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Showing 8951 - 9000Minimally Invasive vs Open Abdominal Radical Hysterectomy in Early-Stage Cervical Cancer
TWO STUDIES recently reported in The New England Journal of Medicine indicate that minimally invasive radical hysterectomy is associated with poorer survival outcomes than open abdominal radical hysterectomy in women with early-stage cervical cancer. As reported by Pedro T. Ramirez, MD, of The...
Expert Point of View: Charles G. Drake, MD, PhD
“Bringing pembrolizumab (Keytruda) early into therapy is a bold move,” commented the invited discussant of this trial, Charles G. Drake, MD, PhD, Professor of Oncology and Immunology at the Herbert Irving Cancer Center at Columbia University, New York. The study enrolled patients who can be cured...
Pembrolizumab Plus Chemoradiotherapy in HPV-Positive Head and Neck Cancer
The addition of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to a chemoradiotherapy regimen yielded complete response rates of 85% in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. These findings from a phase Ib study were presented at the 2018 Society for...
Overscreening for Prostate Cancer in Older Men Remains an Issue
Although most major cancer organizations agree on the guidelines for prostate cancer screening, there is still uneven application of the test, such as in the older patient population, resulting in overdiagnosis and waste in an already fiscally challenged health-care system. Researchers from the...
Update on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
Checkpoint inhibitors have moved the field of immuno-oncology to the forefront of cancer treatment and research. However, these agents come with the risk of serious adverse events. To shed light on the toxicities associated with checkpoint inhibitors and other timely issues in the field of...
The Great Opioid Debate: Treating Cancer Pain Safely
As the number of opioid-related deaths continues to rise in the United States, stakeholders are struggling to make sense of the crisis. At the 2018 Palliative and Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium, two experts in the field, Charles F. von Gunten, MD, PhD, and Leslie J. Blackhall, MD,...
Immunotherapy-Related Toxicities May Be More Common Than Originally Reported
Immunotherapy has significantly improved the overall survival of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and is generally better tolerated than traditional chemotherapies, but the results of a retrospective study suggested that immunotherapy side effects may be more common than initially...
New NCCN Member Institution: Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania
In November, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN) announced that Abramson Cancer Center (ACC) of the University of Pennsylvania will become the organization’s 28th Member Institution. The Abramson Cancer Center’s membership will include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania...
Has Scalp Cooling Reached the Level of Standard of Care?
Does evidence of the effectiveness and safety of scalp cooling to reduce hair loss among women being treated for breast cancer mean that scalp cooling is a new standard of care? “I would suggest that it is,” stated Mikel Ross, MSN, RN, AGNP-BC, of the Breast Medicine Service, Memorial Sloan...
ESMO Immuno-Oncology 2018: Second-Line Nivolumab vs Chemotherapy in SCLC
Treatment with nivolumab (Opdivo) did not improve response rates or survival over standard chemotherapy in patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) who relapsed following first-line treatment, according to findings presented by Reck et al at the European Society for Medical...
AACR Remembers George H.W. Bush for Role in Cancer Research Support
The Board of Directors of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) released an announcement expressing sadness upon the passing of former President George H.W. Bush, on November 30 at the age of 94. Once elected, President Bush appointed Bernadine Healy, MD, in 1991 to lead the National ...
ESMO Immuno-Oncology 2018: OpACIN Trial: Neoadjuvant Ipilimumab Plus Nivolumab in Stage III Melanoma
Updated data of the OpACIN study, which studied combined ipilimumab (Yervoy) plus nivolumab (Opdivo) administered as neoadjuvant or adjuvant therapy in patients with high-risk stage III melanoma, demonstrated high response rates upon neoadjuvant therapy and promising long-term clinical outcome,...
ESMO Immuno-Oncology 2018: OAK Trial: Fast Progression in Patients With NSCLC Treated With Atezolizumab vs Chemotherapy
Overall survival (OS) was improved across all subgroups of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received atezolizumab (Tecentriq) compared with chemotherapy, including poor prognostic factors that were evaluated in an analysis of data from the OAK trial. Additionally, this...
FDA Issues Guidance on Endpoints for Cancer Clinical Trials
This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a guidance titled Clinical Trial Endpoints for the Approval of Cancer Drugs and Biologics. The guidance provides recommendations to applicants on endpoints for cancer clinical trials submitted to the FDA to support effectiveness claims...
Front-Line Daratumumab Combination Regimen Improves Outcomes in Multiple Myeloma
In patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are not eligible for stem cell transplantation, the addition of daratumumab (Darzalex) to lenalidomide (Revlimid) and dexamethasone significantly reduced the risk of death or disease progression by 44%, according to a late-breaking abstract...
Fixed-Duration Venetoclax Plus Rituximab in Relapsed or Refractory CLL
In patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), fixed-duration venetoclax -(Venclexta) combined with rituximab (Rituxan) reduced the risk of disease progression or death compared with standard-of-care bendamustine/rituximab, according to longer-term follow-up of the...
Expert Point of View: Joseph C. Alvarnas, MD
“When people don’t respond [to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy] as well as they should, it may be that the T cells are depleted and functionally exhausted. The mechanism of exhaustion is in part mediated by checkpoint-related killing. By thwarting that process with pembrolizumab...
Combining a Checkpoint Inhibitor With CAR T-Cell Therapy May Augment Immune Response
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a revolutionary approach to treating hematologic malignancies. As experience with this strategy is gained, researchers are learning more about how to optimize responses, especially in patients with “immune exhaustion,” who have a suboptimal initial...
Early Studies of Ibrutinib Plus CAR T-Cell Combination in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Researchers are combining chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy with ibrutinib (Imbruvica) as a means of augmenting and deepening responses in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Two pilot studies presented at the 2018 American Society of Hematology...
Larotrectinib for Solid Tumors With NTRK Gene Fusions
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. On November 26, 2018, larotrectinib (Vitrakvi) was...
Controlling the Global Burden of Liver Cancer
The burden of mortality related to liver cancer is increasing worldwide. Prevention and control of viral hepatitis will be vital in combating this burden, but curbing the growing epidemic of obesity must also be seen as a key part of liver cancer prevention, according to Rosmawati Mohamed, MD, of...
Prevent Cancer Foundation Award Goes to Big Tobacco Foe, Sharon Y. Eubanks, JD
One Friday afternoon in March 1999, Pat Glynn, an attorney and manager at the Department of Justice, called a colleague, Sharon Y. Eubanks, JD, to talk about a newly formed Tobacco Task Force. Full of enthusiasm, he described plans to bring a federal suit against the major tobacco companies on...
Low-Dose CT Lung Screening: New Developments Support Increased Quality, More Data, Deep Learning
Two years ago, Rick Avila, MS, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Accumetra, LLC, was using rolls of Scotch tape as a research tool. The Scotch tape was a phantom, or reference object, and his company was working with computed tomography (CT) lung screening sites around the world to determine the...
Nuclear Excision Repair as a Possible Predictor of Early Relapse in Pediatric ALL
Researchers recently discovered that by testing the level of nucleotide excision repair (NER) gene expression, pediatric oncologists may be able to determine the likelihood of early relapse (less than 3 years) in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). These findings were published by...
First-Line Ibrutinib With or Without Rituximab vs Rituximab/Bendamustine in Older Patients With CLL
In a phase III trial reported at the recent American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Woyach et al, ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and ibrutinib/rituximab (Rituxan) were associated with superior progression-free survival vs...
Will the Trump Administration’s Plan to Reduce Cancer Drug Prices Work?
High drug prices are the number one health-care concern of many Americans. The average price of a cancer drug rose from less than $10,000/yr before 2000 to more than $170,000/yr in 2017.1-3 Between 1995 and 2013, the launch price of cancer drugs increased by 10% to 12% every year, and the average...
First-Line Ibrutinib/Rituximab Combination Shows Benefit for Younger Patients With CLL
First-line therapy with the combination of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and rituximab (Rituxan) reduced disease progression by two-thirds compared with standard chemotherapy using fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR) in younger patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to...
Expert Point of View: Eric P. Winer, MD, and Jame Abraham, MD
Commenting on the findings of the KATHERINE trial were Eric P. Winer, MD, Director of the Breast Oncology Program in the Susan F. Smith Center for Women’s Cancers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Thompson Senior Investigator in Breast Cancer Research andProfessor of Medicine at Harvard...
KATHERINE Trial: Adjuvant T-DM1 Reduces Invasive Disease Risk by 50% vs Trastuzumab in HER2-Positive Early Breast Cancer
In patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer and residual disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, adjuvant treatment with trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1; Kadcyla) reduced the risk of invasive disease by 50% over trastuzumab (Herceptin).1 The phase III KATHERINE study was presented at the 2018...
MURANO Trial Follow-up: MRD and Prognosis With Fixed Duration of Venetoclax/Rituximab in Relapsed or Refractory CLL
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Kater et al, high undetectable minimal residual disease (MRD) rates persisted after the end of venetoclax (Venclexta)/rituximab (Rituxan) treatment in the phase III MURANO trial in relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and were ...
Radiotherapy Plus Cetuximab or Cisplatin in HPV-Positive Oropharyngeal Carcinoma
In a noninferiority phase III trial (NRG Oncology RTOG 1016) reported in The Lancet, Gillison et al found that radiotherapy plus cetuximab (Erbitux) was associated with poorer overall survival vs radiotherapy plus cisplatin in patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal...
Pembrolizumab vs Standard of Care in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
In the phase III KEYNOTE-040 trial reported in The Lancet, Cohen et al found that pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was associated with a “clinically meaningful prolongation of overall survival” vs investigator’s choice of standard therapies in patients with previously treated recurrent or ...
FDA Approves Romiplostim for Pediatric Patients With Immune Thrombocytopenia
On December 14, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved romiplostim (Nplate) for pediatric patients at least 1 year old with immune thrombocytopenia for at least 6 months who have had an insufficient response to corticosteroids, immunoglobulins, or splenectomy. Approval was based ...
Aggressive Squamous Cell Carcinoma in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients
Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in recipients of a solid organ transplant. When organ transplant recipients are diagnosed with SCC, they are also at higher risk for a more aggressive disease course, metastasis, and death than the general population. Researchers ...
CIMRA Assay for Detection of Gene Variants in Lynch Syndrome
An international team of researchers has developed, calibrated, and validated a novel tool for identifying the genetic changes in Lynch syndrome genes that are likely to be responsible for causing symptoms of the disease. The results were published by Drost et al in Genetics in Medicine. ...
Palbociclib Plus Fulvestrant in Advanced Breast Cancer: Overall Survival Analysis of PALOMA-3
An overall survival analysis of the PALOMA-3 trial reported by Turner et al in The New England Journal of Medicine found that the addition of the cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor palbociclib (Ibrance) to fulvestrant (Faslodex) improved survival among patients with hormone...
ECHELON-2: Brentuximab Vedotin Plus Chemotherapy in CD30-Positive Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma
As reported by Horwitz et al in The Lancet, the phase III ECHELON-2 trial showed that brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (CHP) improved progression-free and overall survival vs cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) in...
RSNA 2018: Mammography Screening Beyond Age 75
Women aged 75 years and older may benefit from continued screening mammograms because of the comparatively high incidence of breast cancer found in this age group, according to a study presented at the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) (Abstract SSA01-04)....
RSNA 2018: Breast Cancer Risk-Based Mammography Screening in Younger Women
A new, large-scale study of more than 5 million mammograms found that annual mammography screening beginning at age 30 may benefit women with at least 1 of 3 specific risk factors: dense breasts, a personal history of breast cancer, or a family history of breast cancer. The study was presented at...
RSNA 2018: Preliminary Results of Primary Cryoablation in Treating Low-Risk Breast Cancers
Cryoablation has shown early indications of effectiveness in treating women with low-risk breast cancers, according to research presented at the Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) (Abstract SSM01-01). “If the positive preliminary findings are maintained as the ...
SELECT Trial: Adjuvant Erlotinib in Resected EGFR-Mutant NSCLC
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pennell et al found that adjuvant erlotinib (Tarceva) improved disease-free survival over historical controls in patients with resected EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the study, 100 patients with ...
Reducing Infections in Patients With AML Receiving Induction and Reinduction Chemotherapy
In a report in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Morris et al described an initiative that has been successful in reducing the incidence of invasive fungal infections in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) receiving induction and reinduction therapy at the University of Virginia Health...
Eicosapentaenoic Acid and Aspirin in Preventing Colorectal Adenomas
In a UK trial (seAFOod Polyp Prevention) reported in The Lancet by Hull et al, no differences in adenoma prevention were found after treatment with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), aspirin, both, or placebo in patients with high-risk findings on colonoscopy. On the...
Primary Resistance to Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer and Misdiagnosis of MSI or dMMR Status
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Cohen et al found evidence that primary resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) can be explained in some cases by misdiagnosis of microsatellite instability (MSI) or defective mismatch repair (dMMR) status....
ASCO and Friends of Cancer Research Applaud NCI’s Expansion of Clinical Trial Eligibility Criteria
ASCO and Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) applaud the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) recent revision of its clinical trial protocol template to broaden eligibility criteria for cancer clinical trials. The protocol template was expanded to help increase the opportunity for ...
FDA Pipeline: New Priority Reviews, Designations, and Clearances, Plus Statements on Genetic Testing and Class Labeling
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued the following new approvals and designations: Priority Review for Atezolizumab in Combination With Chemotherapy for the Initial Treatment of Extensive-Stage SCLC The FDA accepted a supplemental biologics license application...
Every Cancer Treatment Plan Is Different—Help Your Patients Learn About What to Expect
YOUR PATIENTS can be active partners in their treatment. Address patient concerns and questions about core types of treatment with affordable printed materials from ASCO Answers. Topics include oral chemotherapy, understanding immunotherapy, understanding blood test results, and much more. Many of ...
2019 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program Final Rule Released
AT THE BEGINNING of November, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the final rule for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Quality Payment Program (QPP) outlining reimbursement changes for 2019. CMS estimates that the overall impact will be a 1% reimbursement cut for...
Calling ASCO Members: Join ASCO’s Research Survey Pool Today to Help Inform Research in Oncology
ASCO IS assembling a cohort of its members who are willing to participate in survey-based research projects of ASCO members for noncommercial purposes. The immense knowledge and experience of ASCO’s membership can help to accelerate the development of new insights that may help to improve cancer...
Oncology Care Team Reduces Opioid Use After Surgery by Using Quality Improvement Approach
IN A QUALITY improvement project that was featured in the Quality Care Symposium press program,1 members of an oncology care team achieved a 46% reduction in opioid use among patients who underwent a range of urologic surgeries. They did this by using a systemic approach that identified multiple...
