In oncology news, the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Virtual Scientific Program took place on May 29-31, 2020, with the publication of thousands of abstracts and new data. Targeted Oncology covered many of these presentations throughout the week across various cancer types. ASCO utilized a virtual platform this year due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and subsequent travel and social distancing restictions.

Following this year’s meeting, several oncology experts spoke with Targeted Oncology on some of the most impactful data they saw during the meeting. These include updates in genitourinary, gastrointestinal, lung, gynecologic, and breast cancers, as well as in hematologic malignancies.

These updates and others were trending this week:

Pralsetinib Demonstrates Significant Findings in RET+ Solid Tumors as FDA Grants Priority Review

Pralsetinib (BLU-667) demonstrated significant efficacy across various advanced solid tumor types harboring RET alterations, including in patients with difficult-to-treat cancers, according to findings from a subgroup of the ongoing phase 1/2 ARROW trial.

AMG 510 Demonstrates Early Promise in Advanced KRAS G12C-Mutant Solid Tumors

Early signals of anti-tumor activity and safety were demonstrated with AMG 510 in patients with multiple advanced solid tumors harboring KRAS G12C mutations.

With Patients’ Safety Top of Mind, Oncologists Develop Innovative Care Plans During Pandemic

Because of the strain on the health care system brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the ASCO and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) have laid out guidelines to help practicing oncologists delineate the best ways to allocate limited resources.

Elevated Dose of Osimertinib Induced Clinical Activity in EGFR Exon 20-Mutant NSCLC

A daily 160 mg dose of osimertinib (Tagrisso) was well-tolerated and demonstrated clinical activity in patients with EGFR exon 20-mutant non–small cell lung cancer in the phase 2 ECOG-ACRIN 5162 trial.

A Look Back at the FDA News from May 2020

Targeted Oncology pulled together all the FDA news from May 2020, which appeared to be an exciting month for oncology with many updates from the FDA. In particular, the FDA granted 4 approvals on Friday, May 15, 2020, alone.

Final ANANOVA2 Survival Data Support Niraparib Plus Bevacizumab in Recurrent Ovarian Cancer

Mansoor Raza Mirza, MD, of the Rigshospitalet–Copenhagen University Hospital in Denmark, discusses the final survival data from the randomized phase 2 NSGO-AVANOVA2/ENGOT-OV24 study, which evaluated the combination or niraparib plus bevacizumab versus niraparib alone in recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer.

Case Based Peer Perspectives: A 68-Year-Old Woman With Stage IV Ovarian Cancer

Ramez Eskander, MD, of Moores Cancer Center, presented the case of a 68-year-old woman with stage IV ovarian cancer and discussed the management approach for this patient and similar cases.

Special Feature: COVID-19 Update

COVID-19 Mortality Shows Strong Correlation With Active Cancer

The risk for death from COVID-19 was greater for patients with stable cancer compared with patients who had no evidence of disease.

COVID-19-Related Mortality Risk Increases With Recent Chemotherapy in Thoracic Cancer

The risk of death in patients with thoracic cancer was inflated with the administration of chemotherapy within 3 months of a COVID-19 diagnosis, findings from the global TERAVOLT Consortium registry show.

Experts Discuss How COVID-19 Has Impacted Gynecologic Oncology Practices

A group of physicians in gynecologic oncology spoke to the challenges they have seen in their clinics in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.