The number of institutions participating in the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) initiative, AACR Project Genomics Evidence Neoplasia Information Exchange (GENIE), has increased by 11 participants. The 11 new institutions of the AACR Project GENIE consortium and their related cancer...
Commenting on this study, Amir Fathi, MD, a hematologist/oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and a co-investigator on the study, expressed hope about this new targeted approach. “Ivosidenib is an oral targeted inhibitor of the altered isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) protein. This...
Ivosidenib, an isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) inhibitor, yielded durable and molecular remissions in some patients with IDH1-mutated advanced relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). At a dose of 500 mg/d, ivosidenib was associated with a low frequency of grade 3 or higher...
An updated analysis of a randomized phase III trial showed that taking a high dose of esomeprazole with low-dose aspirin for at least 7 years may moderately reduce the risk of developing high-grade dysplasia or esophageal cancer and may delay death from any cause in people with Barrett’s esophagus. ...
Richard J. Bleicher, MD, FACS, Professor of Surgical Oncology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been appointed Vice Chair of the Breast Fellowship Program Directors Committee of the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO). In his new leadership role within SSO, Dr. Bleicher will be involved in the breast ...
It is widely acknowledged that the costs of cancer care are much higher in the United States than in Canada, with outcomes that are thought to be similar. A new study presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting supports that view, by documenting and quantifying the differences in health-care costs...
Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, FASCO, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, noted that the iNNOVATE trial is the first randomized comparison of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) plus rituximab (Rituxan) vs “a very active control—rituximab—to which 50% of patients responded.” The study showed that “the...
“This is a very important study,” said ASCO expert Andrew Epstein, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), New York. “Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy is used in the United States and elsewhere, even though the benefits are unknown. This study shows there are no benefits, and ...
Formal discussant of the GeparNuevo presentation, Charles G. Drake, MD, PhD, of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center, New York, said, “It is important that neoadjuvant immunotherapy combinations are being studied. There is a lot of enthusiasm for...
Formal discussant of the CARMENA trial, Daniel George, MD, of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, had reservations about the broad application of these results. “CARMENA was designed to reassess the value and role of nephrectomy in patients who present with metastatic renal...
In the modern era of targeted therapy, some patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma may be able to forgo nephrectomy and be treated with sunitinib (Sutent) alone, according to results of the phase III CARMENA trial reported during the Plenary Session at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 The...
The call from the dermatologist came at noon on Good Friday, just after my wife left with our two young daughters for a week on her family’s tree farm in Northern Michigan. I was on call for the hospital inpatient leukemia service, so I could not join them. When the dermatologist solemnly began,...
Testing for minimal residual disease (MRD) has become an established part of the management of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the technology still warrants validation. To address issues and set new standards, the European LeukemiaNet Working Party recently ...
A new comparison study showed that among polycythemia vera patients who were resistant or intolerant to hydroxyurea, those treated with ruxolitinib (Jakavi) had a significantly reduced risk of thrombosis and death compared to those who received best available therapy. The study findings are based...
Investigational data from a new analysis of undetectable minimal residual disease (MRD) rates from the phase III MURANO trial of venetoclax (Venclexta, a first-in-class oral B-cell lymphoma 2 [BCL2] inhibitor) in combination with rituximab (Rituxan) in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic...
Colin D. Weekes, MD, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, called the results of the PRODIGE trial “practice-changing.” Dr. Weekes was the invited discussant of the study and was interviewed by The ASCO Post. “The magnitude of effect is beyond what we have ever seen in...
As reported at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 9519) and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Migden et al, results of early-phase testing show activity of the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor cemiplimab in advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Currently, no...
Data from the final analysis of the CLL11 study evaluating obinutuzumab (Gazyva)-based treatment in previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was presented by Goede et al during the Presidential Symposium at the 23rd Annual Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA)...
As reported by Solomon and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the final overall survival results of the phase III PROFILE 1014 trial showed evidence of survival benefit of first-line crizotinib (Xalkori) vs chemotherapy in advanced ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). ...
Paxman’s advanced scalp-cooling system has now been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use during treatment of patients with solid tumors. The system is now indicated to reduce the likelihood of chemotherapy-induced alopecia in cancer patients with solid tumors such as...
On June 11, the American Medical Association (AMA) House of Delegates voted 56% to 44% to reject a report by its Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) that recommended the AMA maintain its Code of Medical Ethics’ opposition to medical aid in dying. Instead, the House of Delegates...
Male thyroid cancer survivors have a nearly 50% higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease than women within 5 years of cancer diagnosis, according to a new study published by Park et al in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. More than 62,000 new cases of thyroid cancer...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently accepted for filing and granted Priority Review designation a new drug application for talazoparib. The submission is based on results from the EMBRACA trial, which evaluated talazoparib vs chemotherapy in patients with germline BRCA-mutated,...
According to the American Cancer Society, pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly cancers, with an overall 5-year survival rate of just 8%, mainly because the vast majority of patients, about 80%, are diagnosed at a late stage of disease. Research has shown that identification of high-risk ...
Every day in their treatment rooms, physicians encounter individuals who are making profound sacrifices to help a loved one who is seriously ill, often at the expense of their own well-being. To help physicians understand the day-to-day challenges and risk of burnout faced by informal caregivers,...
Breast cancer survivors are not getting the recommended level of screening postsurgery, according to a study by Ruddy et al in JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. The study was led by Kathryn Ruddy, MD, MPH, Director of Cancer Survivorship for the Department of...
In an article in The New England Journal of Medicine, Lyman et al reviewed opportunities, issues, and challenges posed by the advent of biosimilar medications, focusing on biosimilars in cancer treatment. Although these agents could help to meet the health-care goals of high quality care with cost...
In a study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Jemal et al found that the incidence of lung cancer in young white and Hispanic women is now higher than that in men in the US. Study Details The study involved analysis of data from the North American Association of Central Cancer...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with refractory primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma or those who have relapsed after two or more prior lines of therapy. KEYNOTE-170...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved bevacizumab (Avastin) in combination with chemotherapy (carboplatin and paclitaxel) followed by bevacizumab as a single agent for the treatment of women with advanced (stage III or IV) ovarian cancer following initial surgical resection....
Barbara L. McAneny, MD, an oncologist from Albuquerque, has been sworn in as the 173rd President of the American Medical Association (AMA). She will focus her tenure on the AMA’s three strategic arcs: attacking the dysfunction in health care by removing obstacles and barriers that interfere...
On June 12, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer and disease progression on or after chemotherapy whose tumors express programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) [Combined Positive Score...
Recent research has shown that the tumor microenvironment in older patients promoted melanoma metastasis and resistance to targeted therapy with a BRAF inhibitor. Now, a new study investigating the relationships among age, response to anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)...
An internationally released comprehensive analysis of research on lifestyle factors and cancer prevention confirms the critical links between cancer diagnoses and diet, physical activity, and weight. Independent experts from across the globe reviewed decades of scientific evidence to develop the...
Twenty-five years after it opened for enrollment, the Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial (PCPT) has delivered a final verdict: finasteride, a common hormone-blocking drug, reduces men's risk of getting prostate cancer without increasing their risk of dying from the disease. Initial study...
A national retrospective study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found no association between intensity of posttreatment surveillance and detection of recurrence or overall survival (OS) in patients with stage I, II, or III colorectal cancer. Published by...
In a letter to the editor in The New England Journal of Medicine, Ratner et al describe rapid progression of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) in three consecutive patients receiving programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor therapy with nivolumab (Opdivo). As stated by the authors,...
John V. Cox, DO, FASCO, of the Parkland Hospital and Health System/University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, has served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP) since 2008. As a member of the journal’s inaugural Editorial Board, he has seen the publication evolve...
A NOVEL APPROACH using two doses of nivolumab (Opdivo) prior to surgery achieved major pathologic responses in 45% of patients with resectable stages I to IIIA non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to the results of a small Stand Up 2 Cancer–Cancer Research Institute Dream Team study...
THE NUMBER of opioids prescribed after surgery for gynecologic cancer decreased significantly after implementation of an ultra-restrictive opioid prescription protocol, with no apparent negative effect on patient satisfaction or pain, according to research presented by Jaron Mark, MD, and...
PATIENTS UNDERGOING minimally invasive radical hysterectomy for early cervical cancer had higher rates of disease recurrence and worse disease-free, progression-free, and overall survival than did women who had the open approach, according to results from the phase III LACC trial, presented by...
PRETREATMENT CLINICAL findings may predict early treatment discontinuation in patients with ovarian cancer receiving checkpoint blockade immunotherapy agents. Data presented by MD candidate Julia L. Boland at the 2018 Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer revealed that...
USE OF THE FOLFIRINOX regimen (fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan, and oxaliplatin) was associated with a 4.9-month improvement in overall survival compared to gemcitabine/ nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) in the neoadjuvant treatment of resectable and borderline-resectable pancreatic head...
SARAH BLAIR, MD, a breast surgeon at the University of California San Diego, noted that lymphedema remains a significant clinical problem, although the rates of lymphedema are decreasing, as fewer full axillary node dissections are performed. “This study utilizes bioimpedance spectroscopy, a...
A NEW STUDY has found that early detection along with a simple intervention can be highly effective in preventing breast cancer–related lymphedema for at-risk women. According to data presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Breast Surgeons,1 82% of women identified at an...
NEW RESEARCH suggests that current genetic testing guidelines for breast cancer are far too restrictive, excluding nearly half of high-risk patients. According to a pair of studies presented at the 2018 American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBrS) Annual Meeting, women with breast cancer who did not ...
A STUDY OF local recurrence rates following lumpectomy has shown significant improvement in patients receiving modern, multimodal therapies, suggesting breast-conserving surgery may be an option for more patients with breast cancer, according to data presented at the 2018 American Society of Breast ...
A FEDERALLY FUNDED randomized study demonstrated that use of geriatric assessment in the routine care of older adults with advanced cancer significantly improved doctor-patient communication about age-related concerns as well as patient satisfaction with the communication. The study was presented...
ON JUNE 2, ASCO President Bruce E. Johnson, MD, FASCO, released the following statement: Today at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director Norman Sharpless, MD, announced $10 million in new funding for the National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN). ASCO applauds Dr....
“THIS STUDY represents a true milestone in the field of lung cancer. For the first time, the vast majority of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) can receive immunotherapy with pembrolizumab (Keytruda),” said ASCO expert John Heymach, MD, PhD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston,...