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...
Seema Khan, MD, of Northwestern University and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the 5-year clinical outcomes of ECOG-ACRIN 4112, a prospective trial that supports the omission of radiotherapy after surgery in patients with ductal carcinoma in situ who have a low DCIS score ...
A novel blood test may accurately detect neuroendocrine prostate cancer and differentiate it from castration-resistant prostate adenocarcinoma, according to a recent study published by Franceschini et al in Cancer Discovery. Background Approximately 10% to 15% of patients with metastatic prostate...
Researchers have developed a novel computational model for personalized prognosis prediction in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, according to a new study published by Maura et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Their model for individualized risk in multiple myeloma, or IRMMa,...
The American College of Radiation Oncology (ACRO), the American College of Radiology (ACR), the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), and ASCO—some of the largest professional societies representing radiation oncology physicians in the United States—announced a new partnership to reform...
Guest Editor’s Note: Cannabis products are rising in popularity and increasingly used for medical purposes. For appropriate counseling and guidance in an oncology setting, clinicians must understand current cannabis use patterns among patients with cancer. In this article, Nirupa Raghunathan, MD,...
Researchers discovered that the blood vessel–relaxing agent carvedilol may be safe and effective at reducing the risk of heart failure in childhood cancer survivors, according to a recent study published by Armenian et al in The Lancet Oncology. These findings indicate carvedilol may improve...
Researchers have evaluated the efficacy of atezolizumab in combination with carboplatin in patients with triple-negative breast cancer, according to a recent study published by Lehmann et al in JAMA Oncology. The new findings may help researchers better understand biomarkers of immunotherapy...
New research published by Lee et al in JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found patients treated with first-line immunotherapy for advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) had similar results in terms of overall survival, progression-free survival, and treatment duration, ...
Investigators analyzed cells within triple-negative breast cancers before and after radiation therapy combined with pembrolizumab and identified three patient groups with different responses to the treatment. Their study, published by Shiao et al in Cancer Cell, found that for some patients with...
Robotic surgery may offer significant benefits over laparoscopic procedures in patients with colorectal cancer undergoing colectomies, according to a recent study published by Farah et al in the World Journal of Surgical Oncology. These findings suggest that a majority of patients receiving robotic ...
This past year, President Joe Biden announced the appointment of six members to the National Cancer Advisory Board (NCAB; see related article). This board plays a crucial role in advising and assisting the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in setting the activities of the national...
Invited discussant of the phase I trial of the claudin 18.2-specific antibody-drug conjugate CMG901 in advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer was Elizabeth Smyth, MD, of Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She said CMG901 demonstrated “encouraging results,” but more...
Invited discussant of the PSMAfore trial, Christopher J. Sweeney, MBBS, Director of the South Australian Immunogenics Cancer Institute, University of Adelaide, Australia, congratulated the authors for a well-powered, controlled phase III trial. “The study showed clear documentation of...
On October 16 and 17, 2023, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) welcomed more than 350 attendees from over 75 countries to its World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in Long Beach, California, to discuss some of the most challenging issues facing patients with cancer worldwide. The theme of...
Investigators have found that implementing the updated World Health Organization (WHO) screening guidelines may effectively reduce the cervical cancer mortality rate in patients residing in low- and middle-income countries, according to two recent studies published by Simms et al and Hall et al in...
Investigators have uncovered concerningly large gaps in evidence regarding the true benefits of opioids for pain relief in patients with cancer, according to a novel study published by Shaheed et al in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. The new findings could challenge the commonly held view that ...
Translational research is a key ingredient in guiding both genetic and pharmacologic cardioprotective approaches in patients being treated for cancer, according to international experts from the International Cardio-Oncology Society and the Global Cardio-Oncology Symposium (GCOS) committee. Fadi N. ...
This is Part 3 of Evolving Skin Cancer Management, a four-part video roundtable series. Scroll down to watch the other videos from this Roundtable. In this video, Drs. Pauline Funchain, Alison Vidimos, and Lisa Zaba discuss the importance of early detection and multidisciplinary treatment of...
A program aimed at improving access to high-quality cancer care has significantly increased adherence to cancer treatment among minority and low-income communities, according to data presented at the 2023 ASCO Quality Care Symposium.1 The introduction of the ALCANCE-PLUS program in Monterey County, ...
Age, race, and sex have significant implications for survival rates of patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN), according to data presented at the 2023 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition (Abstract 5185). Findings from the largest U.S. population–based BPDCN study...
The data developed over the past few years have overwhelmingly favored geriatric assessment as part of the routine care for older patients with cancer. It has become the standard of care. ASCO has recently published a Practical Geriatric Assessment to aid in the implementation of this vital...
At the 2023 Global Cardio-Oncology Summit in Madrid, in a joint session with ASCO and the International Cardio-Oncology Society, Anita Arnold, DO, FACC, MBA, Director, Noninvasive Cardiology, and Director of Cardio-Oncology, Lee Memorial Health Systems, Fort Myers, Florida, discussed the...
Researchers have uncovered that psilocybin-assisted therapy may be safe and effective in patients with cancer and comorbid major depressive disorder, according to two novel studies published by Agrawal et al and Beaussant et al in Cancer. Background Psilocybin is a hallucinogenic chemical found in...
The phase II PrE0405 trial met its primary endpoint, achieving a complete response rate of 85% in 33 patients with mantle cell lymphoma over age 60 who received bendamustine and rituximab, a standard chemoimmunotherapy regimen, along with venetoclax, which is investigational in this setting. The...
ASCO has elected Eric J. Small, MD, FASCO, to lead as its President beginning in June 2025. Dr. Small, a long-time ASCO member and volunteer, will take office as President-Elect immediately following the ASCO Annual Business Meeting in Chicago on June 3, 2025. An additional six ASCO members were...
On December 11, ConcertAI announced the acquisition of CancerLinQ, previously a subsidiary of ASCO. In conjunction with the acquisition, ASCO will maintain a multiyear cooperation agreement with CancerLinQ. Building on CancerLinQ’s mission when launched by ASCO in 2013, this new venture will...
Patients with relapsed or refractory acute leukemia with rearrangement in the lysine methyltransferase 2A gene, a genetic marker known as KMT2A, who were treated with revumenib, a small-molecule inhibitor of menin-KMT2A interactions, saw an overall response rate of 63%, according to results from...
Researchers may have uncovered a new type of targeted therapy for patients with advanced myelofibrosis, according to new findings presented by Watts et al at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition (Abstract 750). Background Historically, there have been few...
Newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma who received daratumumab along with the standard care regimen of bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRd) had significantly higher rates of survival without disease progression compared with those who received VRd alone. Results from the phase ...
Patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma who received ibrutinib in combination with venetoclax experienced significantly better rates of progression-free survival compared with patients who received ibrutinib and placebo, according to findings from the international phase III...
Among patients newly diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who were treated with two targeted agents and whose duration of treatment was determined by high-sensitivity testing for residual cancer cells in the blood, 97.2% were free of cancer progression and 2% had died at 3 years. By...
Researchers identified a 75% higher rate of mortality among patients treated for multiple myeloma in real-world hospital settings compared with rates reported in clinical trials involving common therapies. The new findings were presented by Visram et al at the 2023 American Society of Hematology...
Investigators have found that in the past decade, a majority of the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) active R01 grants related to classical, nonmalignant hematology were led by male investigators, according to new findings presented by Khan et al at the 2023 American Society of Hematology...
Nicholas C. Turner, MD, PhD, of The Royal Marsden Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and the Institute of Cancer Research, London, discusses the monarchE trial, which evaluated molecular profiling of archived primary tumor tissue from patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative,...
An ASCO guideline has been developed to inform the use of systemic treatments for metastatic, well-differentiated gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).1 The guideline helps fill a knowledge gap among community oncologists in particular, who typically do not see many of these rare ...
Syed Ali Abutalib, MD, is taking his talents to the recently affiliated Aurora Health Care, now part of Advocate Health, one of the largest integrated health systems in the United States. He accepted a new position at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee, where he is now Director of the...
In patients with newly diagnosed, locally advanced cervical cancer, induction chemotherapy prior to chemoradiation therapy led to a 35% reduction in the risk for disease recurrence or death (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.65; P = .013) and a 39% reduction in the survival hazard (HR = 0.61; P = .04),...
A pair of studies evaluating the impact of the Oncology Care Model (OCM) has highlighted challenges in improving quality of the value-based payment model, according to data presented at the 2023 ASCO Quality Care Symposium. Both studies were conducted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid...
Although significant progress has been made to reduce the gap in health outcomes of minority or underserved patients, meaningful steps forward still need to be made to improve health disparities. Countless studies have shown, in general, that affluent White individuals have better health outcomes...
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Living a Full Life series, guest editor Jame Abraham, MD, FACP, spoke with Nina Shah, MD, Global Head of Multiple Myeloma Clinical Development and Strategy, Hematology, Oncology Research and Development at AstraZeneca. She is a hematologist who specializes in...
Comprehensive profiling of fusion RNAs present in a large cohort of metastatic breast tumors revealed unique fusion mutations that may be therapeutically targetable, according to results presented at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract GS03-09). Fusion mutations occur when a...
Susan G. Komen presented its 2023 Breast Cancer Awards to four physician-scientists and one research advocate for their contributions to advancing breast cancer discoveries and improving patient outcomes. The five recipients were recognized at the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Awards event in San...
Patients with metastatic breast cancer who took part in a 9-month structured exercise program reported less fatigue and an improved quality of life compared to those who did not participate in the exercise program, according to results from the PREFERABLE-EFFECT trial presented at the 2023 San...
For patients whose breast cancer converted from lymph node–positive to lymph node–negative disease after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, skipping adjuvant regional nodal irradiation did not increase the risk of disease recurrence or death 5 years after surgery, according to results from the NRG...
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2023 held in Madrid reported out several eagerly awaited and potentially practice-changing trials, bringing forward promising new combination strategies in the targeted and immunotherapy space, and put to the test selective agents against...
In an Indian phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ostwal et al found that trastuzumab plus gemcitabine/cisplatin was active in treatment-naive patients with advanced HER2-positive biliary tract adenocarcinoma. Study Details In the investigator-initiated multicenter trial, 90 ...
Treatment with the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) inhibitor alectinib significantly reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 76% (P < .0001) in patients with completely resected stage IB to IIIA ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with platinum-based chemotherapy. This...
Zofia Piotrowska, MD, of the Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, noted that MARIPOSA and MARIPOSA-2 are “two well-designed, randomized phase III trials, each meeting its primary endpoints and representing important advances for patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer.”...