8 ASCO studies your colleagues are still talking about
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Nearly 7,000 abstracts had been submitted for presentation at this year’s ASCO Annual Meeting.
Many have the potential to change practice or improve patient outcomes.
Healio spotlights eight such studies below. Click each link to read insights from study investigators, as well as perspective from key opinion leaders in the field who discuss the implications of the findings.
1. The addition of pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab significantly improved PFS for patients with early-stage resectable non-small cell lung cancer, results of the randomized phase 3 KEYNOTE-671 trial showed. “We saw a 42% improvement in event-free survival, so it’s clear this is impacting a very high percentage of patients,” researcher Heather Wakelee, MD, told Healio. The “profound impact” on event-free survival likely will translate to an OS benefit, Wakelee added. Read more.
2. Administering modified FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy before chemoradiation, surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy improved survival for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, results of the randomized phase 3 PRODIGE 23 trial showed. "The results ... reinforce adoption of total neoadjuvant therapy as a care standard in rectal cancer for patients who require radiotherapy," David H. Ilson, MD, PhD, told Healio in an exclusive perspective. Read more.
3. Vorasidenib (Servier) extended PFS while delaying time to next intervention among certain patients with grade 2 isocitrate dehydrogenase 1- or 2-mutant glioma. “If this will allow us to delay brain radiation and the cognitive effects that come from that, then it is really a revolutionary tool,” Ashley L. Sumrall, MD, FACP, told Healio in an exclusive perspective. Read more.
4. The addition of ribociclib (Kisqali, Novartis) to endocrine therapy improved invasive DFS for patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer, results of the randomized phase 3 NATALEE trial showed. “It is a big step forward to have another CDK 4/6 inhibitor that is effective [for] improving long-term outcomes,” researcher Debu Tripathy, MD, told Healio. Read more.
5. The addition of nivolumab (Opdivo, Bristol Myers Squibb) to chemotherapy reduced risk for progression or death compared with brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris, Seagen) plus chemotherapy for adults with treatment-naive advanced classic Hodgkin lymphoma. "This is a huge advance in treatment for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma for a number of reasons,” investigator Alex Herrera, MD, told Healio. "Not only ... are we able to cure more patients, but also it really harmonizes the treatments of Hodgkin lymphoma across the age spectrum.” Read more.
6. Nearly one-fourth of academic oncologists surveyed reported feelings of burnout, with the highest rates among women and lesbian/gay/bisexual faculty. "We need high-quality data to demonstrate the problem, and then discreet and specific interventions to change it,” researcher Fumiko Chino, MD, told Healio. Read more.
7. Ciltacabtagene autoleucel (Carvykti; Janssen, Legend Biotech) significantly extended PFS compared with standard therapy for adults with relapsed and lenalidomide-refractory multiple myeloma, results from the randomized phase 3 CARTITUDE-4 study showed. "I am hopeful that longer-term outcomes allow us to better understand if such responses will be reflective of longer survival and/or improved quality of life," Samer Al Hadidi, MD, MS, FACP, told Healio in an exclusive perspective. Read more.
8. Adjuvant osimertinib (Tagrisso, AstraZeneca) reduced risk for death by 51% compared with placebo for patients with resected, EGFR-mutant, stage IB to IIIA non-small cell lung cancer, results of the randomized phase 3 ADAURA trial showed. “I really hope policymakers will see this and approve the drug, [and that] physicians will see this and discuss it in their multimodality tumor boards so that they can use the drug early,” investigator Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, told Healio. Read more.
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