ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program
Two Studies Validate Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy With Short-Course Radiotherapy or Long-Term Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer
In the treatment of resectable, locally advanced rectal cancer, researchers are trying to identify the most effective chemotherapy regimens, the best radiotherapy approaches, and the optimal sequence ...
Tucatinib Combination in Previously Treated HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer With Brain Metastases
In an analysis of the pivotal phase III HER2CLIMB trial reported at the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program, Nancy U. Lin, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, and colleagues found that tucatin...
Many Reasons to ‘Geriatricize’ Your Oncology Practice: Research Updates From ASCO20
“Older adults form the majority of patients with cancer.” For more than 3 decades now, almost every article, presentation, or discussion related to cancer and aging started with this statement. As I e...
Updates on BCMA-Directed CAR-Modified T-Cell Gene Therapies
Outcomes in patients with triple-class–failure relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who experience disease progression on immunomodulatory agents, proteasome inhibitors, and CD38 antibodies are di...
Personalized Medicine Meets Geriatric Oncology: Tailoring Oncologic Care for Older Adults
The ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program was a landmark year for the field of geriatric oncology, featuring more than 300 research abstracts that presented data on older adults with cancer. Here, we disc...
Expert Point of View: TROPHIMMUN Trial
Two gynecologic oncologists and ASCO’s Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FSCT, FASCO, commented on the findings of the TROPHIMMUN trial for The ASCO Pos...
TROPHIMMUN Trial Finds Avelumab Effective in Rare Gynecologic Tumor Resistant to Chemotherapy
The first trial of immunotherapy for gestational trophoblastic tumors proved effective in almost 50% of patients resistant to single-agent chemotherapy, French investigators reported in an abstract pr...
ASCO20: Cediranib Plus Olaparib vs Standard-of-Care Chemotherapy for Platinum-Sensitive Ovarian Cancer
Results of the NRG Oncology phase III clinical trial NRG-GY004 indicated that the addition of the investigational agent cediranib to olaparib and standard platinum-based chemotherapy did not improve p...
KEYNOTE-100: In Women With Advanced Ovarian Cancer, Pembrolizumab Yields Modest Antitumor Efficacy
the final results of the phase II KEYNOTE-100 study of pembrolizumab in women with advanced and recurrent ovarian cancer showed that pembrolizumab monotherapy produced modest clinical activity. Ursula...
ASCO20: Final Overall Survival Analysis From SOLO2 in Ovarian Cancer
For the first time, overall survival has been improved with maintenance therapy involving a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor in patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer a...
Expert Point of View: Robert L. Coleman, MD
Discussant of the DESKTOP III and SOC1 trials, Robert L. Coleman, MD, of U.S. Oncology Research in Woodlands, Texas, congratulated the authors of both trials. He put these results in perspective with ...
ASCO20: Secondary Surgery May Extend Survival in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
Two phase III trials provided support for secondary cytoreductive surgery in women with recurrent ovarian cancer, with the caveats that patient selection is key and the surgery should be performed at ...
SWOG S1505 Trial Evaluates Neoadjuvant Regimens in Pancreatic Cancer
The much-anticipated SWOG S1505 trial has failed to show that one preoperative regimen is better than another in resectable pancreatic cancer.1 “Perioperative modified FOLFIRINOX and gemcitabine/nab-p...
Phase III PADA-1 Trial Examines the Impact of ESR1 Mutations in Metastatic Breast Cancer
ESR1 mutations are known to confer resistance to endocrine therapy in the metastatic breast cancer setting. These mutations herald a poor prognosis, so their clearance early in the treatment course ma...
When Paired With Palbociclib, Fulvestrant and Letrozole Yield Comparable Results in PARSIFAL Trial
When paired with palbociclib in the first-line treatment of metastatic breast cancer, fulvestrant and letrozole performed comparably, with no statistical superiority in progression-free or overall sur...
In Case You Missed It: Quick Takes on Novel Therapies for Solid and Hematologic Malignancies
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, oncology providers from around the world had to forgo their annual trip to McCormick Place—but the show did go on. We all realized important research can still be pre...
Eric Zhou, PhD, on Insomnia in Young Cancer Survivors: Online Program May Improve Quality of Life
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...
Do Not Rush to High-Dose Twice-Daily Radiation for Limited Small Cell Lung Cancer
Bjørn Henning Gronberg, MD, PhD, presented a paper at the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program reporting astounding positive results favoring higher-dose, twice-daily radiation therapy in limited-stage s...
Expert Point of View: Ryan J. Sullivan, MD
The study’s invited discussant, Ryan J. Sullivan, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Assistant Professor in Hematology/Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, welcome...
Adoptive Cell Therapy With Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Proves Active in Refractory Metastatic Melanoma
Patients with heavily pretreated metastatic melanoma treated with adoptive cell therapy based on tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes achieved a response rate of 36%, a disease control rate of 80%, and a me...
Expert Point of View: Christopher Leigh Hallemeier, MD
The invited discussant for the RAPIDO and PRODIGE 23 trials, Christopher Leigh Hallemeier, MD, Associate Professor of Radiation Oncology at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, noted the standard approach to l...
Two Studies Validate Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy With Short-Course Radiotherapy or Long-Term Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer
In the treatment of resectable, locally advanced rectal cancer, researchers are trying to identify the most effective chemotherapy regimens, the best radiotherapy approaches, and the optimal sequence ...
Expert Point of View: Daniel Y. Heng, MD, MPH, and Toni K. Choueiri, MD
Study discussant Daniel Y. Heng, MD, MPH, a medical oncologist at Tom Baker Cancer Centre, University of Calgary, Canada, called the negative trial results important. IMvigor010 randomly assigned pati...
Adjuvant Atezolizumab Fails to Meet Primary Study Endpoint in High-Risk Bladder Cancer
Adjuvant atezolizumab, a PD-L1–blocking antibody, failed to meet the primary endpoint of disease-free survival in patients at high risk of recurrence of muscle-invasive bladder cancer compared with ob...
Expert Point of View: Suzanne Lentzsch, MD, PhD, and Joshua Richter, MD
Two myeloma specialists weighed in on the disappointing findings of SWOG S1211: Suzanne Lentzsch, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at Columbia University and Director of the Multiple Myeloma and Amyloid...
Elotuzumab Fails to Add Benefit in Newly Diagnosed High-Risk Myeloma
The addition of elotuzumab to a standard three-drug induction regimen did not improve outcomes in patients with high-risk multiple myeloma enrolled in the randomized phase II SWOG S1211 trial, accordi...
Roundup of High-Impact Studies in Early Breast Cancer
Clinicians interested in breast cancer who logged into the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program were greeted with an abundance of high-impact presentations. The ASCO Post has reported on several studies ...
Geriatric Assessment: What Are You Waiting For?
The ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program was the forum for an unusual but profoundly important event in oncology. Four studies that should be practice-changing were presented.1-4 These studies provided i...
Expert Point of View: Philip McCarthy, MD
Philip McCarthy, MD, Professor of Oncology and Internal Medicine and Director of the Transplant and Cellular Therapy Center at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York, found the re...
Responses Achieved With Belantamab Mafodotin in Relapsed or Refractory Myeloma
The antibody-drug conjugate belantamab mafodotin yielded responses as a single agent and in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone in the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, a...
Expert Point of View: Robert L. Coleman, MD
Discussant of the DESKTOP III and SOC1 trials, Robert L. Coleman, MD, of U.S. Oncology Research in Woodlands, Texas, congratulated the authors of both trials. He put these results in perspective with ...
Two Studies Report Secondary Surgery Extends Survival in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer
Two phase III trials provide support for secondary cytoreductive surgery in women with recurrent ovarian cancer, with the caveats that patient selection is key and the surgery should be performed at s...
Expert Point of View: Scott T. Tagawa, MD, MS
Discussant Scott T. Tagawa, MD, MS, of Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, agreed that prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted positron-emission tomography (PET) is the wave of the future, bu...
Expert Point of View: Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, FASCO
Commenting on the SOLO2 trial for The ASCO Post was Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, FASCO, Director of Women’s Cancers at Lifespan Cancer Institute and Professor of Medicine at Brown University, Providence, R...
Longer-Term Results of Pivotal Study in Advanced Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma
New, longer-term data from a pivotal phase II trial in advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), were presented during the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program and discussed during a poster disc...
PSMA-Targeted PET/CT Imaging May Be Useful in Biochemically Recurrent Prostate Cancer
Positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging with the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeted radiotracer fluorine F-18 DCFPyL (PyL) successfully identified areas of oc...
Savolitinib vs Sunitinib in MET-Driven Papillary Renal Cell Carcinoma
Targeting MET alterations with savolitinib appears to be a better strategy than sunitinib for patients with MET-driven papillary renal cell carcinoma, according to results of the open-label, randomize...
Final Analysis of Phase II Trial in Recurrent Platinum-Sensitive Ovarian Cancer
In a poster presentation at the ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program, Mansoor Raza Mirza, MD, of the the Department of Oncology, Rigshopitalet, Copenhagen University Hospital, Denmark, and colleagues rep...
Maintenance Olaparib Shows Overall Survival Benefit in Ovarian Cancer
In the final, preplanned, overall survival analysis in the randomized phase III SOLO2/ENGOT-ov211 trial, maintenance treatment with the PARP inhibitor olaparib extended overall survival by an unpreced...
Expert Point of View: TROPHIMMUN Trial
Two gynecologic oncologists and ASCO’s Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FSCT, FASCO, commented on the findings of the TROPHIMMUN trial for The ASCO Pos...
Avelumab Shown Effective in Rare Chemotherapy-Resistant Gynecologic Tumor in TROPHIMMUN Trial
Almost 50% of patients resistant to single-agent chemotherapy responded in the first trial of immunotherapy for gestational trophoblastic tumors, reported French investigators in an abstract presented...
For Patients With Early-Stage Cervical Cancer, Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy Declared Oncologically Safe
Bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy represents the current “gold standard” for lymph node staging in cervical cancer—but an assessment of disease-free and disease-specific survival among patients with ea...
Alpelisib Deemed Effective in Advanced Breast Cancer After Treatment With CDK4/6 Inhibitor
The phase II BYLieve trial indicates the effectiveness of the PIK3CA inhibitor alpelisib in patients with PIK3CA-positive, hormone receptor–positive/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer previously tre...
Study Indicates Effectiveness of Tucatinib Combination in Previously Treated HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer With Brain Metastases
Tucatinib, a small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is highly selective for HER2, plus trastuzumab/capecitabine significantly improved central nervous system (CNS) progression-free survival, ov...
Expert Point of View: Scott N. Gettinger, MD
Discussant for the CheckMate 227 and CheckMate 9LA trials, Scott N. Gettinger, MD, of Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Connecticut, said: “There is tremendous interest in lung cancer to combine nivolu...
First-Line Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab Shows Activity in NSCLC, With or Without Chemotherapy
Advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients whose tumors have no EGFR or ALK alterations poses a particular challenge in terms of first-line therapy. The use of nivolumab plus ipilimumab a...
Phase III BOSTON Study Finds Selinexor Improves Outcomes in Myeloma
When added to bortezomib and dexamethasone in patients with multiple myeloma, selinexor significantly improved progression-free survival and response rates, with a lower incidence of peripheral neurop...
Pembrolizumab Improves Progression-Free Survival vs Brentuximab Vedotin in Patients With Relapsed/Refractory Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
Treatment with the anti–PD-1 agent pembrolizumab significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma compared with standard brentuximab vedotin, according to r...
Expert Point of View: Philip McCarthy, MD
Philip McCarthy, MD, Professor of Oncology and Internal Medicine and Director of the Transplant and Cellular Therapy Center at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, New York, found the re...
No Survival Benefit from Local Therapy in de Novo Metastatic Breast Cancer Study
Results of the phase III E2108 study indicate that surgery and radiotherapy given after systemic treatment afforded no additional survival benefit among women with newly diagnosed metastatic breast ca...
