Patricia Stewart

Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) can prevent several types of cancer, including cervical, oral/oropharyngeal, penile, and anal cancers. Unfortunately, vaccination rates, as well as public knowledge regarding the link between HPV and these cancers, are lagging, according to research presented during the 2023 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting. Read More ›

Young women with early-stage, hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer attempting to become pregnant can safely pause endocrine therapy and resume it later, according to initial results from the international POSITIVE trial. Read More ›

Ibrutinib (Imbruvica) may allow patients with newly diagnosed mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL) to forego autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT), according to results of the 3-arm randomized TRIANGLE clinical trial presented at the 64th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition. Read More ›

Patients undergoing hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) do not derive any benefit from the restrictive diet frequently prescribed to prevent infections, according to the results of a clinical trial presented during the 64th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition. Read More ›

A head-to-head phase 3 clinical trial in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) has found that zanubrutinib (Brukinsa), a next-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, was more effective at preventing disease progression and is better tolerated than ibrutinib (Imbruvica), a first-generation BTK inhibitor that is the current standard of care for this population of patients. Read More ›

The use of low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) did not improve the rate of live births among pregnant women with inherited thrombophilia and recurrent miscarriage, according to results of a clinical trial presented during the 64th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition. Read More ›

The treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has entered a new era, with the use of more potent therapies, such as targeted agents and venetoclax (Venclexta). Read More ›

Results from a new study revealed that radiation oncologists tend to discuss sexual side effects in women undergoing treatment for cervical cancer far less frequently than they discuss sexual side effects in men undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. Read More ›

A shortened course of radiation therapy is safe and effective for men with high-risk prostate cancer, according to the results of the phase 3 Prostate Cancer Study 5 (PCS5) trial. Read More ›

According to findings from a phase 3 trial presented at ASTRO 2022, the addition of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) to sorafenib (Nexavar) can lengthen overall survival (OS) and delay tumor progression in patients with unresectable advanced hepatocellular cancer (HCC) without compromising quality of life. Read More ›

Updated results from the ECHELON-1 clinical trial showed that the combination of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris; BV) plus doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (AVD) as first-line therapy improves overall survival (OS) in patients with stage III-IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma compared with standard therapy with doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD). Read More ›

New results from the PATHFINDER clinical trial suggest that a multicancer early detection blood test can accurately identify the presence of cancer in apparently healthy people. Read More ›

Digital health technologies have the potential to help transform patient care, but there are barriers that need to be overcome, said Deb Schrag, MD, MPH, George J. Bosl Chair, Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), and Professor, Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City, during a keynote lecture at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2022. Read More ›

For the first time, a novel gamma secretase inhibitor has shown extremely promising results in desmoid tumors—a rare, benign, but potentially aggressive tumor type. Read More ›

Although it is well established that air pollution is associated with lung cancer, how this occurs has not been well described. Read More ›

A survey of US physicians who prescribe biologics to their patients revealed that 92% were confident in the safety and efficacy of biosimilars, 89% would prescribe a biosimilar to a new patient, and 80% were comfortable initiating the switching of patients who are stable on their current biologic medication to a biosimilar. Read More ›

In the phase 3 DETERMINATION trial—in which patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma were randomly assigned to a standard triplet regimen with and without autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT), with all receiving lenalidomide (Revlimid) maintenance therapy until disease progression—patients with ASCT had significantly longer progression-free survival (PFS) versus those who did not, but no difference in overall survival (OS) was observed between the 2 treatment arms. Read More ›

Dual immune checkpoint inhibition with the anti–PD-L1 antibody durvalumab (Imfinzi) and the investigational anti–CTLA-4 antibody tremelimumab combined with platinum-based chemotherapy showed promising clinical activity and a favorable safety profile in the neoadjuvant setting for patients with advanced ovarian cancer, according to results of a single-arm phase 2 study presented during the 2022 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting. Read More ›

The addition of a novel bispecific antibody to preactivated and expanded natural killer (NK) cells may represent an effective therapy for pretreated patients with relapsed or refractory CD30-positive lymphoma, according to preliminary findings from a phase 1/2 clinical trial presented during the 2022 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting. Read More ›

Endocrine therapy after breast-­conserving surgery may be the only treatment needed in patients aged ≥55 years with low-grade luminal type A breast cancer, sparing them radiation therapy, including its side effects, financial burden, and inconvenience, according to findings from the single-arm LUMINA clinical trial reported at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. Read More ›

In the United States, black or African-American patients with cancer and COVID-19 were more likely than non-Hispanic white patients to have delays or disruptions in cancer treatment during the pandemic, according to results of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Survey on COVID-19 in Oncology Registry that were presented during the 2022 ASCO meeting. Read More ›

The addition of the PARP inhibitor niraparib (Zejula) to abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) plus prednisone (AAP) led to a significant improvement in radiographic progression-free survival (PFS) versus AAP alone in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) harboring homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene alterations, according to the final analysis of the primary end point of a phase 3 trial. Read More ›

Dostarlimab (Jemperli), an anti–PD-1 monoclonal antibody, demonstrated a 100% clinical complete response rate among 14 patients with mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) locally advanced rectal cancer, according to the results of a recent clinical trial. Read More ›

Treatment with acalabrutinib (Calquence) elicited a complete or partial response in more than 50% of patients with relapsed or refractory marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), according to interim results of a phase 2 study presented by L. Elizabeth Budde, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, Duarte, CA, at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting. Read More ›

The phase 3 CheckMate-816 trial establishes a new standard of care for resectable non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC): neoadjuvant nivolumab (Opdivo) plus chemotherapy. Read More ›

Sotorasib (Lumakras) continues to demonstrate durable efficacy in non–­small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with KRAS p.G12C mutation at 2-year follow-up of the phase 2 CodeBreaK 100 clinical trial. Read More ›

The number of cancer survivors continues to increase in the United States, which can be attributed to a growing and aging population, as well as recent advances in diagnosis and treatment. Read More ›

The use of a polygenic score (PGS) based on noncancer genetic variations in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values helped to refine PSA screening in a large group of men without prostate cancer at baseline. Read More ›

Combining the PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) with abir­aterone acetate (Zytiga) led to a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in radiographic progression-free survival (PFS) versus abiraterone alone in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), regardless of homologous recombination repair (HRR) status, according to results of the phase 3 PROpel trial, presented at the 2022 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. Read More ›

Adjuvant pembrolizumab (Keytruda) continued to provide a disease-free survival (DFS) benefit in patients with renal-cell carcinoma (RCC) at intermediate-high or high risk of recurrence after nephrectomy, according to 30-month follow-up data from the KEYNOTE-564 trial presented at the 2022 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. Read More ›

Although vaccination provides a broad immune response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in most recipients, approved vaccines have shown decreased efficacy in several immunocompromised populations, including patients undergoing treatment for hematologic malignancies. Read More ›

The addition of sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy), an antibody–drug conjugate, to the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) showed encouraging antitumor activity in checkpoint inhibitor–naïve patients with metastatic urothelial cancer, according to an analysis of the results of cohort 3 from the phase 2 TROPHY-U-01 clinical trial. Read More ›

According to data from a European registry, approximately 1 in 6 patients with cancer who recovered from COVID-19 infection experienced long-term sequelae (ie, “long-haul” COVID-19), placing them at increased risk for death or discontinuation of anticancer treatment. Read More ›

The addition of isatuximab (Sarclisa) to the triplet of lenalidomide (Revlimid), bortezomib (Velcade), and dexamethasone (RVd) achieved superior minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity rates versus standard therapy with RVd alone as induction treatment in transplant-eligible patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, according to results of the phase 3 GMMG-HD7 clinical trial presented at the 2021 ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition. Read More ›

The investigational oral selective estrogen receptor degrader (SERD) elacestrant (RAD1901) significantly reduced the risk for death or disease progression and improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with standard of care (SOC) endocrine therapy in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)-­positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who had progressed on previous endocrine and targeted therapies, according to results of the phase 3 EMERALD clinical trial. Read More ›

Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) harboring IDH1 mutations who were not suitable for intensive chemotherapy had improved event-free survival and overall survival (OS) with the combination of ivosidenib (Tibsovo) plus azacitidine (Onureg) versus azacitidine plus placebo, according to results of the phase 3 AGILE trial presented at the 2021 ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition. Read More ›

The antibody–drug conjugate polatuzumab vedotin-piiq (Polivy) added to R-CHP (rituximab [Rituxan], cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone) achieved a 27% reduction in the risk for progression or death compared with the standard regimen of R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) as first-line therapy for patients with intermediate- and high-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Read More ›

Treatment with time-limited venetoclax (Venclexta)-based combination regimens resulted in superior rates of undetectable minimal residual disease (uMRD) in the peripheral blood at 15 months compared with chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) in fit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to findings from the GAIA (CLL13) clinical trial. Read More ›

Second-line therapy with trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu; T-DXd) extended progression-free survival (PFS) and improved objective response rate (ORR) versus trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla; T-DM1) in women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, including those with stable brain metastasis at baseline, according to a subgroup analysis of a phase 3 clinical trial. Read More ›

Adagrasib (MRTX849), an inhibitor of the KRASG12C mutation, showed encouraging activity as monotherapy and in combination with cetuximab (Erbitux) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) in the phase 1/2 KRYSTAL-1 trial. All patients had metastatic CRC with KRASG12C mutations and had received previous treatment. Read More ›

Two years of abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) plus prednisone added to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) improved metastasis-free survival and overall survival compared with ADT alone in men with nonme­tastatic castration-­sensitive prostate cancer, whereas the addition of enzalutamide (Xtandi) to ADT had no benefit, and much greater toxicity. Read More ›

Patritumab deruxtecan (HER3-DxD), an investigational antibody–drug conjugate targeting the HER3 growth factor receptor, showed promising activity in patients with locally advanced or metastatic EGFR mutation–positive non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had received previous EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy, according to interim results from a phase 1 dose-­escalation and dose-expansion trial. Read More ›

ALK inhibitor therapy achieved “remarkable” response rates in a small study of patients with ALK-positive adult-onset neuroblastoma. Some patients who did not respond to initial treatment with 1 ALK inhibitor had a subsequent response to lorlatinib (Lorbrena), which had the best showing among ALK inhibitors evaluated in this setting. The results of this retrospective study were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2021 virtual annual meeting. Read More ›

Dual EGFR targeting with amivantamab-vmjw (Rybrevant) plus lazertinib (Leclaza) led to durable responses in more than one-third of chemotherapy-naïve patients with EGFR-positive non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease had progressed on osimertinib (Tagrisso) therapy, according to a cohort analysis of the CHRYSALIS trial, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2021 virtual annual meeting. The study also provided insights into resistance mechanisms in patients previously treated with osimertinib. Read More ›

The novel BCL-2 inhibitor, lisaftoclax (APG-2575), elicited encouraging responses and acceptable tolerability in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and other hematologic malignancies, according to results of a phase 1 study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2021 virtual annual meeting. Read More ›

Neoadjuvant nivolumab (Opdivo) plus chemotherapy significantly improved pathologic complete response (pCR) rates versus chemotherapy alone in patients with resectable stage IB-IIIA non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to final results from the CheckMate-816 clinical trial. Read More ›

Approximately 13% of patients with lung adenocarcinoma harbor the KRAS p.G12C mutation, which is associated with poor clinical outcomes. During the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2021 virtual annual meeting, Ferdinandos Skoulidis, MD, PhD, MRCP, Assistant Professor, Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, provided updated results from the phase 2 component of the CodeBreaK 100 clinical trial Read More ›

Treatment with the immune checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab (Tecentriq) following surgical resection and chemotherapy significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS) compared with best supportive care (BSC) alone in patients with stage II-IIIA non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and PD-L1 tumor composite score ≥1%, according to interim results from the phase 3 IMpower010 clinical trial, which were presented at the ASCO 2021 virtual annual meeting. Read More ›

Selpercatinib (Retevmo) demonstrated antitumor activity in RET fusion–positive tumors other than lung cancer and thyroid cancer, according to interim results from the phase 1/2 LIBRETTO-001 clinical trial. Results from the trial were presented by Vivek Subbiah, MD, Medical Director, Clinical Center for Targeted Therapy, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, at the 2021 virtual American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting. Read More ›

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to virtually all aspects of oncology care. There has been a steep drop in cancer diagnoses and screenings—a result of shelter-in-place policies instituted early on, as well as ongoing patient fears about returning to healthcare facilities for new appointments or follow-up care. Experts predict that there will soon be a surge of patients with advanced cancer, which has the potential to overwhelm a healthcare infrastructure already stretched very thin. Read More ›

The addition of the PI3K inhibitor copanlisib (Aliopa) to rituximab (Rituxan) reduced the risk for disease progression or death by 48% compared with placebo plus rituximab in patients with relapsed indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in the phase 3 CHRONOS-3 clinical trial. The results of this study were presented at the 2021 virtual American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting and published simultaneously in The Lancet Oncology. Read More ›

Treatment with tebentafusp (IMCgp100), a novel bispecific T-cell receptor (TCR) fusion protein, extended survival in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma, according to the results from a recent phase 3 trial. Read More ›

Researchers have identified 2 inherited pathogenic genetic variants in patients with pediatric neuroblastoma, according to results from a study presented at the 2021 virtual American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting. Both variants—the ALK gene and loss of function in PHOX2B—are associated with worse outcomes. Read More ›

Physicians often fail to perceive radiation-associated symptoms and the severity of those symptoms, according to the results of a large observational study that compared the reports of patients with breast cancer with physicians’ assessments of 4 common radiation-associated symptoms. Physicians were also more likely to underrecognize the severity of these symptoms in younger women and black women with breast cancer. Read More ›

Sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy) led to increased response rates and improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with chemotherapy in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and stable brain metastases, according to a subgroup analysis of the phase 3 ASCENT clinical trial. The drug did not lead to improved overall survival (OS) in patients with stable brain metastases. These results were presented at the virtual 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS). Read More ›

Belzutifan, an oral, novel hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-2α inhibitor, showed encouraging activity as a single agent in heavily pretreated patients with advanced clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma (RCC) associated with von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease, as well as impressive tumor shrinkage when used in combination with cabozantinib (Cabometyx) in separate studies presented at the 2021 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. Read More ›

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus chemotherapy improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with chemotherapy alone as first-line treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), according to the results of KEYNOTE-355. Improvement in PFS with the addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy was more robust in patients with TNBC and PD-L1 expression. These results were presented at the virtual 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) and add to a growing body of evidence supporting the first-line use of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy combinations for TNBC. Read More ›

The combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus cabozantinib (Cabometyx) continued to show superior survival outcomes compared with single-agent sunitinib (Sutent) as first-line treatment for patients with advanced renal-cell carcinoma (RCC), according to extended follow-up data from the phase 3 CheckMate-9ER clinical trial presented at the 2021 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. Read More ›

The addition of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib (Verzenio) to standard endocrine therapy reduced the risk for invasive disease recurrence or death compared with endocrine therapy alone by almost 30% in patients with high-risk, hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth receptor 2 (HER2)-negative, early-stage breast cancer. These results come from the primary analysis of the phase 3 monarchE clinical trial that was presented at the virtual 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Read More ›

Results of the SWOG S1007 RxPONDER clinical trial suggest that some postmenopausal women with early-stage hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth receptor 2 (HER2)-negative breast cancer, and 1 to 3 positive axillary lymph nodes may be able to avoid adjuvant chemotherapy. By contrast, premenopausal women can derive benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy, based on findings of a prespecified interim analysis of the phase 3 RxPONDER clinical trial; the findings were presented at the virtual 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. Read More ›

Cabazitaxel (Jevtana) is approved as third-line therapy for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) after treatment with docetaxel and an androgen receptor inhibitor. A new phase 2 clinical trial shows that the radionuclide therapy that targets the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA), ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA-617, reduced the risk for disease progression or death by 37% compared with cabazitaxel in men with previously treated metastatic CRPC. Moreover, the TheraP study showed that patients who received ¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA-617 had fewer side effects and improved quality of life compared with patients who received cabazitaxel. Read More ›

In patients with metastatic urothelial cancer who received previous therapy, as well as in cisplatin-ineligible patients with this cancer, enfortumab vedotin-ejfv (Padcev) improved overall survival (OS), according to new data presented at the 2021 ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. The data come from the phase 3 EV-301 study and cohort 2 of the phase 2 EV-201 study. Experts believe this antibody–drug conjugate will become a new standard of care in the treatment of patients with advanced urothelial cancer. Read More ›

The selective, oral retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) agonist, SY-1425, combined with azacitidine showed encouraging activity in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that is overexpressing the RARA gene in a phase 2 clinical trial. These results were presented at ASH 2020. The RARA gene is a novel target in patients with AML. Read More ›

Momelotinib, a selective and orally bioavailable inhibitor of Janus kinase (JAK) 1, JAK2, and ACVR1, improved overall survival and sustained efficacy outcomes in patients with intermediate- or high-risk myelofibrosis, according to updated findings from the phase 3 SIMPLIFY-1 and SIMPLIFY-2 clinical trials presented at ASH 2020. Momelotinib was of benefit to patients who previously received treatment with ruxolitinib (Jakafi) and those who had not received a JAK inhibitor. Read More ›

Asciminib, an investigational first-in-class STAMP (specifically targeting the ABL myristoyl pocket) inhibitor, was superior to standard treatment with bosutinib (Bosulif) in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who previously received 2 or more tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in the phase 3 ASCEMBL clinical trial. The results were presented at a late-breaker session at ASH 2020 by lead investigator Andreas Hochhaus, MD, Director, Department of Hematology and Oncology, Klinik für Innere Medizin II, Jena, Germany. Read More ›

When it comes to gathering and assessing social determinants of health (SDoH) as part of a medically appropriate history and examination, it is necessary to employ 5 key strategies, said Allysceaeioun D. Britt, PhD, MPH, Interim Vice President, Office of Faculty Affairs and Development, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN, in a presentation during the virtual 2020 Healthcare Administration Alliance Conference. Read More ›

In a phase 3 clinical trial, ruxolitinib (Jakafi) led to superior overall response rates and durable responses compared with best available therapy (ie, control group) in patients with steroid-dependent or steroid-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), with acceptable safety, according to results presented at ASH 2020. Read More ›

Although smoldering myeloma is acknowledged as a clinical entity, debate continues about whether to treat, when to treat, and how to treat this condition, said Natalie S. Callander, MD, Leader, Myeloma/Lymphoma Disease-Oriented Team, University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 2020 Virtual Congress: hematologic malignancies. Read More ›

At the 2020 NCCN hematologic malignancies conference, Shaji Kumar, MD, Consultant and Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology, Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Rochester, MN, discussed the “bonanza of treatment regimens for multiple myeloma.” Read More ›

Although chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has been a life-saving treatment for some patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), additional therapies may be able to perform equally well in select patients, said Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, Medical Director, Quality Informatics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 2020 Virtual Congress: hematologic malignancies. Read More ›

Sotorasib, an investigational small-molecule inhibitor of the KRAS p.G12C mutation, demonstrated promising activity and encouraging safety in patients with advanced solid tumors, in particular those with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in the preliminary phase 1 CodeBreaK 100 trial. Read More ›

Xevinapant, an investigational antagonist of IAPs (inhibitor of apoptosis proteins), prolonged overall survival (OS) in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (HNSCC) when added to chemoradiotherapy, according to an updated analysis of a phase 2 clinical trial that was presented at the 2020 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) congress. Read More ›

PARP inhibition is moving on from breast and ovarian cancer to the treatment of patients with prostate cancer and BRCA1/2 mutation. Olaparib (Lynparza) reduced the risk for death by 31% versus enzalutamide (Xtandi) or abiraterone (Zytiga) in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and BRCA1 or BRCA2, and to a lesser extent ATM mutations, according to the final analysis of the phase 3 PROfound trial. Read More ›

Treatment with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) significantly extended progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma compared with standard treatment with brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris), according to the results of the phase 3 KEYNOTE-204 clinical trial reported at the ASCO 2020 virtual annual meeting. Read More ›

The combination of cabozantinib (Cabometyx), a second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), plus nivolumab (Opdivo), an immune checkpoint inhibitor, significantly improved overall survival (OS) and doubled the objective response rates (ORR) compared with the current standard, sunitinib (Sutent), in treatment-naïve patients with advanced renal-cell carcinoma (RCC), according to the results of the phase 3 CheckMate-9ER clinical trial. The results were presented at the 2020 European Society for Medical Oncology virtual meeting and were featured at the meeting press conference. Read More ›

A real-world analysis showed that adjuvant immunotherapy in patients with stage III melanoma improved survival, but that only approximately 33% of eligible patients received such adjuvant therapy after ipilimumab (Yervoy) was approved by the FDA for this indication. Read More ›

Adding the oral cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)4/CDK6 inhibitor abemaciclib (Verzenio) to endocrine therapy led to a significant reduction in the risk for invasive disease recurrence versus endocrine therapy alone in patients with high-risk hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer, according to findings from the phase 3 monarchE clinical trial. The results were presented at the 2020 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) virtual meeting and were featured at the meeting press conference. Read More ›

“COVID-19 is more than just the common cold. It represents a perpetual challenge for which we have to be perpetually prepared,” stated Anthony S. Fauci, MD, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD), in his keynote lecture at the July 2020 AACR virtual meeting on COVID-19 and cancer. Dr Fauci has been Director of NIAD for 36 years. Read More ›

During the July 2020 AACR virtual meeting on COVID-19 and cancer, Solange Peters, MD, PhD, European Society for Medical Oncology President, and Head, Medical Oncology Department, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland, delivered the keynote address, providing an update on the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium cohort study. Read More ›

Many cancer vaccines have been studied, but thus far the search has been unsuccessful. Results from a new study suggest that the combination of a messenger (mRNA)-based personalized cancer vaccine (known as RO7198457) plus the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab (Tecentriq) shows promise for the treatment of advanced cancer. The results of the phase 1b clinical trial were presented at the 2020 AACR virtual annual meeting. Read More ›

Early locoregional therapy with surgery and radiation does not improve overall survival (OS) in women with newly diagnosed stage IV breast cancer and an intact primary tumor compared with systemic therapy alone, according to the results of the randomized ECOG-ACRIN E2108 phase 3 clinical trial. The results were presented by lead investigator Seema A. Khan, MD, FACS, MPH, Co-Leader, Lynn Sage Comprehensive Breast Center, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL, at the plenary session of the ASCO 2020 virtual annual meeting. Read More ›

Treatment with cabozantinib (Cabometyx), a kinase inhibitor, plus atezolizumab (Tecentriq), a PD-L1 inhibitor, led to clinically meaningful activity in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), including those with high-risk clinical features, according to the results of the phase 1b COSMIC-021 trial. Read More ›

arly results from the phase 2 TheraP clinical trial show that the targeted radiation therapy ¹⁷⁷Lutetium PSMA-617 (Lu-PSMA) significantly improved prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response compared with standard cabazitaxel in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) that progressed after docetaxel therapy. Read More ›

Oral relugolix given daily is superior to standard androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) with leuprolide (Lupron) in men with advanced prostate cancer, according to the results of the phase 3 HERO study, which were reported at the ASCO 2020 virtual annual meeting and published online before the meeting (Shore ND, et al. N Engl J Med. 2020;382:2187-2196). Read More ›

Updated results of the phase 3 CASPIAN clinical trial continue to show that durvalumab (Imfinzi) added to standard chemotherapy improves overall survival (OS) for patients with treatment-naïve extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC), according to a presentation at the ASCO 2020 virtual annual meeting. Read More ›

Adjuvant therapy with atezolizumab (Tecentriq) did not meet the primary end point of disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with muscle-invasive urothelial cancer (MIUC) at high risk for recurrence versus observation alone in the primary analysis of the IMvigor010 trial. Read More ›

Interim analysis of the phase 3 JAVELIN Bladder 100 clinical trial showed that maintenance therapy with the PD-L1 inhibitor avelumab (Bavencio) plus best supportive care significantly prolonged overall survival (OS) versus best supportive care alone in patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma whose disease did not progress with first-line platinum-based chemotherapy. Read More ›