At this year’s ASCO annual meeting, CRC management insights were revealed in several abstract presentations covering pembrolizumab, regorafenib, immunotherapies, trifluridine/tipiracil plus bevacizumab, and an antibody-drug conjugate targeting HER2.

A study published in Blood Advances finds that higher levels of NETosis in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are not linked to thrombotic events. The study determined that while NETosis may play a role in facilitating thrombosis, it is not a sole causative determinant in MPN-associated thrombophilia.

In ASH Clinical News, Dr. Geoffrey Uy, a professor in the Oncology Division at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, discusses treatment options for a transplant-ineligible patient who has Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). The patient under review is a 61-year-old female diagnosed with Ph+ ALL who has multiple comorbidities and is not a candidate for allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

A phase 2 clinical trial involving 486 patients examined whether fulvestrant or letrozole is more effective in treating advanced breast cancer. The results, published in JAMA Oncology, confirmed that letrozole is the preferred treatment in patients with advanced forms of breast cancer. Although fulvestrant demonstrated significant antitumor activity, it did not significantly impact the overall survival rate of breast cancer patients when compared to letrozole.

Publication: JAMA Internal MedicineDesign: Retrospective cohort study of more than 83,000 propensity-scored matched pairs over a 12-year period.Results: Diabetes progression was significantly greater among diabetes patients using statins vs. those not using statins.

Publication: JAMADesign: Multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial performed in six hospices in the Netherlands of 162 patients with a life expectancy of three or more days. Administration of subcutaneous scopolamine butylbromide, 20 mg four times a day (n = 79) or placebo (n=78) in the 157 patients included in the primary analysis.Results: A death rattle occurred in 10 patients (13%) in the scopolamine group compared with 21 patients (27%) in the placebo group.