ONCOLOGY Vol 34 Issue 11

Accurate and well maintained patient-level data is needed to gather and formulate real-world evidence that is necessary to optimize existing treatment and shape future treatment for patients with hematological malignancies.

ABSTRACT Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer constitute approximately 70,000 patients diagnosed each year. Survival rates for AYAs with cancer have increased steadily in recent decades due to improvements in therapeutic regimens and early detection. Given the large and growing number of AYA cancer survivors, additional research is needed on the immediate and long-term psychosocial support required for this population including family planning and fertility. Fertility and fertility preservation in female AYAs, in particular, is historically understudied and has psychologically relevant ramifications distinct from male AYAs. Decision science can contribute to this area of oncological care and has implications for clinical encounters and research concerning female AYA patients with cancer. Patient-centered care and shared decision-making that integrates recent research regarding fertility preservation in the context of cancer treatment can improve outcomes for AYA cancer survivors.

B-cell maturation antigen target shows promise for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

ONCOLOGY® sat down with Sagar Lonial, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Emory University School of Medicine and chief medical officer at Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute, to discuss the FDA approval of the antibody-drug conjugate belantamab mafodotin (Blenrep), along with other BCMA-targeting agents for patients with multiple myeloma.

The combination of nivolumab plus ipilimumab becomes the first new therapy approved for patients with mesothelioma in 15 years.

Despite a declining overall incidence of prostate cancer in the United States, a CDC analysis revealed the incidence of metastatic prostate cancer is increasing.

The 17th annual meeting of the International Society of Gastrointestinal Oncology (ISGIO) was held as a 2-day virtual event on October 2-3, 2020. This multidisciplinary educational conference is dedicated to presenting and discussing some of the latest advances in the field of gastrointestinal cancer research. ONCOLOGY® sat down with the co-chairs of the conference, Tanios S. Bekaii-Saab, MD, section chief for Medical Oncology in the Department of Internal Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, and Daniel G. Haller, MD, professor of medicine emeritus, Abramson Cancer Center at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, to discuss the abstracts that were presented.