymic tumors who received surgery at high-volume centers (HVCs) for thymectomy in the United States. Study Details and Results The study...
In an English study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Allen et al found that patients with breast cancer harboring BRCA1/BRCA2 pathogenic variants were at high risk of second primary cancers. Study Details and Results The study involved follow-up of 25,811 females and 480 males...
Researchers from the Health Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, the David Geffen School of Medicine, and the Fielding School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) were awarded a $2.5 million grant from the independent charitable organization Bristol Myers Squibb...
Attendees at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 heard the results of many positive clinical trials that will advance the field of cancer treatment. However, a few late-stage trials of promising adjuvant therapies unexpectedly reported negative results. The ASCO Post...
The addition of the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab to standard neoadjuvant gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy has demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in survival compared with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cisplatin-eligible patients with muscle-invasive bladder...
The annual Global Cardio-Oncology Summit (GCOS) was held September 22 to 24 in Minneapolis, with 430 health-care professionals attending from 20 countries. The Summit brings together health-care professionals from diverse disciplines including members of the International Cardio-Oncology...
At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024, the Eyes to the Future Presidential Symposium showcased innovative approaches in personalized medicine, immunotherapy resistance, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pathology analysis. These presentations, focusing on the...
The use of measurable (or minimal) residual disease (MRD) status to guide treatment in multiple myeloma has become a topic of intense interest. Phase III studies presented at the Plenary Session of the 2024 International Myeloma Society Annual Meeting moved MRD status ever closer to validation in...
Presurgical treatment with the novel drug vidutolimod and the PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab may improve tumor control in patients with stage III cutaneous melanoma, according to a recent study published by Davar et al in Cancer Cell. The findings provided insights that could help advance...
Researchers have discovered a novel strategy to detect cancer cells with a liquid biopsy designed to be simpler, quicker, and more informational compared with current methods, according to a recent study published by Walker et al in Small. Background Current methods for detecting cancer cells may...