Cancer Centers Cope With COVID-19 Surge Doctors at cancer centers in states with record COVID-19 hospitalization rates reflect on how lessons from early in the pandemic are helping them care for patients during the current surge. by Ashley P. Taylor Liquid Biopsies May Ease Enrollment in Clinical Trials A study shows that a blood test for gastrointestinal tumor mutations gave results in a third of the time needed for solid tissue testing. Patients who received the blood test were more likely to enroll in clinical trials. by Emma Yasinski What Is Tumor Mutational Burden? The Food and Drug Administration approved an immunotherapy drug for tumors with high tumor mutational burden regardless of tumor type. But some medical oncologists say it’s not clear the biomarker is valid across all cancer types. by Anna Azvolinsky Taking Drug Dosing Off Autopilot Patient advocates with metastatic breast cancer argue that dosing of treatments for their disease should be more personalized and take into account quality of life. by Marcus A. Banks More Choices to Treat Lung Cancer Advances in precision medicine and immunotherapy have led to better treatments for many patients with advanced lung cancer. But having a wider selection of therapies to choose from can make treatments more complex. by Kendall K. Morgan Forward Look What’s Next A therapeutic vaccine targeting advanced cervical cancer. by Anna Azvolinsky Worth the Wait Neoadjuvant therapy—using treatments such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy or radiation to shrink a tumor or treat unseen metastases before surgery—can improve outcomes for some patients. by Sharon Tregaskis Facts and Stats Fall 2020 vol 10 | issue 3The advent of checkpoint inhibitors has broadened the range of cancer patients able to take advantage of immunotherapy. Targeted Therapy for Early-Stage Lung Cancer? A trial of the targeted therapy Tagrisso (osimertinib) for early-stage lung cancer finds that patients who take it go longer without having a cancer recurrence. Whether that should change clinical practice is under discussion. by Ashley P. Taylor Support Grows for Making Transfusions a Part of Hospice Blood cancer patients have low rates of enrollment in hospice. One barrier to enrollment is that many hospices do not provide blood transfusions. by Jon Kelvey next Cancer Talk Cancer Centers Cope With COVID-19 Surge Doctors at cancer centers in states with record COVID-19 hospitalization rates reflect on how lessons from early in the pandemic are helping them care for patients during the current surge. by Ashley P. Taylor Why Do African Americans Have Increased Breast Cancer Mortality? Socioeconomic factors and racism can lead to poorer health outcomes for Black Americans. Genetics may also be a factor behind increased mortality rates. by Marci A. Landsmann Liquid Biopsies May Ease Enrollment in Clinical Trials A study shows that a blood test for gastrointestinal tumor mutations gave results in a third of the time needed for solid tissue testing. Patients who received the blood test were more likely to enroll in clinical trials. by Emma Yasinski What Is Tumor Mutational Burden? The Food and Drug Administration approved an immunotherapy drug for tumors with high tumor mutational burden regardless of tumor type. But some medical oncologists say it’s not clear the biomarker is valid across all cancer types. by Anna Azvolinsky More Posts