A lot of my experience with cancer is hazy to me. I was taking narcotics for pain around the clock when I was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in 2013, so there are some missing memories during those early days. I was 19 and a freshman in college when my symptoms started. I have always been active in ...
Researchers have developed and trained a new machine learning model to calculate percent necrosis in patients with osteosarcoma, according to a novel study published by LiBrizzi et al in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research. Background A postchemotherapy percent necrosis calculation often helps...
In an analysis of data from two clinical trials and a soft-tissue sarcoma registry reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Koscielniak et al identified which patients aged ≤ 21 years with localized rhabdomyosarcoma appeared to derive benefit from radiation therapy. Study Details The study...
In August 2014, just a few weeks after my 15th birthday, my body began sending me a lot of worrisome signals that life as I knew it would soon be over. The year before, I had developed a hematoma in my right femur, which was resolved with surgery. But now the pain I was experiencing in that leg was ...
The management of sarcoma presents several challenges because of its rarity and diverse subtypes, making accurate diagnosis and specialized treatment crucial. A multidisciplinary approach involving various experts from different cancer specialties is the optimal strategy to improve survival and...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Cash et al, 10-year follow-up of the Children’s Oncology Group Study AEWS0031 has shown a maintained event-free survival benefit with interval-compressed chemotherapy vs standard-timing chemotherapy in patients with localized Ewing sarcoma....
In a phase II trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Chen et al found that atezolizumab produced durable responses in patients with advanced alveolar soft-part sarcoma. As stated by the investigators: “Alveolar soft-part sarcoma is a rare soft-tissue sarcoma with a poor prognosis...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Aaron R. Weiss, DO, and colleagues, follow-up in the Children’s Oncology Group/NRG Oncology phase II ARST1321 trial showed no differences in survival outcomes with the addition of pazopanib to preoperative chemoradiation in patients with...
In a French phase II basket trial (AcSé Pembrolizumab) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Jean-Yves Blay, MD, and colleagues investigated the activity and safety of pembrolizumab in patients with rare sarcomas. AcSé Pembrolizumab is an ongoing phase II multitumor study investigating the activity of...
In the phase II TRASTS study reported in JAMA Oncology, Sanfilippo et al found that neoadjuvant trabectedin and radiotherapy did not meet the target objective response rate per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) in patients with myxoid liposarcoma but did exhibit activity...
In an analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Wang et al found that pathologic complete response (pCR) was associated with improved outcomes among patients with localized soft-tissue sarcoma receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy. The analysis included data from patients from two RTOG...
Researchers have discovered that pathologic complete responses may be associated with improved survival outcomes for patients with localized soft-tissue sarcoma who received preoperative chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy, according to a novel study published by Wang et al in JAMA Oncology. The new...
In an analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gianni Bisogno, MD, PhD, and colleagues detailed 5-year outcomes among children and adolescents with nonmetastatic rhabdomyosarcoma in the European Pediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group RMS2005 Study. Study Details The RMS2005 study...
The most humbling—and fortunate—experience I’ve had since I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma 13 years ago at the age of 43 was being treated in the pediatric wing of a major cancer center in New York City. It is pretty difficult to feel sorry for yourself when you are sitting next to a 14-year-old...
In a study from the Children’s Oncology Group reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Abbou et al found that measuring circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in intermediate-risk rhabdomyosarcoma was feasible and that the presence of ctDNA prior to treatment was associated with poorer prognosis. As...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by DuBois et al, the Children’s Oncology Group phase III AEWS1221 trial showed no event-free survival benefit with the addition of the anti–insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) monoclonal antibody ganitumab to interval-compressed...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Eric J. Chow, MD, MPH, and colleagues found that the use of dexrazoxane was associated with long-term protection of heart function in childhood cancer survivors who received doxorubicin for their cancer. According to the study investigators,...
In a first-in-human, phase I, dose-escalation and dose-expansion study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mrinal M. Gounder, MD, and colleagues identified the dose and schedule for further evaluation of the oral MDM2 inhibitor milademetan in a population of patients with advanced...
Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis of KIT exon mutations may help predict which second-line therapy is best for patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), according to data presented by Bauer et al during the January ASCO Plenary Series session (Abstract 397784). An...
The adoptive T-cell receptor therapy afamitresgene autoleucel—which targets the MAGE-A4 cancer antigen—achieved clinically significant results for patients with multiple solid tumor types in a phase I clinical trial, according to a novel study published by Hong et al in Nature Medicine. Initial...
In a single-center phase II trial (HYPORT-STS) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Guadagnolo et al found that a hypofractionated 3-week course of preoperative radiotherapy was safe in patients with soft-tissue sarcomas and may serve as an alternative to conventionally fractionated radiotherapy in...
On December 9, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved atezolizumab (Tecentriq) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged 2 years and older with unresectable or metastatic alveolar soft-part sarcoma (ASPS). Study ML39345 Efficacy was evaluated in Study ML39345...
As reported in The Lancet by Brennan et al, the European phase III EURO EWING 2012 trial found improved event-free survival with a standard U.S. chemotherapy regimen vs a standard European regimen in newly diagnosed patients with Ewing sarcoma. As stated by the investigators, “Internationally, a...
Patients with nonmetastatic soft-tissue sarcoma who need preoperative radiation therapy can safely receive hypofractionated treatment for 3 weeks instead of 5 weeks, with comparable tumor control and no increased risk of major complications in wound healing, according to a new study published by...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Veiga et al found that receipt of radiotherapy was the strongest risk factor for development of thoracic soft-tissue sarcomas in U.S. breast cancer survivors; both hypertension and diabetes were significant risk factors for...
In a phase II EORTC Soft-Tissue and Bone Sarcoma Group trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Sanfilippo et al found that cabazitaxel showed activity in locally advanced, inoperable, or metastatic dedifferentiated liposarcoma. Study Details In the trial, 38 evaluable patients who had received no more...
In a single-center phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Somaiah et al found that the combination of durvalumab and tremelimumab showed activity in a group of previously treated patients with advanced or metastatic soft-tissue and bone sarcomas of various subtypes. Study Details In the...
In a report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Schoot et al provided findings from the European Paediatric Soft Tissue Sarcoma Study Group MTS 2008 and pooled findings of MTS 2008 with those of the concurrent BERNIE study, both of which evaluated strategies for the treatment of pediatric...
In the French phase III LMS-04 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Pautier et al found that the addition of trabectedin to doxorubicin significantly prolonged progression-free survival as first-line treatment for patients with unresectable or metastatic leiomyosarcoma. Study Details In the...
High-dose ifosfamide extended event-free and overall survival in patients with recurrent or primary refractory Ewing sarcoma compared with other commonly used chemotherapy regimens, according to the results of a randomized trial reported at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting by lead author Martin...
Martin McCabe, PhD, of the University of Manchester, discusses a phase III assessment of chemotherapy for patients with recurrent and primary refractory Ewing sarcoma. The trial, called rEECur, is the first study to provide comparative toxicity and survival data for the four most commonly used chemotherapy regimens in this disease. The analysis showed that high-dose ifosfamide is more effective in prolonging survival than topotecan plus cyclophosphamide (Abstract LBA2).
In a phase II clinical trial, immune checkpoint blockade before surgery was associated with favorable responses and outcomes in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) and recurrent dedifferentiated liposarcoma (DDLPS), Keung et al reported at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract LBA11501)....
Use of high-dose ifosfamide was found to be superior for treating recurrent and primary refractory Ewing sarcomas compared with three other standard-of-care treatments used for the disease, according to research presented by McCabe et al during the Plenary Session at the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting...
In a phase III trial (Ewing 2008R3) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Koch et al found that the addition of treosulfan and melphalan high-dose chemotherapy (TreoMel-HDT) followed by reinfusion of autologous hematopoietic stem cells to consolidation did not improve event-free survival vs ...
In the phase II/III SEAL trial reported in the the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gounder et al found that selinexor significantly improved progression-free survival and time to subsequent treatment in previously treated advanced dedifferentiated liposarcoma, with the greatest benefit observed in...
In the phase III TAPPAS trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Jones et al found that the addition of carotuximab to pazopanib did not improve progression-free survival in patients with advanced angiosarcoma. Carotuximab is an IgG1 antibody that binds endoglin, which is highly expressed on proliferating...
In a French phase II study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Delyon et al found that pembrolizumab produced a high response rate in patients with classic or endemic Kaposi sarcoma with progressive cutaneous extension requiring systemic treatment. As stated by the investigators, “Although the...
Researchers have published an analysis of strategies for treating retroperitoneal soft-tissue sarcoma, which has historically been understudied due to its rarity. The researchers say the trends they identified—particularly the convergence of certain treatments across centers—will help guide the way ...
I still remember having to sit down with her three siblings on that afternoon. It was drizzling, cloudy, and cool—Mother Nature in agreement with the heaviness of what had just taken place. I held them tight. I knew the words I would utter next would change their lives forever. I paused for 10...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, researchers in the Prophylactic Antibiotic Regimens in Tumor Surgery Investigators group found that 5 days vs 1 day of postoperative intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis did not reduce the incidence of surgical site infection and was associated with more...
On November 22, 2021, sirolimus protein-bound particles for injectable suspension (albumin-bound) was approved for treatment of adults with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumor.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was supported by findings in the...
Emily Z. Keung, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the complex interactions of immune infiltrates and neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) in patients with resectable soft-tissue sarcoma. These interactions may hold the key to understanding pathologic response to ICB and ICB resistance (Abstract 379).
When I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of my left femur nearly 20 years ago, I remember telling my parents that I didn’t want to die. The diagnosis was terrifying because all the people I knew who had cancer had passed away, and I thought this cancer would kill me, too. That evening, my dad went...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Leavey et al, the phase III Children’s Oncology Group AEWS1031 trial showed no improvement in event-free or overall survival with the addition of vincristine, topotecan, and cyclophosphamide (VTC) to standard five-drug interval-compressed...
In a report from the Children’s Oncology Group ARST0332 study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Venkatamani et al found that risk-based treatment of pediatric and young adult patients with synovial sarcoma produced favorable outcomes in those with nonmetastatic disease. Outcomes in...
In the phase II AMPECT trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wagner et al found that the mTOR inhibitor nab-sirolimus produced a substantial rate of durable responses and a high disease control rate in patients with malignant perivascular epithelioid cell tumors. As stated by the...
In the phase I/II ITCC-050 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Gaspar et al found that the combination of lenvatinib with etoposide/ifosfamide showed antitumor activity, including good progression-free survival outcomes, in patients with relapsed or refractory osteosarcoma. Study Details...
In a small study of 16 patients with angiosarcoma published by Michael Wagner, MD, and colleagues in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer, 4 patients experienced a partial or complete response to treatment with a combination of the immunotherapies ipilimumab and nivolumab, and another 2 patients ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Yoon-Koo Kang, MD, and colleagues, the phase III VOYAGER trial showed no improvement in progression-free survival with avapritinib vs regorafenib as third- or later-line treatment of patients with molecularly unselected, locally advanced,...
In a European phase II trial (VIT-0910) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Defachelles et al found that the combination of vincristine/irinotecan with vs without temozolomide produced better outcomes—albeit with increased toxicity—in children and adults with relapsed or refractory...