According to research now published in JAMA Oncology, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with targeted biopsy (MRI-targeted biopsy) was shown to be just as effective at detecting prostate cancer compared with systematic 12-core transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) biopsy. For this multicenter, prospective, randomized study, led by Laurence Klotz, MD, FRCSC, affiliate scientist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre of the University of Toronto, 453 biopsy-naive patients with clinically suspected prost...

Results of the KEYNOTE-010 study (NCT01905657) have shown that pembrolizumab is more effective than docetaxel for patients with previously treated, advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) tumor proportion score (TPS) ≥50% and ≥1%. However, what do the results look like after long-term follow-up? According to a study presented this past weekend at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) World Conference on Lung Cancer, pembroli...

The prognosis for sinonasal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is dismal, with the 5-year overall survival rate estimated to be around 30% to 55%. Sinonasal SCC pathogenesis can result from either de novo or inverted papillomas (IPs)—benign, aggressive neoplasms of the nasal cavity or paranasal sinuses. However, there is little research on whether or not the pathogenesis of sinonasal SCC has an impact on patient outcomes. According to a study recently published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck ...

There are over a dozen histologic variants of renal cell carcinoma (RCC); therefore, each tumor can vary widely based on genetic, pathologic, and clinical characteristics. The most common histologic variants of RCC include clear cell RCC, papillary RCC, and chromophobe RCC. In a recent study, results of which are now published in JAMA Network Open, researchers found that disease spread for metastatic RCC may vary based on histologic variant, and the location of disease spread is associated with ...

The FDA approved fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu®, Daiichi Sankyo) for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive gastric or gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma previously treated with a trastuzumab-based regimen. Approval was based on DESTINY-Gastric01 (NCT03329690), a multicenter, open-label, randomized trial. For this study, led by study author Kohei Shitara, MD, Chief of the Department of Gastrointestinal ...

Standard treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) typically involves antiangiogenic therapies, which block angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels, thereby starving cancer cells. Anlotinib, a multitarget tyrosine kinase inhibitor, works by targeting VEGFR1-3, which hinders tumor metastasis and growth. In study results to be presented this weekend at the 2021 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, anlotinib demonstrated efficacy in patients with previously treated mCRC. ALTER0703, ...

Lymphopenia—a condition where lymphocyte levels in blood are below normal—is frequently caused by chemoradiation (CRT). Since lymphopenia is associated with worse survival outcomes in patients with cancer, there is a huge need to decrease this condition. Researchers found that in patients with nonmetastatic, unresectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) who have been treated with neoadjuvant 5-fluorouracil (5FU)/leucovorin/irinotecan/oxaliplatin (FOLFIRINOX) and CRT, severe lymphopenia ca...

With the opioid crisis claiming so many lives, physicians need to be especially careful prescribing these drugs. However, for many patients with cancer who are in a lot of pain, opioids can be a necessary part of treatment. So how can physicians determine predictors and frequency of opioid abuse in this population? A study now published in JAMA Oncology found that marital status, higher levels of pain, high scores on the Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain (SOAPP), and morphine...

In those who have survived childhood cancer, an unhealthy lifestyle can compound the risk of cardiovascular disease that can result from intensive cancer therapies. High blood pressure, high waist circumference, and high blood lipids, all of which are commonly found in childhood cancer survivors, can increase the chance of developing cardiovascular disease. However, according to a recent study, childhood cancer survivors could potentially mitigate the risk of cardiovascular disease with physical...

The FDA has recently expanded approval for selinexor (XpovioTM, Karyopharm Therapeutics) to include combination therapy with bortezomib and dexamethasone for adults with multiple myeloma who have received at least one previous line of therapy. Previously, selinexor was approved in combination with dexamethasone for patients with multiple myeloma who have received four previous lines of therapy, including two proteasome inhibitors, at least two immunomodulatory agents, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal...

The FDA has now approved tirbanibulin (Klisyri®, Athenex) for treating actinic keratosis (AK) on the face or scalp topically. Actinic keratosis is a precancerous lesion that forms on skin that has been damaged by long-term, chronic exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun and/or indoor tanning. As the second most common diagnosis made by dermatologists in the US, AK will develop into skin cancers 10%-15% of the time when left untreated. Approval was based on effective results shown in two pivot...

The oral hypomethylating agent CC-486, when administered in an escalated dosing schedule (>7 days per 28-day treatment cycle), has been shown to be effective and well tolerated for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) experiencing their first relapse, according to results of a study presented at American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. For the phase 3 international, randomized, double-blind QUAZAR AML-001 trial (NCT01757535), 472 patients with AML were enrolled. To be eligib...

Patients can safely delay a radical prostatectomy for up to 180 days after diagnosis of high-risk prostate cancer, according to results of a study now published in JAMA Network Open. Using the US National Cancer Database (NCDB), the researchers collected data on 32,184 patients with clinically localized high-risk prostate adenocarcinoma who were diagnosed between the years 2006 and 2016 and who underwent a radical prostatectomy. Patients were categorized into 5 groups according to surgical delay...

The FDA recently approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck & Co) with chemotherapy for patients with locally recurrent unresectable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) for those whose tumors express PD-L1 (CPS ≥10) as determined by an FDA approved test. In addition, the FDA approved the companion diagnostic, PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx (Dako North America, Inc.), to select patients with TNBC for pembrolizumab. Efficacy was shown in KEYNOTE-355 (NCT02819518), a multicenter, double-bl...

Results of a new study presented at American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 2020 reveal that adjuvant radiotherapy (aRT) significantly increased the risk of late toxicity compared with salvage radiotherapy (sRT). Lead author of the study, Paul Sargos, MD, discusses the significance of these results in addition to advice for community oncologists treating this patient population in this interview with i3 Health. What was the rationale for this study? Paul Sargos, MD: To understand the impo...

A recent phase 3 study presented at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) 2020 Annual Meeting found that patients with cervical cancer undergoing postoperative adjuvant conventional radiation are more likely to develop late bowel toxicity than those undergoing image guided intensity modulated radiotherapy (IG-IMRT). For this study, results of which are published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics, 300 patients aged 18 to 65 years ol...

A recent study presented by Ming Shi, MD, PhD and colleagues at ESMO Virtual Congress 2020 found that hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) with oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin (FOLFOX) yield more effective results in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). In an interview with i3 Health, Dr. Shi shares insights about the significance of these results, as well as the future of treatment for HCC, and advice ...

A study presented at ESMO Virtual Congress 2020 revealed that hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) with oxaliplatin, fluorouracil, and leucovorin (FOLFOX) yields more effective results in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) compared with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE). For this randomized, multi-center, open-label trial (NCT02973685), results of which are published in Annals of Oncology, 315 patients aged 18 years or older with a primary unresectable HCC tu...

Presented at ESMO Virtual Congress 2020, a recent study compared results on apalutamide administered in patients with non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (nmCRPC) between real-world data from an international named patient program (NPP) and the phase 3 SPARTAN clinical trial and found that the results were similar. In an interview with i3 Health, lead study author Professor Heather Payne, MBBS, FRCP, FRCR of the University College Hospital, discusses the significance of these res...