Aiming to improve cancer prevention, ESMO calls for strong policy measures to fight the tobacco epidemic

 The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) recently submitted its response to the European Union in regards to the Tobacco Products and Tobacco Advertising directives.  As per ESMO, "up to 40% of all cancers are preventable...robust tobacco cessation policies are among the most effective strategies for reducing the risk of cancer, improving human health, and reducing cancer cases."  According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 7 000 000 million people worldwide die from tobacco use each year (700,000 deaths in Europe alone), contributing to 25% of all cancer-related deaths.  

Click here to read the full ESMO report. 

European Parliament (EP) draft report on Psychosocial Risks at Work (PSR) as a critical opportunity to protect the wellbeing of the cancer workforce

The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) recently unveiled a draft report on "preventing work-related psychosocial risks that can lead to burnout in oncologists."  Targeted measures mentioned in the report include adequate staffing levels, worker control over workload, flexible scheduling, limits on overtime, and enhanced job security.   

Click here to read the draft report. 

Overall survival not substantially improved with CDK4/6 inhibitors used in first- compared with second-line treatment in Patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer

 Findings from SONIA, a phase III Dutch study comparing "the sequence of an aromatase inhibitor plus CDK4/6 inhibitor as first-line treatment followed by fulvestrant as second-line treatment (CDK4/6 inhibitor first-line group") did not improve overall survival compared with second-line treatment. Rather, this treatment regimen increased treatment-related and financial toxic effects in patients with HR-positive HER-2 negative advanced breast cancer.  Following an analysis of 1050 patients enrolled in SONIA, median overall survival was 47.9 months with first-line CDK4/6 inhibitor and 48.1 months with second-line CDK4/6 inhibitor  

To learn more about the SONIA study, click here. 

Sources mentioned: 

• Wortelboer N, van Ommen-Nijhof A, Konings IR, et al. Overall Survival With First-Line vs Second-Line CDK4/6 Inhibitor Use in Advanced Breast Cancer A Randomized Clinical Trial  JAMA Oncology; Published online 19 February 2026. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2025.6585
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• Valenza C, Burstein HJ. Lessons From the SONIA Trial on Timing of CDK4/6 Inhibitors in Advanced Breast Cancer—The Sooner, the Better? JAMA Oncology; Published online 19 February 2026. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2025.6345

Trustworthy and explainable AI – a key to equitable oncology

Trustworthiness of artificial intelligence (AI) applications and validating data analysis in cancer care was recently discussed at the ESMO Women for Oncology Forum.  

Click here to read about an interview with Alessandra Pedrocchi, founder of the laboratory for oncology at the National Cancer Institute in Milan.  

Structured exercise enters ESMO guidelines for colon cancer as recommended treatment

 The European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) has released an update to their colon cancer guidelines, whereby "physical activity, when personalized and delivered as a structured program" is now recommended...for patients with resected stage III or high-risk stage II colon cancer." Over a period of 3 years, 889 stage III or stage II high-risk colon cancer patients enrolled in the CHALLENGE study saw significant improvements in disease-free survival over 5 years (80.3%) compared to 73.9% of patients who received health education materials and standard surveillance with no structured exercise program. 

Click here to learn more about the CHALLENGE study. 

Biological mechanism enabling breast cancer to spread to the brain uncovered

Researchers from the Gray Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences in Tel Aviv, in partnership with researchers in 14 laboratories in Israel, USA, Italy, Germany, Poland, and Austria, have uncovered "a mechanism that allows breast cancer to send metastases to the brain - a highly lethal occurrence for which there is currently no effective treatment."   Following injection of cancer cells with or without functional gene P53, results indicated that "cells with disrupted P53 activity thrived much more." These findings are crucial towards developing new drugs and personalized monitoring for early detection and treatment of brain metastases. 

Click here to learn more. 

Source: 

Laue K, Pozzi S, Zerbib J, et al. p53 inactivation drives breast cancer metastasis to the brain through SCD1 upregulation and increased fatty acid metabolism. Nat Genet. Published online December 29, 2025. doi:10.1038/s41588-025-02446-1

Sun safety declining in Canada amid rise in skin cancer cases

 A recently completed study from McGill University indicates a growing number of Canadians using less sun protection amidst increasing sun exposure time, resulting in rising cases of melanoma.  According to the study, "75% of adult Canadians reported spending at least 30 minutes in the sun...with nearly half staying out for 2 hours or more".  In addition, most of the Canadians polled admitted to irregular or no use of sunscreen, with 33% of those polled experiencing sunburn. 

To learn more about this study, click here. 

Source mentioned: 

Amina Moustaqim-Barrette, Hibo Rijal, Santina Conte, Mahan Maazi, Johnny Hanna, Alexandra Sarah Victoria Kelly, Alicia Belaiche, Alyson McKenna, Sandra Pelaez, François Lagacé, Ivan V Litvinov - Evaluating UV exposure and skin cancer prevention behaviours in Canada: a national population-based cross-sectional study: BMJ Public Health 2025;3:e001983.

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.

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
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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

NCI researchers develop approach that could help supercharge T-cell therapies against solid tumors

 Researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have recently presented findings on ways to improve effectiveness of T-cell immunotherapy treatment (namely CAR T-cell therapy) against solid tumours.   According to laboratory studies, "CAR and TCR T cells modified to express the cytokines IL-15 and IL-21 on their surface killed far more cancer cells than T cells carrying just one of these cytokines or neither of them."  This approach is a more targeted means of delivering the cytokines, thereby lessening severe or fatal side effects. 

Click here to learn more about the study, including listening to an audio soundbite and reading the radio transcript. 

Efficacy of dabrafenib plus trametinib in first-line treatment for children and adolescents with low-grade glioma with BRAF V600 mutations

 A recently completed randomized phase II study at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto indicates "superiority of dabrafenib plus trametinib as first systemic treatment for pediatric patients with low-grade glioma with BRAF V600 mutations as compared with carboplatin plus vincristine, the standard chemotherapy approach."  Following randomization amongst 110 patients, follow-up after a median of 18.9 months indicated overall response in 47% of patients treated with dabrafenib plus trametinib compared to a 11% overall response in those patients treated with chemotherapy.  Other benefits included longer progression-free survival and a lower rate of discontinuing treatment due to side effects. 

To learn more about this study, click here. 

Source mentioned: Bouffet E, Hansford JR, Garrè ML, et al. Dabrafenib plus Trametinib in Pediatric Glioma with BRAF V600 Mutations. N Engl J Med 2023;389:1108-1120.

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

How do non-smokers develop lung cancer? Mouth bacteria may play a role

 New research has unveiled a correlation between a specific type of mouth bacteria and the development of lung cancer in those who have never smoked.  While 25% of all lung cancer patients are non-smokers, researchers now believe that exposure to second-hand smoke and family history are not the only risk factors.  Of the 135,000 individuals observed in this study, "having a wider number of different species of bacteria, specifically Bacteroidetes and Spirochaetes, was associated with a lower risk of developing lung cancer, [while] higher volumes of Firmicutes species of bacteria in the mouth was associated with a heightened risk for lung cancer." 

To read more about this study, click here. 

Source mentioned: Hosgood HD, Cai Q, Hua X, Long J, Shi J, Wan Y, Yang Y, Abnet C, Bassig BA, Hu W, Ji BT, Klugman M, Xiang Y, Gao YT, Wong JY, Zheng W, Rothman N, Shu XO, Lan Q. Variation in oral microbiome is associated with future risk of lung cancer among never-smokers. Thorax. 2020 Dec 14:thoraxjnl-2020-215542. doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-215542. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33318237.

Strict safety measures in Austria results in low SARS-COV-2 detection rates in cancer patients

 A recently published study conducted on 1016 cancer patients in a tertiary care hospital in Vienna between March 21, 2020 - May 4, 2020 indicates a "low rate of detectable SARS-CoV-2 infections...after implementation of institutional and population-wide safety measures."  As countries worldwide can attest to, COVID-19 mortality is highest among the elderly.  88% of the 1016 cancer patients tested were managed in an outpatient setting; 53 patients (5.2%) self-reported symptoms attributable to COVID-19, however only 4 patients (0.4%) were officially diagnosed with coronavirus.  While the study team acknowledges that their research was conducted in a controlled setting, they are adamant that "implementation of strict safety policies including routine SARS-CoV-2 testing in cancer patients in the cancer centres is advisable to present uncontrolled viral spread." 

To read more about this study, click here. 

Study mentioned: Berghoff AS, Gansterer M, Bathke AC, et al. SARS-CoV-2 testing in 1016 consecutive cancer patients treated at a tertiary care hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Clinical Oncology; Published on 14 August 2020. DOI: 10.1200/JCO.20.01442. 

News release: Young Adult Cancer Cancer first-of-its-kind study

Young Adult Cancer Canada (YACC) has released early data from their Young Adults With Cancer in their Prime (YAC Prime) study, a report discussing the "impact and intensity of issues facing young adults with cancer."  Results from a survey conducted on 622 young adults highlighted quality of life (physical, social, emotional), as well as financial hardship when faced with diagnosed with cancer.  Findings show that 49% of patients in this age group missed from 1-4 years of work, with 84% experiencing significant levels of fear of cancer recurrence.

To read more about this report, which was presented at the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) Symposium (September 23-26, 2019) in Banff, click here.

System is broken: medical journals do not reveal doctor's ties

A recent article in the New York Times has revealed that several prominent physicians who publishing in prestigious academic medical journals, including the Journal of Clinical Oncology, "have failed in recent years to report their financial relationships with pharmaceutical and health care companies when their studies are published..."  As a result, journal editors have or are in the process of implementing changes that will clarify submission process and reduce errors. 


To read more about this review, click here.

Electric cap device offers hope to glioblastoma patients

A recent CTV news report introduced an electric cap-like device for patients with glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer with a 5-year survival rate of only 5%.  Known as Optune, the device, which is worn by patients 18 hours per day, "emits a low-intensity electromagnetic field to stop or slow cancer cells from dividing."  Regular use of the device has increased life expectancy by 4 months, however it has also increased the survival rate after 5 years to 13%.

To read more about this news story, click here.

University of Calgary receives additional funding from Canadian Institutes of Health Research for cancer care

The University of Calgary has received a portion of a $5.7 million grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to study and develop better cancer care.  According to the news release, Dr. Jessica E. Simon will "lead a team...to study how community-based palliative care can help patients with non-curable colorectal cancer and demonstrate the effectiveness early care has."

To read more about this funding, click here.

E-cigarettes linked to bladder cancer risk

A recent news release by the American Urological Association indicates that the use of e-cigarettes leads to an increased risk of bladder cancer.  According to a study conducted at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, researchers found that "e-cigarettes triggered cancer-related damage to bladder tissue...[while also showing that] nicotine, nitrosamines and formaldehyde led to damage while blocking DNA repair, boosting cancer risk."

To read more about this study, click here.

Cancer patients, doctors often disagree about prognosis

Those with advanced disease are likely to be more optimistic than their doctor, study shows.

Cancer patients and their doctors often hold different opinions about the patient's chances for survival and how long he or she might live, according to a new study published July 14 in the journal JAMA Oncology. The study found that 68 percent of patients rated their odds for survival differently from their doctors. Almost all patients were more optimistic than their doctor. Of the 68 percent, only 10 percent understood that their views and their doctor's differed.

Source: JAMA Oncology, news release, July 14, 2016

Read more here.