Use of immune checkpoint inhibitors safe and effective in cancer patients with HIV and on antiretroviral therapy

 A recently conducted retrospective study by the Cancer Therapy Using Checkpoint Inhibitors in People Living with HIV-International (CATCH0IT) Consortium determined that immune checkpoint inhibitors were found to be safe and had "differential activity across tumour types."  CATCH-IT enrolled 390 cancer patients with HIV into their cohort, "who received anti-PD-1 or anto-PD-L1 therapies and evaluated the safety and activity." This cohort was unique, as patients with HIV are at higher risk for developing cancer, due to dysfunctional immune systems.   The 3 most common cancer identified in the cohort included non-small-cell lung cancer (28%), hepatocellular carcinoma (11%), and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (10%).  While the study authors acknowledged the relatively small sample size for this study, the results do support "the growing body of evidence [among] the use of ICIs [in] patients with HIV to enhance their inclusion in clinical studies." 

To read more about this study, click here.

Source mentioned: 

El Zarif T, Nassar AH, Adib E, et al. Safety and Activity of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in People Living With HIV and Cancer: A Real-World Report From the Cancer Therapy Using Checkpoint Inhibitors in People Living With HIV-International (CATCH-IT) Consortium. JCO; Published online 16 May 2023. DOI: 10.1200/JCO.22.02459

New study shows mortality rates for most cancers decreasing globally, except liver cancer in men and lung cancer in women increasing

A new study conducted by the American Cancer Society has found a downward trend in mortality rates for major cancers worldwide, with the exception of liver cancer in men and lung cancer in women.  According to Dr. Ahmedin Jemal, senior author of the study, "these findings reinforce the importance of strengthening the health systems not only in resource-limited countries but also in high-income countries across the world for broad and equitable implementation of known cancer prevention and control interventions."   24 countries in the study reported higher mortality rates from lung cancer in women, with the highest increase noted in Spain (4.3%), Uruguay (3.7%), and Greece (3.2%).  For men, highest increases in liver cancer were found in Ireland (5.8%), Norway (5.3%), and Malta (4.8%), increases which have been attributed to hepatitis C infection, and nonviral etiology, including obesity, diabetes, and heavy alcohol consumption.  

To read more about this study, click here. 

ESMO launches living guidelines to enhance the usability in routine cancer patient care

 A recent press release from the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) announces the release of the ESMO Living Guidelines, "a new tool designed to make [guidelines] easier to use in oncologists' routine clinical practice and support optimal decision-making in a rapidly evolving medical field." The guidelines provide an overview of patient management, including decision-making algorithms and key recommendations; they are to be considered a supplement to the ESMO Clinical Practice Guidelines, which remain the key "reference source for the optimal management of each tumour type and disease setting."  

To read more about these guidelines, click here.  

Initial results of the CanScreen5, an authentic data repository for cancer screening globally

Findings from a 3 year analysis of CanScreen5, a world-wide cancer screening data repository with contributions from 84 countries and launched by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) were recently published in Nature Medicine.   Focusing on screening programs for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer, CanScreen5 unveiled "large variability...regarding compliance to further assessment of screening programmes and detection rates reported for precancerous and cancers."  Screening coverage for breast cancer ranged from 1.7% in Bangladesh to 85.5% in England; for cervical cancer screening, programs range from 2.1% in the Ivory Coast to 86.3% for Sweden, while colorectal cancer screening programs ranged from 0.6% in Hungary to 64.5% in the Netherlands. 

To read more about the CanScreen5 study, click here. 

Sources mentioned: 

Zhang L, Mosquera I, Lucas E, et al. & CanScreen5 collaborators. CanScreen5, a global repository for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening programs. Nature Medicine; Published online 27 April 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02315-6

Wang F, Dong X, Li N. A call to improve the quality of screening programs. Nature Medicine; Published online 27 April 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02305-8

Patients diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy may have increased risk of mortality

 A recently completed population-based cohort study at the University of Calgary's Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology indicates that patients diagnosed with cancer while pregnant "had elevated mortality, but this association was not consistent across all cancer sites."  According to Dr. Amy Metcalfe and colleagues, cancer is the 2nd leading cause of death in premenopausal women, attributable to "increases in delayed childbearing, , improvements in diagnostic testing, awareness of genetic risk factors and subsequent screening, and expansion of population-based screening programs."  Further, only 25% of cancers are diagnosed during pregnancy; 75% of diagnoses occur in the postpartum period. 

To read more about this study, click here. 

Source mentioned: Cairncross ZF, Shack L, Nelson G, et al. Long-term Mortality in Individuals Diagnosed With Cancer During Pregnancy or Postpartum. JAMA Oncology; Published online 6 April 2023. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2023.0339.