ICYMI: Top Content From ASCO 2022

The 2022 annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held June 3-7 in Chicago, Illinois, presented new trial data, research developments, and the launch of a global quality initiative. The meeting’s theme was “Advancing Equitable Cancer Care Through Innovation.”

Here are the conference highlights from ASCO 2022.

Inovio's DNA Vaccine Combo Plus Cemiplimab Shows Promise in Glioblastoma

Findings presented during ASCO showed promising overall survival for a new method of delivering the checkpoint inhibitor cemiplimab in patients who have glioblastoma. The results involve a pair of DNA medicines combined with cemiplimab, with a goal of priming a T-cell response in the patient before they receive radiation.

“We saw a good safety profile and some encouraging survival benefit, but this clearly needs to be definitively evaluated in a randomized clinical trial,” David A. Reardon, MD, clinical director, Center for Neuro-Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Massachusetts, said during his presentation.

Dr Randall A. Oyer: Clinical Trials Must Be Accessible to Everyone

Randall A. Oyer, MD, medical director, oncology, and medical director, Cancer Risk Evaluation Program, Lancaster General Health, and clinical professor of cancer biology at Penn Medicine, discussed the recent ASCO/Association of Community Cancer Centers recommendations for improving diversity in clinical trials.

“We’re not going to be where we want to be in cancer care, nor where we know we can be in cancer care, without improving on clinical trials, and improving on clinical trials means that they’re accessible to everyone,” he said in an interview.

Trastuzumab Deruxtecan Cuts Risk of Disease Progression or Death by 50% for Patients With HER2-Low Metastatic Breast Cancer

The data from the DESTINY-Breast04 study garnered a standing ovation and were considered practicing changing. The study showed that trastuzumab deruxtecan offered significant progression-free survival and overall survival benefits compared with chemotherapy in patients who were categorized as having human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2)–low metastatic breast cancer.

According to Debra Patt, MD, PhD, MBA, executive vice president for health care policy and strategic initiatives at Texas Oncology and a breast cancer treatment expert, who was not involved in the study, the population that stands to benefit from these results is large.

Dr Thanos Zomas: Hodgkin Lymphoma Outcomes Improve With Targeted Treatment

Updated results from the ECHELON-1 study showed significantly improved mortality risk and 6-year survival rate in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma when brentuximab vedotin was added to first-line chemotherapy, explained Thanos Zomas, MD, global medical lead, Lymphoma and Leukemia, and global medical lead, Adcetris Program, Takeda Oncology.

Hodgkin lymphoma is a rare form of lymphoma, and 20% to 30% of patients relapse after their initial therapy and require more treatment that can be intensive and repetitive.

See the rest of the coverage from ASCO 2022.