Volume 28, Issue 10, October 2023

This editorial calls for a strategic shift in our approach to cancers of unknown primary (CUP), one that generates a comprehensive multidimensional portrait of cancer in patients with CUP, to model the biology at the individual level and identify the right therapeutic target accordingly. The framework of this approach is based on the integration of basic biology, biotechnologies, data sciences, clinical research, and social sciences.

This review reports on the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors and antibody-drug conjugates to manage early-stage breast cancer and provides an overview of potential future advancement in the field.

The undetermined efficacy of the current standard-of-care neoadjuvant treatment of early-stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) with germline BRCA mutations emphasizes the need for biomarker-targeted treatment in this setting. This article evaluates the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant talazoparib in patients with germline BRCA1/2-mutated early-stage TNBC.

There is a need to improve how quality of life (QOL) and the treatment-related side effects that affect QOL are clinically assessed. This article examines healthcare professionals’ and patients’ perspectives on this topic.

The results reported in this article provide evidence of the effectiveness of palbociclib in combination with an aromatase inhibitor for first-line treatment of African American patients with HR+/HER2– metastatic breast cancer.

Mobile health (mHealth) interventions have shown promising opportunities to support breast cancer care. This review analyzes methodologies used in recent studies to determine the effects of mHealth applications and wearable devices on outcomes for patients with breast cancer.

There is little data showing which antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) should be chosen for those patients whose treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) failed. This article analyzes the efficacy and safety between novel anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 ADCs and trastuzumab emtansine for those with TKI treatment failure.

There is limited real-world information on the impact of adjuvant and neoadjuvant anti-HER2-targeted treatments on patterns of recurrence and outcomes of patients with HER2+ metastatic breast cancer. This article reports on how anti-HER2 targeted treatment in the early setting impacts overall and progression-free survival under first-line treatment of patients with metastatic HER2+ breast cancer.

Data on quality of life in men with breast cancer are lacking. This article reports a prospective registry (EORTC10085) of men with all stages of breast cancer, including a QoL correlative study, performed as part of the International Male Breast Cancer Program.

This article reports on the efficacy and safety of capecitabine plus temozolomide (CAPTEM) across different lines of treatment in patients with metastatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Sexual function is a key aspect of quality of life among adolescent and young adult patients with cancer. This article explores attitudes of healthcare professionals toward sexual health communication, identifying barriers to these conversations and evaluating the need for additional education for providers and resources or referrals for patients.

This review assesses current evidence on the prognostic or predictive effect of HER2 amplification/overexpression on anti-EGFR treatment outcomes in patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer.

The role of deficient mismatch repair (dMMR) remains to be proven in gastric cancer. This article reports how MMR status affected the prognosis of patients with gastric cancer undergoing gastrectomy, as well as the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with dMMR with gastric cancer.

Patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) and KRAS mutations have a poor prognosis, seemingly dependent on the location of the mutation. This study assessed the frequency and prognostic value of specific KRAS mutation codon locations in mCRC and survival outcomes in relation to treatment.

Tivozanib is a selective vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has demonstrated activity in renal cell carcinoma with clear cell component. This article reports on the efficacy of tivozanib in histologically diverse non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

This article presents a comprehensive genomic profiling study of urothelial carcinoma in patients of East and South Asian ancestry, focusing on the identification of frequent and potentially targetable genomic alterations.

Results of the South African Breast Cancer and HIV Outcomes (SABCHO) study showed that patients with breast cancer living with HIV and treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy achieve lower rates of complete pathologic response than patients without HIV. This article assesses the impact of comorbid HIV on receipt of timely and complete neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy.

This article describes low-value care in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes, addressing 2 key questions: which demographic and clinical factors are associated with receipt of diagnostic evaluation, and whether receipt of diagnostic evaluation influenced treatment decision and survival.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia and other non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas lead to broad immunosuppression, conferring a greater risk for morbidity and mortality from SARS-CoV-2. This study analyzed antibody seropositivity from SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with these cancers.

Lenvatinib is a first-line agent for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, but individual responses to treatment are highly heterogeneous. This study investigated the clinical parameters that influence the efficacy of Lenvatinib, to develop a prognostic model.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor use is increasing, and immune-related adverse event (irAE)-related hospitalizations are also expected to increase. This article evaluates survival after hospitalization from an irAE. Findings suggest that among patients hospitalized for irAEs, survival differs by adverse event and cancer type.

Results of this study show that identifying prognostic subgroups of patients with advanced melanoma could be used to optimize end-of-life care and guide earlier and personalized palliative care interventions.

This article reports on the safety and efficacy of trifluridine/tipiracil in combination with irinotecan in a phase II trial setting for refractory, advanced unresectable biliary tract carcinoma.

This phase II clinical trial evaluated ONC201 monotherapy, using the previously established recommended phase II dose, in patients with recurrent or refractory metastatic breast or endometrial cancer.

This article assesses the relationship between HER2 mRNA levels by Oncotype DX assay and HER2 immunohistochemistry categories and examines recurrence score distribution across the HER2 categories by HER mRNA levels.

In the phase III JAVELIN Ovarian 200 trial, 566 patients with platinum-resistant/refractory ovarian cancer were randomized 1:1:1 to receive avelumab alone, avelumab plus pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD), or PLD alone. Cardiac monitoring was included for all patients. This article reports left ventricular ejection fraction data from the trial.