Breakthrough Clinical Results
RWJBarnabas Health and Rutgers Cancer Institute will present 45 abstracts and presentations at the 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting. Research highlights include a multisite randomized trial showing improvements in psychosocial outcomes for young adults with cancer, a study evaluating pathologic complete response in HER2-positive breast cancer, and an analysis of targetable genetic alterations in cancer of unknown primary (CUP) using liquid biopsy. The presentations cover various cancer types and explore topics such as improving clinical trial participation and the impact of biopsies on trial participation. The research showcases advancements in personalized oncology care and highlights the institutions' commitment to improving cancer outcomes.
Key Highlights
- Statistically significant improvements in depression, anxiety, and quality of life in young adults with cancer using a problem-solving intervention.
- Geographic and socioeconomic barriers significantly impact breast cancer clinical trial participation.
- Neoadjuvant THP led to pathologic complete response (pCR) in a significant percentage of HER2-positive breast cancers.
- Liquid biopsy identified targetable genetic alterations in nearly 30% of CUP patients.
Incidence and Prevalence
Global Cancer Estimates
The provided context does not contain information about the latest global estimates of cancer incidence and prevalence from PubMed. While the context mentions that there are various cancer statistics and studies available, these only cover specific populations or countries rather than comprehensive worldwide data.
The context indicates that the available information primarily focuses on:
- Genetic correlations between different cancer types
- Cancer risk factors in specific populations
- Cancer-related research activity by country
- Various cancer-specific studies
None of these sources provide the comprehensive global statistics on cancer incidence and prevalence that would be needed to answer the query properly.
Key Unmet Needs and Targeted Populations in Cancer Research
Unmet Needs in Cancer Research and Treatment
Cancer remains a serious healthcare problem despite improvements in early detection and treatment, with several critical unmet needs identified in recent publications:
- Novel biomarkers for diagnosis and therapeutic strategies are urgently needed
- Tumor heterogeneity is a main cause of therapeutic failure, presenting an ongoing challenge in cancer treatment
- The inefficiency of current therapeutic strategies is due to cancer stem cells that cause chemotherapy resistance, relapse, and metastasis
- Cancer-initiating cells (CIC) are the main potential target for anticancer therapy, but identifying molecular therapeutic targets in CIC from primary tumors is extremely difficult
- Metastasis prevention should be a focus of anticancer therapy
- Screening for cancer is only successful in one of three biologic subgroups that emerge for many cancers
Key Targets in Cancer Research
Recent research has identified multiple promising targets for cancer therapy:
- Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are aberrantly expressed in tumors and show crosstalk with key cancer-related signaling pathways
- The tumor microenvironment offers multiple targets for cancer therapy, including inflammation
- Hypoxia, metabolism changes, angiogenesis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, migration, and invasion are all key targets
- In pancreatic cancer, KRAS and CDKN2A have mutation incidence exceeding 90%, suggesting dual targeting of MEK and CDK4/6 as a potential therapeutic strategy
- Adenosquamous carcinoma models showed high synergy response to combination treatment of trametinib and palbociclib to inhibit MEK and CDK4/6
Targeted Populations and Cancer Types
Several specific populations and cancer types are being particularly targeted:
- Head and neck cancer (HNC) patients, which constitute 5% of all reported cancers
- Patients with oral cavity cancer, being the most frequent type (over half of HNC cases)
- Individuals at risk for mouth cancer, which ranks as the sixth leading cause of cancer-related mortality
Emerging Approaches
Novel approaches to cancer diagnosis and treatment include:
- Liquid biopsy allowing real-time assessment of the evolving landscape of cancer through rapid and non-invasive methods
- Natural product derivatives, which account for almost 75% of anticancer agents used in chemotherapy
The research indicates a growing focus on personalized medicine approaches that account for tumor heterogeneity and target specific molecular pathways, with particular attention to cancer-initiating cells and the prevention of metastasis.
Recent Studies
Recent Cancer Studies, Interventions, and Outcomes
Network Meta-Analysis of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Brain Metastases
This analysis examined 18 studies representing 17 trials (2,726 patients) investigating various immune checkpoint inhibitor regimens. The study showed significant improvement in overall survival with immune checkpoint inhibitors compared to chemotherapy alone, with particularly strong results for: - Pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy (HR 0.36, 95% CI 0.21-0.62) - Atezolizumab alone (HR 0.54, 95% CI 0.33-0.89) - Nivolumab and ipilimumab (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.42-0.97)
Additionally, pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy improved overall progression-free survival (HR 0.42, 95% CI 0.26-0.68).
THOR Trial - Erdafitinib vs. Chemotherapy
This global phase 3 trial focused on metastatic urothelial carcinoma with FGFR3/2 alterations. The study compared erdafitinib versus chemotherapy (docetaxel or vinflunine) with 266 patients randomized (136 to erdafitinib, 130 to chemotherapy).
Efficacy outcomes: - Median overall survival was significantly longer with erdafitinib (12.1 months vs. 7.8 months; HR 0.64; 95% CI, 0.47-0.88; P=0.005) - Median progression-free survival was longer with erdafitinib (5.6 months vs. 2.7 months; HR 0.58; 95% CI, 0.44-0.78; P<0.001)
Safety outcomes: - Similar grade 3-4 treatment-related adverse events (45.9% vs. 46.4%) - Fewer treatment-related deaths with erdafitinib (0.7% vs. 5.4%)
Disulfiram/Copper Study in Gastric Cancer
This study investigated disulfiram (DSF) alone or in combination with copper (Cu) using in vitro and in vivo nude mice studies. Key findings included:
Efficacy: - DSF/Cu inhibited glycolysis and xenograft growth of gastric cancer cells
Safety: - DSF was highly toxic to gastric cancer cells in a Cu-dependent manner
Mechanism: - Suppression of S6K1, c-Myc, and downstream molecules (GLUT1, PKM2, and LDHA)
Study on Myocardial Infarction in Cancer Patients
This retrospective study conducted at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (2000-2006) investigated medical therapy (aspirin, β-blockers) for cancer patients with MI.
Safety/Efficacy outcomes: - Aspirin use was associated with 23% decreased risk of death (HR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.60-0.98, P = 0.033) - β-blocker use was associated with 36% decreased risk of death (HR: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.51-0.81, P = 0.0002) - Advanced cancer patients were twice as likely to die compared to limited cancer patients (HR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.47-3.04, P < 0.0001)