Primary central nervous system (CNS) lymphoma is a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in which standards of care have not been well established. In light of recent insights into its pathophysiology and the emergence of novel approaches, The ASCO Post asked Tracy T. Batchelor, MD, a specialist in...
On October 18, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted approval to axicabtagene ciloleucel for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma. Specifically, this treatment can be used after two or more lines of systemic therapy for diffuse...
On August 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to entrectinib (Rozlytrek) for adult and adolescent patients whose cancers have an NTRK (neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase) genetic fusion and for whom there are no effective treatments. Entrectinib was also...
On August 16, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) inhibitor fedratinib (Inrebic) for the treatment of adults with intermediate-2 or high-risk primary or secondary (postpolycythemia vera or postessential thrombocythemia) myelofibrosis. “Prior to [this...
The Mark Foundation for Cancer Research has awarded a 3-year $6 million grant to support a new phase of discovery for a team of investigators developing, optimizing, and integrating targeted therapies and immunotherapies to improve outcomes for patients with the most common—and most difficult to...
I received a coffee mug from a physician colleague some years ago with the tag line: “Please do not confuse your Google search with my Medical Degree.” Physicians of all stripes and colors can relate to the agony of debunking a “Dr. Google” diagnosis. However, in a fast-evolving health-care...
Karen M. Winkfield, MD, PhD, has made patient advocacy—with a specific emphasis on health equity and access to high-quality care—front and center of her oncology practice since she completed her residency at the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program in Boston, where she noticed that most of the...
In a clinical trial testing the toxicity of a KRAS inhibitor, the treatment demonstrated early promising antitumor activity and few adverse side effects in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring a KRAS G12C mutation. The research was presented by Govindan et al at the...
In a single-center study reported at the ASCO Quality Care Symposium and simultaneously published in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Switzer et al found that an intervention consisting of a resident training module and use of a best practice alert (BPA) in electronic medical records (EMRs)...
Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Fast Track designation to magrolimab in myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The agency also granted Breakthrough Therapy designations in lung cancer and desmoid tumors, as well as Breakthrough Device designations...
GUEST EDITOR Integrative Oncology is guest edited by Jun J. Mao, MD, MSCE, Laurance S. Rockefeller Chair in Integrative Medicine and Chief of Integrative Medicine Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York. Cancer and its treatments are associated with severe fatigue, depression, ...
Advanced melanoma has become a different entity in the era of immunotherapy and targeted agents. Considering the potential for good outcomes from systemic therapy in advanced disease, has the role of surgery changed? Should it be offered up front or limited to patients with oligometastatic ...
In a statement published in JAMA, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommended that clinicians offer to prescribe risk-reducing medications to women who are at an increased risk of breast cancer and at low risk of adverse events related to medications. However, the Task Force...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Panagiotis A. Konstantinopoulos, MD, PhD, and colleagues found evidence of promising activity of the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor avelumab in mismatch repair–deficient (MMRD) recurrent or persistent endometrial...
This week, we’ll be talking about an extended follow-up of a phase III trial that investigated first-line nivolumab and ipilimumab vs sunitinib in advanced renal cell carcinoma. Then we’ll go over a research letter that identified strong predictors of response to immune checkpoint inhibitor...
Women who experienced six or more symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at some point in life had a twofold greater risk of developing ovarian cancer compared with women who never experienced any PTSD symptoms. These findings were published by Roberts et al in Cancer Research. The...
A new clinical guideline from the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) provides recommendations on the use of radiation therapy to treat patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, including when radiation treatments are appropriate, as well as the optimal dosing, timing, and...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tobin et al found that low tumor immune infiltration—indicated by low programmed cell death ligand 2 (PD-L2) expression—was associated with earlier disease progression in follicular lymphoma. As stated by the investigators, “Understanding the ...
In a study reported in The Lancet, the Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer found that the use of menopausal hormone therapy is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, with risk increasing as the duration of use increases, in both current and past users. Study...
Pregnancy after breast cancer appears to be safe in patients with germline BRCA mutations—and particularly among those with BRCA1 mutations—according to new research. Limited data are available on the safety of pregnancy and reproductive outcomes in patients with breast cancer and BRCA mutations,...
ASCO and the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer/International Society of Oral Oncology (MASCC/ISOO) have published a clinical practice guideline on medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.1 The guideline outlines the latest recommendations ...
In a phase II trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Thomas E. Stinchcombe, MD, and colleagues found that the addition of bevacizumab to erlotinib did not significantly improve progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Study Details The...
Cancer drugs currently account for 27% of all new drug approvals in the United States since 2010—an increase from the 4% share they occupied in the 1980s, a newly completed analysis summarized in the most recent issue of the Tufts CSDD Impact Report. From 1980 through 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Jennifer K. Litton, MD, and colleagues found that 6 months of neoadjuvant talazoparib therapy resulted in a high rate of residual cancer burden (RCB) of 0 (pathologic complete response) in patients with stage I–III breast cancer with germline ...
ASCO has updated its recommendations for the prevention and treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with cancer. “The recommendations were last updated in 2015, but since then, new, significant publications have emerged, which prompted this update,” said Nigel S. Key, MBChB, of the...
A retrospective analysis from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study reported in The Lancet Oncology by Dietz et al found that the need for solid organ transplantation was infrequent in aging survivors of childhood cancer, with greater organ-specific risk being associated with particular therapeutic...
In a study to be presented by Khaki et al at the 2019 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, researchers found more aggressive end-of-life measures—including use of chemotherapy and admissions to the intensive care unit (ICU)—were employed in the last 30 days of life in Western Washington state vs Alberta,...
In a phase II study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ornstein et al found that individualized axitinib regimens showed activity in patients with locally recurrent or metastatic renal cell carcinoma who had previously received immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, although the progression-free...
Researchers from the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle investigated the relationship between participation in a clinical trial and overall survival in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Cristina Merkhofer, MD, MHS, will present...
Androgen-deprivation therapy has been, and remains, the standard of care for patients with metastatic prostate cancer. Patients are often surprised to know that was all we would do to control their disease and sometimes asked why they would not get chemotherapy, as for other cancers. I would take...
During 2012–2016, an average of approximately 34,800 human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated cancers were reported each year, according to a new study published by Senkomago et al in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Among the cancers probably caused by HPV, 92% are attributable to the HPV types ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pelland-Marcotte et al found that survivors of childhood leukemia remained at significantly increased risk of infection compared with matched controls during an extended period following completion of treatment. Study Details The...
Olanzapine at a 5-mg dose, when combined with aprepitant, palonosetron, and dexamethasone, significantly reduced the risk of delayed nausea and vomiting in patients receiving cisplatin-based chemotherapy, according to new research. The study investigators believe this approach may be considered a...
A recent study published by Stump et al in Cancer indicated that certain physicians who care for patients with cancer do not often promote healthy lifestyle changes to cancer survivors, and they may fear that providing such advice would distress or overwhelm patients. The findings are noteworthy...
Based on the recently published ENZAMET, ARCHES, and TITAN trials,1-3 we now have several choices of systemic combination therapies for men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer; the ENZAMET trial is reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post. In 2019, men are now faced with decisions of...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Ian D. Davis, MBBS, PhD, FRACP, FAChPM, of Monash University and Eastern Health in Melbourne, and colleagues, the phase III ENZAMET trial has shown that the androgen receptor inhibitor enzalutamide improved progression-free and overall survival ...
Having text message conversations with patients 1 week before they are scheduled for a colonoscopy decreased “no-show” rates, according to a recent study published by Mahmud et al in Health Education & Behavior. Through sending reminders and instruction, the team increased the rate of...
When The ASCO Post asked physician-scientist Maura L. Gillison, MD, PhD, where she was from, she answered, “North America.” Actually, she was born in Canada, but her father worked for a large international company, so the family moved regularly through Canada, the United States, and Mexico. “I...
A growing number of middle and high school students are being exposed to secondhand aerosols from electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) by living with or being around individuals who are vaping, according to data from a national survey. Such exposure increased rapidly in 2018 compared to the years...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Zheng et al found that patients with cancer and high-deductible health plans had increases in delayed/forgone care, an effect that was attenuated for those with health savings accounts. Emergency department use was similar across insurance...
In a study reported in The Lancet, Strongman et al found that survivors of most site-specific cancers had an increased risk for one or more cardiovascular diseases during follow-up compared with a matched control group of patients without cancer. This population-based cohort study employed multiple ...
A study published by Singal et al in Gastroenterology demonstrated that treatment with antiviral therapy for hepatitis C reduced liver-related deaths by nearly 50% in patients with a history of liver cancer. Previous Research The finding builds on a December 2018 study by Singal et al also...
ON JUNE 27, 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted clearance of the DigniCap Delta scalp-cooling system to Dignitana, for use by health-care providers in the United States. The device is a fourth generation of the DigniCap scalp-cooling system. It is indicated to reduce the...
There were numerous notable presentations at the 2019 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, many of which were covered in The ASCO Post over the past few months. To add to our continued coverage of this meeting, here are some highlights from studies focusing on novel therapeutics in renal cell carcinoma ...
PERSONALIZATION AND STREAMLINED navigation were two priorities of the recent rebranding of ASCO University. Now known as ASCO eLearning (elearning.asco.org), the rebrand more accurately reflects what the program offers and who it is intended for. “The priority I see for ASCO eLearning is to make...
WOMEN WHO CONQUER CANCER (WWCC) is a groundbreaking program that is committed to supporting early-career female researchers by funding research grants through Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation. Since its inception 6 years ago, the program has raised over $4 million, funded 21 Young Investigator...
NOT ALL PATIENTS face their cancer diagnosis with a conqueror’s sprit. In the podcast “How to Become a Conqueror,” Linda Zanetti shares how a community of support gave her the resources—and the will—to survive leukemia. Developed by Conquer Cancer®, the ASCO Foundation, the Your Stories podcast...
At the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, and simultaneously in The New England Journal of Medicine, we heard the third paper reporting results from TAILORx.1,2 The first, in 2015,3 indicated that women with node-negative breast cancers with Oncotype DX recurrence scores less than 11 did extremely well...
CARLA S. FISHER, MD, Medical Director of Breast Surgical Oncology and Associate Professor of Surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, commented on the study that sought to identify HER2- positive patients who do, and do not, need surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. “As...
There were numerous notable presentations at the 2019 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, many of which were covered in The ASCO Post over the past few months. To add to our continued coverage of this meeting, here are some highlights from studies focusing on novel therapeutics in renal cell carcinoma ...