New cancer diagnoses did not rebound as expected following pandemic

 A recent study appearing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute indicates "little evidence of a rebound in incidence" with regards to a decline in cancer diagnosis during 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.  After scrutinizing 5 major cancer types (breast, prostate, lung, pancreatic, thyroid),  "cancer incidence rates overall [in 2021] for most specific cancers approached pre-pandemic levels", with the exception of breast cancer and pancreatic cancer, which showed an increase, while thyroid cancer diagnoses fell below pre-pandemic levels.  As such, 2021 has been considered "a transition year that was still affected by new variants and new waves of COVID-19 cases." 

Source mentioned: 

1. Howlader N, Chen H-S, Noone A-M, et al. Impact of COVID-19 on 2021 Cancer Incidence Rates and Potential Rebound from 2020 DeclineExit Disclaimer. JNCI. September 24, 2024. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djae180.

Immunotherapy after surgery helps people with high-risk bladder cancer live cancer-free longer

 A recently completed clinical trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicates that treatment with an immunotherapy drug "may nearly double the length of time people with high-risk muscle-invasive bladder cancer are cancer-free following surgical removal of the bladder."  According to Dr. Andrea Apolo from the National Cancer Institute, the drug in question, pembrolizumab, extension of the cancer-free period makes a considerable difference in the patient's quality of life.  

To read more about this trial, click here. 

Source mentioned: 

1. Apolo AB, Ballman KV, Sonpavde G, et al. Adjuvant Pembrolizumab versus Observation in Muscle-Invasive Urothelial Carcinoma.Exit Disclaimer NEJM. September 15, 2024. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2401726.

Breastfeeding after breast cancer is safe

 Results from 2 studies presented at the recent ESMO Congress 2024 in Lugano, Switzerland, indicate that there is "no increase in recurrence or new breast cancers in women who breastfeed after being treated for breast cancer." These findings provide the first evidence on breastfeeding in patients with a BRCA mutation.  Results from one of the studies dhows that of the 518 women who paused breast cancer treatment to have a baby, "317 had at least one live birth..and 62% breastfed."  The rate of breast cancer recurrence after 2 years was 3.6% in women who breastfed vs. 3.1% in those that did not.  

To learn more about these studies, click here. 

Sources mentioned: 

1. Lambertini M, Magaton IM, Hamy-Petit A-S et al. Safety of assisted reproductive techniques in young BRCA carriers with a pregnancy after breast cancer: results from an international cohort study. Abstract 266O presented at ESMO Breast Cancer 2024.
2. Partridge AH, Niman SM, Ruggeri M et al. Interrupting endocrine therapy to attempt pregnancy after breast cancer. NEJM 2023; 388: 1645-1656
3. 
   
4. Lambertini M, Blondeaux E, Agostinetto E et al. Pregnancy after breast cancer in young BRCA carriers. An international hospital-based cohort study. JAMA 2024; 331: 49-59

Potential of molecular profiling to refine surgical and radiotherapy decision-making in patients with meningioma

 Findings from the RTOG-0539 study, the largest meningioma cohort with multiplatform molecular ever conducted, was recently published in Nature Medicine.  Using retrospective data on 2,824 meningiomas, researchers found that "gross tumour resection was associated with longer progression-free survival across all molecular groups and longer overall survival in proliferative meningiomas." 

Click here to learn more about this study. 

Source mentioned: 

Wang JZ, Patil V, Landry AP, et al. Molecular classification to refine surgical and radiotherapeutic decision-making in meningioma. Nature Medicine; Published online 21 August 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03167-4