Special Reports

Molecular oncology is revolutionizing cancer care by using genetic profiling to tailor personalized treatments, improving efficacy, minimizing adverse events, and paving the way for advanced therapies.

Findings from 3 quality improvement initiatives presented at the ACCC National Oncology Conference shed light on the feasibility and importance of these projects at the community level.

In this preview, we highlight the key late-breaking abstracts to be presented at the 2024 ESMO Congress across various tumor types that may impact clinical practice.

CAR T-cell therapy is a game-changing treatment, but it is not without the potential for serious adverse effects. Researchers and physicians still wonder about the incidence and prevalence of these risks.

As the clinical utility of ctDNA continues to be assessed, it is becoming a valuable tool for various cancer types, including gastrointestinal cancers, blood cancers, and other solid tumors.

In the final part of our 3-part series, a roster of developing antibody-drug conjugates gives clinicians and patients hope in hard-to-treat cancers.

In part 2 of our 3-part series, antibody-drug conjugates like enfortumab vedotin and tisotumab vedotin offer novel options for difficult-to-treat tumors.

In part 1 of our 3-part series, antibody-drug conjugates are revolutionizing oncology, targeting cancer cells precisely. Agents like T-DM1, T-DXd, and sacituzumab govitecan continue to change the field.

Cellular therapies are an effective option in hematologic malignancies but have been slower to develop in AML, but identifying new targets paves the way for evolving treatments.

Lifileucel's FDA approval marks a breakthrough in melanoma treatment, offering hope with promising antitumor activity. While its potential extends to various solid tumors, challenges persist.

AI is seemingly everywhere, and while its applications in cancer care have increased, it still faces challenges.

Francesca Jackson-Spence, PhD, and Matthew Young, MD, delved into the major advances in genitourinary cancer treatment, including breakthroughs in immunotherapy, targeted therapies, and early detection that offer new hope for patients.

Though climate change threatens everyone’s health and safety, those with cancer are increasingly vulnerable.

More work is needed in the community oncology setting to improve barriers to care and enrollment in clinical trials which are often due to geographic location, awareness, and eligibility criteria.

As a monotherapy, bispecific antibodies have demonstrated antitumor activity in heavily pretreated patients with B-cell and T-cell hematologic malignancies, but much work is needed to determine the optimal setting.

While many underlying factors contribute to drug shortages, the biggest contributor remains economic in nature.

Robert Dreicer, MD, MS, MACP, FASCO, acknowledges that there have been substantial developments in therapies and strategies for treating prostate cancer, leading to heightened expectations of breakthroughs in the field.

Amid the ongoing chemotherapy drug shortage in the United States, experts like Nathan Bahary, MD, and Anne LaCasce, MD, MMSc, push for the passing of legislation, yet keep their patients their top priority.

According to experts, genomic testing is a key tool impacting treatment decisions for physicians treating patients with non–small cell lung cancer.

Though the radioligand therapy lutetium Lu 177 vipivotide tetraxetan was approved in 2022 for PSMA-avid patients, several practical considerations have limited its use among patients with prostate cancer.

Though scientific advances have been encouraging in the thyroid cancer space, there is much more work to be done to figure out exactly how to tailor the right therapy, or combination of therapies, for individual patients.

As we better understand the use of artificial intelligence in oncology, experts can improve outcomes, develop approaches to solve problems, advance the development of treatments that are made available to patients with cancer, and more.

With a plethora of chemotherapy agents currently unavailable for patients with solid tumors and hematologic malignancies, experts are calling for the FDA and pharmaceutical companies to make important changes.

Encouraging results in melanoma have led experts to explore the gut microbiome in colorectal cancer.  The next hot topic in research may be the gut microbiome's role for the prevention, progression, and management of colorectal cancer.

Both pediatric brain cancers and sarcomas have an extremely dismal outcome in the relapse setting, according to Catherine Bollard, MD. A new Cancer Grand Challenge aims to address the issue with the development of new therapies.

While information has come out stating the negative effects of e-cigarettes on lung health, questions regarding the longer-term safety of these products remain due to their limited timespan on the market.

Considering the higher-than-average rate of liver cancer in Texas as a whole, it was unexpected that the Kashmere Gardens neighborhood cluster would be linked to environmental issues. Texas Department of State Health Services and the City of Houston confirm the cluster exists and is caused by toxins polluted into the soil by The Union Pacific Railroad.

Pediatric oncologists are facing unprecedented challenges in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Boston, one cancer institute still has reminiscent encounters with pediatric patients.

Investigators at Tulane University have identified a relationship that linked cancer incidence and cancer risk from air pollution in Louisiana among Black or low-income communities, which were more likely to be affected than other populations.

For military veterans, future research should be accompanied by systematic efforts to improve skin cancer prevention, treatment, and outcomes among military service members and veterans, according to Carolyn J. Heckman, PhD.