Researchers have identified a next-generation Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) degrader that could help patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and related hematologic malignancies overcome treatment resistance, according to a recent study published by Montoya et al in Science. The findings...
Bishoy M. Faltas, MD, of Weill Cornell Medicine, discusses the biology of upper tract urothelial carcinoma and how it affects treatment, noting that most of these tumors are luminal papillary with a T-cell–depleted immune contexture driven by FGFR3 activation. Phase III trials have confirmed the...
Enrique Grande, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center Madrid, discusses findings from the CABATEN/GETNE-T1914 study, in which cabozantinib plus atezolizumab showed modest activity in patients with locally advanced or metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma, a rare malignancy with a poor prognosis and...
It has been almost 20 years since the approval of trastuzumab for the treatment of early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancer. I remember returning from the 2005 ASCO Annual Meeting excited to offer patients a treatment that led to significant improvement in clinical outcomes. However, within a short ...
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), has released updated findings of the current global burden of cancer alongside World Cancer Day on February 4, 2023. The WHO indicated that a majority of countries do not adequately finance...
Investigators have found that the targeted therapy osimertinib may be associated with improved progression-free survival when administered after chemotherapy and radiation in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, according to a...
In January 2021, two of us wrote in these pages about our field’s pressing need to pivot away from identifying and deploying the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) when it comes to targeted oncology therapies.1 We argued that, instead, one should be looking for the “optimal dose”—the dose that best...
We have been taught that early cancer detection and treatment save lives. The way to cure cancer is to find it early and treat it aggressively. The public has subscribed to this approach in our struggle to “eradicate cancer.” In certain disease types, there is merit to this philosophy. The ability...
Investigators discovered that overweight and obesity may be contributing to rising rates of colon cancer mortality in younger patients, according to a recent study published by Santucci et al in the Annals of Oncology. The findings represent the first time colon cancer mortality rates among younger ...
The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) has provided a new set of recommendations to eliminate inequities in cancer care in light of World Cancer Day on February 4, according to the new World Cancer Day 2024 Equity Report. Background Since its establishment in 2000, World Cancer Day has...
Subsequent systemic therapy with the immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab may offer overall survival benefit in patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma who underwent surgery to remove their tumors, according to recent findings presented by Geynisman et al at the 2024 ASCO Genitourinary...
In patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer after radical prostatectomy, a more intensified regimen of abiraterone acetate/prednisone plus apalutamide improved outcomes and did not lead to decrements in specific domains of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) vs treatment with...
The phase III KEYNOTE-564 study has reported that adjuvant pembrolizumab provides a significant improvement in overall survival for patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma at high risk of recurrence after surgery. This study is significant, as it represents the first phase III study to show...
Patients with muscle-invasive urothelial cancer and a high risk of recurrence after surgery may have a new treatment option. The Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology announced positive results from the phase III AMBASSADOR (A031501) trial for the adjuvant treatment of patients with localized...
The development of any type of secondary cancer following chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy may be rare, according to a recent study published by Ghilardi et al in Nature Medicine. Background Secondary cancers, including T-cell lymphomas, are known risks of cancer treatments such as...
Harry P. Erba, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Leukemia Program in the Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Cellular Therapy at Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, told The ASCO Post he was not surprised by one of the key findings reported by Smith et ...
In a comparison of real-world outcomes for two common first-line regimens for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with mutations in isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1), treatment with the IDH1-targeted agent ivosidenib plus a hypomethylating agent was associated with better outcomes than venetoclax plus a...
A recent study, published by Wang et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, conducted as part of the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort (SJLIFE), may provide new insights into how diet may affect aging in adult survivors of childhood cancer. This study, involving 3,322 participants aged 18 to 65, found that ...
Decisions regarding the rationing of chemotherapy are commonplace in many countries around the world—including those where patients must pay for chemotherapy out of pocket—and increasingly so in cancer settings that treat both well-off and socioeconomically disadvantaged patients. However, these...
At the 2023 Global Cardio-Oncology Symposium (GCOS), international experts explored the ongoing collaborative efforts to improve the cardiovascular health of patients being treated for cancer as well as the bidirectional challenges of translating basic research to clinical care. Focus on Basic and...
Invited discussant of the abstracts on the virtual mind-body fitness program and the BRIDGE intervention from the 2023 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, Daniel Curtis McFarland, DO, MS, of Wilmot Cancer Center, University of Rochester Medical Center, New York, said they highlight the unmet need...
Recent studies by multidisciplinary teams at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Massachusetts General Hospital are illuminating novel ways to address health-care challenges faced by patients with cancer. The research, presented at the 2023 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, highlights the...
Invasive disease–free survival continued to be significantly improved for patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative, early-stage breast cancer who received the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib plus a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor compared with a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor alone....
In a press briefing at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, Cynthia E. Dunbar, MD, ASH Secretary and Chief of the Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch, Intramural Research Program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, offered her thoughts on...
Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, Medical Director of Quality Informatics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, offered his thoughts on the combination of venetoclax and ibrutinib in the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma, as presented at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH)...
Paul J. Hampel, MD, a hematologist/oncologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, underscored the complexity of this arm of the adaptive FLAIR trial, which compared measurable residual disease (MRD)-directed ibrutinib plus venetoclax with standard, fixed-duration, FCR (fludarabine,...
A time-limited approach based on measurable residual disease (MRD) response could signal a potential paradigm shift for front-line treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to data presented at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition1 and...
Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH, Professor in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University, and Dan Vogl, MD, MSCE, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, shared their thoughts on the PERSEUS trial for The ASCO Post. Dr. Nooka noted that ...
At the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, researchers from Emory University presented a real-world comparison of the largest cohort of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma consecutively treated with either bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone ...
The addition of the CD38 monoclonal antibody daratumumab to a standard regimen for patients with newly diagnosed transplant-eligible multiple myeloma significantly prolonged progression-free survival vs standard treatment in the phase III PERSEUS trial. The study was reported as a late-breaking...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Fujisaki et al found no significant differences among direct oral anticoagulant agents (DOACs) in the prevention of recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE) associated with active cancer, whereas significant differences in...
Over 50% of all melanoma diagnoses among White patients in the United States may in fact be overdiagnoses, according to a recent study published by Adamson et al in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. Background “Cases of cutaneous melanoma have risen significantly in the [United States] over the last 40...
Investigators have found that only a minority of patients with Lynch syndrome may be receiving aspirin as chemopreventive therapy, according to new findings presented by Singhal et al at the 2024 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (Abstract 19). Background “[Patients] with Lynch syndrome are...
George D. Demetri, MD, FASCO, Director of the Sarcoma Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, was awarded the J.E. Wallace Sterling Lifetime Achievement Award in Medicine from the Stanford Medicine Alumni Association (SMAA). Dr. Demetri, an alumnus of the Stanford University School of Medicine,...
The road to my breast cancer diagnosis in 2018 was long and tortuous. For 3 years leading up to the diagnosis, I had imaging scans and tissue biopsies every 3 months because of suspicious masses in my breasts. The uncertainty was so destabilizing that I was in a constant state of emotional unrest....
On November 16, 2023, the androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide was approved for use in patients with nonmetastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer with biochemical recurrence at high risk for metastasis.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on the EMBARK trial (ClinicalTrials.gov...
Late in 2023, Richardson et al shared the results of a phase I/II clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03374085). They concluded that the “all-oral combination of mezigdomide plus dexamethasone showed promising efficacy in patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma.”1 Mezigdomide ...
In the phase III CheckMate 8HW trial, previously untreated patients with microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer derived significant benefit from an immunotherapy doublet of nivolumab plus ipilimumab in the first-line setting, which...
Rory M. Shallis, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hematology) at Yale School of Medicine, shared his thoughts on the use of revumenib in histone-lysine N-methyltransferase 2A-rearranged (KMT2A-rearranged) leukemia, as reported in the phase II AUGMENT-101 trial. In an interview with The ASCO...
In heavily pretreated patients with a challenging type of acute leukemia, the menin inhibitor revumenib demonstrated clinically meaningful activity, including high rates of response and measurable residual disease (MRD) negativity, according to the efficacy and safety results of the phase II...
In this installment of The ASCO Post ’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Naoto T. Ueno, MD, PhD, FACP, Director of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. Along with his duties leading the cancer center, Dr. Ueno leads translational breast cancer research...
The novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based Molecular Twin Precision Oncology Platform may be capable of identifying biomarkers that may outperform the standard test for predicting pancreatic cancer survival, according to a recent study published by Osipov et al in Nature Cancer. Background...
In May 2023, The ASCO Post launched a new feature, View From the Top: The Future of Cancer Care Delivery, which explores how leaders in oncology are developing strategies to ensure continued innovative oncology care in an ever-changing health-care environment. In this installment, Guest Editor Jame ...
A novel chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK)-cell therapy may be effective at treating patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies, according to a novel study published by Marin et al in Nature Medicine. Study Methods and Results In the new phase I/II trial, researchers...
Investigators may have uncovered molecular evidence of racial disparities in the receipt of precision medicine, according to a recent study published by Yamada et al in npj Precision Oncology. Background Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer type diagnosed in both male and female...
The addition of inavolisib to first-line treatment with palbociclib plus fulvestrant more than doubled progression-free survival in patients with recurrent PIK3CA-mutated, hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, according to a late-breaking primary analysis of the phase III ...
A recent study underscored the need for integrating cost-of-care conversations in cancer treatment. Results of the population-based analysis, presented at the 2023 ASCO Quality Care Symposium,1 showed that only about 25% of patients with newly diagnosed advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)...
Researchers may have identified a novel genetic mechanism capable of making small cell lung cancer tumors more susceptible to an attack by the immune system, according to a new study published by Murayama et al in Cancer Discovery. The findings could lead to the development of new therapeutics to...
Investigators have found that Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act may be associated with a reduced risk of early mortality following surgical resection in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a recent study published by Nogueira et al in JAMA Network Open. The ...
Patients with obesity may be more likely to have monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, according to a recent study published by Lee et al in Blood Advances. Background Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance—a benign hematologic condition characterized by an abnormal...