LANCET ONCOLOGY NEWS
This page will have a featured weekly article from the Lancet Oncology, to give you the opportunity to read some of the latest oncology papers. If you want more from the Lancet, make sure to subscribe to their mailing list
19th November 2018
Should next-generation sequencing be used routinely in metastatic colorectal cancer?
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies that use a low amount of nucleic acids are valuable tools for multi-gene detection of mutations, copy number variations, and fusion events. In metastatic colorectal cancer, various gene mutations have therapeutic implications, supporting the routine use of NGS in the clinic.
[News] Immunotherapy toxicity predicted by circulating cytokines
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Severe and potentially life-threatening immune-related toxicities associated with checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy could be effectively predicted and managed through the identification of 11 circulating cytokines, according to a recent study.
12th November 2018
VR-CAP versus R-CHOP frontline chemotherapy for transplant-ineligible mantle cell lymphoma
Frontline bortezomib, rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (VR-CAP) versus rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) in transplantation-ineligible patients with newly diagnosed mantle cell lymphoma: final overall survival results of a randomised, open-label, phase 3 study.
[News] Outcomes after minimally invasive surgery in cervical cancer
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Two new studies have found that minimally invasive surgery is associated with worse outcomes than open surgery in patients with early-stage cervical cancer.
6th November 2018
Commission | Integration of oncology and palliative care
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In a new Commission from The Lancet Oncology, Stein Kaasa and colleagues critically discuss how to integrate oncology and palliative care using standardised care pathways, referral guidelines, and collaboration to achieve the best outcomes for patient-centred care.
[News] Promising new treatment for multiple myeloma
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Selinexor—an oral inhibitor of exportin 1 (XPO1)—might be a safe and tolerable treatment option in combination with low-dose bortezomib and dexamethasone for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, according to recent findings.
30th October 2018
[News] Maintenance olaparib in advanced ovarian cancer
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A new study has found that maintenance therapy with the PARP inhibitor olaparib significantly improves progression-free survival in patients with newly diagnosed BRCA1/2-mutated advanced ovarian cancer.
[News] European Society of Medical Oncology 2018 Congress
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Jaume Capdevila Castillón (Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain) presented the results of a phase 2 trial of the multikinase inhibitor levatinib, in patients with advanced pancreatic (n=55) and gastrointestinal (n=56) neuroendocrine tumours (NETs). The primary endpoint—objective response—was achieved by 29% patients overall (40% pancreatic NETs; 18·5% gastrointestinal NETs). At a median follow-up of 11 months, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 14·2 months (95% CI 11·4–not reached [NR]) in patients with pancreatic NETs and 17·6 months (11·5–NR) in gastrointestinal NETs.
[News] Neoadjuvant pembrolizumab in bladder cancer
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Pembrolizumab might be an effective neoadjuvant therapy for the treatment of muscle-invasive bladder cancer—especially in patients with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)-positive or high mutation burden tumours—according to a recent study.
23rd October 2018
Global burden of disease (GBD) for cancer in India from 1990–2016
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A comprehensive picture of the patterns and time trends of the burden of total cancer and specific cancer types in each state of India estimated as part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2016.
[Comment] Long-term survival with anti-PD-1-based immunotherapy, but what is the best approach?
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Checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy has transformed the treatment of melanoma in the past 7 years, and can even lead to durable long-term survival outcomes in some patients with metastatic disease.1 However, we still have much to learn about how best to use these drugs and how to mitigate their side-effects. The optimal combination regimens, treatment duration, patient selection, and the point in the disease trajectory at which immunotherapy can be deployed to best effect remain open questions.
15th October 2018
National cancer control plans: a global analysis
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A global analysis of available national cancer-related health plans using a standardised assessment questionnaire to assess their inclusion of elements that characterise an effective cancer plan and, thereby, improve understanding of the strengths and limitations of existing plans.
17th September 2018
App for clinical and educational development
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If you want to meet students, trainees, and post-professional learners where they are, you might wish to avoid the library. Try finding them on their phones instead. In a 2016 survey of medical oncologists aged 25–34 years, nearly 93% reported using social media for professional development.
24th September 2018
[News] Alectinib shows CNS efficacy in ALK-positive NSCLC
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Alectinib is superior to crizotinib in terms of CNS efficacy in patients with previously untreated, advanced ALK mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), irrespective of baseline CNS metastases or previous treatment, according to a recent study.
10th September 2018
[News] Preliminary activity of capmatinib with gefitinib in NSCLC
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Results from a phase 1b/2 study show that a combination of the MET inhibitor capmatinib and the EGFR inhibitor gefitinib is tolerable and shows preliminary activity in patients with EGFR-mutated, MET-dysregulated (amplified or overexpressed) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
[Comment] Maternal hormonal contraception and childhood leukaemia
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The treatment of childhood leukaemias has improved in recent years because of additional knowledge of acute leukaemia genetic subtypes, pathogenesis mechanisms, prognosis prediction, and targeted therapies. The natural history of this disorder is determined by several interacting factors, including exposure to risk factors, susceptibility, and cell biology origin. Therefore, data generated by population-based registries are indispensable for aetiology research, health-care planning, and treatment of childhood leukaemias.
[News] CNS efficacy of osimertinib in EGFR-mutated advanced NSCLC
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Osimertinib could be more efficacious than standard EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) at reducing the risk of CNS progression in patients with untreated EGFR-mutated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a new study.
[Articles] Maternal use of hormonal contraception and risk of childhood leukaemia: a nationwide, population-based cohort study
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Our findings suggest the maternal hormonal use affects non-lymphoid leukaemia development in children. Since almost no risk factors have been established for childhood leukaemia, these findings suggest an important direction for future research into its causes and prevention.
[Comment] More evidence for further minimisation of breast-cancer surgery
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Innovations in breast cancer management derive from continuing incremental multidisciplinary progress and integration of any advances to achieve an improvement of patient outcomes greater than the sum of individual improvements. Up to the early 2000s, almost all women throughout the world presenting with clinically node-negative invasive breast cancer routinely received complete axillary lymph node dissection, which can be associated with high morbidity due to lymphoedema, shoulder dysfunction, and pain.
[Articles] Axillary dissection versus no axillary dissection in patients with breast cancer and sentinel-node micrometastases (IBCSG 23-01): 10-year follow-up of a randomised, controlled phase 3 trial
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The findings of the IBCSG 23-01 trial after a median follow-up of 9·7 years (IQR 7·8–12·7) corroborate those obtained at 5 years and are consistent with those of the 10-year follow-up analysis of the Z0011 trial. Together, these findings support the current practice of not doing an axillary dissection when the tumour burden in the sentinel nodes is minimal or moderate in patients with early breast cancer.
3rd September 2018
Cancer incidence in children and adolescents in Europe
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A deceleration in the increase in cancer incidence in children and adolescents has been reported in several national and regional studies in Europe. Based on a large database representing 1·3 billion person-years over the period 1991–2010, a new study provides a consolidated report on cancer incidence trends at ages 0–19 years.
[News] Cancer drugs run short in the Gaza Strip
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The Gaza Strip only has enough cancer drugs to cover needs until about mid-September because of restrictions on commodities entering the Palestinian territory, according to data from WHO.
[News] Baseline corticosteroids reduce activity of PD-L1 blockade
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Use of baseline corticosteroids at the time of treatment initiation in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer reduces the activity of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) blockade, according to a recent study.