NCCN Updates Treatment Recommendations for Breast, Colorectal, Lung, and other Cancer Types Based on Emerging Evidence

Recent NCCN Guidelines updates—along with the supporting evidence—will be presented during the NCCN 2024 Annual Conference held in Orlando, Florida April 5-7, and simultaneously online. Visit NCCN.org/conference to learn more and register.

Study unravels the earliest cellular genesis of lung adenocarcinoma

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center built a new atlas of lung cells, uncovering new cellular pathways and precursors in the development of lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of lung cancer. These findings, published today in Nature, open the door for development of new strategies to detect or intercept the disease in its earliest stages.

Why a Targeted Therapy Is Better Than Immunotherapy For Some Patients With Inoperable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation, tends not to respond well to immunotherapy treatments, including durvalumab. However, Yale Cancer Center (YCC) researchers recently reported in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology that the targeted therapy osimertinib, when administered after chemotherapy and radiation, is associated with significantly improved progression-free survival (living without the cancer worsening).

Breakthrough Research Identifies Predictors of Venous Thromboembolism after Pulmonary Resection for Lung Cancer

In patients who undergo pulmonary resection for lung cancer, a major potential postoperative complication is venous thromboembolism (VTE)—a condition that develops when a blood clot forms in a vein—which can lead to part of the clot breaking off and lodging in the lung, resulting in a pulmonary embolism (PE).

Pathologic Scoring Shows Promise for Assessing Lung Tumor Therapy Response

A new pathologic scoring system that accurately assesses how much lung tumor is left after a patient receives presurgical cancer treatments can be used to predict survival, according to new research led by investigators at the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Mark Foundation Center for Advanced Genomics and Imaging at the Johns Hopkins University.

New Study Shows Adults Treated for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Vulnerable to Hazards of Wildfires

New research by scientists at the American Cancer Society and the University of California, San Francisco, shows individuals in the United States undergoing radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer who are exposed to wildfires near the treating facility have worse overall survival than unexposed individuals.

Antibody-drug conjugate helps patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer live longer, delaying disease progression

Treatment with datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd), a novel Trop-2 directed antibody-drug conjugate, was found to significantly improve progression-free survival in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, an improvement that was primarily driven by patients with non-squamous tumors.

Lung cancer outcomes significantly improved with immunotherapy-based treatment given before and after surgery

A regimen of pre-surgical immunotherapy and chemotherapy followed by post-surgical immunotherapy significantly improved event-free survival (EFS) and pathologic complete response (pCR) rates compared to chemotherapy alone for patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to results of a Phase III trial reported by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

ESMO: Pre- and post-surgical immunotherapy improves outcomes for patients with operable lung cancer

Perioperative immunotherapy plus neoadjuvant chemotherapy significantly improved event-free survival (EFS) in patients with resectable early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared to chemotherapy alone. Results from the Phase III CheckMate 77T study were presented today at the 2023 European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

MD Anderson Research Highlights: ESMO 2023 Special Edition

This special edition features upcoming oral presentations by MD Anderson researchers at the 2023 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress focused on clinical advances across a variety of cancer types.

Cancer researchers awarded $4.6 million to advance liquid biopsy test for early lung cancer detection

A team of investigators from the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and the UCLA School of Dentistry received a five-year $4.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop and improve liquid biopsy technologies for the early detection of lung cancer — the leading cause of cancer death in both men and women in the U.S.

Combination immunotherapy treatment effective before lung cancer surgery

Combination immunotherapy with the anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody durvalumab and other novel agents outperforms durvalumab alone in the neoadjuvant (pre-surgical) setting for early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Trial: Combination Immunotherapy Prior To Lung Cancer Surgery Appears Promising

Patients with stage 1–3 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) given a combination immunotherapy prior to surgery (neoadjuvant) had a better major pathological response (10% or less residual cancer) when the cancer was removed than those who took a single immunotherapy agent alone, according to results of a novel multicenter phase 2 NeoCOAST platform trial that included two investigators from the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and its Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy. The results were published online Sept. 14 in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

$50 million gift to expand health sciences research at Virginia Tech

The Richmond, Virginia-based Red Gates Foundation recently committed $50 million to the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC to accelerate health sciences research at Virginia Tech. The gift is among the largest ever made to the university.

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy provides long-term benefits to patients with locally advanced lung cancer

Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) should be the preferred choice when treating patients with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as it reduces radiation exposure to the heart and lungs, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

AI more accurately identifies patients with advanced lung cancer that respond to immunotherapy and helps doctors select treatments

Treatment planning for lung cancer can often be complex due to variations in assessing immune biomarkers. In a new study, Yale Cancer Center researchers at Yale School of Medicine used artificial intelligence (AI) tools and digital pathology to improve the accuracy of this process.

Cancer screenings have saved the U.S. at least $6.5 trillion, study estimates

Americans have gotten at least 12 million more years of life to live because of preventive cancer screenings they’ve gotten the past 25 years, a new study estimates. That adds up to at least $6.5 trillion in added economic impact, because of scans and tests that look for early signs of breast, colon, cervical and lung cancer in adults at the highest risk.

MD Anderson Research Highlights for August 2, 2023

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back.

Recent developments include a novel biomarker that may predict the aggressiveness of pancreatic cancer precursors, insights into the structure and function of a breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility gene, a new approach to overcoming treatment resistance in ovarian cancer, distinguishing features of young-onset rectal cancer, a biomarker and potential target for metastatic lung cancer, machine learning models to better predict outcomes of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), and a promising therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory MCL.

Pharmacologist: Cancer drug shortage is delaying lifesaving treatments

This year, an estimated 2 million Americans will be diagnosed with cancer. Now, a New York Institute of Technology pharmacology expert contends that these patients’ realities could grow increasingly harsher, as a monthslong shortage of chemotherapy drugs continues. Low supplies of…

Food-Drug Interactions Could be Impactful for Some Lung Cancer Patients According to New Study in JNCCN

New research in the June 2023 issue of JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found that when alectinib—a safe and effective small molecule kinase inhibitor used to treat some types of advanced lung cancer—was taken with a fuller breakfast, or with lunch, it resulted in significantly higher drug concentrations than when taken with a low-fat breakfast.

Real-World Data Suggests Stopping Immunotherapy after Two Years is Reasonable in Patients with Advanced Lung Cancer

A new study from Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center suggests that it’s reasonable for patients with advanced lung cancer to stop immunotherapy treatment at two years, as long as their cancer hasn’t progressed.

ASCO23: Sylvester Cancer Experts Available for Interviews on a Wide Range of Topics

In addition to presenting Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center research findings, Sylvester experts are available at ASCO to share perspectives on a wide variety of topics and studies ranging from breast cancer to sarcoma, prostate cancer, mesothelioma, melanoma, CNS tumors and more.

UChicago Medicine introduces groundbreaking, next-generation robotic technology to combat early lung cancer

The University of Chicago Medicine is the first U.S. hospital to use new, state-of-the-art robotic technology for bronchoscopies that will improve early detection of lung cancer. UChicago Medicine performed its first four successful cases using the Noah Medical Galaxy Robot on May 18, 2023. Each patient returned home the same day after the procedure.

New Study Shows Mortality Rates for All Major Cancers Decreasing Globally, Except Liver Cancer in Men and Lung Cancer in Women

A new study conducted by scientists at the American Cancer Society and Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center reveals recent mortality rates for all major cancers decreased in most of the studied countries except lung cancer in females and liver cancer in males, where increasing rates were observed in most countries. The research also showed that cancer-specific mortality rates varied substantially across countries, with rates of lung and cervical cancer varying by 10-fold. The study was published today in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Immunotherapy plus chemotherapy combination for advanced lung cancer not only prolongs life but also improves its quality

A recent clinical trial showed that the drug combination of cemiplimab plus platinum chemotherapy can prolong survival in patients with advanced lung cancer when compared with placebo plus platinum chemotherapy. Now an analysis published by Wiley online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, indicates that cemiplimab plus platinum chemotherapy also affects quality of life compared to chemotherapy alone.

New CAR T-Cell Strategy Highly Effective Against Small Cell Lung Cancer in Preclinical Study

A new approach to chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapy has shown great promise against small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in a preclinical study. The findings cover new ground in our understanding of how CAR T can be employed against solid-tumor cancers, and provide support for further studies in cancer patients.

“Radon”: a Lung Cancer Threat Next Door – Chula’s Engineering Professor Suggests Ways to Protect Ourselves

Radon is a radioactive element naturally found in rocks, soil, sand, and water, which humans generally use in construction. This dangerous gas is second only to smoking in contributing to lung cancer. A Chula engineering professor suggests ways to defend ourselves from this threat.

New Lung Immuno-oncology Therapeutic Strategy Identified

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have demonstrated in a preclinical study a potential new therapeutic approach to treating the most common form of lung cancer. The strategy involves inhibiting the immune-system molecule TREM2 while enhancing natural killer cells (the so-called protectors of the immune system). It was described in the April 20 online issue of Nature Immunology.

Wake Forest University School of Medicine Receives $2.7 Million Grant from National Cancer Institute to Study Lung Cancer Disparities

Wake Forest University School of Medicine has been awarded a five-year, $2.7 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to investigate lung cancer health disparities. Researchers will focus on developing novel treatments that target genetic, immunologic and metabolic changes that disproportionally affect Black patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

AACR: Mutations in three key genes associated with poor outcomes in lung cancer patients treated with KRAS G12C inhibitors

A new study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discovered that co-occurring mutations in three tumor suppressor genes – KEAP1, SMARCA4 and CDKN2A – are linked with poor clinical outcomes in patients with KRAS G12C-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with the KRAS G12C inhibitors adagrasib or sotorasib.

AACR: Lung cancer outcomes significantly improved with immunotherapy-based treatment given before and after surgery

A regimen of pre-surgical immunotherapy and chemotherapy followed by post-surgical immunotherapy significantly improved event-free survival (EFS) and pathologic complete response (pCR) rates compared to chemotherapy alone for patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to Phase III trial results presented today by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023.

Cedars-Sinai Cancer Experts To Present Clinical Findings at AACR Conference

Cedars-Sinai Cancer oncologists and researchers are available to comment on late-breaking topics and research throughout the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023, happening April 14-19 in Orlando.