Technological advances are transforming our understanding of cancer, accelerating the evolution of new treatment approaches. In the past decades, researchers deploying new techniques for analyzing DNA have extended our knowledge of inherited genetic abnormalities that can predispose a person to develop colorectal and other cancers.
We live in an era of quality monitoring—from the quality of products, like water or refrigerators, to the quality of customer service received from repair technicians, food delivery services, and even customer service representatives. This drive for quality measurement has naturally spread into the world of medicine.
For the past several years, interest in FLASH radiation therapy research has surged in the oncology community.1 It is arguably one of the hottest topics in cancer care today, with the potential to shift the trajectory of treatment in ways that were once only imaginable.
Before the results of the ANal Cancer/HSIL Outcomes Research (ANCHOR) study became available earlier this week, there was no clear reason to screen for the anal cancer precursor, anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL).
All fourteen rectal cancer patients in a small phase II study of dostarlimab, an anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody, saw their cancer completely disappear—with no progression or recurrence at follow-up six to 25 months later. None of the patients required further chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery.
For decades, pinpointing the highest dose of a drug that cancer patients could tolerate was the first step investigators were required to take before moving into phase II and III clinical trials.
Since COVID-19 made its way to the United States, we have seen a stream of worrying news of the pandemic’s impact on cancer care in the U.S., including 9.4 million missed screenings for just about all forms of cancer. While screening rates rebounded in the fall of 2020, there’s a growing concern from oncologists that screenings haven’t returned to pre-pandemic levels for everyone.
The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is a powerful reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic, now entering its third year, will continue to have personal and public health impacts. This may be especially true for those individuals who unfortunately missed or delayed cancer screening or treatment as a result of the pandemic.
NCI has issued a Request for Information seeking input from developers of multi-cancer early detection liquid biopsy tests, with the goal of launching an NCI-sponsored randomized controlled screening clinical trial of these tools.
FDA’s recent approval of an immunotherapy in the adjuvant setting for stage II-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer makes it all the more urgent to detect lung cancer at early stages.
