E3311 Quality of Life Data Presented at AHNS

Beatrice Manduchi, PhD, a speech-language pathologist and researcher at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, presented "Beyond Aspiration: Revisiting Residue Rates and Modified Barium Swallow (MBS) Profiles from the ECOG-ACRIN E3311 Trial" at the recent American Head and Neck Society annual meeting in New Orleans.

E3311 involved 519 patients with operable stage 3 or stage 4 HPV-associated throat cancer. After surgery, participants received additional treatment tailored to their risk of recurrence, considering factors such as tumor size, extent of cancer in neck lymph nodes, and others. Initial results were published in 2021 and made a significant impact on clinical practice.

Dr. Manduchi reported swallowing efficiencies over time and across all treatment arms. Her team also evaluated a novel dysphagia summary score, easily derived from clinicians' MBS interpretations, which shows promise as a useful clinical tool. This presentation, along with published aspiration rates, provides insights into quality-of-life issues that arise from cancer and its treatments. For details, refer to Abstract AHNS07.

Webinar Explains a Treatment Tolerability Prediction Tool

A new video features Lynne I. Wagner, PhD (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill) explaining how a single patient-reported outcomes (PRO) question—FACT-GP5—can help predict early discontinuation of cancer therapy. Titled How Patient-Reported Bother by Side Effects Predicts Cancer Treatment Discontinuation, the 6-minute educational webinar was produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Division of Cancer Prevention. View the video.

Dr. Wagner directs ECOG-ACRIN's Cancer Control and Outcomes Program with the group co-chairs. She represents the program as a deputy chair on the Executive Committee and is the co-principal investigator of the ECOG-ACRIN Research Base within the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP). She also is a member of the NCI Cancer Treatment Tolerability Consortium, which offers this video and many other tools and resources to cancer researchers and clinicians.

HemOnc Today^® Features E4112 Findings

In a recent article, HemOnc Today^® shared findings from a secondary analysis of the E4112 trial, including commentary from Dr. Wagner (mentioned above). The analysis aimed to determine whether any clinical or social determinants of health factors were associated with health-related quality of life in the 2-year period following surgery for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). The study's authors found that race, number of surgical procedures, and insurance type can significantly impact long-term mental and physical quality of life for women with DCIS. Read the full article.

Reminder: Trial Educational and Recruitment Materials

The ECOG-ACRIN Clinical Education and Awareness Team, together with the Marketing Team, produce many educational and recruitment materials for active trials, in consultation with the study chairs and study teams. The array of materials is individually tailored to fit study needs and therefore varies by study. They may include:

• For physicians and research staff: physician fact sheets (for all active ECOG-ACRIN studies), pocket reference cards, referring physician letter templates, FAQs, site checklists/process summaries, study flowcharts, protocol overview slides, and recorded webinars
• For patients and advocates: study summaries, brochures, patient-directed videos, and communication plans (patient-friendly text and images for websites, social media, etc.). These materials are reviewed by ECOG-ACRIN's patient advocates and are CIRB-approved.

For each trial, resources are reviewed and revised as needed to reflect all protocol amendments up until study closure to accrual.

Additionally, the Clinical Education and Marketing teams support the development and deployment of protocol-specific newsletters and e-blasts to sites, to share amendment highlights, study reminders, and enrollment tips.

All educational and recruitment materials are available for download 24/7 via:

• The members’ section of the ECOG-ACRIN website under Protocols > Complete Protocol Information > Protocol # > Other Study-Specific Tools & Information
• CTSU.org under the Protocol # > Protocol Related Documents > Education & Promotion

All publicly available educational and recruitment materials can also be accessed from the Active Clinical Trials: Resources page on the ECOG-ACRIN website (click or tap the trial ID to view associated materials).

New materials appear on a rolling basis for active trials, so please check back often. ECOG-ACRIN notes the availability of new or revised materials in its routine announcements, and the CTSU includes them in its bimonthly broadcasts.

Questions? Contact the Clinical Education and Awareness Team at EAClinEd@ecog-acrin.org or the Marketing Team at EAMarketing@ecog-acrin.org.

Reminder: Follow Us on Social

ECOG-ACRIN is active across multiple social media accounts, sharing information about open cancer clinical trials, publication results, and other timely information. Be sure to follow us on social media via the links below!

Fall 2025 Group Meeting Registration Now Open

Registration is now open for our Fall 2025 Group Meeting, taking place in person at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown from Wednesday, October 22-Friday, October 24. Sessions begin early in the morning on Wednesday and end mid-afternoon on Friday (subject to change). As usual, the meeting is open to researchers and staff affiliated with member institutions, ECOG-ACRIN patient advocates, industry representatives, and other invited individuals. Visit the Group Meeting website to register.

Note: As with recent meetings, a hybrid format with virtual participation will be offered for most open/general committee sessions. Closed/invite-only sessions will be in-person only.

Call for Abstracts: 2025 Young Investigator Symposium

ECOG-ACRIN is accepting research abstracts from early-career investigators interested in presenting their research as part of the upcoming Fall 2025 Group Meeting (see above). Researchers may be eligible to apply if they are engaged in clinical, translational, imaging, or basic cancer research or in non-cancer-related research that has application to cancer biology, prevention, screening, diagnosis, imaging, or treatment. View the full eligibility criteria and the official abstract submission form.

The Symposium will take place in person during the Fall Group Meeting; the specific day/time will be announced in the coming weeks. The deadline for abstract submissions is Thursday, September 11, 2025, 11:59 PM (Eastern Time).