Carmen E. Guerra, MD, MSCE, on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Clinical Trials: Expert Commentary
2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Carmen E. Guerra, MD, MSCE, of the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, discusses three key abstracts presented at ASCO: strategies to increase accrual of underrepresented populations in Alliance NCTN trials, how patient-clinician education can strengthen partnerships and improve diversity in breast and lung cancer trials, and mediators of racial and ethnic inequities in clinical trial participation among U.S. patients with cancer from 2011 to 2022 (Abstracts 6509, 6510, 6511).
The ASCO Post Staff
Alberto Bossi, MD, of Institut Gustave Roussy, discusses phase III findings showing that combining prostate radiotherapy with systemic treatment did not improve overall survival in men with de novo metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer and low metastatic burden. However, best outcomes (radiographic progression–free-survival and overall survival) were observed in men receiving the standard of care plus abiraterone acetate plus prednisone with radiotherapy (Abstract LBA5000).
The ASCO Post Staff
Penelope Bradbury, MBChB, of Canada’s Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, discusses phase III findings showing that, in patients with treatment-naive unresectable pleural mesothelioma, cisplatin and pemetrexed with pembrolizumab improved median overall survival with acceptable tolerability (Abstract LBA8505).
The ASCO Post Staff
Alicia K. Morgans, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Karim Fizazi, MD, of Institut Gustave Roussy, University of Paris-Saclay, discuss findings from the TALAPRO-2 study, which showed that talazoparib plus enzalutamide improved radiographic progression–free survival over standard-of-care enzalutamide as first-line treatment for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and HRR gene alterations. This regimen also delayed the time to deterioration in global health status and quality of life (Abstract 5004).
The ASCO Post Staff
Guillermo Garcia-Manero, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses phase III findings from the COMMANDS trial. Compared with epoetin alfa, luspatercept improved red blood cell transfusion independence and erythroid response, as well as the duration of response in erythropoiesis-stimulating agent–naive, transfusion-dependent patients with lower‐risk myelodysplastic syndromes (Abstract 7003).
The ASCO Post Staff
Jennifer L. Crombie, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the historically poor outcomes for patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Her study examined real-world data on the use of novel therapies in this population and found that outcomes with second- and third-line regimens of polatuzumab vedotin-piiq plus bendamustine and rituximab and tafasitamab plus lenalidomide remain suboptimal, with worse outcomes particularly after chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (Abstract 7552).
