Cancer Horizons

Last week we saw some FDA approvals come through, as well as research that explored the psychosocial outcomes of individuals who survived pediatric rhabdosarcoma. And finally, we’ll discuss another cancer vaccine clinical trial that got the green light from the Food and Drug Administration. 

The first FDA approval of last week was one in the pediatric cancer space. The agency approved Besponsa for children who are at least 1 year old and have relapsed or refractory CD22-positive precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia., also known as ALL. 

The approval is coming after findings from a single-arm study involving 53 children. Of which, 22 — that’s 42% — achieved a complete response from the therapy, with the median duration of complete response being 8.2 months. Additionally, the majority of patients who achieved a complete response also had minimal residual disease negativity, which indicates that there were 5% or less blasts found in the bone marrow and no cancer cells detected in the blood. 

Having a new treatment option for children with ALL is particularly exciting, as ALL is one of the most common pediatric cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. 

Last week, the FDA also approved an immunotherapy/chemotherapy regimen for certain patients with bladder cancer. Specifically, the agency OKed Opdivo plus cisplatin and gemcitabine for the frontline treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. 

This approval was backed by findings from the CheckMate-901 trial, which showed that the Opdivo-chemotherapy regimen improved overall survival (which is the time patients live before death of any cause) and progression-free survival (which is the time patients live without their disease worsening) compared to those who did not receive Opdivo. The median overall survival was 21.7 months for those who received Opdivo compared to 18.9 months for those who did not, while progression-free survival was 7.9 and 7.6 months, respectively. 

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration also approved Brukinsa plus Gazyva for patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after findings from the ROSEWOOD trial showed that not only did more patients respond to the two-drug treatment compared to Gazyva alone, but also at a median follow-up of 19 months, more patients were still responding compared to the Gazvya arm as well. 

A study published in the journal, Cancer, found that survivors of rhabdomyosarcoma — which is a rare cancer affecting soft tissues — may face increased risk of psychological challenges, especially if they were exposed to previous radiation therapy or have a history of smoking.

Researchers examined neurocognitive impairment, emotional distress and health-related quality of life in survivors compared to their siblings. Results showed higher rates of issues like memory impairment and emotional distress among survivors, with smoking linked to poorer outcomes. The CURE® team spoke with study author, Ellen van der Plas on the findings. Here is what she had to say. 

The FDA has given the green light for a clinical trial of a vaccine designed to treat advanced ovarian cancer. Known as Innocell, this personalized therapy utilizes cells from the patient's own tumor which is inactivated via riboflavin and UV light. The drug is being manufactured at City of Hope in Los Angeles, and the trial aims to assess the vaccine's safety and effectiveness in stimulating immune response.

This is one of the many cancer vaccines being explored and developed in the oncology space. Check back on prior CURE® coverage for updates on vaccines to treat breast, lung, skin and other cancers. 

 For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.

In addition to a breakthrough therapy designation for a lung cancer drug, this week we’ll be talking a lot about additional side effects and health conditions that may come with a cancer diagnosis, and how to manage them. 

We heard from an expert about using cannabis during cancer care, took a look at a patient population that may be more prone to cardiometabolic conditions after cancer treatment and we’ll highlight a study that’s looking at preventing infection and GVHD in patients with blood cancer who underwent a stem cell transplant. 

The use of cannabis seems to be growing when it comes to mitigating side effects from cancer treatment, though it is important that patients talk to their providers if they are using these products or have questions about them, explained Dr. Brooke Worster from Thomas Jefferson University. 

I recently spoke to Woster about the conversations patients with cancer should be having if they’re using or considering using cannabis. Namely, she discussed seeking guidance and having open discussions with the care team, but also remembering that cannabis is not a proven cure for any kinds of cancer. 

 

A novel drug, BAY 2927088 received a breakthrough therapy designation for treating HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer. This designation, granted by the FDA, signifies a potential advancement in treatment options for patients with this specific type of lung cancer, which happens in approximately 2% to 4% of advanced NSCLC cases. Now that the drug has a breakthrough therapy designation, its review will be fast tracked. 

BAY 2927088, an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has shown promising results in a phase 1 trial, with a focus on safety, efficacy and patient outcomes. The drug works by blocking HER2, which can contribute to lung cancer proliferation. 

A recent study found that Hispanic/Latino cancer survivors have higher rates of cardiometabolic comorbidities — meaning health conditions that affect the heart and/or metabolic system — such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease, which can complicate cancer treatment and post-treatment health management. 

The study showed that survivors with cardiometabolic conditions experienced lower health-related quality of life and had unmet supportive care needs, particularly in terms of emotional and physical well-being. The research also found that socioeconomic factors, such as income levels, were also linked to the prevalence of cardiometabolic conditions among Hispanic/Latino survivors, highlighting the importance of access to health care and healthy lifestyle behaviors in managing these health challenges. The study emphasized the need for holistic approaches to health that consider environmental influences and support policies promoting heart-healthy behaviors within communities.

Patients with blood cancers can talk to their cancer care team about possible enrollment in the OPTIMIZE trial, which is investigating a lower dose of post-transplant cyclophosphamide — also referred to as “PTCy” — to reduce infection risk post-stem cell transplant while preventing graft-versus-host disease in patients who underwent a stem cell transplant from a partially matched unrelated donor. 

This phase 2 trial aims to enroll 190 patients across cancer centers across the United States, and is expected to conclude in June 2026. By exploring reduced PTCy dosages, researchers hope to enhance patient survival and quality of life by minimizing toxicities associated with standard dosing.  

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.

Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved four different therapies in the oncology space — one of which, Amtagvi, marks the first cellular therapy for the treatment of solid cancers. 

The week’s first approval (an Onivyde regimen for metastatic pancreatic cancer) was covered in last week’s episode, but here’s a list of what has happened since that last recording. 

Patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that has MET exon 14 skipping alterations may soon have a new treatment option, as the FDA approved Tepmetko in this indication. 

Notably, this full approval is coming three years after the agency’s accelerated approval of the agent back in February 2021. Follow-up clinical trial data showed that 57% of previously untreated patients responded to therapy with Tepmetko, with 40% having a duration of response that lasted a year or longer. 

On Feb. 16, the FDA approved Amtagvi for patients with advanced melanoma who had previously been treated with an immunotherapy or targeted therapy. Notably, Amtagvi is a cell-based therapy and is actually the first cell-based treatment to be approved in the solid tumor space. 

According to trial results that led to the approval, 31.5% of patients responded to therapy. Now this is a pretty exciting number, considering that this heavily pretreated population tends to have low response rates. Not to mention, TIL therapies like Amtagvi — while upfront they require about a three-week hospital stay — may set patients up for years without having to undergo more treatment, according to Dr. Rodabe Amaria from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, who I spoke with after the approval.  

In the lung cancer space, we saw the approval of Tagrisso plus platinum-based chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer whose tumors have EGFR exon 19 deletions or exon 21 L858R mutations. 

Findings from the FLAURA 2 trial led to this approval, as data showed that progression-free survival was 25.5 months for patients who received Tagrisso plus chemotherapy, compared to 16.7 months for patients who received Tagrisso alone. Overall survival data is still immature at this point — meaning that the researchers just don’t have enough data to calculate averages — so stay tuned for more on that. 

Last week, we saw some FDA approvals for a new drug regimens, as well as some expert opinion about cancer vaccines. Additionally research touched upon the potential benefit of concurrent ctDNA and tumor testing, and physical activity for pain reduction in cancer survivors. 

On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved Onivyde plus oxaliplatin, fluorouracil and leucovorin — a regimen referred to as NALIRIFOX — for the frontline treatment of patients with metastatic adenocarcinoma. The approval was based on findings from the NAPOLI 3 trial, which showed that the drug combination improved overall survival (which is the time after treatment patients live before death of any cause) and progression-free survival (time they live before their disease worsens) compared to a combination of gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel. 

While this approval provides a new, promising treatment for this patient population, Dr. Anthony Shields of the Karmanos Cancer Center in Detroit mentioned that the Onivyde-containing regimen is not a cure. 

“In our patients with advanced disease, this is not a curative therapy at this point,” Shields said in an interview with CURE®. “It clearly improves survival. It's still got its share of toxicities, though. … We need better drugs, despite the improvements. If patients get this regimen is the first line, inevitably if they're doing OK we will give gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel (combination) as the second-line regimen. But we really don't have a third line regimen.”

The oncology community is on the cusp of a sea change regarding cancer vaccines, as one expert told us.

“Current vaccines have a dismal record, and minimal evidence of efficacy,” said Dr. Jeffrey S. Weber, deputy director of the NYU Langone Perlmutter Cancer Center and Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Professor of Oncology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, via email.

Weber was among the researchers on recent KEYNOTE-942 study investigating mRNA vaccine mRNA-4157 (V940) and Keytruda versus standalone Keytruda for the treatment of patients with advanced-stage melanoma.With a median follow-up of 23 and 24 months, the recurrence or death rates were 22% and 40% and the 18-month recurrence-free survival rates were 79% and 62%, respectively.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation to the combination for the post-surgical treatment of patients with high-risk melanoma in 2023 based on the results of KEYNOTE-942.

“This mRNA vaccine would be the first approved cancer vaccine with clear cut evidence of efficacy in a well-done phase 3 trial [which was recently initiated],” Weber said of mRNA-4157.

Pharmaceutical companies Moderna and Merck have initiated V940-001, a phase 3 study evaluating mRNA-4157 and Keytruda as postsurgical treatment for stage 2B to 4 melanoma, announcing in June of 2023 that global patient recruitment had begun following primary analysis of the findings of KEYNOTE-942.

Circulating tumor DNA and tumor tissue-based testing can both help identify cancer characteristics that may point a patient toward a more targeted treatment regimen. Oftentimes, patients undergo only one of these two tests, but recent research showed that undergoing both of these tests may improve patients’ chance of identifying targetable mutations. 

Now, some patient populations — such as those with non-small cell lung cancer — may already be undergoing both tests in accordance with NCCN guidelines. The findings support that other groups in particular, such as those with breast cancer, may benefit from the dual testing modality. 

In an interview with CURE, one of the study authors noted that the two tests can be “highly complementary,” and patients should talk to their health care teams about which test to undergo. 

Increased physical activity may be able to lessen pain in cancer survivors, according to one study. 

Specifically, the researchers wrote, “Meeting or exceeding physical activity guidelines was associated with less pain intensity compared to being physically inactive. People who remained active longer term, were previously physically active or became active also reported less pain than those who remained inactive.” 

These benefits were also seen in patients who were previously active but then became inactive — highlighting the possibility that the when it comes to pain reduction, the benefits of being active can stretch long-term. But interestingly, the was no association between  physical activity and painkiller use. 

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.

Last week, we saw a few moving parts in the regulatory space, from new NCCN guidelines for pediatric neuroblastoma treatment to FDA Fast Tracks and Priority Reviews. Also last week, we covered research showing that a lower dose of an anti-emetic drug could have similar efficacy — and fewer side effects — than the standard, higher dose. 

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recently published guidelines for the treatment of pediatric patients with neuroblastoma. This resource is geared toward mitigating unnecessary side effects and over treatment in patients with low-risk disease, while also developing the best treatment plans for high-risk patients. 

CURE® spoke with Dr. Rochelle Bagatell, professor of Pediatrics and Solid Tumor Section Chief at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Chair of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®) Panel for Neuroblastoma, who emphasized that while these guidelines can influence treatment strategies, conversations between patient families and clinicians and even insurance coverage, each patient’s care should be as personalized as possible. 

“There may be specific cases where the nuances of a particular patient's case means that you have to adjust your thinking from what's written on those nice, clear lines,” Bagatell said. “But the general guidance about how to think about the risk of recurrence, what general type of therapy would be appropriate, how much chemotherapy when to do surgery. Those are the kinds of things that patients and families can look at and bring to their doctor and discuss.”

Last week the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted a Fast Track designation to ARV-471, a novel drug being studied for the treatment of patients with ER-positive, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Specifically, this indication of ARV-471 is for patients who previously underwent endocrine therapy. 

Fast Track designations are given to drugs that show promise in treating serious conditions and fill an unmet need. The goal is to speed up the review and potential approval of these therapies. 

ARV-471 is being studied in the phase 3 VERITAC-2 clinical trial, which is comparing ARV-471 to Faslodex in this patient population. Preclinical studies showed that the drug induced tumor shrinkage and degradation. 

Also in FDA news from last week, the agency granted a priority review to Alecensa as a postsurgical treatment for patients with early-stage ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer. 

The priority review is based off findings from the phase 3 ALINA trial, which showed that the drug led to a 76% reduction in the risk of disease recurrence or death compared with chemotherapy treatment. Findings from this study also showed that at two years, 93.8% of patients taking Alecensa experienced disease-free survival (which is the time after treatment when patients do not have symptoms of complications from their cancer), compared with 63% in the chemotherapy group. At three years, disease-free survival rates were 88.3% and 53.3%, respectively. 

With the priority review, the FDA said that they plan on making an approval decision on Alecensa on or by May 22, 2023, though those dates can always change. 

Finally, research showed that a lower dose of a nausea and vomiting drug could be just as effective as the higher, standard dose when it comes to controlling chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. 

A study published in The Lancet Oncology found that a 2.5-milligram dose of olanzapine is not inferior (meaning it is no less effective) than a 10-milligram dose. Specifically, the researchers looked at the use of rescue medications, vomiting episodes and mild nausea over the course of 120 hours. 

Notably, this lower dose can also lead to a decrease in side effects related to the drug, such as feeling of lethargy and drowsiness. 

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.

Last week, we saw some research regarding how a popular tool used to plan breast cancer treatment may be misguiding therapy for Black women, as well as an update on when we can expect to see a new cancer vaccine be readily available for patients. 

And on the FDA front, we’ll discuss a priority review for Enhertu for patients with HER2-positive solid cancers, as well as a fast track designation for a new drug duo in the lung cancer space. 

ELI-002 is a vaccine being investigated for the treatment of patients with KRAS-mutant pancreatic or colorectal cancers. While cancer vaccines have been in the headlines a lot in recent months, this one, at least, is still a ways away from being readily available for patients across the United States. 

Findings from a phase 1 trial showed that the vaccine could be beneficial for this patient population, and now, a phase 2 trial recently started that will evaluate the efficacy of an injection version of ELI-002, compared to observation. The first patient was dosed in the trial in January 2024, so it could still be several more years until the drug is available, Dr. Christopher Haqq, chief medical officer and vice president, head of research and development at Elicio Therapeutics, said in an interview with CURE®. 

“We'll be talking to the regulators like the US Food and Drug Administration and others around the world to align on the data that we'll need to provide for a marketing application. And so, we haven't had that input yet. So I can't give an exact answer for you (on when the vaccine will be commercially available). But we'll work as fast as possible. It's even possible that the type of evidence that we gather in this randomized study could serve that purpose. But we won't know until we have further discussion,” he said. 

A recent study showed that the 21-gene breast recurrence score may lead clinicians away from prescribing chemotherapy to Black women who may benefit from the treatment. 

The 21-gene breast recurrence score is the standard test to help guide treatment decisions for patients with estrogen receptor-positive (also known as ER-positive) disease. Most patients with ER-positive cancer undergo hormone therapy, but the outcomes for this test may help decide if a patient would benefit from additional chemotherapy, too. Now, findings from a recent study discovered that Black women — and younger Black women, in particular — may be missing out on chemotherapy that they could potentially benefit from. 

Now, this research team is conducting further research looking at potential molecular differences in breast cancer in Black women, as well as how other social disparities could be playing into an increased risk of breast cancer death in these women. 

The Food and Drug Administration granted a priority review for a supplemental biologics license to Enhertu for the treatment of patients with previously treated metastatic HER2-positive solid tumors that cannot be removed via surgery. Basically what that means is that the drug showed promise in a clinical trial, and now the FDA will work with the pharmaceutical company developing the drug to expedite the review and potential approval of the agent. The agency plans on making its decision on whether or not Enertu will be approved some time in the second quarter of this year. 

Enertu is an antibody drug conjugate, which is a type of drug that works by finding and binding to certain proteins found on cancer cells — in this case, the HER2 protein. The drug was previously approved for patients with lung cancer and metastatic breast cancer, and now, the phase 2 DESTINY-PanTumo02 trial will help determine if it will be approved for patients with endometrial, cervical, ovarian, bladder, biliary tract, pancreatic or other cancers that are HER2 positive. 

Also in the regulatory space, the FDA granted a fast track designation to a two drug combination consisting of Lumakras and the novel agent, avutometinib for patients with KRAS G12C-mutant metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. The intended patient population for the regimen is those who have been treated with at least one systemic therapy and have not received a KRAS G12C inhibitor. 

The regimen is being investigated in the ongoing phase 1/2 RAMP 203 trial, which will analyze the effectiveness of the drug, as well as the overall response rate — which is the percentage of patients whose cancer decreases from the drug — and safety. Findings from the second phase of the trial, which is specifically looking at patients who have not received or did not respond to a KRAS G12-inhibitor are expected to be published some time in the first half of 2024. 

 For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.

It’s been a busy few weeks here at CURE® and in the oncology space as a whole, as the last two weekends had back-to-back meetings: the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, and then their Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. 

Here are some highlights from the conference, but as always, you can find all of our coverage at curetoday.com. 

For patients with liver cancer whose disease is not eligible to be removed via surgery, adding Imfinzi and Avastin to transarterial chemoembolization — also known as TACE — tended to lengthen the time patients lived before their disease got worse, according to findings from the EMRALD-1 trial. These improvements in progression-free survival over TACE alone could lead to a new standard of care for this patient population, according to the lead study author, Dr. Riccardo Lencioni. 

More specifically, patients who received Imfinzi and Avastin plus TACE lived for a median of 15 months before death or disease worsening, compared to 8.2 months for patients who received TACE alone. This correlates to a 23% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death, and benefits were seen across different patient subgroups. 

Notably, the researchers on EMRALD-1 are still monitoring how the addition of the two drugs impacts overall survival. Once those data become more clear, it is possible that the drug manufacturers could submit this regimen to the FDA for approval, thereby officially shaking up the standard of care of TACE, which has remained the main treatment in this setting for about two decades. 

Circulating tumor DNA — also known as ctDNA — was another hot topic at the Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. So ctDNA measures little fragments of cancer that are found in the bloodstream after cancer treatment. 

Now, findings from the BESPOKE trial highlight the fact that ctDNA may offer insight into the recurrence risk in patients with stage 2/3 colorectal cancer who underwent surgery and then chemotherapy. The researchers used ctDNA to help determine minimal residual disease, or MRD, status. Essentially, patients with disease still detected in the blood stream were MRD positive, while those without detectable cancer were MRD negative. Findings showed that those with MRD negativity tended to live longer without experiencing relapse or death compared to patients with MRD positivity. 

Back in December, the Food and Drug Administration approved Padcev plus Keytruda for patients with previously treated locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer. The approval was based on primary findings from the EV-302 trial. Now, updated findings from that trial are showing that the drug duo continues to outperform chemotherapy when it comes to progression-free survival — that’s the time patients live before their disease gets worse — as well as overall survival, which is the time patients live before death of any cause. 

Notably, these survival benefits were seen across patient subgroups, such as those with visceral metastases and lymph node-only disease. According to the lead study author, Dr. Michiel S. Van Der Heijden, this could result in a new standard of care in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma. 

On the prostate cancer front, a study found that many people with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer are not undergoing germline or somatic testing. Now this is really important because back in 2020, two PARP inhibitors were approved in this setting. These are targeted drugs approved for patients whose cancers have certain characteristics, which can be determined by these types of tests. 

Rates of germline and somatic testing have increased since the FDA approvals, but according to the study — which looked at real-world evidence of patients being treated in community cancer and urology centers — about 40% of patients did not undergo standard-of-care testing. 

Study author, Dr. Neal Shore, said that this indicates the need for improved education on the importance of germline and somatic testing. 

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here. 

Last week, we saw some big headlines in the oncology space, from Dexter Scott King’s death from prostate cancer and MLB Hall-of-Famer Ryne Sandberg announcing that he was diagnosed with the disease. 

The FDA also requested a label update for CAR-T cell therapies that would warn patients and providers about secondary malignancies that have been reported from the treatment. Also, we took a look at laughter therapy, and how it could help patients and caregivers. 

We’ve also been busy covering two conferences — ASCO’s Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, as well as their Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, so tune in later this week for a special podcast episode highlighting some major research from those events. 

Last Monday, Jan. 22, we saw two big stories in the prostate cancer space. First, Dexter Scott King, the son of the Civil Rights activist, Martin Luther King, Jr., died of prostate cancer. He was 62 years old. 

At the time of his death, King was the Chairman of the King Center, which is an organization focused on educating the world about the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dexter Scott King was also the president of the King estate. 

In a statement announcing King’s death, his wife, Leah Weber said, “He transitioned peacefully in his sleep at home with me in Malibu. He gave it everything and battled this terrible disease until the end.” 

And on the same day Dexter Scott King died, Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer, Ryne Sandberg, announced that he was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer. 

The 64-year-old — who was a 10-time All Star during his tenure for the Chicago Cubs, which ran from 1982 to 1997 — announced his diagnosis on Instagram. He said that received the diagnosis a week earlier and has started treatment. He asked that fans keep him in their thoughts and prayers. 

The investigation into CAR-T cell therapies continues. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requested that approved BCMA- or CD19-targeted CAR-T cell therapies update their labeling to include a warning of reports of T-cell malignancies, including CAR-positive lymphomas, which have been reported in patients who use this type of therapy. 

Back in November, the FDA announced that it was investigating reports of secondary diseases in patients who underwent CAR-T cell therapy. The available data shows that these diseases are extremely rare, and researchers are still looking into what, exactly, is causing them. 

Now, the FDA wrote letters to the manufacturers of five CAR-T cell therapies, requesting that they include a Boxed Warning — which is the highest safety-related warning for drugs — outlining the potential risks of CAR-T cell products. The companies must respond to the FDA within 30 days of receiving the letters, which were sent out on Jan. 19. 

And on a much lighter note, we covered recent research showing that laughter therapy can decrease mood disturbances in patients receiving palliative care for late-stage cancer, as well as their loved ones. The findings, which were published in the journal, Cancer Nursing, also found that the laughter therapy reduced pain perception in patients and decreased levels of burnout in caregivers. 

Laughter therapy refers to alternative and complementary therapy using humor to help relieve stress and pain, in addition to potentially improving a patient’s sense of well-being, according to the National Cancer Institute. In this instance, it consisted of five 20- to 30-minute sessions held over five consecutive days. The participants introduced themselves using funny tools to relieve tension, and moved their bodies in laughing rhythms. 

“This indicates that our palliative care patients and family caregivers would have a positive view of the use of laughter or humor in their palliative circumstances,” the researchers wrote. 

 For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.

Often, receiving a cancer diagnosis can require a crash course in oncology that few patients ever expected to take.

For colorectal cancer specialist Dr. Dustin Deming, the ACI/Schwenn Family associate professor in the division of hematology, medical oncology and palliative care at UW School of Medicine and Public Health, a diagnosis of rectal cancer two weeks after receiving his first faculty appointment required an education of a different sort.

Deming, a gastrointestinal oncologist and laboratory researcher for UW Health | Carbone Cancer Center, told CURE®, needed to learn how to be a patient.

“For me, the crash course was in being able to allow my medical friends to be my doctors,” said Deming. “So, that was the part that I really had to wrap my head around. I knew what we needed to do. I knew I knew what I was about to go through. But I hadn't sat in the patient chair before. And so, the crash course that I had to enter was the crash course in what it's like to be a patient.”

Deming was 31 at the time of his diagnosis in 2012, married and with a 12-week-old daughter who he’d brought to his colonoscopy appointment. Treatment with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation followed, with Deming working as he was able to do so.

While colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer diagnosis in the United States, only 2% of new cases occur in patients ages 20 to 34, with the majority of cases (25.5%) occurring in patients ages 65 to 74, according to the National Cancer Institute.

“It’s obviously extremely ironic, and (was) potentially life-shattering at the time,” Deming said. “You know, when I was diagnosed, I had a 12-week-old daughter who came to the colonoscopy with me. Getting that kind of news at 31, I don't think anybody's prepared for. Having been a colon cancer doctor and researcher was helpful in that it provided me in insight into what we needed to do. But it was also terrifying, in that I knew all the dirty secrets.”

After being cancer-free for eight and a half years, Deming experienced a recurrence in 2020. He received further chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, followed by a second recurrence about a year later that was treated with surgery and chemotherapy. Approximately 10 months after his latest surgery, he has no evidence of cancer.

Dustin spoke with CURE’s “Cancer Horizons” podcast about his cancer journey, the connections it’s created with his patients and his continuing dedication to treating others.

“Having been a patient myself, I feel like — now, I don't know how it feels for each individual patient, but I know how it feels for me — I know how it feels to hear the ‘cancer’ word, I know how it feels to have to go through chemo, radiation and multiple surgeries,” Deming said. “So, every time I meet a patient for the first time, I sit down and tell the patients kind of where I've been so that they know where I'm coming from and also (to) make sure that they know that I now get it and that I'm actually truly honored to be part of the team helping take care of them. 

“I know what it means to trust oncologists with your care, and I'm so glad that I'm here to be able to help more patients.”

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.