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
Nagla Abdel Karim, MD, of the Inova Schar Cancer Institute, University of Virginia, discusses phase II data showing that maintenance atezolizumab plus talazoparib improved progression-free survival in Schlafen-11–selected patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. This study demonstrated the feasibility of conducting biomarker-selected trials in this disease, paving the way for future evaluation of novel therapies in selected populations (Abstract 8504).
The ASCO Post Staff
Tycel J. Phillips, MD, and Alex F. Herrera, MD, both of the City of Hope National Medical Center, discuss findings from the POLARIX study, which provided the largest prospectively collected circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) data set on patients with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Achieving ctDNA-negative status was associated with improved outcomes when patients were treated with polatuzumab vedotin-piiq plus combination chemotherapy vs combination chemotherapy alone (Abstract 7523).
The ASCO Post Staff
Thomas E. Hutson, DO, PharmD, of Texas Oncology, discusses the 4-year follow-up results from the CLEAR study for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The data showed that lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab continues to demonstrate clinically meaningful benefit vs sunitinib in overall and progression-free survival, as well as in overall and complete response rates, in first-line treatment (Abstract 4502).
The ASCO Post Staff
Lisa A. Carey, MD, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Dennis J. Slamon, MD, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, discuss phase III study findings on ribociclib plus endocrine therapy as adjuvant treatment in patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative early breast cancer. When added to standard-of-care endocrine therapy, ribociclib improved invasive disease–free survival with a well-tolerated safety profile (Abstract LBA500).
The ASCO Post Staff
Bobbie J. Rimel, MD, of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and Isabelle L. Ray-Coquard, MD, PhD, of Centre Léon Bérard and the University Claude Bernard Lyon Est, discuss findings from the COLIBRI trial, which showed that, for patients with cervical squamous cell carcinoma, neoadjuvant nivolumab plus ipilimumab is safe and orchestrates de novo immune responses. The 82.5% complete response rate for primary tumors 6 months after standard chemoradiation therapy suggests favorable clinical outcomes (Abstract 5501).
