Anal cancer has been steadily increasing in the United States, with the biggest jumps among older women, especially White and Hispanic women, a new study presented at Digestive Disease Week 2025 (Abstract 76) found. According to the investigators, this shift challenges assumptions about high-risk...
The Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute established a Financial Toxicity Tumor Board in 2019. The board is the first known institutional-level intervention of its kind and functions like a traditional disease-focused multidisciplinary tumor board—with a singular focus on financial distress. Now,...
Sequential molecular measurable residual disease (MRD) testing and monitoring led to a survival benefit among younger patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and NPM1 and FLT3-ITD mutations, according to the results of a study published in The Lancet Haematology. Patients with both mutations...
In the phase III KEYNOTE-689 trial, perioperative use of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab given with standard therapy significantly improved event-free survival in newly diagnosed, previously untreated patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, researchers reported at the ...
In an analysis from the Scandinavian phase III NARLAL2 trial, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Schytte et al found that fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET–guided heterogeneously dose-escalated radiotherapy was not associated with greater 6-month toxicity vs standard radiotherapy in...
Patients with colorectal cancer and a history of cannabis use disorder had a more than 20 times higher risk of mortality within 5 years than those without cannabis use order, according to the results of a study published in Annals of Epidemiology. The 5-year mortality rate in patients with a...
Investigators have uncovered mixed progress in major cancer risk factors, preventive behaviors, and screenings in the post–COVID-19 pandemic period among adults in the United States, according to a new study published by Bandi et al in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. Background An ...
“Knowledge is like a lion; it cannot be gently embraced.” –South African Proverb Long-term efficacy and safety confirm that a hypomethylating agent and venetoclax is an improvement in the standard of care for patients with AML who are not eligible for intensive chemotherapy because of advanced age...
A 20-year initiative that offered flexible options for colorectal cancer screening at a major integrated health system doubled colorectal cancer screening rates, cut cancer incidence by a third, halved deaths, and brought racial differences in outcomes to nearly zero, according to a study that will ...
Using next-generation DNA sequencing, researchers have identified four specific genes whose mutations are linked to the development and progression of lethal stomach cancers. This could potentially enable practitioners to offer targeted treatments that would spare many patients from unnecessarily...
A new gene-expression atlas developed using single-cell RNA sequencing data sheds light on how normal hematopoietic cells differentiate and was used to catalog the multiple ways aberrant differentiation can lead to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Andy G.X. Zeng, PhD, an MD/PhD candidate at the...
According to the results of a molecularly matched, tumor-agnostic phase II trial, the combination of the PARP inhibitor olaparib and the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab demonstrated antitumor activity with no new safety signals, particularly in patients with BRCA1/2 mutations. Data from this...
Breast cancer deaths among women between the ages of 20 and 49 declined significantly across all breast cancer subtypes and racial/ethnic groups from 2010 to 2020, with marked declines starting after 2016, according to an analysis of data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)...
Artificial intelligence (AI) models pretrained on vast data sets may outperform standard baseline models in identifying nonmelanoma skin cancers from digital images of tissue samples, according to new findings presented by Song et al at the 2025 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)...
The first-in-class covalent Werner helicase inhibitor (RO7589831) demonstrated early signals of efficacy as well as general tolerability in patients with advanced solid tumors harboring certain genetic defects, according to results from a phase I trial. Agents in this class target the DNA repair...
The novel HER2-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor zongertinib elicited durable responses in patients with advanced, previously treated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that harbored a HER2 mutation, according to the preliminary results of the early-phase Beamion LUNG-1 trial. These findings were...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in 2017 to treat children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Over the past decade, other CAR T-cell therapies have been FDA-approved to treat adults with blood cancers, including...
The oral KRAS G12D inhibitor zoldonrasib could provide clinical benefit in patients with previously treated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors harbored a KRAS G12D mutation, according to new findings presented by Arbour et al at the 2025 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)...
Interim results from the VICTORI study showed that an ultrasensitive circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)-based liquid biopsy assay was effective in detecting signs of cancer recurrence prior to imaging and provided prognostic value within 1 month after surgery in patients with colorectal cancer. The...
The addition of neoadjuvant and adjuvant pembrolizumab to standard-of-care therapy significantly improved event-free survival over the standard of care alone for patients with locally advanced head and neck cancer in the phase III KEYNOTE-689 trial, according to results presented at the American...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Choong et al found that omission of endocrine therapy in patients with estrogen receptor–low (1%–10% on immunohistochemistry), early-stage breast cancer was not associated with improved survival outcomes. The study used National Cancer...
Researchers may have identified the bacterial toxin colibactin as a potential factor contributing to the concerning rise in early-onset colorectal cancer, according to a novel study published by Díaz-Gay et al in Nature. The findings demonstrated a substantial enrichment of colibactin-related...
Statin use during targeted therapy treatment led to a 61% improvement in the risk of dying of cancer for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), according to the results of a study published in Blood Advances. The investigators sought to determine the...
The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is working to understand the extent and scope of several recent executive actions. ASCO recognizes the concern and confusion many are currently experiencing and understands that if there are interruptions in care and research, there can be negative...
ASCO has released an update to the guideline for fertility preservation in people with cancer. The update, recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology,1 provides recommendations regarding evaluation and counseling for fertility preservation; methods and timing of fertility preservation;...
The Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy (PICI) announced the appointment of Karen E. Knudsen, MBA, PhD, as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). A visionary leader in oncology, health-care delivery, scientific innovation, and strategic transformation, Dr. Knudsen joins PICI at a pivotal time ...
At the 2025 Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer, Kersten Rothnie, MBBS, a gynecologic oncology fellow at Northwell Health in New York City, shared study findings on an investigational tool on behalf of her colleagues.1 These results suggested the presence of...
Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) President-Elect Karen Lu, MD, assumed her official duties on March 17, 2025. Dr. Lu, who is also Executive Vice President and Physician-in-Chief at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, brings many years of professional experience and active SGO membership...
A few weeks ago, a family member underwent a minor outpatient operative procedure. From a few weeks before the scheduled date of the procedure, multiple text messages and e-mails were forwarded to provide preparatory instructions for the procedure. The day before the procedure, another...
Updates from several clinical trials of the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor osimertinib across stages and settings of EGFR-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were presented at the European Lung Cancer Congress (ELCC) 2025. The updated results from the phase III LAURA trial were presented by ...
Ongoing efforts to rein in government spending have been described as a “chainsaw for bureaucracy.” It’s an apt metaphor for the haphazard budget cuts that many federal agencies are still experiencing. On February 7, 2025, the chainsaw made its way to facilities and administrative (F&A)...
In a U.K. study (BARCODE1) reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, McHugh et al found that screening for prostate cancer with a polygenic risk score was more accurate in diagnosis than screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Study Details In...
Researchers have uncovered that eating walnuts may improve systemic inflammation and reduce the risk for colorectal cancer, according to a recent study published by Moussa et al in Cancer Prevention Research. Background Ellagitannins—plant-derived polyphenol compounds found in walnuts—have been...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Mateos et al, the final results of the phase III ALCYONE trial showed persistent benefit with the addition of daratumumab to bortezomib, melphalan, and prednisone (D-VMP) in transplant-ineligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The primary...
Older patients with a solid tumor responded with similar clinical outcomes to younger patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, the results of a study published in Nature Communications showed. However, older patients did have divergent immune phenotypes compared with younger patients,...
In a Dutch trial (UPGRADE-RT) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, van den Bosch et al found that definitive radiotherapy with reduced-dose elective neck irradiation was safe and effective compared with standard-dose elective neck irradiation in patients with head and neck squamous cell...
In extended follow-up of the phase II LITESPARK-004 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Srinivasan et al found that use of the hypoxia-inducible factor-2α inhibitor belzutifan was associated with maintained benefit in patients with von Hippel–Lindau disease–associated renal cell carcinoma. The...
Some pancreatic cysts may be benign, whereas others have the potential to develop into pancreatic cancer. A recent Japanese study followed 257 patients for an average of 5 years and evaluated the presence or absence of invasive nodules in pancreatic cysts and whether these cysts are benign or...
Overall deaths from cancer over the past 2 decades have steadily declined in both men and women in the United States, according to the 2024 Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, published today by Sherman et al in Cancer. The report also found that although the incidence of cancer...
There has been remarkable progress in treating EGFR-variant lung adenocarcinoma with tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as gefitinib, erlotinib, osimertinib, and afatinib. However, several important issues remain unresolved, including whether there remains a role for chemotherapy, who should receive a ...
In a single-center phase I/II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Shah et al found that adaptive manufactured lentiviral anti-CD20/anti-CD19 (LV20.19) chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatment was highly active in relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma. Study Details In...
A survey study has shown cautious patient support for the use of artificial intelligence (AI) as a second reader in screening mammograms, according to results published in Radiology: Imaging Center. The study authors sought to determine the sentiments of patients regarding AI use in mammogram...
Perinatal and early-life exposure to ambient fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) and outdoor artificial light at night (O-ALAN) may be associated with a statistically significant increased risk of papillary thyroid cancer in children and young adults up to 19 years old, according to the...
Individuals who reported exclusive use of combustible cigarettes as well as those who reported dual use of both cigarettes and e-cigarettes showed similarly high toxicant exposure, according to the results of a study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research. Both groups of smokers showed higher ...
A new study showed that approximately 80% of patients with stage III melanoma who had detectable levels of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) before they started treatment to suppress their tumors went on to experience recurrence. Researchers also found that the disease returned more than four times...
New research has revealed that Schistosoma haematobium, a parasitic infection affecting millions globally, can trigger cancer-related gene activity in the cervical lining, with changes becoming even more pronounced after treatment. Presented at ESCMID Global 2025, this pivotal study sheds new light ...
Percutaneous hepatic perfusion using a melphalan hepatic delivery system (melphalan/HDS) may be an effective treatment option in patients with unresectable uveal melanoma that has metastasized to the liver, according to a recent study published by Zager et al in the Annals of Surgical Oncology....
In a UK phase III trial (UKALL 2011) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kirkwood et al found that a shorter duration of induction dexamethasone did not reduce steroid-related toxicity and that high-dose methotrexate (HDM) did not reduce central nervous system (CNS) relapse among patients ...
At current use and radiation dose levels, computed tomography (CT) scans may eventually account for 5% of all cancers annually, according to a recent modeling study published by Smith-Bindman et al in JAMA Internal Medicine. The danger is greatest for infants, followed by children and...
Patients with melanoma and lung cancer who have brain metastases may experience severe inflammatory reactions after receipt of immunotherapy drugs combined with radiation therapy, according to a recent study published by Vaios et al in JAMA Network Open. Study Methods and Results In this study,...