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
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
Neeraj Agarwal, MD, of Hunstman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, discusses efficacy and safety results from the COSMIC-021 study, in which cabozantinib plus atezolizumab demonstrated clinically meaningful activity and a manageable safety profile in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The findings support a phase III study of these agents vs a second line of novel hormonal therapy (Abstract LBA24).
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).
The ASCO Post Staff
Dieter Hörsch, MD, of Germany’s Central Clinic in Bad Berka, discusses phase III results from the SPINET trial, the largest prospective study to date of the somatostatin analog lanreotide autogel. The study suggests that this agent may prove to be an appropriate treatment option for patients with somatostatin receptor–positive bronchopulmonary neuroendocrine tumors, especially typical carcinoids (Abstract 1096O).
The ASCO Post Staff
Susana N. Banerjee, MBBS, PhD, of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, discusses phase I results that have generated interest in the combination of the RAF/MEK inhibitor VS-6766 and the FAK inhibitor defactinib for patients with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer, a disease that typically has limited response to conventional chemotherapy and hormonal therapy. The data support ongoing investigation (Abstract 725MO).
