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Investigators may have uncovered differential associations between smoking and DNA methylation across various racial and ethnic groups, according to a recent study published by Huang et al in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The findings could lead to the development of new strategies to...
The established dual HER2 blockade of pertuzumab and trastuzumab may be an effective treatment for patients with several types of HER2-amplified cancers, according to a study published by Connolly et al in Clinical Cancer Research. Background HER2 receptors control how cells grow and divide. The...
On March 1, the FDA approved the monoclonal bispecific anti–EGFR-MET antibody amivantamab-vmjw (Rybrevant) in combination with carboplatin and pemetrexed for the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC with EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations, as detected by an FDA-approved test....
Researchers have demonstrated that an online genetic education program may encourage patients with a family history of cancer to undertake genetic testing, according to a recent study published by Rodriguez et al in Gastroenterology. Background Although research has shown that an inherited...
Researchers have identified a set of 140 genes that may help predict disease-free survival in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with a combination of immunotherapy and low-dose radiation, according to a recent study published by Altorki et al in Cell Reports Medicine. The...
My family first suspected we might have inherited the BRCA1/2 gene mutation after my father was diagnosed with his third cancer, colorectal cancer, following multiple bouts of squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma beginning in his 30s and later prostate cancer. But the high risk of...
In a Swedish study reported in JAMA Oncology, Rodriguez et al identified characteristics of interval breast cancers—those diagnosed between two screening examinations—compared with screen-detected cancers on the basis of analysis of rare germline genetic deleterious protein-truncating variants. As...
Investigators have found that risk-reducing mastectomy decreases the risk of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis and the likelihood of mortality in female patients with BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic variants, according to a recent study published by Metcalfe et al in the British Journal of Cancer....
Researchers may have uncovered the factors contributing to hormone therapy resistance in some patients with advanced estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer, according to a recent study published by Kingston et al in Cancer Discovery. The findings may indicate drugs currently in development...
David H. Aggen, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses reportedly the first data to describe an inverse correlation between HER2 immunohistochemistry expression and PD-L1 combined positive score. According to Dr. Aggen, these and other findings by his team may provide a foundation for further HER2-directed advanced bladder cancer studies (Abstract 538).
Despite being recommended in prostate cancer guidelines, homologous recombinant repair (HRR) mutation analysis is widely underused in patients with prostate cancer, according to real-world data presented at the 2024 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium (Abstract 210). A major implication of these...
In a retrospective analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Bolze et al identified a group of women at low risk for breast cancer based on genetic analysis. The findings may support altering cancer screening in this low-risk group. As stated by the investigators, “Genetic information is not being used...
Hamish S. Scott, PhD, and Chris Hahn, PhD, both of Australia’s SA Pathology and Centre for Cancer, discuss ERG, a new predisposition gene for bone marrow failure and hematologic malignancy. Identifying causal germline ERG variants has direct clinical implications for diagnosis, counseling, surveillance, and treatment strategies, according to Drs. Scott and Hahn (Abstract LBA5).
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Innocenti et al, analysis of DNA mutational profiling in the phase III CALGB (Alliance)/SWOG 80405 trial of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated with bevacizumab or cetuximab with chemotherapy showed differences in outcome associated...
Two new studies have demonstrated positive results from novel therapies targeting menin for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with specific gene mutations, according to findings presented by Jabbour et al (Abstract 57) and Issa et al (Abstract 58) at ...
Researchers may have uncovered the underlying mechanisms of gene mutations commonly seen in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and other myeloid neoplasms, according to new findings presented by Chaudhry et al at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition (Abstract...
On October 11, 2023, the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib (Braftovi) with the MEK inhibitor binimetinib (Mektovi) was approved for patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a BRAF V600E mutation, as detected by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved test.1,2 The FDA...
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...
Researchers have revealed significant differences in the genetic characteristics of HER2-low advanced breast cancers, which may lead to the development of novel therapeutics for patients, according to recent findings presented by Kahn et al at the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (Abstract...
William J. Catalona, MD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, reviews the genetic landscape in prostate cancer, including BRCA2 and ATM, two important mutations for aggressive disease; the clinical implications of germline testing such as guiding screening and disease management, as well as identifying patients at high risk for aggressive prostate cancer; and the role of somatic testing, especially in advanced disease.
In an analysis of the phase III PROfound trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Joaquin Mateo, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that olaparib improved outcomes vs abiraterone or enzalutamide among the subgroup of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who had...
Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, cautioned that although FLAURA2 is a positive result, most patients will still develop drug resistance. “The result is really good and clearly positive, but if you look at the survival curves, there is still early overlap in a way that makes it unlikely this combination will ...
First-line treatment with osimertinib plus platinum-based chemotherapy achieved a statistically significant and clinically meaningful progression-free survival improvement compared with osimertinib alone in patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non–small cell lung...
Benjamin Besse, MD, PhD, of the Gustave Roussy Cancer Centre, discusses phase II findings from the HERTHENA-Lung01 study, which showed patients with previously treated EGFR-mutated non–small cell lung cancer may benefit from the antibody-drug conjugate patritumab deruxtecan after EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and platinum-based chemotherapy (Abstract OA05.03). The phase III HERTHENA-Lung02 trial is ongoing.
A novel assay may be effective at detecting a unique molecular marker in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a recent study published by Young et al in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. The new findings may revolutionize the way AML is detected and treated. Background AML...
Researchers have compiled a comprehensive list of genetic variants that may be associated with the risk of developing prostate cancer, according to a recent study published by Wang et al in Nature Genetics. The new findings included major increases in representation among patients from racial and...
The phase III PAPILLON study has shown that the addition of amivantamab-vmjw to chemotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival in the first-line treatment of advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 20 insertions. The findings were presented at the European Society...
Two new studies—presented by Drumheller et al and Vento et al at the 2023 ASCO Quality Care Symposium—utilized data from ASCO’s CancerLinQ® database (Abstracts 418 and 532). One study revealed deficiencies in biomarker testing and tracking in electronic health records, and the other analyzed...
In an analysis from the St. Jude Lifetime Cohort (SJLIFE) and Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Chen et al found that among long-term survivors of childhood cancers, carriers of germline cancer-predisposing variants were at an increased risk of late mortality...
On October 20, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor entrectinib (Rozlytrek) for pediatric patients aged 1 month and older with solid tumors that have a neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase (NTRK) gene fusion...
Among the 198 new oncology drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 1998 and 2022, approximately 43% of them were precision therapies, according to a recent study published by Suehnholz et al in Cancer Discovery. Background Precision oncology therapies often require...
New research has illustrated the strides being made to apply modern artificial intelligence (AI) computing methods to oncology, according to new findings to be presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2023. Background Researchers have long investigated the potential of ...
In an Italian single-institution retrospective study reported in JAMA Surgery, Martelli et al found that prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy was associated with improved overall survival in patients who had undergone resection of germline BRCA1/2-mutant breast cancer. Study Details The study...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Darst et al identified germline genetic variants that were associated with increased risk of aggressive vs nonaggressive prostate cancer. As stated by the investigators, “Germline gene panel testing is recommended for men with advanced prostate cancer or a...
Justin F. Gainor, MD, Director of the Center for Thoracic Cancers Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, was invited to discuss IMpower151 and ILLUMINATE at the 2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer. IMpower151 vs IMpower150 Dr. Gainor examined why IMpower151 was negative for both...
In advanced non–small cell lung cancer harboring mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), the role of immune checkpoint inhibitors following disease progression with tyrosine kinase inhibitors has been unclear. Several studies reported at the International Association for the Study ...
Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, cautioned that although FLAURA2 is a positive result, most patients will still develop drug resistance. “The result is really good and clearly positive, but if you look at the survival curves, there is still early overlap in a way that makes it unlikely this combination will ...
First-line treatment with osimertinib plus platinum-based chemotherapy achieved a statistically significant and clinically meaningful progression-free survival improvement compared with osimertinib alone in patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non–small cell lung...
Xiuning Le, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses results of the VISION trial, the largest on-treatment liquid biopsy biomarker data set of a MET inhibitor in patients with MET exon 14 non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Tepotinib showed durable efficacy in this population.
Seshiru Nakazawa, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses activating the MET tyrosine kinase domain mutation, which has been identified as the sole oncogenic mutation in a small but significant subset of patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). According to Dr. Nakazawa’s findings, this mutation is potentially targetable with currently available MET tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
On September 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted de novo marketing authorization for the Invitae Common Hereditary Cancers Panel, an in vitro diagnostic test that may help detect hundreds of genetic variants associated with an elevated risk of developing certain cancers. The...
Desheng Liang, MD, PhD, of China’s Central South University, discusses the ability of mesenchymal stem cells to target tumor and the progress he and his team have made in genetically engineering these cells for cancer treatment. Mesenchymal cells, which hold promise for therapeutic advances, are safe and relatively simple to produce, according to Dr. Liang.
In a phase II trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Eric Bouffet, MD, and colleagues found that the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib produced a higher objective response rate vs standard chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of pediatric patients with low-grade glioma...
Researchers have singled out mutations in 11 genes associated with aggressive types of prostate cancer, according to a novel study published by Darst et al in JAMA Oncology. The new findings may lead to improvements in diagnosis and treatment. Background Currently, oncologists use genetic tests to...
In patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR mutations, the role of immune checkpoint inhibitors following disease progression with tyrosine kinase inhibitors has been unclear. Several studies reported at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2023 ...
In a Korean phase II trial (KCSG HN 15-16 TRIUMPH) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Keam et al described results of a personalized biomarker-driven umbrella trial for the treatment of patients with platinum-refractory recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma...
In an analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Knikman et al found that reduced doses of fluoropyrimidine therapy in patients with cancer with DPYD variant alleles did not result in poorer outcomes vs DPYD wild-type controls receiving full fluoropyrimidine doses. Study Details The...
Aaron C. Tan, PhD, MBBS, of the National Cancer Centre Singapore, discusses new findings on early evaluation of circulating tumor DNA via low-pass whole-genome sequencing. The results of his study suggest this method may represent an early pharmacodynamic biomarker of therapeutic response (particularly for targeted treatments) that may influence decisions on dose determination (Abstract 23).
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mandelker et al found that pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma was associated with a high prevalence of BRCA2 germline pathogenic variants and genomic features of homologous recombination deficiency (HRD). The study involved somatic and germline ...
In a genetic analysis from the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network 1102 Study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Versluis et al found that allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) improved overall survival compared with non-HCT treatment in patients with...