Blood & Cancer

What were the practice-changing studies presented at the 2020 ASCO Annual Meeting? Podcast host David H. Henry, MD, and retired oncologist Alan P. Lyss, MD, reviewed 12 studies and assessed their potential impact on treatment.  Breast cancer Three-year follow-up of neoadjuvant chemotherapy with or without anthracyclines in the presence of dual HER2-blockade for HER2-positive breast cancer (TRAIN-2): A randomized phase III trial. (Abstract 501) The addition of anthracyclines did not improve event-free or overall survival. The results suggest patients can avoid the toxicities of anthracycline regimens without compromising efficacy, Dr. Henry said. KEYNOTE-355: Randomized, double-blind, phase III study of pembrolizumab + chemotherapy versus placebo + chemotherapy for previously untreated locally recurrent inoperable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer. (Abstract 1000) Pembrolizumab improved responses, particularly in patients with higher PD-L1 expression. Dr. Lyss noted that pembrolizumab was combined