“If we have data, let’s look at it. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.” —James Barksdale In this issue of The ASCO Post, Daniel Vorobiof, MD, and Irad Deutsch, principles at Belong.Life, a patient-oriented website whose self-described mission is to improve patient quality of life and ...
A prominent oncologist with an international reputation for cancer research will lead the new Wesley Center for Immunotherapy at University Hospitals (UH) Seidman Cancer Center as well as the Division of Hematology. Koen van Besien, MD, PhD, comes to UH Seidman Cancer Center from New...
The use of postoperative circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in stage II colon cancer spared many patients the need for adjuvant chemotherapy without compromising recurrence-free survival, according to the phase II DYNAMIC study.1 “The strategy of using ctDNA results to inform treatment almost halved...
“Everybody knows that pestilences have a way of recurring in the world; yet somehow, we find it hard to believe in ones that crash down on our heads from a blue sky. There have been as many plagues as wars in history; yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise.” —Albert Camus, The...
In a Spanish single-institution study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Pérez‑Larraya et al found that intratumoral infusion of the oncolytic adenovirus DNX-2401 followed by radiotherapy showed activity in newly diagnosed pediatric patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma...
Lori Wilson, MD, FACS, Chief of Surgical Oncology, Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Diversity, and former Program Director of the General Surgical Residency at Howard University Hospital, is the first woman to hold the position of Division Chief as well as the first tenured Professor of...
New drugs for HER2-positive breast cancer are able to overcome some of the obstacles that have made brain metastases challenging to treat, according to Mark Pegram, MD, the Susy Yuan-Huey Hung Professor of Oncology at Stanford University School of Medicine in California, who described the promising ...
New research published by Larkin et al in the journal Blood Advances has found that Black adolescent and young adult (AYA) patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were five times more likely than comparable White patients to die within 30 days of beginning treatment—and were twice as likely to...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that results from the phase III DUO clinical trial show a possible increased risk of death with duvelisib compared to ofatumumab among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). The trial also found...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Saro H. Armenian, DO, MPH, and colleagues, findings from the BMT Survivor Study (BMTSS) indicated that survivors of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with blood or marrow transplantation (BMT) are at a markedly increased risk of...
Women who are longer-term survivors of metastatic breast cancer may have a worse survival rate if they have diabetes and poorly controlled blood sugar levels, according to a new study presented at ENDO 2022, the Endocrine Society’s Annual Meeting. This is the first study to specifically examine the ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Garcés et al found that increasing levels of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) at diagnosis were associated with poorer outcomes in newly diagnosed patients with transplant-eligible multiple myeloma, and that inclusion of CTCs in a risk model...
In a single-institution phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tapan M. Kadia, MD, and colleagues found that venetoclax and a lower-intensity backbone of cladribine and low-dose cytarabine alternating with azacitidine and venetoclax resulted in a high response rate in older...
Researchers have, for the first time, identified genes that may predict response to a therapy for a blood cancer that can have serious side effects for some patients. The therapy, selinexor, is part of the treatment armamentarium for multiple myeloma, but the ability to target its use to patients...
According to a study published by DuMontier et al in the journal Blood Advances, frailty assessments—geriatric exams considered essential to predicting health outcomes in older adults with cancer—are both safe and feasible when conducted virtually for patients with blood cancers. While providers...
People with blood cancers living in rural areas are less likely to receive end-of-life hospice care compared to those living in metropolitan regions, according to a new study published by Hussaini et al in the journal Blood Advances. In this study, researchers identified significant disparities in...
In a phase II trial (HOVON141/VISION) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Arnon P. Kater, MD, PhD, and colleagues found a high rate of 12-month progression-free survival among patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who stopped venetoclax/ibrutinib after achieving...
Adults who survive childhood cancer have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than the general population, yet they are 80% more likely to be undertreated for several cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol, according to new research published by Eric J. ...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Nimgaonkar et al found that less than half of patients with urothelial cancer who had received first-line platinum-based therapy underwent testing for FGFR alterations and that less than half of patients with susceptible alterations...
The Cleveland Clinic-Taussig Cancer Center recently announced two new appointments and updates to the Center’s staff and faculty. Sophia Balderman, MD, has joined the leukemia group at Taussig Cancer Institute. Prior to her new role, Dr. Balderman was Assistant Professor in the Department of...
Once-daily treatment with the oral JAK1/2 and ACVR1/ALK2 inhibitor momelotinib significantly improved outcomes of patients treated for myelofibrosis. Ruben Mesa, MD, FACP, and colleagues presented results of the MOMENTUM phase III randomized study, which evaluated momelotinib vs danazol in...
A novel combination of two experimental cancer immunotherapy agents along with an immune checkpoint blocker elicited robust immune responses in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma brain tumors, according to a presentation of interim, 2-year follow-up clinical trial data given by David...
Combinations of chemotherapy and immunotherapy showed activity in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, according to findings from a national, randomized clinical trial led and sponsored by the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. The results of the small trial were presented by Padrón...
In a phase II clinical trial, immune checkpoint blockade before surgery was associated with favorable responses and outcomes in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) and recurrent dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS), Keung et al reported at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract LBA11501)....
A new study has shown that a combination of brentuximab vedotin and standard chemotherapy is safe and appears to be more effective than standard chemotherapy in pediatric patients up to age 21 with newly diagnosed high-risk Hodgkin lymphoma. Findings from the Children's Oncology Group phase III...
The use of autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) early in the course of treatment showed a significant 21.4-month gain in median progression-free survival in younger, newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma compared with patients who received chemotherapy without an initial...
In patients with stage II colon cancer where cancer DNA was not present in the blood (as circulating tumor DNA, or ctDNA), adjuvant chemotherapy could be skipped without compromising recurrence-free survival. Conversely, for patients where ctDNA was present after surgery, the rate of recurrence...
Treatment with the antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan-hziy resulted in longer progression-free survival compared to physician’s choice of chemotherapy in patients who have received many prior therapies for hormone receptor–positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, according to...
In an analysis from a Children’s Oncology Group trial (AREN0533) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Madanat-Harjuoja et al found that the analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in children with stage III or IV Wilms tumor demonstrated high levels of agreement in identifying risk...
In a Chinese phase III trial (AENEAS) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lu et al found that aumolertinib, a third-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved in China, significantly improved progression-free survival vs gefitinib in the first-line treatment of patients with...
In a population-based study based on data from the UK Coronavirus Cancer Evaluation Project (UKCCEP) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Lennard Y.W. Lee, DPhil, and colleagues found that COVID-19 vaccination was effective in preventing breakthrough infection among patients with cancer but less...
In a Chinese phase III trial (CAPSTONE-1) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Jie Wang, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the addition of adebrelimab, a novel anti–PD-L1 antibody, to carboplatin and etoposide significantly improved overall survival as a first-line treatment for patients with...
Global health crusader Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, had a wildly unconventional childhood, which helped inform his adult life as a medical humanitarian. Dr. Farmer was born in West Adams, a town that lies along the verdant valley surrounding the Hoosic River in northern Massachusetts. He was the second of ...
The Albert Einstein Cancer Center (AECC) in Bronx, New York, has announced the appointment of three faculty members to key leadership positions, reflecting the center’s commitment to basic science, translational, and clinical research and its core principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. New ...
On a cool, gray November morning, I took the call from a walk-in doctor about Carla, a 26-year-old woman with progressive lymphadenopathy who was refusing investigations because of severe needle phobia. Carla was willing to meet with me to discuss treatment options for a suspected diagnosis of...
In support of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot goal of fostering data sharing in cancer research, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which is part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched the Molecular Characterization Initiative for pediatric tumors. This program offers tumor...
Community practices have long been a keystone of our nation’s oncology care delivery system by allowing patients with cancer to receive specialized treatment near their homes and places of business. Innovative clinicians in the community setting are also leading efforts to create a more efficient...
ASCO Past President, Michael Link, MD, who has pioneered new strategies for treating common childhood cancers, was born and reared in a suburb of Cleveland. “My first significant exposure to medicine was my own family doctor, Dr. J.W. Epstein. Looking back, I was impressed by the combination of...
Internationally recognized stem cell transplant pioneer Richard E. Champlin, MD, was born in Milwaukee and moved to Homewood, a suburb on the southern lip of Chicago, with his parents when he was 3 years old. Following high school, Dr. Champlin entered Purdue University in Indiana to pursue a...
The availability of numerous new agents for treating multiple myeloma has created some “conundrums” for clinicians, said Sergio Giralt, MD, Deputy Head of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Melvin Berlin Family Chair in Myeloma Research and...
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) announced that John E. Dick, PhD, FAACR, Canada Research Chair in Stem Cell Biology, Senior Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, and Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics at the University of...
Faith E. Davies, MD, a nationally renowned hematology expert, has been appointed the inaugural Director of the Center for Blood Cancers at NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center. Dr. Davies currently serves as Professor in the Department of Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and...
Use of multiple immune pathway inhibitors appears to be superior to checkpoint inhibitor therapy alone as neoadjuvant therapy for resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the results of the phase II NeoCOAST trial presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)...
A triplet regimen consisting of the PARP (poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase) inhibitor olaparib, metronomic (the chronic administration of low, equally spaced doses of) cyclophosphamide, and metformin demonstrated activity in elderly, heavily pretreated patients with recurrent, advanced endometrial...
Tumors send out signals that impair normal blood flow, which makes them hard to treat with multiple therapies, including radiation, chemotherapy, targeted therapies, and immunotherapy. Impaired blood supply creates an environment low in oxygen levels, which causes the tumors to take on aggressive...
Although community oncology practice may have been changing before the COVID-19 pandemic, it amplified industry trends. At the 2022 Community Oncology Alliance’s Community Oncology Conference, a panel of experts discussed issues related to the future of community cancer care, including...
The risk of invasive breast cancer in men may be associated with self-reported infertility, according to a study published by Swerdlow et al in the journal Breast Cancer Research. The authors interviewed 1,998 males in England and Wales diagnosed with breast cancer, with 112 (5.6%) also...
CoVac-1, a multipeptide COVID-19 vaccine candidate, elicited immunogenicity in patients with cancer and disease-related or treatment-related immunoglobulin deficiency in a phase I/II trial reported at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2022.1 These patients are...
Recent research underlines the importance of following up with a colonoscopy exam after a positive result on an at-home stool test to screen for colorectal cancer. The test, known as the fecal immunochemical test (FIT), checks for traces of blood in patient-collected stool samples, which can be an...
The first bladder cancer drug targeting a cancer-driving gene mutation has been used relatively little despite its clear efficacy in a clinical trial, suggests a report published as a research letter by Nimgaonkar et al in JAMA Oncology. Researchers analyzed a large, nationwide database of cancer...