The KEYNOTE-062 phase III randomized clinical trial achieved its primary endpoint, showing that for patients with PD-L1-positive, HER2-negative, advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancer, initial therapy with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) resulted in comparable (non-inferior) overall survival as standard chemotherapy.
CHICAGO – Five-year data from the phase Ib KEYNOTE-001 clinical trial show that pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was safe and effective and substantially increased overall survival for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC). Specifically, 23.2% of people who had not previously been treated with chemotherapy and 15.5% of previously-treated patients were alive after five years, with the greatest benefit observed in patients with higher PD-L1 expression. This represents a marked improvement over 5-year survival rates from the pre-immunotherapy era, which averaged 5.5% for aNSCLC. This is the longest follow-up study to date of people with aNSCLC treated with pembrolizumab, according to the researchers.
The study will be featured in a press briefing today and presented at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting and is in press with the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Chicago — In an effort to advance cancer data sharing and improve the quality and coordination of patient care, three of the nation’s leading health and technology organizations have established a core set of data elements and recommended technical specifications (the Minimal Common Oncology Data Elements, or “mCODE”) that are essential for capturing and reporting the characteristics, treatments, and outcomes of every cancer patient and should be contained in each patient’s electronic health record (EHR). The mCODE™ initiative, a collaboration between the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®), its wholly owned nonprofit subsidiary CancerLinQ LLC, the MITRE Corporation, and the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology Foundation (Alliance Foundation), released the initial set of common cancer data standards and specifications today at ASCO’s 2019 Annual Meeting in Chicago and published them online at mCODEinitiative.org.
Wendy Allen-Rhoades, MD, of Baylor College of Medicine, and Laura LaNiel Tenner, MD, MPH, of The Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, will spend the next year developing leadership skills and healthcare policy expertise.
Positive findings from fully enrolled cohorts in non-small cell lung cancer and metastatic breast cancer from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc.’s (ASCO) Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR™) Study will be presented in poster sessions at the 2019 ASCO® Annual Meeting.
“ASCO strongly supports this strong, bipartisan bill that would raise the federal age for purchasing tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, and alternative nicotine products from 18 to 21 nationwide. This legislation represents an important federal policy change needed to address the ongoing public health epidemic from tobacco use in the United States.
In a phase I/IB study of 29 patients, age 4.9 months to 20 years, with rare central nervous system tumors, neuroblastoma, or other solid tumors, responses to entrectinib, a novel targeted treatment, were seen in 12 of the 28 evaluable patients. The 12 pediatric patients who experienced a response to therapy had fusions in NTRK1/2/3, ROS1, or ALK genes (11 patients) or an ALK mutation (1 patient). The study will be presented at the upcoming 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – At the launch of the National Cancer Institute-Children’s Oncology Group Pediatric Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (NCI-COG Pediatric MATCH) trial in 2017, it was estimated that tumor sequencing in children, adolescents, and young adults with treatment-refractory cancers – cancers that do not respond to treatment– would identify genetic alterations that matched an investigational targeted therapy in 10% of study participants. An interim analysis of more than 400 patients screened has revealed the match rate appears to be significantly higher, with 24% of participants eligible to receive treatment with at least one drug being tested in the trial. The first update on the study will be presented at the upcoming 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.
The federally funded Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) clinical trial of dietary modification in nearly 49,000 postmenopausal women with no previous history of breast cancer reported that women who followed a balanced diet that was low in fat and included daily servings of fruits, vegetables, and grains had a 21% lower risk of death from breast cancer than women in the control group who continued their normal diet, which was higher in fat overall.
A new study published today in the Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP) reveals the findings of a 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Oncology Workforce survey on oncologists’ perceptions and practice behaviors related to diet, physical activity, and weight management in people with cancer — during and after active treatment. The research was also presented today at the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) 2019 Research Conference, Diet, Obesity, Physical Activity and Cancer — Beyond the Blueprint.
The phase II/III E3A06 randomized clinical trial found that lenalidomide (Revlimid) significantly reduces the risk of smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM) -- a precancerous condition -- from progressing to cancer in patients at moderate or high-risk.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—CancerLinQ LLC, a wholly owned nonprofit subsidiary of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), announced today that CureMD’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) system is the third to be certified by CancerLinQ® after meeting criteria for interoperability and data standardization. This collaboration will streamline access to CancerLinQ® and drive interoperability among EHR systems.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—CancerLinQ LLC and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) have announced a collaboration to expand the specialized expertise informing CancerLinQ®, a health information technology platform, developed by oncologists for oncologists, to enhance and improve the understanding and treatment of cancer. The IASLC will contribute thought leadership and subject matter expertise to CancerLinQ including aspects of clinical practice related to the diagnosis and management of lung cancer, the identification and development of clinical quality measures for thoracic oncology, and other relevant content.
Today, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) will host a joint reception on Capitol Hill for Members of Congress to underscore the two organizations’ shared policy priorities to improve research and cancer care delivery for patients and cancer survivors.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®) commends the 24 practices that took their standard of care to the next level and achieved Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) Certification in the first quarter of this year.
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