Richard L. Schilsky, MD, Chief Medical Officer of ASCO, talks about some of the most important and practice-changing findings presented this year at the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program, including the use of targeted and immunotherapies in earlier lines of therapy, where they have made a significant impact.
Christopher Sweeney, MBBS, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, talks with Thomas Powles, MD, PhD, of Queen Mary University of London, about the first study to demonstrate a survival advantage with avelumab for metastatic urothelial cancer. In the trial, avelumab improved median overall survival by 21.4 months compared with 14.3 months with best supportive care (Abstract LBA1).
Eric Zhou, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses an existing online program called SHUTi (Sleep Healthy Using the Internet), that he and his team adapted to the needs of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors. After six online cognitive behavior therapy sessions delivered over 8 weeks, the 22 patients in the study reported a significant reduction in insomnia severity, daytime sleepiness, and fatigue as well as an overall improvement in quality of life.
Peter Reichardt, MD, PhD, of Helios Klinikum Berlin-Buch, discusses the 10-year survival analysis of 3 years vs 1 year of adjuvant imatinib for patients with high-risk gastrointestinal stromal tumor. The study found that about 50% of deaths can be avoided with longer imatinib treatment (Abstract 11503).
Ursula A. Matulonis, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses three important studies focusing on newer therapies for patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive, platinum-agnostic, and advanced recurrent ovarian cancers (Abstracts 6003, 6004, and 6005).
Leora Horn, MD, of Vanderbilt University, discusses the results of the TERAVOLT study, launched by the Thoracic Cancers International COVID-19 Collaboration. It examined the impact of specific chemotherapy and immunotherapy regimens on hospitalization and risk of death in patients with thoracic malignancies who are also infected with COVID-19 (Abstract LBA111).
