Volume 26, Issue 8, August 2021

The increase in young onset colorectal cancer and the complex care needs of young cancer patients spurred the development of the Center for Young Onset Colorectal Cancer at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. This article describes the lessons of the first 2 years at the Center, including development of the program and specific services provided.

Focusing on issues specific to oncologists, this article looks at factors affecting the decision to retire.

Despite commitments to diversity on a national level, gross underrepresentation persists in the oncology workforce. This article addresses the more intentional and comprehensive approach needed to meaningfully shift representation of racial minorities, gender minorities, and socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals in medicine.

This article reports the case of a patient with de novo metastatic breast cancer who harbored both HER2 amplification and the L755S mutation in the untreated primary breast tumor obtained at the initial diagnosis, detailing her response to treatment with HER2-targeted drugs.

This article presents three unique cases, two patients with gallbladder carcinoma and one patient with ampullary carcinoma, whose tumors overexpressed HER2 and responded remarkably well to HER2-directed therapy.

This article reports outcomes among HER2-positive breast cancer patients with central nervous system metastases at baseline from the phase III NALA trial of neratinib plus capecitabine versus lapatinib plus capecitabine.

This article focuses on whether baseline characteristics affect the survival benefit derived from palbociclib-fulvestrant and the optimal timing of cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor therapy for advanced breast cancer in patients from the PALOMA-3 clinical trial.

Worldwide, molecular tumor boards (MTBs) differ in terms of scope, composition, methods, and recommendations. This article assesses differences in methods and agreement in treatment recommendations among MTBs from tertiary cancer referral centers in The Netherlands.

This review focuses on patient and/or physicians’ knowledge and attitudes regarding tumor multigene next-generation sequencing with potential therapeutic intent.

Survival of patients with breast cancer in Finland is generally high, but there is great variation between subgroups. This article reports the results of a retrospective registry-based study that assessed the clinical outcomes of different subgroups of patients diagnosed with breast cancer in Southwest Finland during 2005–2018.

The Gastrointestinal Cancer Therapy Expert Group (GICTEG) recently convened a virtual meeting to discuss current issues related to genomic testing in gastrointestinal cancer, with the goal of providing guidance on the use of these tests for the practicing community oncologist. This article provides a summary of the discussion and highlights the key opinions of the GICTEG on this topic.

Considering the prevalence and aggressiveness of gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies, it is important to evaluate the current landscape of GI clinical trials on a broad scale to provide a better understanding of current gaps and to identify predictors for successful accrual and publication. This article assesses the situation to identify predictors of successful accrual to and publication of GI clinical trials.

This article examines the effect of molecular subsets of mismatch repair-deficient (MMR-D) colorectal cancer and BRAF V600E mutation status as a molecular biomarker of immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy in patients with MMR-D colorectal cancer.

Treatment options for metastatic urothelial carcinoma are evolving, with multiple targeted treatment options, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, showing benefit. It is unclear whether any of these agents will replace the long established first-line standard of care, platinum-based chemotherapy. This review summarizes efficacy and safety data from first-line trials and considers these findings within the current treatment landscape to offer guidance on treatment selection and sequencing.

Because of the relative rarity of upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), clinical decision-making for patients with this disease is based on treatment data for the more common urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB). This study evaluated molecular differences between the two conditions and explored the potential clinical utility of tumor genomic characterization to guide clinical management through next-generation sequencing.

This review summarizes the literature on the cost of breast cancer care in low- and middle-income countries.

Patient input is critical to improve surveillance options for human papillomavirus (HPV)-related oropharyngeal cancer. This article assesses patient interest in and factors associated with alternative surveillance approaches, including patient knowledge, burdens of in-person appointments, and priorities for follow-up visits.

This article focuses on whether a current cancer diagnosis or cancer history is an independent risk factor for death or hospice admission in hospitalized patients with COVID-19.

This review focuses on the development current use of the biosimilar epoetin, which received FDA approval in 2018.

To understand the overall impact of COVID-19 on health care delivery in the oncology setting, this study evaluated the inpatient oncology census, in comparison to historical data and infusion volume, at an institution with a high volume of COVID-19 admissions.

This article reports on the predictive capability of neutrophil-to-apolipoprotein A1 ratio for predicting overall survival among patients with hepatocellular carcinoma receiving transarterial chemoembolization.

This article assesses differences in clinical outcomes across racially diverse patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer who received treatment with a pembrolizumab-based regimen in the front-line setting.

This article describes the prevalence of UGT1A1 polymorphisms in a cohort of 140 patients with treatment-naïve small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and assesses the association of UGT1A1 polymorphisms with clinical outcomes in patients treated with irinotecan-based chemotherapy for SCLC.

Addressing patient information needs in a timely fashion is of paramount importance for preference-sensitive decisions and patient-centered care. This article evaluates the Milestone Communication Approach to oncological care.

New therapeutic strategies and targets for glioma are urgently needed. This study investigated PLAUR expression and its role in glioma prognosis, focusing on the clinical, molecular, and immunological characteristics of PLAUR to provide novel insights into glioma treatment.

A better understanding of the effect of high flow rate and gas type on exertional dyspnea may facilitate the use of high-flow oxygen as an intervention to improve dyspnea, function, and quality of life. This clinical trial assessed the effect of flow rate (high vs. low) and gas (oxygen vs. air) on exertional dyspnea in nonhypoxemic patients with cancer.

Limited tolerance of uncertainty may affect a clinician's communication practices and ability to assist patients with navigating such uncertainty. This article assesses the prevalence of prognostic uncertainty among thoracic oncologists, their personal tolerance of uncertainty, and whether their tolerance was associated with prognostic discussion practices.

A medical student describes his mother's journey with cancer, which led to a personal change in views on mortality to apply to future patient care.