The ASCO20 Virtual Scientific Program, taking place May 29-31, will provide an engaging lineup of scheduled and on-demand scientific content across a variety of approaches, disciplines, and specialties.

Explore highlights from today's abstract release below, and read the patient-friendly news roundup in English or Spanish on Cancer.Net, ASCO’s patient information website. 

Early Data Show Cancer Progression Associated With Increased Risk of Death in Patients With COVID-19 Abstract LBA110
In patients with cancer and COVID-19, cancer that is progressing was independently associated with an increased risk of death, according to an analysis of 928 patients. COVID-19 treatment with both hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin was also strongly associated with increased risk of death, according to data from the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) registry. Read more

Chemo Within 3 Months of COVID-19 Diagnosis Associated With an Increased Risk of Death in Patients With Thoracic Cancer LBA111
Among patients with lung and other thoracic cancers also diagnosed with COVID-19, prior use of chemotherapy — alone or in combination with other treatments — was associated with increased risk of death, according to a new analysis. Read more

Pembrolizumab Doubles Time to Disease Progression in Patients With Advanced Colorectal Cancer With Specific DNA Mutations Abstract LBA4
Front-line therapy with the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) doubled progression-free survival vs chemotherapy in patients with a type of advanced colorectal cancer that has a high number of mutations, which previous research suggests may have a poor prognosis for some patients. Read more

Post-Surgery Osimertinib Delays Disease Recurrence in Patients With Localized Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Abstract LBA5
Treatment with targeted therapy osimertinib (Tagrisso) following surgery for localized non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation significantly improved disease-free survival in a phase III study. Read more

Immunotherapy Following Chemotherapy Offers Extended Survival to Patients with Advanced Urothelial Cancer Abstract LBA1
Treatment with avelumab combined with best supportive care following chemotherapy significantly extended overall survival compared with best supportive care alone in patients with advanced urothelial cancer in the JAVELIN Bladder 100 trial. Read more

Immunotherapy Avelumab Shows Potential in Rare Gynecologic Cancer Resistant to Chemotherapy Abstract LBA6008
In a small, phase II study of a very rare cancer that develops inside a woman’s uterus during or after pregnancy, treatment with avelumab (Bavencio) potentially cured 8 out of 15 women with cancer that was resistant to single-agent chemotherapy. Read more

Large Scale Precision Medicine Approach Successfully Applied to Pediatric Cancers With Poor Prognosis Abstract LBA10503
Researchers have developed an algorithm to identify molecular targets and pair them with targeted therapies for relapsed pediatric cancers with a poor prognosis. In a recent study, this approach extended the time until disease progression by three months for a small group of pediatric patients with very high-priority targets. Read more

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