On September 28, 2017, the cyclin-dependent kinases 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor abemaciclib (Verzenio) was approved for use in combination with fulvestrant (Faslodex) for women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer with disease progression following...
While age remains a major risk factor for breast cancer, with nearly 80% of new cases occurring in women aged 50 years and older, women diagnosed at a younger age generally have poorer outcomes. This is partly because premenopausal women are more likely to have triple-negative breast cancer, which ...
The treatment of triple-negative breast cancer is rapidly evolving, as clinical trials continue to test chemotherapy agents and combinations and immunotherapy studies promise potentially “game-changing” interventions early in the course of disease, Joyce O’Shaughnessy, MD, reported at the 19th...
“Growing research suggests that body weight is not only related to the risk of developing malignancy, but also prognosis after diagnosis, especially in breast cancer,” said Jennifer A. Ligibel, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, at the 19th Annual Lynn Sage Breast...
On September 14, 2017, copanlisib (Aliqopa) was granted accelerated approval for treatment of adult patients with relapsed follicular lymphoma who have received at least two prior systemic therapies.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on durable responses observed in a multicenter phase ...
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 October 18, 2017, the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)...
Although a majority of major cancer centers may test for minimal residual disease (MRD), a recent survey conducted by researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, suggests most oncologists remain uncertain about what to do with the results. At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network®...
With the vast majority of patients cured with primary therapy, classical Hodgkin lymphoma is largely a success story. For the 10% to 20% of patients who either relapse or are refractory to front-line therapy, the disease can still be fatal. At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 12th ...
Although the indications to initiate treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have not changed, determining the optimal first-line treatment and sequence of therapies once treatment has begun remain challenges for providers. At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 12th Annual...
As reported by Eichenauer et al in The Lancet Oncology, the final results of a phase II German Hodgkin Study Group trial showed similar efficacy but a better toxicity profile for BrECADD (brentuximab vedotin [Adcetris], etoposide, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, dacarbazine, dexamethasone) vs...
The 5-year analysis of the phase III ExteNET trial has shown that 1 year of neratinib (Nerlynx) after trastuzumab (Herceptin)-based adjuvant therapy significantly improved invasive disease–free survival vs placebo in HER2-positive breast cancer. These findings were reported in The Lancet...
Poly (ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitors are among the most exciting new classes of oncology drugs, and their development has coincided with the increasing recognition of the therapeutic vulnerability in targeting DNA damage response and DNA repair. The initial clinical testing of PARP...
Although most Americans, 78%, recognize that smoking is a major risk factor for cancer, just 31% say obesity—the second-leading preventable cause of cancer after smoking—is a risk factor for the disease, according to the results of ASCO’s National Cancer Opinion Survey, which polled over 4,000...
On November 16, Genentech announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved obinutuzumab (Gazyva) in combination with chemotherapy, followed by obinutuzumab alone in those who responded, for people with previously untreated advanced follicular lymphoma (stage II bulky, III, or...
In the phase III BFORE trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Cortes et al, the SRC/ABL kinase inhibitor bosutinib (Bosulif) improved response rates vs imatinib in first-line treatment of patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) ...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new indication for fulvestrant (Faslodex), expanding the drug's approved use to include combined therapy with abemaciclib (Verzenio), a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor, for the treatment of hormone receptor–positive,...
On November 14, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) granted clearance to the Ventana MMR IHC Panel, which provides clinicians with a comprehensive group of immunohistochemistry (IHC) tests for patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The tests detect proteins associated with the DNA...
Long-term results of the Italian phase III FOLL05 trial, reported by Luminari et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, indicate superior progression-free survival with R-CHOP (rituximab [Rituxan] plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) and R-FM (rituximab plus fludarabine ...
In the Asian phase III GOLD trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Bang et al found that the addition of olaparib (Lynparza) to paclitaxel did not significantly improve overall survival among patients with previously treated advanced gastric cancer, including those with...
Establishing the way in which a genetic alteration called a TMPRSS2-ERG gene fusion forms in a prostate cancer, rather than the presence of the gene fusion itself, could help identify patients with prostate cancer with a low risk of spreading, which might determine the best course of treatment for...
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) treatment was active in patients with programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)–positive advanced cervical cancer enrolled in the phase Ib KEYNOTE-028 trial. The findings were reported by Frenel et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study Details In the advanced...
An Australian trial has shown that a novel theoretically/empirically based intervention (ConquerFear) reduced the fear of cancer recurrence compared with relaxation therapy among patients treated for curable cancers. These results were reported by Butow et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology....
On November 9, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the indication for dasatinib (Sprycel) tablets to include the treatment of children with Philadelphia chromosome–positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in chronic phase (CP).This approval for dasatinib in pediatric patients...
A European phase II trial has shown activity of long-acting pasireotide, everolimus (Afinitor), or their combination in patients with advanced lung and thymus carcinoids. These study findings were reported by Ferolla et al in The Lancet Oncology. Study Details In the study, 124 patients from 36...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) for the treatment of adult patients with primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma (pcALCL) or CD30-expressing mycosis fungoides who have received prior systemic therapy. ALCANZA...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved letermovir (Prevymis) once-daily tablets for oral use and injection for intravenous infusion. Letermovir is indicated for prophylaxis of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and disease in adult CMV-seropositive recipients of an allogeneic...
PRIMARY RESULTS from the randomized, placebo-controlled, phase III study ARIEL3—presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 Congress and published recently in The Lancet1—demonstrated that maintenance treatment with the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib ...
In the phase III DATA trial reported in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute by Vivianne C.G. Tjan-Heijnen, MD, PhD, of the Maastricht University Medical Centre, the Netherlands, and colleagues, 12% of women with breast cancer who had chemotherapy-induced ovarian function failure...
An analysis of the GeparSixto trial in triple-negative breast cancer showed that adding carboplatin to neoadjuvant therapy improved pathologic complete response rate in patients without BRCA1/2 mutation and that response rates were higher overall in those with mutations, without additive effects...
A French phase III trial has shown no significant survival difference between selective internal radiotherapy with yttrium-90 resin microspheres vs sorafenib (Nexavar) in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. The findings were reported by Vilgrain et al in The Lancet Oncology. Study...
GEROLD BEPLER, MD, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, has been elected to serve a 3-year term on the Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) Board of Directors. AACI comprises 97 leading cancer research centers in North America and is...
THE INFORMATION contained in this Clinical Trials Resource Guide includes actively recruiting clinical studies focused on patients with lung cancer. These studies highlight combinations of chemotherapy, mutation-specific treatments, stereotactic body radiation therapy, metastatic control, cancer...
MUCH PROGRESS has been made in the past decade in the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed metastatic melanoma. In the front-line setting, programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) monotherapy (nivolumab [Opdivo] and pembrolizumab [Keytruda]) and combined PD-1 plus cytotoxic...
THE LONG-TERM RESULTS of a phase III clinical trial indicate that survival rates for patients receiving chemoradiation for unresectable, locally advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may be more than twice as high as previous estimates, setting a new benchmark of survival for patients with...
VAGINAL CUFF BRACHYTHERAPY plus chemotherapy failed to show superiority over pelvic radiation therapy for women with high-risk stage I–II endometrial cancer in a phase III trial.1 Furthermore, vaginal cuff brachytherapy plus chemotherapy led to more pelvic and para-aortic nodal recurrences and...
THE RESULTS FROM the ARCHER 1050 study—reported by Wu et al1 and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—highlight the recent optimism about improved outcomes in metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene. This trial...
THE PHASE III ARCHER 1050 trial has shown superior progression-free survival with the second-generation irreversible epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor dacomitinib vs gefitinib (Iressa) in the first-line treatment of advanced EGFR-mutant non–small-cell lung cancer...
A phase II study reported by Subbiah et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology indicates activity of the combination of dabrafenib (Tafinlar) plus trametinib (Mekinist) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic BRAF V600–mutant anaplastic thyroid cancer. Study Details In the study,...
Alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) is a cancer so rare that some oncologists have never heard of it. Brittany Sullivan, a 29-year-old anatomy teacher from Nashville, Tennessee, learned about it when she was 3 years old. She has been conquering it ever since. Since her childhood diagnosis, Ms....
As one of the few organizations exclusively focused on funding research for metastatic breast cancer, Twisted Pink has a unique story to tell. Based in Louisville, Kentucky, the organization was founded in 2014 by breast cancer survivor Caroline Johnson. While Ms. Johnson fully recovered from her...
In a 2013 survey, oncologists in the United States and Canada said they aim to retire at about age 64 or 65—but the majority transition into retirement in the few years after turning 65.1 When oncologists reach the point of retirement, the transition from ever-busy physician to retiree can be a...
Here is a brief look at the study findings and clinical implications of several recent and important clinical trials in neoplastic hematology. Attention is focused on hematopoietic cell transplantation in a variety of hematologic malignancies, with investigations addressing the role of maintenance ...
The treatment paradigm for multiple myeloma has changed dramatically in the past decade with the availability of several efficacious agents in various drug classes. At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 13th Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies™, Shaji K. Kumar, MD, Professor...
New therapeutic agents for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) have led to dramatic improvement in remission rates, but questions concerning the proper sequencing and combination of these agents remain. At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 13th Annual Congress: Hematologic...
The 2017 Palliative Care in Oncology Symposium took place October 27–28 in San Diego. Photos shown here, from left to right, as follows: 1. Eduardo Bruera, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center leads a group of attendees on a poster walk and discussion; 2. Charles Loprinzi, MD,...
Communicating effectively with patients with advanced cancer not only helps patients and their family members successfully transition to palliative and end-of-life care, it can prevent physicians from experiencing professional burnout, according to Robert M. Arnold, MD, Distinguished Service...
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) may be a better choice than standard of care for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, especially those whose tumors express programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in 50% or more of cells, suggest results of the phase III KEYNOTE-040...
For potentially curable treatment of resectable pancreatic cancer, adjuvant therapy remains the standard “for now,” but evidence is growing that neoadjuvant therapy may be more beneficial, at least in certain patient subsets, according to Thomas Seufferlein, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at the...
In GEICAM 2006-10, the addition of fulvestrant at 250 mg/d to anastrozole did not improve 5-year disease-free survival over anastrozole alone (91.0% vs 90.8%). “Immune induction” with chemotherapy or radiotherapy appeared to enhance response to nivolumab in women with metastatic triple-negative...
The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2017 Congress, held in Madrid, featured important news including at least seven practice-changing or potentially practice-changing trials, which are covered in recent issues of The ASCO Post. Here we present additional highlights of studies in breast ...