Karen E. Knudsen, PhD, MBA, on Addressing Disparities in Genitourinary Cancers
2022 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium
Karen E. Knudsen, PhD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of the American Cancer Society, discusses ways to address the inequities in genitourinary screening, treatment, and outcomes. Her suggestions focus on increasing awareness of screening, identifying risk factors, the dramatic rise in incidence among Hispanic individuals, and the basis for increased mortality in Black men.
The ASCO Post Staff
Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of City of Hope National Medical Center, discusses some key research developments in kidney cancer, including data on nivolumab and ipilimumab with or without CBM588 in metastatic renal cell carcinoma; intestinal microbiome associated with the development of grade 3 or 4 adverse events in patients with metastatic disease who have been treated with nivolumab plus ipilimumab and probiotic support; the link between TERT promoter mutations and clinical outcome with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for advanced urothelial cancer; mutations in the androgen receptor gene in patients with prostate cancer receiving novel androgen deprivation treatments; and findings on waning antibody titers in patients who have received COVID-19 vaccinations (Roundup of Abstracts 371, 561, 374, Posters 38 and 48).
The ASCO Post Staff
Hielke-Martijn de Vries, MD, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, discusses phase II findings on the use of atezolizumab with or without radiotherapy for patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the penis. The study was designed to address the poor prognosis for this disease by exploring whether a protracted schedule of radiotherapy for locoregional disease, in combination with immunotherapy, could improve outcomes (Abstract 3).
The ASCO Post Staff
Axel S. Merseburger, MD, of the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, discusses results from a phase IIIb study of chemotherapy-naive patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have been treated with docetaxel plus prednisolone and experienced disease progression on enzalutamide. The data suggest that continued enzalutamide plus docetaxel improved progression-free survival compared with placebo plus docetaxel (Abstract 15).
The ASCO Post Staff
Wesley Yip, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses phase II results on neoadjuvant gemcitabine and cisplatin for high-grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma, which was well tolerated and demonstrated a favorable pathologic response rate. Dr. Yip notes that this treatment, given prior to nephroureterectomy, did not significantly delay surgery or increase perioperative complication rates.
The ASCO Post Staff
Tanya B. Dorff, MD, of City of Hope National Medical Center, discusses the first-in-human phase I findings showing that prostate stem cell antigen (PSCA) CAR T-cell therapy is feasible in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, with preliminary antitumor activity exhibited.
