CURE Talks Cancer

Last week we saw some FDA approvals come through, as well as research that explored the psychosocial outcomes of individuals who survived pediatric rhabdosarcoma. And finally, we'll discuss another cancer vaccine clinical trial that got the green light from the Food and Drug Administration.  FDA Approved Besponsa for Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia The first FDA approval of last week was one in the pediatric cancer space. The agency approved Besponsa for children who are at least 1 year old and have relapsed or refractory CD22-positive precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia., also known as ALL.  The approval is coming after findings from a single-arm study involving 53 children. Of which, 22 — that's 42% — achieved a complete response from the therapy, with the median duration of complete response being 8.2 months. Additionally, the majority of patients who achieved a complete response also had minimal residual disease negativity, which indicates that there were 5% or less blasts found in the bone marrow and no cancer cells detected in the blood.  Having a new treatment option for children with ALL is particularly exciting, as ALL is one of the most common pediatric cancers, according to the American Cancer Society.  FDA Approves Opdivo Plus Chemo for Unresectable or Metastatic Bladder Cancer Last week, the FDA also approved an immunotherapy/chemotherapy regimen for certain patients with bladder cancer. Specifically, the agency OKed Opdivo plus cisplatin and gemcitabine for the frontline treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.  This approval was backed by findings from the CheckMate-901 trial, which showed that the Opdivo-chemotherapy regimen improved overall survival (which is the time patients live before death of any cause) and progression-free survival (which is the time patients live without their disease worsening) compared to those who did not receive Opdivo. The median overall survival was 21.7 months for those who received Opdivo compared to 18.9 months for those who did not, while progression-free survival was 7.9 and 7.6 months, respectively.  FDA Approves Brukinsa, Gazyva Combo for Relapsed, Refractory Follicular Lymphoma Last week, the Food and Drug Administration also approved Brukinsa plus Gazyva for patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after findings from the ROSEWOOD trial showed that not only did more patients respond to the two-drug treatment compared to Gazyva alone, but also at a median follow-up of 19 months, more patients were still responding compared to the Gazvya arm as well.  Rhabdomyosarcoma Survivors May Have Poor Psychological Outcomes A study published in the journal, Cancer, found that survivors of rhabdomyosarcoma — which is a rare cancer affecting soft tissues — may face increased risk of psychological challenges, especially if they were exposed to previous radiation therapy or have a history of smoking. Researchers examined neurocognitive impairment, emotional distress and health-related quality of life in survivors compared to their siblings. Results showed higher rates of issues like memory impairment and emotional distress among survivors, with smoking linked to poorer outcomes. The CURE® team spoke with study author, Ellen van der Plas on the findings. Here is what she had to say.  Ovarian Cancer Vaccine Trial Gets FDA Clearance to Proceed The FDA has given the green light for a clinical trial of a vaccine designed to treat advanced ovarian cancer. Known as Innocell, this personalized therapy utilizes cells from the patient's own tumor which is inactivated via riboflavin and UV light. The drug is being manufactured at City of Hope in Los Angeles, and the trial aims to assess the vaccine's safety and effectiveness in stimulating immune response. This is one of the many cancer vaccines being explored and developed in the oncology space. Check back on prior CURE® coverage for updates on vaccines to treat breast, lung, skin and other cancers.   For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

In addition to a breakthrough therapy designation for a lung cancer drug, this week we'll be talking a lot about additional side effects and health conditions that may come with a cancer diagnosis, and how to manage them.  We heard from an expert about using cannabis during cancer care, took a look at a patient population that may be more prone to cardiometabolic conditions after cancer treatment and we'll highlight a study that's looking at preventing infection and GVHD in patients with blood cancer who underwent a stem cell transplant.  Patients Should ‘Have the Conversation' About Cannabis With Care Teams The use of cannabis seems to be growing when it comes to mitigating side effects from cancer treatment, though it is important that patients talk to their providers if they are using these products or have questions about them, explained Dr. Brooke Worster from Thomas Jefferson University.  I recently spoke to Woster about the conversations patients with cancer should be having if they're using or considering using cannabis. Namely, she discussed seeking guidance and having open discussions with the care team, but also remembering that cannabis is not a proven cure for any kinds of cancer.  Drug Gets Breakthrough Therapy Designation for HER2-Mutant Lung Cancer   A novel drug, BAY 2927088 received a breakthrough therapy designation for treating HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer. This designation, granted by the FDA, signifies a potential advancement in treatment options for patients with this specific type of lung cancer, which happens in approximately 2% to 4% of advanced NSCLC cases. Now that the drug has a breakthrough therapy designation, its review will be fast tracked.  BAY 2927088, an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has shown promising results in a phase 1 trial, with a focus on safety, efficacy and patient outcomes. The drug works by blocking HER2, which can contribute to lung cancer proliferation.  Hispanic/Latino Survivors May Be Higher Risk for Cardiometabolic Comorbidities A recent study found that Hispanic/Latino cancer survivors have higher rates of cardiometabolic comorbidities — meaning health conditions that affect the heart and/or metabolic system — such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, which can complicate cancer treatment and post-treatment health management.  The study showed that survivors with cardiometabolic conditions experienced lower health-related quality of life and had unmet supportive care needs, particularly in terms of emotional and physical well-being. The research also found that socioeconomic factors, such as income levels, were also linked to the prevalence of cardiometabolic conditions among Hispanic/Latino survivors, highlighting the importance of access to health care and healthy lifestyle behaviors in managing these health challenges. The study emphasized the need for holistic approaches to health that consider environmental influences and support policies promoting heart-healthy behaviors within communities. Trial Evaluates Reduced Chemo Post-Stem Cell Transplant in Blood Cancers Patients with blood cancers can talk to their cancer care team about possible enrollment in the OPTIMIZE trial, which is investigating a lower dose of post-transplant cyclophosphamide — also referred to as “PTCy” — to reduce infection risk post-stem cell transplant while preventing graft-versus-host disease in patients who underwent a stem cell transplant from a partially matched unrelated donor.  This phase 2 trial aims to enroll 190 patients across cancer centers across the United States, and is expected to conclude in June 2026. By exploring reduced PTCy dosages, researchers hope to enhance patient survival and quality of life by minimizing toxicities associated with standard dosing.   For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved four different therapies in the oncology space — one of which, Amtagvi, marks the first cellular therapy for the treatment of solid cancers.  The week's first approval (an Onivyde regimen for metastatic pancreatic cancer) was covered in last week's episode, but here's a list of what has happened since that last recording.  FDA Approves Tepmetko for Metastatic NSCLC Subtype Patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that has MET exon 14 skipping alterations may soon have a new treatment option, as the FDA approved Tepmetko in this indication.  Notably, this full approval is coming three years after the agency's accelerated approval of the agent back in February 2021. Follow-up clinical trial data showed that 57% of previously untreated patients responded to therapy with Tepmetko, with 40% having a duration of response that lasted a year or longer.  FDA Approves Amtagvi for Pretreated, Advanced Melanoma  On Feb. 16, the FDA approved Amtagvi for patients with advanced melanoma who had previously been treated with an immunotherapy or targeted therapy. Notably, Amtagvi is a cell-based therapy and is actually the first cell-based treatment to be approved in the solid tumor space.  According to trial results that led to the approval, 31.5% of patients responded to therapy. Now this is a pretty exciting number, considering that this heavily pretreated population tends to have low response rates. Not to mention, TIL therapies like Amtagvi — while upfront they require about a three-week hospital stay — may set patients up for years without having to undergo more treatment, according to Dr. Rodabe Amaria from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, who I spoke with after the approval.   Tagrisso Plus Chemo Approved by FDA for EGFR-Mutated NSCLC In the lung cancer space, we saw the approval of Tagrisso plus platinum-based chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors have EGFR exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R mutations.  Findings from the FLAURA 2 trial led to this approval, as data showed that progression-free survival was 25.5 months for patients who received Tagrisso plus chemotherapy, compared to 16.7 months for patients who received Tagrisso alone. Overall survival data is still immature at this point — meaning that the researchers just don't have enough data to calculate averages — so stay tuned for more on that.  For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Last week, we saw some FDA approvals for a new drug regimens, as well as some expert opinion about cancer vaccines. Additionally research touched upon the potential benefit of concurrent ctDNA and tumor testing, and physical activity for pain reduction in cancer survivors.  FDA Approves Onivyde as First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved Onivyde plus oxaliplatin, fluorouracil and leucovorin — a regimen referred to as NALIRIFOX — for the frontline treatment of patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma. The approval was based on findings from the NAPOLI 3 trial, which showed that the drug combination improved overall survival (which is the time after treatment patients live before death of any cause) and progression-free survival (time they live before their disease worsens) compared to a combination of gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel.  While this approval provides a new, promising treatment for this patient population, Dr. Anthony Shields of the Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit mentioned that the Onivyde-containing regimen is not a cure.  “In our patients with advanced disease, this is not a curative therapy at this point,” Shields said in an interview with CURE®. “It clearly improves survival. It's still got its share of toxicities, though. … We need better drugs, despite the improvements. If patients get this regimen is the first line, inevitably if they're doing OK we will give gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (combination) as the second-line regimen. But we really don't have a third line regimen.” Cancer Vaccine Could Go ‘Above and Beyond Standard of Care' For Patients The oncology community is on the cusp of a sea change regarding cancer vaccines, as one expert told us. “Current vaccines have a dismal record, and minimal evidence of efficacy,” said Dr. Jeffrey S. Weber, deputy director of the NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center and Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Professor of Oncology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, via email. Weber was among the researchers on recent KEYNOTE-942 study investigating mRNA vaccine mRNA-4157 (V940) and Keytruda versus standalone Keytruda for the treatment of patients with advanced-stage melanoma.With a median follow-up of 23 and 24 months, the recurrence or death rates were 22% and 40% and the 18-month recurrence-free survival rates were 79% and 62%, respectively. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to the combination for the post-surgical treatment of patients with high-risk melanoma in 2023 based on the results of KEYNOTE-942. “This mRNA vaccine would be the first approved cancer vaccine with clear cut evidence of efficacy in a well-done phase 3 trial [which was recently initiated],” Weber said of mRNA-4157. Pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck have initiated V940-001, a phase 3 study evaluating mRNA-4157 and Keytruda as postsurgical treatment for stage 2B to 4 melanoma, announcing in June of 2023 that global patient recruitment had begun following primary analysis of the findings of KEYNOTE-942. Tumor Testing, ctDNA Finds More Patients Eligible for Personalized Drugs Circulating tumor DNA and tumor tissue-based testing can both help identify cancer characteristics that may point a patient toward a more targeted treatment regimen. Oftentimes, patients undergo only one of these two tests, but recent research showed that undergoing both of these tests may improve patients' chance of identifying targetable mutations.  Now, some patient populations — such as those with non-small cell lung cancer — may already be undergoing both tests in accordance with NCCN guidelines. The findings support that other groups in particular, such as those with breast cancer, may benefit from the dual testing modality.  In an interview with CURE, one of the study authors noted that the two tests can be “highly complementary,” and patients should talk to their health care teams about which test to undergo.  Physical Activity May Help Reduce Pain in Cancer Survivors Increased physical activity may be able to lessen pain in cancer survivors, according to one study.  Specifically, the researchers wrote, “Meeting or exceeding physical activity guidelines was associated with less pain intensity compared to being physically inactive. People who remained active longer term, were previously physically active or became active also reported less pain than those who remained inactive.”  These benefits were also seen in patients who were previously active but then became inactive — highlighting the possibility that the when it comes to pain reduction, the benefits of being active can stretch long-term. But interestingly, the was no association between  physical activity and painkiller use.  For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Last week, we saw a few moving parts in the regulatory space, from new NCCN guidelines for pediatric neuroblastoma treatment to FDA Fast Tracks and Priority Reviews. Also last week, we covered research showing that a lower dose of an anti-emetic drug could have similar efficacy — and fewer side effects — than the standard, higher dose.  NCCN Guidelines Give Framework for Childhood Neuroblastoma Treatment The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recently published guidelines for the treatment of pediatric patients with neuroblastoma. This resource is geared toward mitigating unnecessary side effects and over treatment in patients with low-risk disease, while also developing the best treatment plans for high-risk patients.  CURE® spoke with Dr. Rochelle Bagatell, professor of Pediatrics and Solid Tumor Section Chief at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Chair of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) Panel for Neuroblastoma, who emphasized that while these guidelines can influence treatment strategies, conversations between patient families and clinicians and even insurance coverage, each patient's care should be as personalized as possible.  “There may be specific cases where the nuances of a particular patient's case means that you have to adjust your thinking from what's written on those nice, clear lines,” Bagatell said. “But the general guidance about how to think about the risk of recurrence, what general type of therapy would be appropriate, how much chemotherapy when to do surgery. Those are the kinds of things that patients and families can look at and bring to their doctor and discuss.” FDA Fast Tracks ARV-471 for Metastatic Breast Cancer Last week the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted a Fast Track designation to ARV-471, a novel drug being studied for the treatment of patients with ER-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Specifically, this indication of ARV-471 is for patients who previously underwent endocrine therapy.  Fast Track designations are given to drugs that show promise in treating serious conditions and fill an unmet need. The goal is to speed up the review and potential approval of these therapies.  ARV-471 is being studied in the phase 3 VERITAC-2 clinical trial, which is comparing ARV-471 to Faslodex in this patient population. Preclinical studies showed that the drug induced tumor shrinkage and degradation.  FDA Grants Priority Review for Alecensa in Some ALK-Positive NSCLC Also in FDA news from last week, the agency granted a priority review to Alecensa as a postsurgical treatment for patients with early-stage ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer.  The priority review is based off findings from the phase 3 ALINA trial, which showed that the drug led to a 76% reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death compared with chemotherapy treatment. Findings from this study also showed that at two years, 93.8% of patients taking Alecensa experienced disease-free survival (which is the time after treatment when patients do not have symptoms of complications from their cancer), compared with 63% in the chemotherapy group. At three years, disease-free survival rates were 88.3% and 53.3%, respectively.  With the priority review, the FDA said that they plan on making an approval decision on Alecensa on or by May 22, 2023, though those dates can always change.  Lower Dose of Nausea, Vomiting Drug Controls Chemo Symptoms Finally, research showed that a lower dose of a nausea and vomiting drug could be just as effective as the higher, standard dose when it comes to controlling chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.  A study published in The Lancet Oncology found that a 2.5-milligram dose of olanzapine is not inferior (meaning it is no less effective) than a 10-milligram dose. Specifically, the researchers looked at the use of rescue medications, vomiting episodes and mild nausea over the course of 120 hours.  Notably, this lower dose can also lead to a decrease in side effects related to the drug, such as feeling of lethargy and drowsiness.  For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Last week, we saw some research regarding how a popular tool used to plan breast cancer treatment may be misguiding therapy for Black women, as well as an update on when we can expect to see a new cancer vaccine be readily available for patients.  And on the FDA front, we'll discuss a priority review for Enhertu for patients with HER2-positive solid cancers, as well as a fast track designation for a new drug duo in the lung cancer space.  Cancer Vaccine Likely ‘Several Years' Away From Wide Availability ELI-002 is a vaccine being investigated for the treatment of patients with KRAS-mutant pancreatic or colorectal cancers. While cancer vaccines have been in the headlines a lot in recent months, this one, at least, is still a ways away from being readily available for patients across the United States.  Findings from a phase 1 trial showed that the vaccine could be beneficial for this patient population, and now, a phase 2 trial recently started that will evaluate the efficacy of an injection version of ELI-002, compared to observation. The first patient was dosed in the trial in January 2024, so it could still be several more years until the drug is available, Dr. Christopher Haqq, chief medical officer and vice president, head of research and development at Elicio Therapeutics, said in an interview with CURE®.  “We'll be talking to the regulators like the US Food and Drug Administration and others around the world to align on the data that we'll need to provide for a marketing application. And so, we haven't had that input yet. So I can't give an exact answer for you (on when the vaccine will be commercially available). But we'll work as fast as possible. It's even possible that the type of evidence that we gather in this randomized study could serve that purpose. But we won't know until we have further discussion,” he said.  Test May Be ‘Misguiding' Breast Cancer Treatment for Black Women  A recent study showed that the 21-gene breast recurrence score may lead clinicians away from prescribing chemotherapy to Black women who may benefit from the treatment.  The 21-gene breast recurrence score is the standard test to help guide treatment decisions for patients with estrogen receptor-positive (also known as ER-positive) disease. Most patients with ER-positive cancer undergo hormone therapy, but the outcomes for this test may help decide if a patient would benefit from additional chemotherapy, too. Now, findings from a recent study discovered that Black women — and younger Black women, in particular — may be missing out on chemotherapy that they could potentially benefit from.  Now, this research team is conducting further research looking at potential molecular differences in breast cancer in Black women, as well as how other social disparities could be playing into an increased risk of breast cancer death in these women.  FDA Grants Priority Review to Enhertu for HER2-Positive Solid Cancers  The Food and Drug Administration granted a priority review for a supplemental biologics license to Enhertu for the treatment of patients with previously treated metastatic HER2-positive solid tumors that cannot be removed via surgery. Basically what that means is that the drug showed promise in a clinical trial, and now the FDA will work with the pharmaceutical company developing the drug to expedite the review and potential approval of the agent. The agency plans on making its decision on whether or not Enertu will be approved some time in the second quarter of this year.  Enertu is an antibody drug conjugate, which is a type of drug that works by finding and binding to certain proteins found on cancer cells — in this case, the HER2 protein. The drug was previously approved for patients with lung cancer and metastatic breast cancer, and now, the phase 2 DESTINY-PanTumo02 trial will help determine if it will be approved for patients with endometrial, cervical, ovarian, bladder, biliary tract, pancreatic or other cancers that are HER2 positive.  FDA Grants Fast Track Designation to Avutometinib-Lumakras Combo Also in the regulatory space, the FDA granted a fast track designation to a two drug combination consisting of Lumakras and the novel agent, avutometinib for patients with KRAS G12C-mutant metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. The intended patient population for the regimen is those who have been treated with at least one systemic therapy and have not received a KRAS G12C inhibitor.  The regimen is being investigated in the ongoing phase 1/2 RAMP 203 trial, which will analyze the effectiveness of the drug, as well as the overall response rate — which is the percentage of patients whose cancer decreases from the drug — and safety. Findings from the second phase of the trial, which is specifically looking at patients who have not received or did not respond to a KRAS G12-inhibitor are expected to be published some time in the first half of 2024.   For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

It's been a busy few weeks here at CURE® and in the oncology space as a whole, as the last two weekends had back-to-back meetings: the American Society of Clinical Oncology's Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, and then their Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.  Here are some highlights from the conference, but as always, you can find all of our coverage at curetoday.com.  Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium  Imfinzi, Avastin, TACE May ‘Set a New Standard of Care' in Liver Cancer For patients with liver cancer whose disease is not eligible to be removed via surgery, adding Imfinzi and Avastin to transarterial chemoembolization — also known as TACE — tended to lengthen the time patients lived before their disease got worse, according to findings from the EMRALD-1 trial. These improvements in progression-free survival over TACE alone could lead to a new standard of care for this patient population, according to the lead study author, Dr. Riccardo Lencioni.  More specifically, patients who received Imfinzi and Avastin plus TACE lived for a median of 15 months before death or disease worsening, compared to 8.2 months for patients who received TACE alone. This correlates to a 23% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death, and benefits were seen across different patient subgroups.  Notably, the researchers on EMRALD-1 are still monitoring how the addition of the two drugs impacts overall survival. Once those data become more clear, it is possible that the drug manufacturers could submit this regimen to the FDA for approval, thereby officially shaking up the standard of care of TACE, which has remained the main treatment in this setting for about two decades.  Cancer in Bloodstream May Predict CRC Outcomes Circulating tumor DNA — also known as ctDNA — was another hot topic at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. So ctDNA measures little fragments of cancer that are found in the bloodstream after cancer treatment.  Now, findings from the BESPOKE trial highlight the fact that ctDNA may offer insight into the recurrence risk in patients with stage 2/3 colorectal cancer who underwent surgery and then chemotherapy. The researchers used ctDNA to help determine minimal residual disease, or MRD, status. Essentially, patients with disease still detected in the blood stream were MRD positive, while those without detectable cancer were MRD negative. Findings showed that those with MRD negativity tended to live longer without experiencing relapse or death compared to patients with MRD positivity.  Genitourinary Cancers Symposium Survival Benefits with Keytruda and Padcev in Advanced Urothelial Cancer Back in December, the Food and Drug Administration approved Padcev plus Keytruda for patients with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer. The approval was based on primary findings from the EV-302 trial. Now, updated findings from that trial are showing that the drug duo continues to outperform chemotherapy when it comes to progression-free survival — that's the time patients live before their disease gets worse — as well as overall survival, which is the time patients live before death of any cause.  Notably, these survival benefits were seen across patient subgroups, such as those with visceral metastases and lymph node-only disease. According to the lead study author, Dr. Michiel S. Van Der Heijden, this could result in a new standard of care in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.  Many Patients Miss Out on Testing to Guide Prostate Cancer Treatment On the prostate cancer front, a study found that many people with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer are not undergoing germline or somatic testing. Now this is really important because back in 2020, two PARP inhibitors were approved in this setting. These are targeted drugs approved for patients whose cancers have certain characteristics, which can be determined by these types of tests.  Rates of germline and somatic testing have increased since the FDA approvals, but according to the study — which looked at real-world evidence of patients being treated in community cancer and urology centers — about 40% of patients did not undergo standard-of-care testing.  Study author, Dr. Neal Shore, said that this indicates the need for improved education on the importance of germline and somatic testing.  For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here. 

Last week, we saw some big headlines in the oncology space, from Dexter Scott King's death from prostate cancer and MLB Hall-of-Famer Ryne Sandberg announcing that he was diagnosed with the disease.  The FDA also requested a label update for CAR-T cell therapies that would warn patients and providers about secondary malignancies that have been reported from the treatment. Also, we took a look at laughter therapy, and how it could help patients and caregivers.  We've also been busy covering two conferences — ASCO's Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, as well as their Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, so tune in later this week for a special podcast episode highlighting some major research from those events.  Dexter Scott King Dies of Prostate Cancer, Ryne Sandberg Diagnosed With the Disease Last Monday, Jan. 22, we saw two big stories in the prostate cancer space. First, Dexter Scott King, the son of the Civil Rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr., died of prostate cancer. He was 62 years old.  At the time of his death, King was the Chairman of the King Center, which is an organization focused on educating the world about the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dexter Scott King was also the president of the King estate.  In a statement announcing King's death, his wife, Leah Weber said, “He transitioned peacefully in his sleep at home with me in Malibu. He gave it everything and battled this terrible disease until the end.”  And on the same day Dexter Scott King died, Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer, Ryne Sandberg, announced that he was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer.  The 64-year-old — who was a 10-time All Star during his tenure for the Chicago Cubs, which ran from 1982 to 1997 — announced his diagnosis on Instagram. He said that received the diagnosis a week earlier and has started treatment. He asked that fans keep him in their thoughts and prayers.  FDA Requests Warnings on CAR-T Cell Therapies, Citing Secondary Cancers The investigation into CAR-T cell therapies continues. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested that approved BCMA- or CD19-targeted CAR-T cell therapies update their labeling to include a warning of reports of T-cell malignancies, including CAR-positive lymphomas, which have been reported in patients who use this type of therapy.  Back in November, the FDA announced that it was investigating reports of secondary diseases in patients who underwent CAR-T cell therapy. The available data shows that these diseases are extremely rare, and researchers are still looking into what, exactly, is causing them.  Now, the FDA wrote letters to the manufacturers of five CAR-T cell therapies, requesting that they include a Boxed Warning — which is the highest safety-related warning for drugs — outlining the potential risks of CAR-T cell products. The companies must respond to the FDA within 30 days of receiving the letters, which were sent out on Jan. 19.  Laughter Therapy May Improve Mood, Decrease Pain in Patients With Cancer And on a much lighter note, we covered recent research showing that laughter therapy can decrease mood disturbances in patients receiving palliative care for late-stage cancer, as well as their loved ones. The findings, which were published in the journal, Cancer Nursing, also found that the laughter therapy reduced pain perception in patients and decreased levels of burnout in caregivers.  Laughter therapy refers to alternative and complementary therapy using humor to help relieve stress and pain, in addition to potentially improving a patient's sense of well-being, according to the National Cancer Institute. In this instance, it consisted of five 20- to 30-minute sessions held over five consecutive days. The participants introduced themselves using funny tools to relieve tension, and moved their bodies in laughing rhythms.  “This indicates that our palliative care patients and family caregivers would have a positive view of the use of laughter or humor in their palliative circumstances,” the researchers wrote.   For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Often, receiving a cancer diagnosis can require a crash course in oncology that few patients ever expected to take. For colorectal cancer specialist Dr. Dustin Deming, the ACI/Schwenn Family associate professor in the division of hematology, medical oncology and palliative care at UW School of Medicine and Public Health, a diagnosis of rectal cancer two weeks after receiving his first faculty appointment required an education of a different sort. Deming, a gastrointestinal oncologist and laboratory researcher for UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center, told CURE®, needed to learn how to be a patient. “For me, the crash course was in being able to allow my medical friends to be my doctors,” said Deming. “So, that was the part that I really had to wrap my head around. I knew what we needed to do. I knew I knew what I was about to go through. But I hadn't sat in the patient chair before. And so, the crash course that I had to enter was the crash course in what it's like to be a patient.” Deming was 31 at the time of his diagnosis in 2012, married and with a 12-week-old daughter who he'd brought to his colonoscopy appointment. Treatment with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation followed, with Deming working as he was able to do so. While colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer diagnosis in the United States, only 2% of new cases occur in patients ages 20 to 34, with the majority of cases (25.5%) occurring in patients ages 65 to 74, according to the National Cancer Institute. “It's obviously extremely ironic, and (was) potentially life-shattering at the time,” Deming said. “You know, when I was diagnosed, I had a 12-week-old daughter who came to the colonoscopy with me. Getting that kind of news at 31, I don't think anybody's prepared for. Having been a colon cancer doctor and researcher was helpful in that it provided me in insight into what we needed to do. But it was also terrifying, in that I knew all the dirty secrets.” After being cancer-free for eight and a half years, Deming experienced a recurrence in 2020. He received further chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, followed by a second recurrence about a year later that was treated with surgery and chemotherapy. Approximately 10 months after his latest surgery, he has no evidence of cancer. Dustin spoke with CURE's “Cancer Horizons” podcast about his cancer journey, the connections it's created with his patients and his continuing dedication to treating others. “Having been a patient myself, I feel like — now, I don't know how it feels for each individual patient, but I know how it feels for me — I know how it feels to hear the ‘cancer' word, I know how it feels to have to go through chemo, radiation and multiple surgeries,” Deming said. “So, every time I meet a patient for the first time, I sit down and tell the patients kind of where I've been so that they know where I'm coming from and also (to) make sure that they know that I now get it and that I'm actually truly honored to be part of the team helping take care of them.  “I know what it means to trust oncologists with your care, and I'm so glad that I'm here to be able to help more patients.” For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

It wasn't even two weeks into the new year when the Food and Drug Administration made their first FDA approval. In this case, it was a Keytruda regimen for certain patients with gynecologic cancers. We at CURE® spoke with an the primary investigator on the study leading to the approval about what patients need to know about the latest new indication.  Also last week, we highlighted the Lymphedema Treatment Act and spoke to an expert about the new law.  Another story in the regulatory space: the FDA granted a Fast Track designation to speed up the review of a novel drug used to treat patients with relapsed or refractory CLL or SLL.  Finally, research from the American Cancer Society showed that Medicaid expansion states tended to have improved post-surgical outcomes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.   Keytruda Plus CRT Offers ‘Better Chance of Cure' in Advanced Cervical Cancer The Food and Drug Administration has granted approval for Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in combination with chemoradiotherapy for the treatment of stages 3 to 4A cervical cancer, marking the first approval of an anti-PD-1 therapy with chemotherapy for this patient population and the third FDA approval for treating cervical cancer with Keytruda.  This week, I spoke with Dr. Linda R. Duska, a gynecologic oncologist and principal investigator on the study leading to the approval, who discussed the KEYNOTE-A18 trial, which enrolled 1,060 patients and demonstrated a 30% decrease in progression for those receiving the combination of Keytruda and chemotherapy. The overall survival data is not yet mature, but the treatment showed a 41% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death. While Dr. Duska emphasized that cervical cancer is preventable thanks to a safe and effective vaccine, she said that for patients with the disease, this new regimen is particularly exciting.  January is also Cervical Cancer Awareness month, so definitely stay tuned to curetoday.com for more of our coverage on the disease.  Medicare Must Now Cover Lymphedema Treatment Garments The Lymphedema Treatment Act, signed into federal law on Dec. 23, 2022, is now in effect as of Jan. 1, 2024, allowing Medicare coverage for doctor-prescribed compression supplies for patients experiencing. The bill encompasses standard and custom-fitted gradient compression garments and other approved items prescribed by healthcare professionals to treat lymphedema. Now basically what that means is that patients insured by Medicare Part B can now have their lymphedema garments covered by insurance.  This coverage is expected to ease financial burdens on patients, especially as these garments can be expensive.  I spoke with Joanna Fawzy Doran, CEO of Triage Cancer, who emphasized the importance of patient and provider awareness about coverage rights, appealing denials and navigating the process. Although the law does not mandate private insurers to cover compression sleeves for lymphedema patients, Doran noted that Medicare's coverage sets a precedent for broader access in the future. FDA Grants NX-5948 Fast Track Designation for R/R CLL, SLL The FDA has granted Fast Track designation to NX-5948, a novel drug, for adults with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma who have previously undergone two lines of therapy, including a BTK inhibitor and a BCL2 inhibitor.  Fast Track designation aims to expedite the development and review of drugs addressing serious conditions with unmet medical needs.  NX-5948 is currently in a Phase 1a/1b clinical trial, with initial findings presented at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting indicating safety, tolerance, and clinical activity. The drug showed no dose-limiting toxicities or treatment-related side effects leading to discontinuation, and the most common side effects were purpura/contusion, nausea, and thrombocytopenia.  Medicaid Expansion May Decrease Early Mortality in Some With NSCLC States with Medicaid expansion tended to have a significant decrease in early, postoperative mortality from non-small cell lung cancer, according to recent research.  The research focused on nearly 15,000 patients undergoing surgery for NSCLC, with 62.1% residing in states supporting Medicaid expansion. The study found notable reductions in 30-day and 90-day postoperative mortality in patients with stages 1, 2, or 3 NSCLC in expansion states. Patients in non-expansion states were found to be younger, non-Hispanic Black, uninsured, and with comorbidities.  The study also evaluated changes in early mortality before and after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) implementation, showing a decrease in the 30-day mortality rate in expansion states from 0.97% to 0.26% after the ACA. Now, advocates, including the American Cancer Society, continue to emphasize the importance of expanding Medicaid eligibility to improve health outcomes.  For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

This week in oncology news, we saw a few decisions from the Food and Drug Administration, ranging from the agency agreeing to review a drug and potentially grant it a full approval to their citing manufacturing concerns for a gastric cancer drug.  Additionally, a small study showed 100% disease control rate in a subtype of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and a clinical evaluation of a new prostate cancer drug will continue to enroll patients.  FDA Accepts sBLA For Tivdak in Recurrent or Metastatic Cervical Cancer The Food and Drug Administration has accepted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) to Tivdak for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer that has progressed after first-line therapy. Tivdak, the first antibody-drug conjugate for this patient population, received accelerated approval in 2021. Now, the sBLA is for the continued approval, which is contingent upon clinical benefit verification in confirmatory trials.  Results from the phase 3 innovaTV 301 trial presented at the 2023 ESMO Congress demonstrated that Tivdak reduced the risk of death by 30% compared to chemotherapy as a second- or third-line treatment for this patient population. The trial also showed improvements in overall survival, progression-free survival, and confirmed objective response rate. Treatment-related side effects were observed in a majority of patients, with anemia and nausea being the most common.  The FDA plans on making a decision on the approval by May 9, 2024. FDA Cites Manufacturing Concerns in Missed Gastric Cancer Drug Deadline Also in FDA news from the week, the agency will not meet the Jan. 12, 2024, deadline for approving zolbetuximab, a drug designed for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic HER2-negative, CLDN 18.2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.  The FDA attributed the delay to "unresolved deficiencies following its pre-license inspection of a third-party manufacturing facility" and issued a complete response letter to Astellas, clarifying that no clinical concerns, including safety and efficacy, were identified.  Zolbetuximab, a monoclonal antibody targeting the CLDN 18.2 protein overexpressed in certain gastric cancers, has shown promise in preclinical studies by inducing cell death in cancer cells. The drug had received a priority review from the FDA based on positive outcomes in the phase 3 SPOTLIGHT clinical trial and the GLOW clinical trial. Astellas, the manufacturer of the drug, is now collaborating with the FDA and the third-party manufacturer to address the identified issues and establish a timeline for resolving them.  Enrollment Continues in Study Evaluating ONCT-534 For Advanced Prostate Cancer Patients are still being enrolled in an assessment of the novel drug, ONCT-534, for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer that has relapsed or is refractory to approved androgen receptor pathway inhibitors (ARPIs).  The study's first two cohorts received daily oral doses of 40 mg and 80 mg of ONCT-534, while the third and fourth patients, part of the third cohort, will be administered a 160 mg daily oral dose.  The ongoing phase 1/2 ONCT-534-101 study aims to determine the drug's safety, tolerability and preliminary antitumor activity, with a total of 27 patients in the first phase and two cohorts of 16 patients each in the second phase.  The study is anticipated to conclude in January 2028. Novel Drug Shows 100% Disease Control Rate in WM And finally, a novel drug, iopofosine I 131, showed a 100% disease control rate in patients with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia, according to topline findings from the CLOVER WaM study.  The CLOVER WaM trial investigated iopofosine I 131 in 50 WM patients who had undergone at least two prior lines of therapy, including a BTK inhibitor. In an efficacy evaluable population of 41 patients who received a total dose of 60 mCi 60 or more days ago, the trial met its primary endpoint with a major response rate of 61%. The overall response rate in evaluable patients was 75.6%, with 100% experiencing disease control and 76% not experiencing disease progression at an average follow-up of eight months. Notably, 8% of patients achieved a stringent complete remission.  Now we should note, however, that this is a small study sample size of only 50 patients, so we would expect to see future studies evaluating this drug in a larger patient population.  For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Kate Rice is proof of the power of persistence and positivity while navigating a cancer journey. Rice, an award-winning journalist, received a diagnosis of stage 4 anaplastic thyroid cancer in October 2021 — and quickly applied the same dogged dedication that had served her reporting in support of her own survival. “When I was a reporter, none of my sources or desired sources could escape me. Sooner or later, they were going to have to talk to me, I just have that kind of determination,” Rice said. “And it wasn't so much that I wanted to find out about the cancer I got diagnosed with; I wanted to find out who could cure it.” Years before receiving her thyroid cancer diagnosis, Rice had learned there were what doctors described as “indeterminant” nodules on her thyroid and was told to monitor them. She noticed small lumps on her neck in June 2021 and was told she would have to wait six months or so to be examined.  Rice, who had previously had a benign tumor removed from her neck and a case of melanoma, searched for doctors who could see her sooner — and, upon finally receiving her diagnosis, was told “I'll pray for you” by a surgeon. Anaplastic thyroid cancer, according to the American Thyroid Association, occurs in less than 2% of patients with thyroid cancers, but it is one of the fastest-growing and most aggressive of all cancers overall. The disease's average survival rate is six months, and just approximately one-fifth of patients live longer than a year after receiving a diagnosis. Immediately after receiving her diagnosis, Rice began sourcing for potential solutions, starting with a group text to her inner circle of loved ones. “My cousin, who had been one of the first people I'd sent (a message to when I) cast that wide net out to try to get information, had promptly gone online and found that (The University of Texas) MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston had a clinic that specialized in this very rare (cancer) … and actually cured people with it. So, I got my diagnosis, I think, at two o'clock Friday afternoon, I was walking home up Columbus Avenue, I guess, and on the phone with MD Anderson, to get in there because I can jump on the phone with both feet.” Within days of receiving her diagnosis, Rice left New York City for Houston, Texas, seeking treatment from the Facilitating Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Specialized Treatment Team at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Such determined self-advocacy, Rice said, is “absolutely essential.” “You have to stand up for yourself, you have to recognize that your doctors are specialists in whatever it is they're specialists in, but you're the specialist in your body,” she said. “And I knew something was going on. I mean, something was happening with my thyroid. Thyroid cancers, in general, are not the scariest cancers out there. They're serious cancers, and the treatment for a whole bunch of different thyroid cancers is not fun. But I knew this was something that was potentially a very big deal.  “And so when the first doctors I saw in New York were very relaxed and I couldn't get in to see a doctor I've been seeing for years because I had what are called indeterminate nodules on my thyroid — (which are) not malignant, but (they're) not benign, either — they were like, ‘Yeah, well, we can't get you in for six months, but that's OK,' I'm like, ‘No, not OK.' Even before I got the diagnosis, I was a pushy patient and we all have to do that. And the thing is, you're like, ‘Oh, I don't want to be much trouble. These guys are the pros, they know.' But really, you've got to listen to your body and stand up for yourself.” Following treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center, Rice said she's “fine.” Now a radio disc jockey and ski instructor in Park City, Utah, she returns to Houston every six weeks for immunotherapy treatments at MD Anderson. She also documented her cancer journey in the 2023 book “Cured: A Tale of Badassery.” She has advice for fellow patients facing the long haul of a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. “Stay positive. Realize we all have to fight this cancer trauma that understandably, many people in this country, in this in the world, carry because we've seen terrible things happen to people we love, when my dad died of prostate cancer,” Rice said. “But, the thing to remember is so many cancers now are either curable or treatable and manageable. The whole thing is getting to the right place in time, which is a challenge with our healthcare system. But you really have to remember there is no such thing as false hope there is only hope.” For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

The year 2024 is now underway. After a busy 2023, we're now looking back at some of the oncology headlines from the new year.  Notably, we have a clinical trial hold for a lung cancer drug, a trial that showed that a CAR-T cell therapy is cost-effective — though far from cheap — for lymphoma treatment, and a novel drug that's showing promise for the treatment of myelofibrosis.  FDA Places Hold on Trial Evaluating TIL Therapy in NSCLC The Food and Drug Administration placed a clinical hold on the ongoing IOV-LUN-202 trial, evaluating LN-145 TIL for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. With the clinical hold, new patients will not be able to enroll on the trial, and those who were previously treated will continue to be monitored.  The FDA placed the hold on the trial after the death of a patient. According to the FDA, the agency has the power to request that a trial be stopped, and then the sponsor — that's the organization or company running the study — can reply via a response letter addressing the concerns. The FDA then has 30 days to respond, and potentially allow for the trial to resume.  Breyanzi Cost Effective As Second-Line R/R DLBCL Treatment Research published in the journal, Blood Advances, found that the CAR-T cell therapy, Breyanzi, was found to be a promising and cost-effective treatment option for patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma — also known as DLBCL.  The study found that the incremental cost-effective ratio of the drug was just over $99,000 per quality-adjusted life-year from a health care perspective, and just over $68,000 from a societal perspective. Both these numbers are lower than the assumed social willingness to pay up to $100,000 per quality-adjusted life-year gained, as established by the American Society of Hematology.  While Breyanzi was deemed to be cost effective, CAR-T cell therapies are still far from inexpensive. In fact, the drug cost rose by 9% since its initial approval for DLBCL in 2022. In a CURE® Speaking Out® video series, Lee Greenberger, the chief scientific officer of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, expressed concern about the price of these drugs.    “Some of that the government is going to have to pay, some insurance is going to have to pay, but some of it the patients are going to have to pay as well. And the price tags are going to be significant. How are we going to manage that? Phase 2 Trial Shows Fibrosis Reduction in Some With Myelofibrosis Also in the blood cancer space, findings from the phase 2a trial found that a novel drug, GB2064, reduced fibrosis in the bone marrow, thereby slowing cancer progression in patients with myelofibrosis who were previously treated with Jakafi.  Myelofibrosis is a disease that affects the body's production of blood cells in the bone marrow. The disease causes scar tissue to grow there — a process called fibrosis. By decreasing the amount of fibrosis that occurs, GB2064 has the potential to improve outcomes. For this patient population. However, we should note that this trial was completed in only a small number of patients — 10, to be exact. Six patients had a decrease of fibrosis after receiving GB2064 for six months.   For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

The year 2023 has come and gone, and we figured that now is the perfect time to look back on some of the top cancer-related stories from the year.  Vitamin D May Impact Colorectal Cancer Outcomes In June, we spoke to an expert about research that analyzed 14 studies on vitamin D and colorectal cancer outcomes. Findings showed that people who had a vitamin D deficiency tended to have poorer mortality outcomes than those who supplemented with vitamin D.  Laura Bolte, of the department of gastroenterology and hepatology at the University of Groningen and University Medical Center Groningen, explained that the use of corticosteroids and being underweight or malnourished — which are all things that can happen during cancer treatment — can increase the risk of vitamin D deficiency, so it is essential that patients speak with their health care team to determine if a vitamin D supplement will be appropriate and beneficial to them.  Jimmy Buffett Dies of Cancer at 76 Every now and then, major celebrity news makes cancer headlines. On Sept. 1, “Margaritaville” singer, Jimmy Buffett died of cancer at the age of 76.  Buffett had a rare and aggressive type of skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma, which is much more common to spread to other parts of the body, and can be very difficult to treat if it spreads, according to the American Cancer Society.  Shortly after Buffett's death, we spoke to Dr. Manisha Thakuria, who is the director or Merkel cell carcinoma at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. She said, “It's always hard to see any silver linings in losses. I am glad to see Merkel cell having a little bit of a spotlight on it, and I hope that (the media interest) will increase research funding for Merkel cell carcinoma and help more patients,” said Thakuria. Chemo Drug Shortage Requires a ‘Holistic Solution'  Perhaps one of the biggest headlines in the cancer space from 2023 was the chemotherapy shortage. The shortage of cisplatin and carboplatin required a “holistic solution,” according to Dr. Anjan J. Patel.  In a June article, I spoke with Dr. Patel and other oncology experts about the shortage, what it meant for patients taking these drugs and what was needed from a systemic level to ensure that these types of shortages never happened again.  Patients Using Cannabis Experienced Worse Symptoms, Perceive Less Harm Patients with cancer who use cannabis reported more severe symptoms and perceived less potential harm from cannabis than patients with cancer who did not use the drug within the last 30 days, according to study findings published this summer.  Findings showed that study participants who used cannabis experienced significantly poorer physical and social functioning as well as higher pain intensity, pain interference, fatigue and sleep disturbances.  “People are using it, we should study it, and we need to know more to be able to guide physicians and cancer patients and survivors as well,” Gregory Giordano of the department of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Colorado Boulder told CURE® For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

The FDA is certainly staying busy as 2023 comes to a close, approving three treatments for patients with cancer last week alone. Additionally, exciting study findings were released regarding a cancer vaccine for the treatment of melanoma. FDA Approves Iwilfin for High-Risk Neuroblastoma in Adults and Children The FDA approved has Iwilfin (eflornithine) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma who have shown at least a partial response to a previous multiagent modality therapy, which includes anti-GD2 immunotherapy. Notably, the FDA reported that this drug is the first approval of a therapy used to reduce the risk of relapse in children with high-risk neuroblastoma. Neuroblastoma, as the National Cancer Institute explained on its website, is a cancer of immature nerve cells that most typically occurs in children, and often begins in the adrenal glands. The FDA said the major efficacy outcome measure behind the approval was event-free survival (EFS; time after treatment when cancer does not come back or worsen; disease progression), while other notable findings included overall survival (OS; length of time from diagnosis or start of treatment when a patient is still alive). FDA Approves Welireg for Advanced Kidney Cancer Subtype The FDA approved Welireg ((beluztifan) for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who have been previously treated with a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) or programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor, and a vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (VEGF-TKI). The approval was based on findings from the LITESPARK-005 trial. Trial findings presented earlier this year at the European Society of Medical Oncology Annual Congress (ESMO) showed that at a median follow-up of 18.4 months, patients treated with Welireg experienced objective response rates (patients whose disease responded partially or completely to treatment) of 21.9%, compared with 3.5% among patients treated with Afinitor (everolimus), and 12-month progression-free survival (PFS; the time a patient lives without their disease spreading or worsening) rates were 33.7% on Welireg versus 17.6% with Afinitor, and 18-month PFS rates were 22.5% and 9%, respectively. FDA Approves Padcev-Keytruda Combo in Advanced Bladder Cancer The FDA has additionally approved Padcev (enfortumab vedotin-ejfv) plus Ketruda (pembrolizumab) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer. Alongside this, the FDA previously granted an accelerated approval for this patient population who are unable to be treated with cisplatin-containing chemotherapy. In the recent EV-302/KN-A39 trial, both OS and PFS showed significant improvements among the Padcev plus Keytruda group of patients, as the median overall survival for these patients was 31.5 months, while a cohort treated with chemotherapy experienced a median OS of 16.1 months. Regarding progression-free survival, the median was 12.5 months for the Padcev-Keytruda combination group and 6.3 months in the chemotherapy group. Cancer Vaccine Plus Keytruda Reduces Risk of Recurrence or Death in Melanoma Patients with advanced-stage melanoma continue to experience reduced risk of recurrence or death following treatment with a combination of mRNA vaccine mRNA-4157 (V940), an investigational individualized neoantigen therapy (INT), and Keytruda, according to recent study findings. The mRNA-4157 (V940) and Keytruda combination reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 49% and the risk of distant metastasis or death by 52% when compared with treatment with Keytruda alone in patients with stage 3 or 4 melanoma with high risk of recurrence following complete resection, as determined by the phase 2b KEYNOTE-942/mRNA-4157-P201 study, according to a news release from drug manufacturers Moderna and Merck. The latest findings, from a median planned follow-up of approximately three years, build on previously announced primarily analysis data from a median planned follow-up of approximately two years which showed that the combination reduced the risk of recurrence or death by 44% and the risk of distance metastasis or death by 65% when compared with Keytruda alone. Based on the trial's findings, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to the combination for the post-surgical treatment of patients with high-risk melanoma earlier this year. Moderna and Merck have also announced the phase 3 INTerpath-001 (V940-001) clinical trial to evaluate the combination as an adjuvant treatment for patients with resected, high-risk stage 3B to 4 melanoma, which is currently enrolling participants, as well as a phase 3 trial for the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer treated with the combination regimen. For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

This past weekend, the CURE® staff was busy covering the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. ASH is the largest blood cancer conference in the country, and thousands of abstracts were presented. Now, we're bringing you some of the highlights from the conference. And, to view all of our conference coverage, be sure to check out curetoday.com/conference Navitoclax Plus Jakafi Improves Spleen Volume Reductions in Myelofibrosis Spleen enlargement is a common and often problematic symptom of myelifbrosis. However, recent findings from the phase 3 TRANSFORM-1 trial found that combining the novel drug, navitoclax with Jakafi was successful in reducing spleen volume in this patient population. The main outcome that the researchers were looking at in this study was the percentage of patients who had a spleen volume reduction of 35% or more at certain time points. Findings showed that by week 24, 64.2% of patients who had the navitoclax regimen experienced this level of spleen reduction, compared to only 31.5% of patients who received placebo plus Jakafi — that's a significant overall difference of 31%. Navitoclax is not currently approved in any indication, but AbbVie, the pharmaceutical company behind the agent, plans to submit the drug for FDA approval in 2023, pending study results. Brukinsa Lengthens Time to Progression in Relapsed/Refractory CLL, SLL There are currently three BTK inhibitors for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL and SLL, respectively), though a lack of research exists that compares these drugs head-to-head. Now, the phase 3 ALPINE trial was the first study to directly compare two BTK inhibitors, Brukinsa and Imbruvica, in patients with relapsed or refractory CLL or SLL. Findings showed that after about 39 months of follow-up, patients given Brukinsa tended to live longer before death or disease progression — a statistic experts refer to as “progression-free survival.” In the general patient population, Brukinsa reduced the risk of disease progression by 32%, and for patients with 17p deletion and/or TP53 mutations — subtypes that typically indicate aggressive disease — there was a 48% reduction in the risk of disease progression. Abecma May Improve Quality of Life in Previously Treated Myeloma The phase 3 KarMMA-3 trial showed that Abecma significantly improved symptoms, functioning and health-related quality of life in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who previously underwent two to four prior treatments. Abecma is a CAR-T cell therapy, which is a newer type of treatment for blood cancers. It involves taking patients' blood out, and re-engineering their T cells to find and fight cancer. After they're multiplied, those new T cells are infused back into the patient. Findings from the KarMMA-3 trial showed that Abecma led to improvements in fatigue and pain compared with other standard regimens in this patient population.

The last week was a busy one for us here at CURE® and across the oncology space in general. There were two major meetings we covered: the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting.  The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium — also known as SABCS — features breast cancer research conducted around the globe. We had editors on the ground in San Antonio, as well as back in our office covering the meeting. Here are some highlights from SABCS.  And, to view all of our conference coverage, be sure to check out curetoday.com/conference Kadcyla Is the ‘First Therapy to Show Improved Survival' in a Breast Cancer Subset For in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer that still had remaining invasive disease after undergoing neoadjuvant therapy Kadcyla outperformed Herceptin when it came to overall survival, which is the time until death of any cause, and invasive disease-free survival, which is the time patients live without experience metastases or invasive disease.  The findings, which come out of the KATHERINE trial, mark the “first therapy to show an improved survival after post-surgical therapy in patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer and residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant therapy,” according to study author, Dr. Sibylle Loibl, who presented the findings at SABCS.  More specifically, at the 8.4-year follow-up mark, 70.1% of patients in the Kadcyla group and 62% in the Herceptin group were still alive. Also at that point, 32.2% given Kadcyla did not develop invasive disease, compared with 19.7% of patients in the Herceptin group.  Keytruda, Chemo Show Early-Stage Breast Cancer Event-Free Survival Benefits Findings from phase 3 KEYNOTE-522 trial showed that presurgical Keytruda plus chemotherapy, followed by postsurgical Keytruda led to improved event-free survival — that's time a patient lives without complications from their disease — in patients with high-risk, early-stage triple-negative breast cancer.  At a median follow-up of 63.1 months, the five-year event-free survival rate was 81.3% with neoadjuvant Keytruda/chemotherapy followed by adjuvant Keytruda compared with 72.3% in those who received placebo/chemotherapy and then placebo. These findings, according to Dr. Peter Schmid, further support the use of this Keytruda regimen as the standard of care for this patient population.  Tecentriq Plus Perjeta, Herceptin, Chemo Does Not Improve pCR in HER2+ Breast Cancer Another phase 3 trial — the APTneo Michelangelo — showed that adding Tecentriq and Herceptin to Perjeta and chemotherapy actually did not lead to a statistically significant improvement in pathologic complete response (that's the disappearance of cancer) when given in the presurgical setting for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.  The study found that while Tecentriq and Herceptin-containing regimens did lead to a higher number of pathologic complete responses, these difference between the two treatment groups was not statistically significant, meaning that the researchers could not definitively say that one therapy was the result of better outcomes.  No Racial Difference in Recurrence-Free Survival in HR+, HER2- Breast Cancer While research has shown that Black and White patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer tend to have different survival outcomes, research presented at SABCS found that three-year recurrence-free survival is actually comparable between the two groups.   “More aggressive treatment can improve outcomes for (patients with HR-positive, basal-type tumors), as demonstrated by improved (overall survival) in (those who) achieved pathologic complete response,” study investigators stated in the poster. “These data highlight the importance of genomic testing to help optimize treatment and reduce outcome disparities in Black women.”

Blood cancer treatments — and one treatment type, in particular — were the point of much discussion last week. The FDA said that it is investigating instances of secondary malignancies in patients with blood cancers treated with CAR-T cell therapy. Also, the drug manufacturer for a novel CAR-T cell therapy submitted an application to introduce the treatment into the United States market.  Blood cancers will continue to be a hot topic this week, as later in the week we'll be covering the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting. And before that, we'll also be covering the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.  Chance or CAR-T: Expert Weighs in on FDA Investigation One of the biggest headlines in the cancer space last week was that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that they are investigating instances of T-cell malignancies — such as CAR-positive lymphoma — occurring in patients with blood cancers that were treated with CAR-T cell therapy.  CAR-T cell therapy is a newer type of blood cancer treatment that involves extracting patients' blood and reengineering their immune T cells to find and fight cancer. Those new T cells are then multiplied and infused back into the patient. Since the first CAR-T cell product was approved in 2017, this treatment modality has drastically improved outcomes for patients with certain types of blood cancers.  It's worth mentioning that the FDA's Nov. 28 report about T-cell malignancies did not definitively say that CAR-T cell therapies are directly causing secondary diseases. They also did not mention the frequency at which these T-cell malignancies are occurring. I spoke with Dr. John Lister, who said that perhaps it's the manufacturing process that could be the root cause, but perhaps it is also just chance, as research has shown that many patients with cancer hold a higher risk of developing a second cancer. For now, we're just going to have to wait and see what further data tells us.  FDA Biologics License Application Filed for Obe-Cel for Adult R/R B-ALL Also in CAR-T cell therapy news, last week a pharmaceutical company submitted a Biologics License Application to the FDA for their CAR-T cell therapy, obe-cel to be used for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).  When a pharmaceutical company files a Biologics License Application to the FDA, they're essentially asking the agency to allow them to bring the drug to the market. The company submitting the drug must provide the FDA with multiple pieces of information, including findings from preclinical and clinical studies showing that the drug is safe.  In this instance, the pharmaceutical company cited data from the FELIX study, from which, early data showed that 76% if patients responded to the therapy, including 54.3% who had a complete response, meaning that their disease essentially disappeared. Now, updated findings from the trial will be presented at the upcoming ASH Annual Meeting happening next week.  

For patients with cervical cancer who are negative for high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) with normal or low-grade cytology, a prolonged follow-up interval of six months could be offered six to 24 months after receiving fertility-sparing surgery, according to the findings of a recent study. Researchers, writing in a study published in The Lancet Oncology, noted that patients who are negative for high-risk HPV and have normal or low-grade cytology — a type of screening that collects cervical cells to be checked for changes caused by HPV that may turn into cancer, as explained by the National Cancer Institute — make up 80% of patients who receive fertility-sparing surgery, and that a 12-month interview “seems to be safe” following two consecutive negative high-risk HPV tests and an absence of high-grade cytology, which applies to 75% of all patients who receive fertility-sparing surgery.  Current guidelines in both the United States and Europe, researchers explained, recommend a six- to 12-month interval between follow-up visits for two years after fertility-sparing surgery, with a total follow-up of five years. Learn more: HPV Causes Multiple Cancers, Though Knowledge on the Connection Is Lagging “The development of a tailored surveillance strategy after fertility-sparing surgery could contribute to improved efficiency of follow-up in patients with cervical cancer and subsequently reduce costs in health care,” wrote the researchers behind the population-based retrospective cohort study, which utilized data from the Netherlands Cancer Registry and the Dutch Nationwide Pathology Data Bank on more than 1,400 patients ages 18 to 40 with cervical cancer who received fertility-sparing surgery between Jan 1, 2000 and Dec 31, 2020. Kate Weissman, a cervical cancer survivor, welcomes such research advancements. “(It's) well overdue and certainly something that the cervical cancer community is owed, given that it's something that has not been paid attention to for so long,” she said. “It's always been really just (about) luck of the of the draw in who your oncologist is and who your team of doctors are to even discuss your fertility. So, I think that this is really long overdue, and I'm glad that the attention is on it, finally, for women.” When Weismann received a diagnosis of stage 2B cervical cancer in 2015 at the age of 30, two years after being diagnosed with HPV, she was also told by her oncologist that she would not be able to carry children. Kate began IVF, froze nine embryos and received treatment via 55 rounds of radiation, 17 rounds of chemotherapy and surgery before being declared cancer-free in 2016. She and her husband, Matt, eventually had a daughter, Louella, via surrogacy. Now an ambassador for Cervivor, a community of patient advocates working with those affected by cervical cancer, and a 2023 Cervivor Champion Recipient, Weissman is also the Massachusetts State Lead Ambassador for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. Learn More: Why Patients Need to Remain Vigilant, Even When Dealing With Scanxiety “When I ended my treatment in 2016, I was initially going for scans every three to six months. And then, after a couple of years, I was slowly able to extend those scans out, so now I go annually,” she said. “I will tell you, the anxiety is always with you. It never loosens its grip; you are always worried about (the cancer) coming back. And even though I'm lucky to only have to deal with scanxiety — as we call it in the cervical cancer community and really the cancer community in general once a year — it's really intense and I still have to keep up-to-date on my antianxiety medications and my therapy sessions and everything.  “Now that I have a child it's really made that anxiety of the cancer coming back all that more intense, and it feels like a lot more is at stake. But I am lucky that I survived, and it's a once-a-year thing for me. … I have access to a medical team that is going to always watch me and look out for me, and I'm aware of my own body and everything I need to be on the lookout for too in the years post-treatment. So, that's been certainly something that it never loosens its grip on you. Even when you find out (that) you're cancer-free, you're in this for the rest of your life.” For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

The end of the year typically brings a number of FDA approvals, and 2023 is no different. Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug, Augyro (repotrectinib) for the treatment of patients with ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer.  Also making oncology headlines this week, is an expert update on the cancer drug shortage, research about how the severity of diabetes can impact colorectal cancer outcomes and how vitamin D may be able to mitigate the severity of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.   FDA Approves Augtyro for Patients With NSCLC Subset Another week, another FDA approval. This time, the agency approved Augtyro for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic ROS1-positive non-small cell lung cancer.  The drug works by targeting ROS1 oncogene fusions, which can be responsible for the growth of cancer. The approval was based off findings from the phase 1/2 TRIDENT-1 clinical trial, which showed that 79% of patients responded to therapy with the drug, including 6% who experienced a complete response, which is when all signs of cancer disappear.  Bristol Myers Squibb, the pharmaceutical company that manufacturers Augtyro, expects the drug to be available to patients in mid-December.  FDA Approves Keytruda plus Chemo for Advanced HER2-Negative Gastric, GEJ Cancers Also in FDA news last week, the agency approved the immunotherapy drug, Keytruda, in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.  The approval came after findings from the KEYNOTE-859 trial showed that the immunotherapy-chemo combination improved overall survival) that's time from treatment until death of any cause); progression-free survival (time from treatment until death or disease worsening) and response rate compared to a group that received placebo plus chemotherapy.  FDA Approves Truqap Plus Chemo for Some With HR-Positive, HER-Negative Breast Cancer Additionally, the FDA has approved Truqap with chemotherapy fulvestrant for the treatment of adults with HR-positive or HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer with one or more PIK3CA/AKT1/PTEN-alterations and who have progressed on at least one endocrine-based regimen in the metastatic setting or recurred at or within one year of completing adjuvant therapy. And now this approval was based on the results of the CAPItello-291 trial where among patients with these altered tumors, the median progression free survival was 7.3 months in the Truqap and chemotherapy cohort and 3.1 months in the placebo and chemotherapy cohort. FDA Approves Xtandi for High-Risk Prostate Cancer And the FDA approved Xtandi for the treatment of patients with non-metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer, with a high risk of biochemical recurrence, meaning a recurrence that is determined by rising prostate specific antigen levels. According to Pfizer, the manufacturer of the drug, and notably, this marks the first approval of an androgen receptor signaling inhibitor that is FDA approved for this patient population.  The approval is based on findings from the randomized phase 3 EMBARK clinical trial were five-year metastasis free survival, which is the time from treatment until metastatic disease was 87.3% in the Xtandi arm, compared with 71.4% and the leuprolide-only group and 80% in the monotherapy group, according to findings that were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.  Drug Shortages Continue to Be a ‘Serious Problem' in Oncology While the shortage of the chemotherapy drugs, cisplatin and carboplatin, seems to be improving, drug shortages, in general, are not a new problem and likely are not going anywhere soon, according to Corey McEwen, the director of oncology pharmacy services at Massachusetts General Hospital in Bostin.   McEwen explained that most of these drugs are manufactured outside of the United States. The FDA will approve certain locations to make the drugs, which then are shipped to the wholesaler, then the cancer treatment center or clinic and finally, to the patients. However, at no point during that process is there an obligation to be transparent about drugs that are in shortage or at risk to be in shortage.  Additionally, with increased demand and decreased supply, the price of these therapies can go up. At Mass. General, McEwen said that the institution will oftentimes take on the financial burden of the increased cost, because they are mainly focused on getting the drugs in the first place. However, that may not be the case in all cancer treatment centers, leading to more disparities and financial burdens from cancer care.  Diabetes Severity Associated With Poor Colorectal Cancer Survival Research published in the journal, Cancer, analyzed outcomes for patients with diabetes and colorectal cancer who underwent surgery for their cancer. Findings showed that patients with more severe diabetes tended to have poorer survival outcomes. This was particularly the case for patients who were female or in their earlier stages of cancer.  The researchers theorized that the relationship between diabetic severity and cancer prognosis may be explained by three mechanisms:  ·      Diabetes can lead to increased levels of insulin-like growth, which can accelerate tumor growth  ·      High blood sugar levels may result in poor response to chemotherapy  ·      The potential increased accumulation of genetic mutations that result from the high inflammatory burden caused by diabetes  Vitamin D May Help Prevent Chemo-Induced Neuropathy Once again, vitamin D made oncology headlines last week. This time, findings published in the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found that patients who were deficient in vitamin D before starting treatment with paclitaxel had higher rates of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy than patients with sufficient vitamin D levels.  Peripheral neuropathy is a common side effect from certain types of chemotherapy drugs that presents as numbness, tingling or a stabbing feeling in the hands and/or feet. Eventually if the neuropathy gets so bad, patients can have a higher risk of falls or become unable to perform some essential everyday tasks, such as preparing food or getting dressed. There is currently no cure for the condition, so potential prevention or mitigation strategies — like getting enough vitamin D — are particularly important.  I spoke with study author Dr. Dan Hertz who said that while more research is needed in this space, it is worth it for patients to check their vitamin D levels and take a supplement, if needed. 

It's been a decade since Thom Filicia, acclaimed interior designer and former co-star of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” served as a bone marrow donor for his brother, Jules, who had received a diagnosis of myelofibrosis. “It was a disease I knew nothing about, I'd never even heard of it before,” Filicia told CURE®. “So that, in and of itself, was a very unusual situation, to have to navigate that. … In (Jules') situation, we needed to move very quickly. And, in his case, the most appropriate (treatment) at that time, was a bone marrow transplant, so that's what we needed to do.” Myelofibrosis, as explained by the MPN Research Foundation, is a type of chronic blood cancer that involves the formation of excessive scar tissue in the bone marrow, impairing the patient's ability to produce normal blood cells. It is part of a category of blood cancers known as myeloproliferative neoplasms, or MPNs. “Myelofibrosis is a challenge, because first of all, it's (a) very rare disease, we're talking about 25,000 people in the United States have this, maybe one in 500,000 people worldwide have this disease, so it's a very rare disease,” explained Dr. Andrew Kuykendall of the department of malignant hematology at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.  The presentation of myelofibrosis can also vary from patient to patient, as Kuykendall explained. “People can either present with just abnormal blood counts, they can present with painful abdominal pain or splenomegaly, where their spleen is enlarged or other organs can be enlarged, (or) it could be from having fevers, chills, night sweats, bone pain, a lot of symptoms that bring them to that healthcare,” Kuykendall said. “And so, it's one of those things where all those people could come with a variety of symptoms yet receive the same diagnosis. And I think that that's challenging because it doesn't necessarily present in one way. There's no kind of map. We often say, ‘The disease doesn't read the textbook,' and that's very true when it comes to myelofibrosis.” A decade after the bone marrow transplant, Filicia says his brother is in great health, and he looked back on the transplant process as a “pretty seamless” experience. “It was a good experience for both of us and a positive outcome, which is really great,” Filicia said. “I would say what it does in terms of (our relationship), we're blood brothers at a level that is very different than just being brothers because we now share the same DNA. And we've gone through this experience together, and it was a pretty impactful experience.” Filicia has now partnered with biopharma company GSK to launch the online initiative Mapping Myelofibrosis, dedicated to raising awareness about the disease with input from organizations including the MPN Research Foundation and MPN Advocacy and Education International.  The initiative's website, mappingmf.com, includes educational and informational materials as well as podcast episodes and stories from members of the myelofibrosis community of patients and loved ones, Filicia among them. “To be a resource or to be impactful in that situation, you really need information, and you need to know that you're not the only person going through it, you need to understand what other people are going through, you need to be able to connect with a doctor like Dr. Kuykendall where they can explain things to you in a way that you understand it,” Filicia said.  “And that gives you hope, and that gives you the ability to, I would imagine, move forward in a positive, thoughtful, empowered way where you feel like you're making the best decisions that you can make, for your situation, with the best guidance that you feel comfortable with.” Filicia and Kuykendall spoke with CURE®'s “Cancer Horizons” podcast about myelofibrosis, persistent misconceptions regarding bone marrow donation and the motivation behind the Mapping Myelofibrosis. For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Last week was Veterans' Day, and for some individuals in the armed service, that means reflecting back on their service, as well as the potential cause of their cancer. For both print and web-first features, CURE® spoke with veterans about their cancer journeys, including one Iraq veteran whose cancer was likely caused by exposure during his deployment overseas.  Regarding new drug indications last week, the FDA seemed to be working in the gastrointestinal space: we saw a new drug approved for certain patients with colorectal cancer, and other indication in the gastric cancer space slightly changed from the way it was originally approved a few years ago.  Finally, it is the open enrollment period for people who are eligible for Medicare. We heard from an expert at City of Hope about why patients with cancer should do their research before choosing a plan.  Veteran, Colon Cancer Survivor Explains Importance of PACT Act  Last year, President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act into law last year, with the White House calling it “the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic exposed veterans in more than 30 years.” More than 4.1 million veterans received free toxic exposure screenings through the VA, with the government processing nearly half a million PACT Act claims and delivering more than $1.85 billion in PACT Act-related benefits to veterans and survivors, including $215 million in benefits to veterans with cancer, during the first year of the PACT Act, the White House stated. Under the PACT Act, for example, all gastrointestinal cancers are considered toxic exposure presumptive conditions — meaning veterans do not have to prove that the cancer started during or worsened because of their military service — for veterans from the Gulf War and post-9/11 eras such as Dan Nevins, a U.S. Army Reserve veteran and stage 3 colon cancer survivor who served in Iraq. Read more: Veterans On The Front Lines of Lung Cancer Dan is a bilateral, below-knee amputee living with a traumatic brain injury as a result of his service, and he received his cancer diagnosis in late 2021. Spoke with us about his experiences being exposed to burn pits in Iraq. FDA Approves Fruzaqla for Previously Treated Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Last week came with another Food and Drug Administration approval in the oncology space. Fruzaqla for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer that has been previously treated with certain chemotherapy drugs, anti-VEGF therapies, and — if the patient has RAS wildtype disease and its medically appropriate — an anti-EGFR therapy.  The approval, which was announced on Wednesday night, was based on findings from two clinical trials: FRESCO and FRESCO-2, which both showed that Fruzaqla improved overall survival (time from treatment until death of any cause) compared to placebo in this patient population.  Of note, Fruzaqla is an oral drug that is not a chemotherapy agent, which may help patients avoid an abundance of clinics for treatment, as well as some of the side effects associated with chemotherapy, though we should note that Fruzaqla, like all drugs, does have its own set of potential side effects.  FDA Amends Keytruda Approval for Gastric, GEJ Cancer Also on the FDA front, the agency announced on Thursday that it was revising the approval indication of Keytruda plus Enhertu and chemotherapy for the frontline treatment of locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.  The Keytruda-containing regimen was originally approved in May 2021 and was for patients regardless of their cancer's PD-L1 status. PD-L1 is a protein found on the surface of tumor cells and acts as a kind of cloak of invisibility from the immune system. Checkpoint inhibitor drugs like Keytruda inhibit the function of PD-L1, thereby allowing the immune system to find and fight the cancer. With the amended approval, the FDA is now stating that this Keytruda regimen should only be used in patients whose cancers have that PD-L1 protein, as determined by a companion diagnostic test.  This change came after follow-up data from the KEYNOTE-811 trial were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress a couple of weeks ago. The findings showed that while the Keytruda plus Enhertu and chemotherapy improved outcomes over placebo plus Enhertu and chemotherapy, the benefit was particularly better for those whose disease was PD-L1 positive.  When It Comes to Cancer Care, Not All Medicare Plans Are the Same The Medicare open enrollment period has officially begun and will run until Dec. 7.  In a CURE® exclusive article penned by Dr. Harlan Levine of the City of Hope, a popular type of Medicare — Medicare Advantage — is outlined, along with their potential pros and cons when facing a cancer diagnosis. For example, did you know what while Medicare Advantage tends to be a more affordable option, it may not cover research medical centers that provide patients with cancer access to advanced treatments and clinical trials?  Dr. Levine and others are advocating for Medicare Advantage to cover treatment at comprehensive cancer centers, but until then, he warns individuals to be weary of the plans that they choose and always read the fine print.   For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Last week brought the approval of two new cancer therapies, as well as some data about the ongoing cancer drug shortage and which groups of patients may be affected most. Also, CURE® spoke to an expert about how sexual activity — while not a requirement — may help follow-up exams be more comfortable for cervical cancer survivors.  In this episode we're looking back at the top oncology news from last week, and brining patients the information they need to know.  Patients on Medicaid Disproportionately Affected by Drug Shortage Despite initiatives from the federal government, the shortage of chemotherapy drugs — namely cisplatin and carboplatin — continues. Now, a recent survey from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network found that patients who are insured by Medicaid are three times more likely to be affected by the chemo shortage than individuals who get their health insurance through their provider. Findings also showed that 38% of patients who experienced delays in treatment had delays that lasted a month or more, while 35% said that they had difficulty getting insurance to fill a prescription related to a shortage, such as a substitute drug.  Back in September, the White House outlined steps that they're taking to mitigate the ongoing drug shortage, such as collaborating with health care providers and drug manufacturers.  FDA Approves Loqtorzi Regimens for Advanced Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma  The first of two FDA approvals last week happened on Monday, Oct. 30, when the agency approved Loqtorzi plus the chemotherapy drugs, gemcitabine and cisplatin, for the treatment of patients with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma. The drug was also approved on Monday as a single agent — that means given alone — for patients with unresectable, recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma that got worse on or after platinum-based chemotherapy.  The Loqtorzi/chemotherapy combination was based off findings from the JUPITER-02 trial, while the POLARIS-02 trial led to the single-agent approval. The former found that the Loqtorzi-containing regimen improved progression-free survival (time from treatment until disease worsens or death) compared to placebo plus the chemo drugs, while the latter showed improved response rates with Loqtorzi.  FDA Approves Keytruda Plus Chemo for Locally Advanced, Metastatic Biliary Tract Cancer  On Wednesday, the FDA approved the immunotherapy drug, Keytruda, plus two chemotherapy drugs — gemcitabine and cisplatin — for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or unresectable metastatic biliary tract cancer.  Findings from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-966 clinical trial, which showed that overall survival (time from treatment until death of any cause) was better with the Keytruda-containing regimen than it was for the chemotherapy duo alone. Notably, there was no significant difference in progression-free survival between the two regimens. Essentially, that means that patients tended to experience disease worsening at around the same rate or time, however, those in the Keytruda group tended to live longer. Trial results also showed that there was a higher percentage of patients in the Keytruda group whose disease completely disappeared.  Follow-Up Exams More ‘Tolerable' With Sexual Activity After Cervical Cancer In the gynecologic cancer space, recent research presented at the American Society for Radiation Oncology Annual Meeting found that cervical cancer follow-up appointments may be more comfortable or tolerable for patients who are sexually active.  CURE® spoke with one of the study authors, Dr. Kathrin Kirchheiner, who mentioned that sexual activity is by no means necessary for this patient population. She understands that the disease and its treatments can affect libido or make sex physically uncomfortable. However, if patients with gynecologic cancer are experiencing sexual side effects, they should certainly bring it up to their health care providers.   For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Meet Dr. Ulka Vaishampayan* – an oncologist and leading expert in treating people with kidney cancer, including renal cell carcinoma (RCC) which is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults. She understands all too well how scary and overwhelming hearing the words “you have cancer” can be for anyone – especially when facing an advanced diagnosis in RCC. In these cases, Dr. Vaishampayan believes that information is power and people can feel better prepared to move forward if they have a support system and strong patient-doctor communication.  On today's episode of the Cancer Horizons podcast, Dr. Vaishampayan shares information that's important to understand about RCC and navigating a diagnosis, key questions patients and caregivers should ask their doctor, and insights into a potential dual immunotherapy treatment option for certain patients. When it comes to making a treatment plan, Dr. Vaishampayan believes in involving her patients closely in the process. “In my practice I tend to explain what options are available to someone, including the pros and cons of each, and I sometimes make a recommendation about a treatment approach if I feel that's appropriate in their case,” she explains. “I would still explain the reasons for my choice. My intention is that either way it's a discussion, as it should be a joint or shared decision-making process.” Terry Broussard**, a man who was diagnosed with advanced RCC, also shares advice from his experience. In Terry's case, his doctor recommended the dual immunotherapy treatment combination Opdivo® (nivolumab) plus Yervoy® (ipilimumab), which is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for certain newly diagnosed adults whose kidney cancer has spread (advanced renal cell carcinoma) and have not already had treatment for advanced RCC. It is the first and only combination of two immunotherapies of its kind approved to treat advanced kidney cancer, or RCC. To learn more, listen to the podcast, visit www.Opdivo.com and see below for Important Safety Information. *Dr. Vaishampayan is a paid consultant of Bristol Myers Squibb. Dr. Vaishampayan's statements/opinions are those solely of Dr. Vaishampayan and are not necessarily those of Bristol Myers Squibb. Individual results/experiences may vary. **Terry is an actual patient who has been compensated by Bristol Myers Squibb. Terry's results may not be typical. Medication may not work for everyone. Indication OPDIVO® (nivolumab) is a prescription medicine used in combination with YERVOY® (ipilimumab) to treat adults with kidney cancer in certain people when your cancer has spread (advanced renal cell carcinoma) and you have not already had treatment for your advanced RCC. It is not known if OPDIVO is safe and effective in children younger than 12 years of age with melanoma or MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer. It is not known if OPDIVO is safe and effective in children for the treatment of any other cancers. OPDIVO (10 mg/mL) and YERVOY (5 mg/mL) are injections for intravenous (IV) use. Important Safety Information for OPDIVO® (nivolumab) + YERVOY® (ipilimumab) What is the most important information I should know about OPDIVO + YERVOY? OPDIVO and YERVOY are medicines that may treat certain cancers by working with your immune system. OPDIVO and YERVOY can cause your immune system to attack normal organs and tissues in any area of your body and can affect the way they work. These problems can sometimes become severe or life-threatening and can lead to death. These problems may happen anytime during treatment or even after your treatment has ended. You may have more than one of these problems at the same time. Some of these problems may happen more often when OPDIVO is used in combination with another therapy. Call or see your healthcare provider right away if you develop any new or worse signs or symptoms, including: Lung problems: new or worsening cough; shortness of breath; chest pain Intestinal problems: diarrhea (loose stools) or more frequent bowel movements than usual; stools that are black, tarry, sticky, or have blood or mucus; severe stomach-area (abdominal) pain or tenderness Liver problems: yellowing of your skin or the whites of your eyes; severe nausea or vomiting; pain on the right side of your stomach area (abdomen); dark urine (tea colored); bleeding or bruising more easily than normal Hormone gland problems: headaches that will not go away or unusual headaches; eye sensitivity to light; eye problems; rapid heart beat; increased sweating; extreme tiredness; weight gain or weight loss; feeling more hungry or thirsty than usual; urinating more often than usual; hair loss; feeling cold; constipation; your voice gets deeper; dizziness or fainting; changes in mood or behavior, such as decreased sex drive, irritability, or forgetfulness Kidney problems: decrease in your amount of urine; blood in your urine; swelling in your ankles; loss of appetite Skin problems: rash; itching; skin blistering or peeling; painful sores or ulcers in the mouth or nose, throat, or genital area Eye problems: blurry vision, double vision, or other vision problems; eye pain or redness. Problems can also happen in other organs and tissues. These are not all of the signs and symptoms of immune system problems that can happen with OPDIVO and YERVOY. Call or see your healthcare provider right away for any new or worsening signs or symptoms, which may include: Chest pain; irregular heartbeat; shortness of breath; swelling of ankles Confusion; sleepiness; memory problems; changes in mood or behavior; stiff neck; balance problems; tingling or numbness of the arms or legs Double vision; blurry vision; sensitivity to light; eye pain; changes in eye sight Persistent or severe muscle pain or weakness; muscle cramps Low red blood cells; bruising Getting medical help right away may help keep these problems from becoming more serious. Your healthcare team will check you for these problems during treatment and may treat you with corticosteroid or hormone replacement medicines. Your healthcare team may also need to delay or completely stop your treatment if you have severe side effects. Possible side effects of OPDIVO + YERVOY OPDIVO and OPDIVO + YERVOY can cause serious side effects, including: See “What is the most important information I should know about OPDIVO + YERVOY?” Severe infusion reactions. Tell your healthcare team right away if you get these symptoms during an infusion of OPDIVO or YERVOY: chills or shaking; itching or rash; flushing; shortness of breath or wheezing; dizziness; feel like passing out; fever; back or neck pain Complications, including graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), of bone marrow (stem cell) transplant that uses donor stem cells (allogeneic). These complications can be severe and can lead to death. These complications may happen if you underwent transplantation either before or after being treated with OPDIVO or YERVOY. Your healthcare provider will monitor you for these complications. The most common side effects of OPDIVO, when used in combination with YERVOY, include: feeling tired; diarrhea; rash; itching; nausea; pain in muscles, bones, and joints; fever; cough; decreased appetite; vomiting; stomach-area (abdominal) pain; shortness of breath; upper respiratory tract infection; headache; low thyroid hormone levels (hypothyroidism); constipation; decreased weight; and dizziness. These are not all the possible side effects. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist. You are encouraged to report side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Call 1-800-FDA-1088. Before receiving OPDIVO or YERVOY, tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you: have immune system problems such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or lupus have received an organ transplant have received or plan to receive a stem cell transplant that uses donor stem cells (allogeneic) have received radiation treatment to your chest area in the past and have received other medicines that are like OPDIVO have a condition that affects your nervous system, such as myasthenia gravis or Guillain-Barré syndrome are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. OPDIVO and YERVOY can harm your unborn baby. are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if OPDIVO or YERVOY passes into your breast milk. Do not breastfeed during treatment with OPDIVO or YERVOY and for 5 months after the last dose of OPDIVO or YERVOY. Females who are able to become pregnant: Your healthcare provider should do a pregnancy test before you start receiving OPDIVO or YERVOY. You should use an effective method of birth control during your treatment and for 5 months after the last dose of OPDIVO or YERVOY. Talk to your healthcare provider about birth control methods that you can use during this time. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you become pregnant or think you may be pregnant during treatment with OPDIVO or YERVOY. You or your healthcare provider should contact Bristol-Myers Squibb at 1- 844-593-7869 as soon as you become aware of a pregnancy. Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the- counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Please see U.S. Full Prescribing Information and Medication Guide for OPDIVO and YERVOY.

Charlene Wexler has turned profound grief into a world of stories. Wexler is the Chicago-based author of seven books as well as several short stories. Inspiration for what would become her 2014 debut novel, “Lori,” arrived following the loss of her son, Jeffrey, who received a diagnosis of leukemia in 1977 at the age of eight and died in 1981 at the age of 12. “I always wrote for myself, and writing fiction is a new career. I started about 10 years ago,” said Wexler, who is now 80 years old.  “Cancer has been in our family for years: aunts, uncles, my mother, my grandfather, I had ovarian cancer, right now I have skin cancer. And we've dealt with all of them,” she explained. “And the cancer that really knocked us out was when my 8-year-old son, my firstborn, was diagnosed with leukemia. And we fought at Children's Memorial (Hospital, now known as Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago). We dealt with that, we fought the cancer for four and a half years before he died.  “And during that whole time, I wrote, I kept journals. And then after he died, I was devastated and (I) really couldn't get out of bed.” Then, Wexler started writing. “I took all my stuff together that I had been writing about him, and I wrote a story,” she said. “And I sent it to my sister who reads anything I write, who was there for me the whole time. And she said, 'This is great, but it's too devastating.' She said, 'Why don't you try again? Nobody's going to want to read this. It's just too grief ridden.'” More survivor stories: Former Opera Singer Shares Bone Cancer Journey in New Book Wexler shifted her writing from the first-person to the third-person and moved from memoir into the realm of fiction. “I found (that), my God, I could change it,” she said. “And instead of making him a boy, I made her a girl. And when I first started writing, I thought, 'I'm going to make her survive it.' That (even though) Jeffrey didn't, I'm going to make Julie, the girl in my story, live. But then, as I started writing, I realized I wanted to add what happened to me and how I survived — and how I didn't survive in the beginning. “And then, after I wrote the first draft, I realized the book needed more than just a child dying from leukemia. And all of a sudden, the character Lori became stronger than the child that died. And I felt like there are a lot of issues I can deal with. A third of the book deals with the cancer, and it deals with surviving afterwards.” Also from the “Cancer Horizons” podcast: Mother with Stage 4 Breast Cancer and Her Family 'Focus on the Living' For Wexler, a former teacher who also spent time working in her husband's dental office, “Lori” became the start of the four-book Laughter and Tears series, and her work is currently being re-released via Speaking Volumes. Wexler spoke with CURE®'s “Cancer Horizons” podcast about her cancer journeys, her path to becoming an author and the different challenges faced by patients and caregivers. For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Last week, the European Society of Medical Oncology (EMSO) held their annual Congress in Madrid. The conference brought together cancer researchers from around the globe, who presented their clinical trial data — some of which has the potential to change the way cancers are treated.  For example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves therapies based on study data that proves that the regimen in question is safe, effective and superior to what is currently being used in that indication. While we don't have a crystal ball and can't say for sure if and when the FDA will approve a regimen, we can reflect on data presented at ESMO that we know the agency is considering and give our audience some potential oncology approvals that they should look out for.  Welireg Outperforms Afinitor in Advanced Clear Cell Kidney Cancer The FDA is currently reviewing the phase 3 LIFESPARK-005 trial, comparing Welireg to Afinitor for patients with pretreated advanced clear cell renal carcinoma. Data from LIFESPARK-005, which were presented at the ESMO Congress, showed that Welireg outperformed Afinitor when it came to progression-free survival (that's the time a patient lives after treatment without their disease worsening) and objective response rate (which describes the percentage of patients whose disease shrinks or disappears from treatment). However, there was no significant difference in overall survival (time from treatment unitl death of any cause) observed between the Welireg and Afinitor groups. The FDA is set to make their decision on this Welireg indication by Jan. 17, 2024.  Keytruda Plus Chemoradiotherapy Bests Standard of Care in Advanced Cervical Cancer  Also on the FDA's docket for review is findings from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-A18 trial, investigating the addition of Keytruda to external beam radiotherapy — known as EBRT — and concurrent chemotherapy and followed by brachytherapy, for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed, high-risk locally advanced cervical cancer. Study findings, which were presented at the ESMO Congress, showed that adding the immunotherapy agent to the regimen improved progression-free survival, overall survival and response rates. One expert, Dr. Bradley J. Monk, even commented, “This is a celebration for patients because we're challenging a treatment paradigm that has stood for more than two decades.” The FDA stated that it plans to make its approval decision of Keytruda in this indication by Jan. 20, 2024.  Data Supporting FDA Approval of Pre- and Postsurgical Keytruda for Advanced Lung Cancer Presented Days before ESMO, the FDA also approved Keytruda for the pre- and postsurgical treatment of patients with resectable (able to be removed via surgery) stage 2, 3A or 3B non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).  The approval is based off findings from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-671 trial, which compared treatment with presurgical Keytruda plus chemotherapy followed by postsurgical Keytruda against presurgical placebo plus chemotherapy, followed by placebo. According to the FDA, overall survival (the time from treatment until death of any cause) was not reached in the Keytruda group, meaning not enough patients in that cohort had died to determine an average time until death. The median overall survival time was 52.4 months in the placebo group. Study findings presented at EMSO showed improvements in event-free survival (the time a patient lives without any disease-related occurrences, such as a recurrence/relapse or death), which was also not yet reached among patients in the Keytruda arm of the study. For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

For patients with metastatic breast cancer, the annual October observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month can bring a complex mix of emotions. “I think a lot of the messaging in October tends to focus on pink, and it almost looks a little sparkly,” said Sally Joy Wolf, who first received a diagnosis of breast cancer eight years ago before learning it had metastasized five years ago. Wolf, to be clear, doesn't think there is any malicious intent behind what she described as the “sea of pink” in October. “I really like to believe that everyone who is trying to wait raise awareness or trying to do anything on behalf of anything, any cause, any cancer — but in my case, breast cancer — the intentions are good,” she said. “But there are many points in life where good intentions may not have the intended results simply because people don't have a level of intimate awareness that that comes from being on the inside.” In the U.S., there will be an estimated 297,790 new cases of breast cancer, comprising 15.2% of all new cancer cases, and 43,170 deaths from breast cancer, or 7.1% of all cancer deaths, in 2023 among female patients with breast cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute, which also stated that metastatic breast cancer (cancer which has spread to other parts of the body and is also referred to as stage 4 breast cancer) has a five-year survival rate of 31%. “For me, every month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month,” said Wolf. “Because I am dealing with an appointment or a scan, or medicine refill or an insurance mistake. So even though I am thriving, and really I am flourishing, and living a life that I love and I consider myself healthy … when I'm then looking out at a landscape where everything is pink … it's a little bit like a celebration of how far we've come, of how curable this is, of how early detection is great. And that's all true, decades of awareness have benefited all of us, including me because I'm on medicines that might not otherwise exist, but it's also easy for someone in my shoes to look at the month of October and feel like we don't quite fit. We're not celebrating being cured.” Dr. Dawn Mussallem, a lifestyle medicine and integrative breast cancer specialist at the Robert and Monica Jacoby Center for Breast Health at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, explained how she has observed the ways in which her patients with metastatic breast cancer have felt left out of the broader breast cancer community. “When meeting these women for the first time, they share with me exactly what you are alluding to: the lack of supervised, positive support available for women with metastatic breast cancer, or a community they can belong to with other likeminded women going through the same thing,” Mussallem told CURE® via email. “The narrative shared with these women is different than for women with early-stage breast cancer.  “You see (for) women with early stage 1 to 3 breast cancer, the medical team informs them (that) cancer cure is likely/probable with appropriate treatment; however, women with metastatic breast cancer get told something no one should ever hear because it can, in some situations, dampen any sense of hope: ‘You have stage 4 breast cancer and this is something we can't cure.'” Mussallem, a cancer survivor as well as a bone marrow and heart transplant recipient, pushes back against such messaging. “We can't change the circumstances of a cancer diagnosis,” she said. “It isn't going to just go away. Once it is there, it is there until it is gone. We can succumb to the diagnosis, or we can use it as a springboard of growth, an opportunity to look deeply inward and make each and every breath mean something bigger and better than we ever imagine. It is a shame it takes cancer to do this, but cancer is a magical teacher of life. There is no better way to embrace one's aliveness then to hear those words, ‘You have cancer.' I know because I am a 23-year stage 4 diffuse B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma survivor. My cancer journey allows me to talk openly about the fear of dying and the glory of living now.” Wolf, a longtime New York media executive, is now focused of advocating for wellbeing as a coach, advisor and speaker through LightWorks, where she is the founder and CEO. “Sometimes it's a harder choice than others, but when we choose to see that light, even just like the tiny spark that may exist in a day, it is so helpful, because we come to realize that nothing is unilaterally light or dark or good or bad or all these labels we like to put on them and put on our lives as humans,” she said. “And even cancer, even in a metastatic cancer situation that I wish I weren't in but I am, I can lean into meaning, lean into purpose, lean into gratitude and light. … ‘And I can say, this isn't the life I expected to be leading. And yet, how grateful am I? How fortunate am I to get to live this life and get to make this impact with this card that I've been dealt?' And I'm proud of how I'm playing it, so to speak.” Wolf spoke with CURE's “Cancer Horizons” podcast about her cancer journey so far, her life as a patient with metastatic breast cancer and the importance of life's silver linings. For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

For opera singer Kathleen Watt, a life-changing cancer journey began during an otherwise routine trip to her family dentist. In January of 1997 when Watt was 43 years old, the examination of a bump in the gumline at the back of her upper jaw eventually led to Watt receiving a diagnosis of the bone cancer osteosarcoma, which would be followed by treatment that included chemotherapy and a decade-long process of facial reconstruction. “A small corps of medical elites convened to excoriate my diseased bones with surgical wizardry and lethal toxins,” as Watt described on her website, “and stayed on to restore me to myself through a brutal alchemy of kindness and titanium screws.” Watt had recently begun her third season in the chorus of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City when she received her diagnosis.  Approximately 1,000 new cases of osteosarcoma are diagnosed in the United States each year, and approximately only half of those cases are among adults, according to the American Cancer Society. Osteosarcomas account for approximately 2% of childhood cancers, “but they make up a much smaller percentage of adult cancers,” the American Cancer Society reported. “I think it's common for people who are facing catastrophic illness or in a period of illness that you enter it thinking, ‘This is going to be a hiatus in my life, this is going to be something I'll get through and then I'll get back to my life,'” Watt told CURE®. “If you have a short illness or short, dramatic catastrophe and get it taken care of and you're done with it, it's easy to consider that a hiatus and then you get back to everything.  “I think that the fact that my definitive reconstruction was so protracted over so many years, things kept going wrong, things kept not working, or they would work but not come to complete fruition, (it) was just never definitive, and kept me in a limbo for this long, long trajectory. And I had to think change my thinking from the fact that this was a hiatus or some kind of blank space that would (be) taken out of the flow of my life to a feeling that that this is part of life. Long or short, you're on a train that's taking you through your life, it's a view (that) is part of the landscape that you traveled through on the vehicle of your own energy that propels you (with) the propulsion of life along a track through a landscape which is going to change from catastrophe to joy to resolution to discovery, (it) is all one ride.” Watt shares her story in her new memoir, “Rearranged: An Opera Singer's Facial Cancer and Life Transposed,” which is set to be released on Oct. 10 by Heliotrope Books. That same day, she returns to the stage for a cross-country book tour launching at P&T Knitwear in New York City. (For a full list of tour dates and more information on “Rearranged,” visit kathleenwatt.com.)  “In the years since I was onstage all the time, I really did not notice how much I had retreated into my naturally shy disposition, content to express myself through my kids' Halloween or Spirit Week costumes, etc., avoiding the camera myself,” Watt said. “Then, in the selfie-revolution, and during the pandemic when everyone in the world took to Zoom, I felt myself shrinking from being seen on screen, becoming hyper-aware of my facial difference, such as it is. The ramp-up to this book tour has forced me to get off the dime, get over myself and just show up. I'm reminded of the time-worn advice to young singers, that no one in the audience has come to watch you be frightened, nervous or apologetic. They show up because they want to buy what you're selling. They don't want to see you be nervous or apologetic; they expect to see you succeed. They show up and pay for a ticket because they intend to be moved by what you have to offer.   “This live book tour has required me to call up my performer chops and dust them off, because honestly, I think this cancer journey is actually a success story that people are going to want to hear, and I am privileged to be able to tell.”  In this episode of CURE's “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Watt speaks about the importance of remaining present during treatment and how the notes she and her loved ones took during her cancer journey resulted in “Rearranged” decades later. For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

For Andrew McMahon, a singer-songwriter and cancer survivor, the act of forgetting an anniversary was a good thing. Alongside his band, Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness, he was set to play the inaugural Adjacent festival on the beach in Atlantic City, New Jersey on May 27, part of a daily lineup that included Paramore, Jimmy Eat World and Bleachers.  The date of the festival coincided with a landmark moment in his cancer journey, which began in 2005. Before the end of a tour as part of Jack's Mannequin, he received a diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), for which he eventually underwent treatment with chemotherapy, radiation and a stem cell transplant. “About an hour and a half before the show, I'm working on the setlist,” McMahon told CURE®. “And every day, I do the setlist and then at the top of the setlist I put the city and the date. And I asked somebody, like, ‘What's the date today?' And they said, ‘It's the 27th,' then as I'm typing the date, I realize, ‘Oh, that's the anniversary of when I was put in the hospital.'  “And we were in Atlantic City, and I had been between New Jersey and New York when I did the initial blood work that ended up leading to my hospitalization and eventually my diagnosis. Historically, that has been a very fraught anniversary for me. In the early years … even when I wouldn't realize the anniversary was coming up that weekend, inevitably, I was a mess. … So, being in a place now where I can actually forget those anniversaries, like they can almost pass me by and there's no trigger there, I'm on a healthy footing and that's pretty miraculous.” McMahon founded the Dear Jack Foundation in 2006. The organization supports young adult cancer patients and survivors “through programs that provide support and community to a demographic far too often forgotten,” according to the Dear Jack Foundation website. In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, McMahon speaks with CURE® about life nearly 20 years after receiving his cancer diagnosis, shares the advice he has for patients who have recently received a diagnosis of their own and discusses his newfound love of surfing. “The beauty of surfing is that you just have to you take what you get, right? A lot of it is about learning how to understand what the natural environment around you is doing and then using that to get yourself into just about the greatest feeling that you can have on Earth, which is riding a wave,” McMahon said. “And so, I think it's been very good for me in the sense that it has really hammered home how valuable and how important it is to commune with the natural world.  “And it's also one of just the very few spaces I can think of where whatever's happening in my life and whatever's going on in my business, or things that I might be worried about or afraid of, or whatever, I just don't carry those things into the water with me. And it's not really a conscious thing. It's just once I'm there, you're just present. And I definitely, at this stage of my life — I've always been pretty good about keeping the phone at bay, and I'm not a huge social media guy, I'm not so plugged in, but I'm way more plugged in than I have ever been in my life — having a space where nobody can reach me and I can just do something that so akin to just play playing, I think as adults we don't play as much as we ought to is really good for the brain and I've found a lot of peace in the water for sure.” For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

It's been more than 35 years since Peter Kahan and Dr. Ravi Munver first met. Back then, they were a teacher and his student, respectively. These days, the two men remain connected, but their relationship has evolved — Munver is now a key member of Kahan's bladder cancer care team. “To have to have a somebody who really looks upon you as a friend as (your) doctor, (who) really can see you as more than just another patient is great,” said Kahan, who described his connection with Munver, a urologic oncologist and vice chair of the department of urology at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, as “completely” crucial to his cancer journey. “You know, there are a lot of physicians who are phenomenal,” said Munver. “But when you meet them, to them you're a patient, and they care for you as a patient. It's very different when you either have a personal relationship with a physician, or you have a physician who literally has a motto that says ‘I treat all of my patients like my friends and family,' meaning if Peter walked in the door or a family friend walked in the door or a distant family member walked in the door, I would treat them all exactly the same. One would not get more time or better treatment than another. So, when you have physicians that have that model where they treat every patient as if they were their own family member or friend, you just get a different feel flavor and level of care.” Kahan was Munver's honors physics teacher at the Dwight-Englewood school in northern New Jersey in 1987, where he noted that Munver was “one of my best students. … He was extremely meticulous and careful in his work.” “Of all the sciences that I took — biology, chemistry, physics — physics really came easy to me, because it was math-based,” Munver said. “And I just remember obviously trying to do well in the class, but also enjoying the material. You have a great teacher, a teacher who teaches the material, who loves the material and has a passion for it, it makes that class that much easier and more fun and enjoyable, especially when you're first semester senior applying to college. And once I'd gotten into college, obviously, it was just a continuation of just more fun and learning. So, I really enjoyed class and I think what I remember most about it was it was a topic that was easy for me but enjoyable and very different from all of the other natural sciences.” The two men re-connected years later at a memorial service for a former teacher at Dwight-Englewood. Kahan, retired from teaching and living in upstate New York, discovered blood in his urine in 2019, and he subsequently received a diagnosis of high-grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer from his local urologist. Treatment with the immunotherapy bacillus calmette-guerin (BCG) and the chemotherapy mitomycin inserted directly into the bladder followed. When his cancer recurred, Munver's doctors recommended he seek a cystectomy, or removal of the bladder and prostate, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Kahan reached out to Munver, looking for a second opinion. “As director of minimally invasive and robotic urologic surgery, I'm always looking at novel techniques, novel therapies that can offer patients good results, as well as a great quality of life,” said Munver. “And when Peter had told me about the traditional therapies that were being used, we use them as well. We use BCG. … When BCG fails, many urologists will jump to the next step, which is removal of the bladder. And that's what I learned in residency 22 years ago, and that's what people learned 30 years ago, and that's what people learned 50 years ago, it was that was the only algorithm. “However, a lot has changed, and I wanted to make sure that if he needed his bladder out, that (that) was the right thing to do. And it didn't have to be (done by) with me with robotic surgery, it could have been at any other institution of his choice. But at least I wanted to offer him a second opinion from someone who is in the academic space and knows all of the latest therapies out there.” Munver surgically removed the tumor and treated him with the immunotherapy combination of BCG and interferon. When the tumor returned, Hackensack had received approval for the novel chemotherapy drug combination of gemcitabine and docetaxel, administered in liquid form directly into the bladder. “In combination, the two medicines would really have a cancer cell destroying effect, and the clinical trials have been going on for years but we weren't able to accrue enough patients across the country and across the world to really see a demonstrable effect, we needed at least several year(s' of) data to be able to say, ‘Yes, this works compared to our traditional therapies,'” Munver said. “It's a massive undertaking to bring a new therapy to our patients, and we'd been working on it for months,” Dr. Nitin Yerram, director of urologic research at Hackensack, said in a statement. “Right when we were about to go live, Peter was looking for options.”  Studies have shown that up to half of patients respond to this novel therapy and are able to avoid surgery, Yerram said.  Kahan began treatment with the chemotherapy combination in January 2022, and he tells CURE® it has been approximately a year and a half since any tumors were found, through florescence in situ hybridization (FISH) tests, which check for chromosomal multiplications, have come back positive. “It's not necessarily that there are cancer cells, but there are cells that have a tendency to increase their proliferation. And we often see those in cancer cells,” Munver said. “We have several patients who are on this therapy right now, and several of the patients do have a positive urine test, but there's visibly no evidence of tumor I can see,” said Munver. “And I can see tumors as small as one to two millimeters. … As I mentioned to Peter, if the tumors return, basically the bladder cancer will declare itself and to this point, it is not, and we are just monitoring him very closely. And you know, we cross our fingers and hope that this therapy keeps him with a really good quality of life for many years to come.” In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Kahan and Munver speak with CURE about the importance of their friendship and their decision to embrace a new treatment option. For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Bill C. Potts, author of the book “Up for the Fight,” lends his experiences and knowledge about cancer to his readers as a five-time cancer survivor.  “In September of 2020, I woke up from surgery to remove a really painful tumor in below my right hip,” Potts told CURE® during an exclusive interview. “And I had an emotional breakdown, when I was waking up from the surgery in the recovery room, and they called in the pastor and we talked through a lot of things, including the reasons why I should continue to fight the battle. And at the end of that conversation, the pastor told me that I should turn my pain into purpose and write a book to help others.” In 2002, at 42 years old, Potts received a diagnosis of thyroid cancer. Since then, he has experienced four cases of lymphoma and, most recently, received a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Potts knew he needed to share his story with others, so during chemotherapy treatments, he picked up his laptop and began writing. He grasped the opportunity to urge fellow patients to advocate for themselves, as he learned to do.  Potts, at 63 years old, recently celebrated two years in remission and chooses to live in the moment, spending each day doing what he wants to do. In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Potts speaks with CURE about his cancer journey and his book “Up for the Fight.”  “I'd kept my cancer (a) secret until the book came out. And now that the book is out, it's challenging at times, because it's hard to talk about,” he said. “Sometimes it can be triggering to talk about it, but mostly what I find is that it's rewarding, and the impact that it's having on other cancer patients. So, I would say that it's a responsibility.” Since sharing his story through writing his book, others with similar experiences have also picked it up, which Potts said was encouraging. It further motivated him to promote his book as a guide for patients and their families. Potts told CURE that he especially wanted to promote the book to patients experiencing cancer right after being diagnosis, “so that it can make a difference in their journey.” Potts explained that he didn't have guides to turn to when he was first diagnosed, and emphasized how this book was one he wished someone else had written for him. Or, as he describes it, “there really wasn't that how-to guide out there, like ‘What to Expect When You're Expecting,' but for cancer.” Now, the book has become Potts' purpose.  Potts admitted that he didn't “own his journey” when he was first diagnosed with thyroid cancer. “I let the doctors tell me what to do, and that that decision still may cost me my life,” he said. “So, the first thing is that you have to create the mindset, that this is me, it's my job. And the key part is the job part, to get better and to own the journey, that it's a little bit counterintuitive to a lot of people that you own your journey, not the healthcare team. But the healthcare team appreciates a patient that owns their journey.” In “Up for the Fight,” Potts stresses to his readers that owning their journeys and advocating for themselves is necessary. He told CURE some tips that worked for him: research potential cancer treatment centers, get a second opinion, take notes during appointments, build relationships with care teams, communicate with doctors and care teams, research the drugs and treatments that will be used and ensure proper mental and emotional support.  “I do that through groups on Facebook, which is super helpful, but professional help, like therapists, things like that is also a great way to own your journey,” Potts said during the interview. “And I really have been lucky to get to know a lot of people through the book (who) are owning their journey and that also inspires me (and) gives me hope.” For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

It's been nearly a decade since Christina McAmis began her journey with stage 4 breast cancer. At the time, she was a 32-year-old married mother of three, including twin boys and a baby daughter, and had recently begun studying at a California law school. “All sorts of positive, amazing things were coming together into what I thought was going to be the happiest time of my life,” she told CURE®. While breastfeeding her six-month-old daughter, McAmis found a lump, approximately half of the size of a grain of rice, close to her sternum. Given her family history of breast cancer, McAmis began seeing Dr. Claudia DeYoung, an internist specializing in breast health who runs the Center for Breast Health at the South Sacramento Kaiser Permanente Medical Center. “We had done an ultrasound and determined that it seemed like just a lymph node, I was still nursing so having a lymph node swollen in that area was not surprising,” McAmis said. “I had just started law school, so my nursing schedule had been completely changed because of that (and) my daughter never did ever take a bottle. … And so, we had decided to watch that and if there were changes to let Dr. DeYoung know.” McAmis became wrapped up in law school, and a couple of weeks before midterms she received an emergency phone call while picking up her sons from school. “I needed to come home right away, my townhouse was on fire,” she said. “And literally the townhouse next door burnt down to the ground, we were lucky enough just to sustain some really heavy smoke damage. I spent that night with my 12-month-old — who does not sleep well at other people's houses — at my friend's house.” McAmis had to wake up at 6 a.m. the next day for an appointment with DeYoung, but she was in no mood to do so. “I was like, ‘I'm not doing this. I'm not doing this,'” she said. “But somewhere in the back of my brain was just like, ‘You've got to do this, it needs to just happen.' So, I pulled on my big girl boots and trumped off to Dr. DeYoung's office. And we decided to biopsy at that point, because the mass had not gotten really much bigger, but also had not gone away at all.” Testing determined that McAmis had breast cancer, that the disease was in her lymph nodes and she a lesion on her breastbone, just above her heart. “At that point, we decided to stop playing, (that) this was stage four, that it had metastasized,” she said. Chemotherapy, then surgery to remove her breasts and ovaries, followed. McAmis, now working as an attorney, and DeYoung have reconnected via the Cancer Survivorship Program following McAmis' completion of active treatment as she transitioned to maintenance therapy. “You know, that grain of (rice), pea-sized lump that Christina and her husband had felt, looked on imaging (to be) benign,” DeYoung said. “But it wasn't. … That follow-up is crucial. That follow up by Christina, that follow up by her care team. And so, I'm glad we stayed on it. “And again, there's always hindsight and (you could say) ‘Coulda, woulda, shoulda,' (but) the fact of the matter is we made the best decision at the point in time with the evidence that we had, with the agreement that we're going to monitor this and if it goes away, then great (and) if it doesn't or if it changes then we're going to go down a different route. And we were true to that plan. And thank goodness we were.” In this episode of the CURE “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Christina and Dr. DeYoung discuss her cancer journey and Christina shares how she and her family have navigated it together for the last nine years. “I … told (my children) that right now, we're living,” McAmis said. “I am living, and we're going to focus on the living.” For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

The work continues, and evolves, for the team at Latinas Contra Cancer as the service and advocacy organization working with Latino patients with cancer approaches its 20th anniversary later this year. “The needs have changed,” executive director Darcie Green, who has been with the organization for five years, told CURE®. “It's important for organizations to do this continuous check-in to see, 'Is our mission still needed? Have parts of it been accomplished, have the needs of the people we're serving changed?'” Founded in 2003 by journalist and cancer survivor Ysabel Duron and based in San Jose, California, Latinas Contra Cancer has, according to its website, “educated over 7,500 individuals about cancer, resulting in hundreds of preventive screenings and many early detections.” The organization piloted a patient navigator program at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Sobrato Cancer Center which was purportedly the first of its kind in 2010, trained more than 200 community health educators across the country, hosted National Latino Cancer Summits and opened a wig and prosthesis boutique.  Green's connection to the work of Latinas Contra Cancer is deeply personal. “My grandmother passed away of breast cancer, and while she was battling breast cancer and looking for a support community, she was in the very first support group ever held by LCC,” Green said. “And so, I know firsthand how important that work was at the time, and how really revolutionary it was, even defiant in a way, that patients deserved access to care in their language and in ways that weren't just based out of hospital settings and clinic settings, which can be traumatic for some people, you know, in itself.” Green said that although Latinas Contra Cancer's original mission of health education, research and fostering relationships between patients and providers was largely focused on individual behavior, and that work remains, in the modern medical landscape “the language around culturally and linguistically competent care is very normalized, at least here in the area where we're at. We know there are other places in the country that are lagging far behind. But for where we where we are, it's normalized, and many organizations have patient navigators.” The overall mission, however, has “changed pretty radically” during her time with the organization, as Green explained. “We have evolved to focus much more on systems and still holding up the importance of individual behavior but recognizing that you really can't individual behavior your way out of health injustice and systemic health disparities, that these are less about the problems with patients and more about a healthcare system that is just not adequately meeting the needs of all of its patients,” she said. “And so, as we have started to look more at systems, and how we could have patients doing everything right — like my grandmother, right, everything was healthy: healthy lifestyle, maintaining a healthy diet, didn't smoke, drink, didn't do any of those things — and (they) still got breast cancer. … We're still doing service providing, we're still doing health education and patient navigation and patient advocacy, and all of those programs have evolved as you would expect. And we've added this other space of programming that is our first venture into what's not service providing outside of research. And so, we are full speed ahead into this area of patient organizing.” In this episode of CURE's “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Green tells us about the evolving mission of Latinas Contra Cancer and story of the organization's Defensoras health advocacy cohort, a 10-week training program launched in 2021. “As an organization, we have been very much changed by the (COVID-19) pandemic, because our population is the medically vulnerable, immunocompromised folks, and Latino and low-income,” Green said. “And in this area, we know that the Latino community was hit the hardest economically as well. And so ethically, our response to that has been: 'It's not enough just to help people navigate health disparity. It's not enough just to help people navigate what we know to be a completely predictable, preventable injustice. We have to eliminate it.' And not we as LCC, not we the individual employees at LCC, we have to start holding space for patients to become powerful, and to eliminate those disparities for themselves.” For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

William S. Laird gives readers an enlightening, inspiring and unflinching look at his journey with appendiceal cancer in the memoir “Not Me, Cancer,” now available via Archway Publishing. “I wrote this book when I was on chemo,” Laird tells CURE. “And I told my wife one day, I said, ‘I'm gonna write a book about this experience.' And of course, I got a pump on my side, and she's looking at me like I'm a little bit crazy, because I'm not an author. And she was kind of like ‘Oh well,' or not kind of believing it. “But two weeks later, I started typing and I journaled my story, and not my whole story but I took it to a point where I felt I made my points. And I felt like God tapped me on the shoulder to write this book. He helped me write it. And I think there's good messaging in it.” Laird first received a diagnosis of appendiceal cancer in 2015. In the nearly decade since, he has undergone 35 rounds of chemotherapy and counting as well as procedures including a surgical debulking via HIPEC (hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy) — or, as he puts it: “Basically you're cut open, pelvis to sternum, and they take all your insides out, and if there's anything in there they don't like they take it out, and they kind of put you back together and run 107 degree chemo therapy through your abdomen for an hour and a half with nurses pushing on your abdomen to get it in every crack and crevice.” In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Laird speaks with CURE about his decision to share his story, his cancer journey so far and the importance of perseverance. “Now, it's a rare cancer, I don't know if it ever goes away, I'm gonna try to outfight it,” he said. “But I never look at the situation like this is the end of me. I don't. It's just (that) this is a bump in the road, it's supposed to be part of my life, and I deal with it. “I'll get chemo, sometimes I'll be at work the next day. And people see I really push. And so I don't do things traditionally. And I even see it when people find out I've got cancer, they are ‘Oh, no,' like, ‘Oh, that's the end,' but to me, it isn't. It's just part of my life, and I'm a fighter.” Early in “Not Me, Cancer,” Laird makes a clear case for sharing his story of survivorship, writing that “all of what we know and experience from others can have a personal impact on each of us if we are faced with the same cancer challenges.” “I'm a human, I care about my fellow humans,” he tells CURE, “and if I can have an impact on this planet, and make a difference for people, which I believe I can, then I feel like I'm kind of gifted a little bit. … If by my example I can help others, to me, that's the most important thing that I can do in my lifetime.” For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Mike Peters, the singer and guitarist of Welsh rockers The Alarm, gives fans an inside perspective of his cancer journey on “Forwards,” the band's new album arriving via The Twenty First Century Recording Company on June 2. Peters wrote his band's latest LP while hospitalized for leukemia — often using members of his care team as an unofficial sounding board for the new material. Peters' two-month hospital stay in 2022 was the latest chapter of his cancer journey. He received a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 1995, then chronic lymphocyte leukemia in 2005, which relapsed in 2015.  In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Peters tells CURE® about his cancer journey, the creation of “Forwards” and returning to the North Wales Cancer Centre, the hospital where he was treated, to film the music video for “Next.” This episode features excerpts from the singles “Forwards,” “Next” and “Whatever” by The Alarm from the Twenty First Century Recording Company release “Forwards.”

There's no stopping Dr. Dawn Mussallem. Mussallem — a lifestyle medicine and integrative breast cancer specialist at the Robert and Monica Jacoby Center for Breast Health at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida — is a cancer survivor, a recipient of both bone marrow and heart transplants, a mother and a marathon runner. Mussallem explained to CURE® how her own life experiences have helped her connect with patients on health journeys of their own. “Going through what you go through, it really gives you the ability to connect with people,” she said. “It's such a gift, that ability to connect, and really kind of be able to have a good sense or intuition, if you may, of where they're at in their cancer journey, and just to be able to be there with them, and that time of vulnerability. And so, it's given me the ability to have a good pulse on exactly where I need to be with a patient.” When she was 26 and in the early months of medical school, Mussallem began experiencing shortness of breath and fatigue. One doctor told her she had asthma, another concurred and a third said it was all in her head. A few days later, she collapsed on her way home from class — she was in cardiogenic shock, and her heart wasn't pumping. Doctors found a 16-centimeter mass in her chest wrapped around her heart that had collapsed her left lung. She was diagnosed with stage 4, large diffuse B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and was told she had three months to live if she didn't start treatment immediately, she recounted. Surgery, chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant followed. And life continued for her. She began her career in medicine, gave birth to a daughter who's now 19 and, three weeks later, began experiencing heart failure. Mussallem spent 18 years in heart failure. During that time, she stayed as active as possible, worked with her patients and volunteered at the National Marathon to Finish Breast Cancer operated by the DONNA Foundation, an organization which financially assists and supports patients with breast cancer and funds breast cancer research. “I remember working here in the Breast Center with my breast cancer patients and volunteering at the DONNA Marathon because I couldn't run — I couldn't walk it with the heart failure,” Mussallem said. “And I remember just thinking, ‘Oh, my gosh, I would give anything one day to be able to run this. If or when I get a transplant, I'll be good enough to do that.'” The transplant happened in February of 2021, and exactly one year to the day later, Mussallem crossed the marathon's finish line. In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Mussallem talks with CURE® about her DONNA Marathon training experience her connection with her patients and the importance of physical activity for patients during their cancer journey. “For 18 years, I wanted to do what I did … but I had to hold back because I knew I only had so much to give,” she said. “And now I can just give and give and give because I feel great. I gotta get rid of my energy.” For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

It took a 15-minute doctor's appointment to change Shannon Miller's life.  Miller, a two-time Olympic gymnast who earned seven medals, was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer in January 2011. She first had surgery to have a baseball-sized tumor removed from her ovary before undergoing aggressive chemotherapy.    Throughout this experience, she tapped into her competitive and hardworking nature as an athlete to get her through the experience.  “There are so many lessons that I learned through sport that applied very directly to my cancer journey. I think goal setting was a big part of that,” Miller, who was also the keynote speaker at the 2023 Extraordinary Healer® award, said in an interview with CURE®. “They give you a sense of accomplishment along the way.”  READ MORE: Abbey Kaler, M.S., APRN, FNP-C, CMSRN, Wins CURE®'s 2023 Extraordinary Healer® Award However, when treatment ended, that did not mean the cancer experience was over, Miller explained.  “(During) that next phase post-treatment … part of that journey of trying to figure out this new normal, and figuring out how to make sure not only I was mentally prepared for the next phase, but people around me around me were prepared for that as well,” Miller explained. “Because it's not like you finish treatment and the next day, you're 100% you have to give yourself some grace, give yourself some time to heal and try to figure out your next steps.” In this episode of the Cancer Horizons podcast, Miller discussed her cancer diagnosis, how she took her athlete mindset to cancer and beyond and one oncology nurse who helped her through it all.   For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Before being diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer at the age of 34, Jennifer Broxterman was constantly told that she was young and healthy — but the registered dietitian knew that something was off. 

At the time of her cervical cancer diagnosis in 2015, Emily Lynn Paulson was involved in a multi-level marketing (MLM) company — a business where individuals sign up to sell products, and then are encouraged to recruit others to distribute under them.  “When I got the diagnosis, I thought ‘OK, I'm going to have to step back and take a break from this,” Paulson said in an interview with CURE®. “I was really encouraged by the people in my upline (saying), ‘Use this to your advantage. You're going through this thing. People love personal stories, people love vulnerability.'”  After Paulson was diagnosed, others in the company encouraged her to use her diagnosis to sell more products; she said that this type of emotional manipulation was not an uncommon tactic to make more money.  READ MORE: The Dark Side of Cancer and Social Media Meanwhile, Paulson underwent a trachelectomy (cervix removal) and was working on getting sober after her bout with cancer. Two years later, she received a second diagnosis, which led to a hysterectomy, and more doubt about the company she was working for. Eventually, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, she said she realized how predatory these sales tactics were and left the company to become a sobriety coach and author of the book, “Hey Hun: Sales, Sisterhood, Supremacy, and the Other Lies Behind Multilevel Marketing.”  “Being in an MLM, you really target people's pain points… there's a solution to every pain point; it's just a very predatory design,” she said.  In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Paulson discusses her cancer experience, life in the MLM, sobriety and more.  For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Teri Griege completed an Ironman triathlon in 2009, and less than a month later received a stage 4 colorectal cancer diagnosis. In this episode of Cancer Horizons, she shared her story. 

In this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, “Rabbi G” discusses his global travels to teach breathwork to children with cancer, and gives an exercise listeners can use to decrease their pain and anxiety. 

Lung cancer survivor Terri Conneran shares her story of creating a non-profit to help connect with fellow patients and survivors who have the KRAS biomarker. 

A childhood cancer survivor now works raising funds for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the same hospital where she received treatment for Ewing sarcoma at 12 years old.  

When Sean Korbitz was a 20-year-old college student, his life trajectory changed with a rare cancer diagnosis, resulting in the removal of 40 tumors; fifteen years later, a new drug made him feel like a “medical miracle.”  

After Marshall Morris was diagnosed with a rare cancer and given only six months to live, he created a charity that empowers people with terminal illness and provides them with counseling and support. 

A nurse shares what it was like when her daughter was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

A 17-year survivor shares her experience getting diagnosed with mesothelioma, a rare and deadly cancer, at 36, when people with this cancer are typically diagnosed at a much older age and given months to live. 

For Tara Rolle, the treatment was the easy part of her cancer experience.  Diagnosed with small-cell neuroendocrine cervical cancer, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, at 37, Rolle was initially shocked but then jumped into planning mode. She rallied her family for support, figured out the most appropriate way to explain the situation to her teenage daughter and even managed to continue her job as a San Francisco school superintendent while undergoing treatment.  At The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Rolle received overlapping cancer treatment. After undergoing six rounds of chemotherapy, 30 rounds of external-beam radiation and three brachytherapies (when radioactive sources are placed inside the patient to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors), Rolle was officially declared free of cancer in July 2020 — five months after first being diagnosed.  While Rolle's family was relieved and ready to move on, Rolle was unable to join them.  Fears of cancer recurrence plagued her, and she found herself taking long walks and writing down these thoughts, which she dubbed “the white noise of survivorship,” in an attempt to give them less power over her mindset.  Realizing that these long messages could help communicate her feelings of anxiety to her family and help other survivors in similar situations, Rolle decide to put them into a book, “The White Noise of Survivorship: and Other Unsolicited Lessons I Learned From Cancer.” In today's episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Rolle shares the unexpected upsides of undergoing cancer treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, why she chose to not initially go public with her diagnosis, how writing her book helped process her fears of cancer recurrence and more.   For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.

Kelly Thomas wasn't expecting to be on this side of the breast cancer experience.  Thomas worked in finance and the company she was employed at regularly partnered with the American Cancer Society. Throughout the years, she routinely volunteered to collect donations for the American Cancer Society during breast cancer walks.      Despite not having a family history of breast cancer, she remained diligent about self-exams but never noticed anything. Everything changed one December morning in 2017, when she sat down to watch TV and felt a large lump on her left breast. Thomas, who was 33 at the time, immediately made an appointment to see her gynecologist who then referred her to get a mammogram.  A week later, she was diagnosed with stage 3 triple-negative breast cancer. In today's episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, Thomas breaks down her journey from volunteer to patient to advocate, the isolation she felt navigating breast cancer as a younger woman, starting an Instagram account to promote positive stories of patients living with triple-negative breast cancer and more.      For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don't forget to subscribe to CURE®'s newsletters here.