The association between the consumption of red and processed meats and the development of colorectal cancer, as well as pancreatic and prostate cancers, has been known since 2015, when the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified the consumption of red meat as probably...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Pollard et al, a subgroup of pediatric patients with KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in the phase III Children’s Oncology Group AAML0531 trial had improved outcomes with the addition of the CD33-targeting agent gemtuzumab ozogamicin...
A new ASCO guideline update recommends offering 1 year of adjuvant olaparib to patients with high-risk, early-stage, HER2-negative breast cancer and germline BRCA mutations after completion of (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy and local treatment, including radiation. The recommendations update the 2020...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Justin F. Gainor, MD, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase I/II ARROW trial has shown that the oral RET inhibitor pralsetinib produced high response rates in previously treated and treatment-naive patients with advanced RET fusion–positive non–small ...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Erickson et al found that real-world use of targeted therapy after diagnosis of intracranial metastatic disease was associated with improved overall survival vs no use of targeted therapy in patients with HER2-positive breast cancer,...
In an analysis from the global eNRGy1 registry for NRG1 fusion–positive lung cancers reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Alexander Drilon, MD, and colleagues found greater than expected heterogeneity in characteristics of disease. Additionally, patients had poor responses to cytotoxic,...
Cathy Eng, MD, of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, discusses two abstracts from a session she co-chaired: the phase II DEEPER trial, which explored the use of FOLFOXIRI plus cetuximab vs FOLFOXIRI plus bevacizumab as first-line treatment in metastatic colorectal cancer with RAS wild-type tumors; and the phase II FIRE-4.5 study, which investigated FOLFOXIRI plus either bevacizumab or cetuximab as first-line treatment of BRAF V600E–mutant advanced disease (Abstracts 3501 and 3502).
Invited discussant Christine Lovly, MD, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Ingram Associate Professor of Cancer Research, Vanderbilt University Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, discussed progress in targeted therapies for NSCLC. “We have a tremendous amount of knowledge about driver mutations in ...
Even though next-generation sequencing is recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) for biomarker testing for patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the uptake among community oncology practices is suboptimal, and the uptake is even lower among Black patients with...
Results from the phase II cohort of the CodeBreaK 100 study showed that treatment with the KRAS G12C inhibitor sotorasib achieved a 37.1% objective response rate and a median overall survival of 12.5 months in previously treated patients with KRAS G12C–mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)....
Pasi A. Janne, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses study findings that show patritumab deruxtecan is effective in patients with EGFR-mutated and inhibitor-resistant non–small cell lung cancer. Dr. Janne also explains why targeting HER3, a mutation expressed in most EGFR-altered cancers, is a beneficial treatment approach (Abstract 9007).
Andrew Tutt, PhD, MBChB, of the Institute of Cancer Research, London, discusses findings from the phase III OlympiA trial, which showed that adjuvant olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, following adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy, may improve invasive disease–free survival in patients with germline BRCA-mutated and high-risk HER2-negative early breast cancer, which might lead to a new indication in this setting (Abstract LBA1).
One year of adjuvant therapy with the PARP inhibitor olaparib extended disease-free survival in patients with high-risk, early-stage, HER2-negative breast cancer with BRCA1/2 germline mutations, according to a prespecified interim analysis of the phase III OlympiA trial presented by Andrew Tutt, MB ...
Results from the phase II MyPathway basket trial found that the HER2-targeted therapies pertuzumab and trastuzumab demonstrated durable activity in patients with a wide variety of tumors marked by HER2 amplification or overexpression, although responses were limited in those with KRAS mutations....
In a population-based study reported in JAMA Oncology, Susan M. Domchek, MD, and colleagues found “no clinically meaningful differences” in the prevalence of germline pathogenic variants in 12 established breast cancer susceptibility genes between Black and non-Hispanic White women with breast...
On May 28, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the kinase inhibitor infigratinib (Truseltiq) for adults with previously treated, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma with a fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) fusion or ...
On May 28, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved sotorasib (Lumakras) as the first treatment for adult patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have a KRAS G12C genetic mutation and who have received at least one prior systemic therapy. This is the first approved ...
Tumor genomic profiling of resected cholangiocarcinomas may reveal mutations targetable with agents currently being used for other cancers, according to the results of a study presented at the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) 2021 International Conference on Surgical Cancer Care.1 Among patients...
On May 21, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to amivantamab-vmjw (Rybrevant), a bispecific antibody directed against epidermal growth factor and MET receptors, for adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and...
Data from a study published by Margaret von Mehren, MD, and colleagues in BMC Cancer showed that avapritinib, a platelet-derived growth factor receptor A (PDGFRA) inhibitor, has a “clinically meaningful benefit” for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) with PDGFRA D842V...
Up to 38.6% of people with colon cancer who have a hereditary cancer syndrome—including 6.3% of those with Lynch syndrome—could have their conditions remain undetected with current universal tumor-screening methods, and at least 7.1% of people with colorectal cancer have an identifiable inherited...
The combination of dabrafenib plus trametinib led to encouraging and durable responses in patients with low- and high-grade gliomas harboring BRAF V600E mutations, according to the results of the phase II basket study known as ROAR. Results were presented during the virtual edition of the American...
Melanocytic nevi are nonmalignant growths that arise from pigment-producing cells of the skin. They are mostly found in sun-exposed areas; however, they also can be found in sun-protected areas, such as the palms, soles of the feet, and nail beds, where they are known as acral nevi. While the...
The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) has released a clinical practice resource from a global team of specialists in cancer genetics that will help inform the clinical management of patients who harbor a PALB2 variant and may be at increased risk of developing breast,...
In a single-institution phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Kim A. Reiss, MD, and colleagues found that maintenance treatment with the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor rucaparib produced responses and was associated with good progression-free survival in...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Durno et al in the International Replication Repair Deficiency Consortium (IRRDC), use of an IRRDC surveillance protocol was associated with improved overall survival among patients with constitutional mismatch repair deficiency syndrome (CMMRD)....
ASCO and Ontario Health (Cancer Care Ontario) have jointly published an update1 to the 2017 ASCO guideline2 regarding systemic therapy recommendations for stage IV non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with driver alterations. Guideline Co-Chair Nasser H. Hanna, MD, of the Indiana University Simon...
Perspectives on ARIEL4 were provided for The ASCO Post by the invited discussant Ursula Matulonis, MD, Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Chief of Gynecologic Oncology and the Brock Wilson Family Chair at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and by Konstantin Zakashansky, MD,...
In patients with BRCA-mutated, advanced, relapsed ovarian cancer, treatment with the PARP (poly [ADP-ribose] polymerase) inhibitor rucaparib led to a significant improvement in progression-free survival compared with standard-of-care chemotherapy, according to results of the international phase III ...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Turan et al found the presence of germline BRCA pathogenic variants was associated with diminished ovarian reserve in young women, particularly in those diagnosed with breast cancer and those with BRCA1 variants. Study Details The individual...
“It is possible that within the next several years, perhaps 75% of cancers can be detected by screening,” Bert Vogelstein, MD, PhD, projected at the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) 2021 International Conference on Surgical Cancer Care.1 “I anticipate that perhaps 50% of cancers can be detected...
“This study is important because of the large numbers of genetic samples and the significance of the results,” stated Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, President of the American Association for Cancer Research and Director of Tumor Immunology at UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. “The study included...
Researchers have made progress in unravelling the genetic underpinnings of pediatric neuroblastoma. Two main inherited pathogenic genetic variants have been identified and appear to be associated with worse outcomes: the ALK gene and loss of function in PHOX2B. The research, conducted with the...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Sun et al found that first-line immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy was associated with better overall survival among patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with PD-L1 expression ≥ 50% and KRAS variant vs KRAS...
In a recent study published by Uson Junior et al in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, researchers found one in six patients with colorectal cancer had an inherited cancer-related genetic mutation, which may be linked to a predisposition to the disease. In addition, the researchers...
In the ENACT study, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Murphy et al found that use of the 12-gene Genomic Prostate Score (GPS) in a predominantly Black patient population with relatively low-risk prostate cancer tended to be associated with reduced selection of active...
As reported in JCO Oncology Practice by Roth et al, many participants in a biomarker-driven master protocol trial (Lung Cancer Master Protocol [Lung-MAP]; SWOG S1400GEN) did not display correct knowledge or expectations about using the results of genomic testing. Study Details Lung-MAP is a...
Death from infection—the leading cause of death for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)—may be linked to specific gene mutations, according to results from a study published by Else et al in the journal Leukemia. Testing for these mutations could be used to identify patients at a...
In a genome-wide association study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Bowden et al identified six independent variants among the PAX8, CLPTM1L, and HLA genes that were associated with risk for invasive cervical cancer or cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3). As stated by the...
Racial differences in genetic mutations were observed among patients with early-onset colorectal cancer, according to data presented by Andreana N. Holowatyj, PhD, MS, during the virtual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2021 (Abstract 101). The incidence of early-onset ...
Vivek Subbiah, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses data on selpercatinib that showed promising activity across a variety of RET fusion–positive cancers, including treatment-refractory gastrointestinal malignancies. This analysis highlights the need for genomic profiling to identify actionable oncogenic drivers.
Gillianne G.Y. Lai, MBBS, of the National Cancer Centre, Singapore, discussed the presentations on novel agents for exon 20 insertion mutations in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which account for about one-third of tyrosine kinase resistance mutations. Although tyrosine kinase mutations are...
Next-generation inhibitors of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion mutations showed promise in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in early-phase trials presented during the International Association Society for Lung Cancer 2020 World Conference on Lung...
The findings from a recent study of patients with cancer who had an exceptional response to chemotherapy are yielding new clues on the molecular changes in patients’ tumors. These findings may explain the genetic alterations contributing to these patients’ dramatic and long-lasting responses to...
In a letter to the editor published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Benoit Rousseau, MD, and colleagues presented evidence that high tumor mutational burden (TMB) alone is not sufficient to predict improved outcomes with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy in patients with solid tumors. As...
A combination of esophageal brushing and extensive genetic sequencing of the sample collected may detect chromosome alterations in people with Barrett’s esophagus, identifying patients at risk for progressing to esophageal cancer. These findings were published by Douville et al in ...
In a German prospective registry study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Peter A. Fasching, MD, and colleagues identified the prevalence of germline mutations in BRCA1/2 and other breast cancer risk genes in patients with metastatic disease and found similar prognosis with presence vs...
The incidence of brain metastasis at diagnosis in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring driver mutations was high, according to findings presented by Rashkit et al at the European Lung Cancer Virtual Congress 2021 (Abstract 38P). However, these patients achieved treatment...
In a phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ho et al found that tipifarnib produced a high response rate among patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma with HRAS mutations and high variant allele frequency. As stated by the investigators,...