Jonathan Lim, MBBS, MRCP: The Future of the Oncology Workforce Since the COVID-19 Pandemic
ESMO Congress 2021
Jonathan Lim, MBBS, MRCP, of Christie NHS Foundation Trust and the Francis Crick Institute, discusses results of an ESMO survey, which showed that the risk of poor well-being, distress, and burnout has continued to rise since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, despite improved job performance and sustained resilience. Those most at risk, he says, are women aged 40 years and younger (Abstract 561O).
The ASCO Post Staff
Nicoletta Colombo, MD, of the Istituto Europeo Oncologico, discusses phase III results that showed improvements in progression-free and overall survival with a combination of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, compared with placebo and chemotherapy, for patients with persistent, recurrent, or metastatic cervical cancer. These benefits were seen regardless of PD-L1 expression and concomitant bevacizumab use, suggesting that pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, with or without bevacizumab, may be a new standard of care for this population (Abstract LBA2).
The ASCO Post Staff
Jason J. Luke, MD, of UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, discusses phase III results showing that adjuvant pembrolizumab for patients with resected stage IIB and IIC melanoma decreased the risk of disease recurrence or death by 35% compared with placebo. It was also associated with significantly prolonged recurrence-free survival (Abstract LBA3).
The ASCO Post Staff
Hope S. Rugo, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, discusses phase III results from the KEYNOTE-355 study of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, which improved overall survival vs chemotherapy alone in patients with previously untreated locally recurrent, inoperable, or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer whose tumors expressed PD-L1 (Abstract LBA16).
The ASCO Post Staff
Benjamin Besse, MD, PhD, of the Institut Gustave Roussy, discusses final phase III findings from the Atalante-1 trial, which explored the question of whether the OSE2101 vaccine is more beneficial than standard treatment for patients with HLA-A2–positive non–small cell lung cancer after immune checkpoint inhibitors are no longer effective (Abstract LBA47).
The ASCO Post Staff
Gabriel N. Hortobagyi, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses results from the MONALEESA-2 trial, which showed that adding the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib to first-line hormonal therapy prolongs survival by 1 year for postmenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer. As a result, he believes it should be considered the preferred treatment option (Abstract LBA17).
