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Showing 11801 - 11850FDA Grants Accelerated Approval to Avelumab for Urothelial Carcinoma
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to avelumab (Bavencio) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma whose disease progressed during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy or within 12 months of neoadjuvant or adjuvant...
Intermittent Vismodegib Regimens in Basal Cell Cancers
In a phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Brigitte Dréno, MD, of Nantes University, Nantes, France, and colleagues found that two long-term intermittent vismodegib (Erivedge) dosing regimens provided a similar reduction in the number of clinically significant basal cell carcinomas among...
Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy vs Lymphadenectomy in Endometrial Cancer Staging
In the FIRES prospective cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Emma C. Rossi, MD, of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and colleagues found that sentinel lymph node mapping was highly accurate in detecting metastases compared with complete lymphadenectomy in women with...
Saving My Hair Changed My Perception of Having Cancer
Getting a callback after a routine screening mammogram in 2013 did not set off any alarm bells. Having dense breasts has almost guaranteed receiving the dreaded callback ever since I started getting annual screenings. But when I got a second callback after additional images of a suspicious lesion...
Luis A. Diaz, MD, Named Head of Solid Tumor Oncology at MSK
Luis A. Diaz, MD, has been named Head of the Division of Solid Tumor Oncology in the Department of Medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). Dr. Diaz most recently served as Associate Professor of Oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Diaz formally...
A New Book Deals With an Age-Old Crisis: Cancer Patients and Mortality
The field of psycho-oncology began to take hold in the mid-1970s, when the “C” word was beginning to lose its long-held stigmatization, and patients with cancer could finally begin to openly reveal their diagnosis and express their feelings about their life-threatening disease. Despite that social ...
ELCC 2017: Prospective Study Shows Concordance of EGFR Mutation Detection Between ctDNA and Tumor Samples
Detection of EGFR mutations in circulating tumor (ct) DNA from plasma samples can be accomplished using the cobas platform, according to findings presented by Kumar et al at the 2017 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) (Abstract 95PD). Assays of ctDNA offer a noninvasive method of finding EGFR...
Lenalidomide as Maintenance Therapy in Multiple Myeloma After Autologous Stem Cell Transplantation
On February 22, lenalidomide (Revlimid) was approved as maintenance therapy for patients with multiple myeloma following autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.1,2 The drug was previously approved to treat multiple myeloma (in combination with dexamethasone), anemia caused by...
Avelumab in Merkel Cell Carcinoma
On March 23, 2017, avelumab (Bavencio) was granted accelerated approval for treatment of patients aged ≥ 12 years with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma. Avelumab is the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved product to treat this disease.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on ...
Expanding Role Seen for Minimal Residual Disease in Managing Multiple Myeloma
Minimal residual disease is a promising biomarker for guiding the management of multiple myeloma that is becoming increasingly important with the advent of more efficacious therapies, according to emerging data and expert opinion. “The story of minimal residual disease in multiple myeloma is like...
Blinatumomab ‘Takes a BiTE’ Out of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
An investigational immunotherapy is improving outcomes in difficult-to-treat acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and showing promise in other cancers, as well. Blinatumomab (Blincyto), the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE), has demonstrated...
ELCC 2017: Ensartinib Demonstrates CNS Activity in ALK-Positive NSCLC
Ensartinib demonstrated intracranial responses in patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and central nervous system (CNS) metastases, according to findings presented by Reckamp et al at the 2017 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC)...
Immune System Is Shaping the Future of Multiple Myeloma Treatment
From immunomodulatory agents and proteasome inhibitors to steroids, alkylators, and antibodies, recent years have witnessed an explosion of drug approvals for multiple myeloma. The challenge now, said Amrita Krishnan, MD, FACP, is figuring out how to incorporate them all, particularly in the...
QOPI® Certification Program Certifies First Practice in Brazil
On April 5, ASCO announced that Instituto de Oncologia do Vale (IOV) was the first practice in Brazil to receive Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI®) certification through the QOPI Certification Program, LLC (QCP). IOV is the second international practice to achieve this milestone in...
ELCC 2017: Development and Validation of Lung Toxicity Prediction Models Aids Effective Use of Radiotherapy in NSCLC
Validation using patient data of an outcome prediction model for the development of dyspnea subsequent to radiotherapy revealed that the prognostic factors in the model did not adequately predict for delta toxicity endpoints, according to results reported by Defraene et al at the 2017 European Lung ...
Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in High-Risk Melanoma: A New Approach
Melanoma is an immunogenic tumor, as it expresses various melanoma-specific antigens. However, it is both biologically and clinically heterogeneous. Biologically, it expresses different melanoma antigens and has diverse genetic profiles among different patients. Clinically, it varies in the amount ...
Karmanos Cancer Institute Now Offers Image-Fusion Technology to Detect Prostate Cancer
The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute is using a sophisticated new way to diagnose and treat prostate cancer more effectively. Urology specialists at Karmanos have begun using the UroNav Fusion Biopsy System, which fuses three-dimensional MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) images of the prostate...
Selected Abstracts From the 2016 ASH Annual Meeting
Here are several abstracts selected from the proceedings of this year’s American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, highlighting newer therapeutics in various types of high-grade, aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs), including peripheral T-cell lymphomas, central...
Neo-Bioscore Improves Staging of Breast Cancer Treated With Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy
A new score that incorporates tumor biology and response outperforms conventional histopathologic criteria for the staging of breast cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, finds a retrospective validation cohort study.1 Investigators led by John R. Bergquist, MD, MS, MA, a general surgery...
Hyperthermic Intraperitoneal Chemoperfusion May Be Efficacious for Peritoneal Metastases
Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoperfusion is efficacious when used as part of multimodality therapy for low-volume peritoneal metastases of gastric cancer, suggests a prospective single-arm phase II trial.1 Among the 19 patients enrolled, all of whom had stage IV disease with either...
Five-Year Survival Quadrupled in Responders to Immunotherapy for Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
At 5 years, the overall survival rate was 16% in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with single-agent nivolumab (Opdivo), according to follow-up of a phase Ib dose-ranging study (CA209-003), presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual...
Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Combination Improves Survival Over Ipilimumab Alone in Patients With Melanoma
The race is on to identify combinations of immune checkpoint inhibitors that can improve outcomes over the use of immune checkpoint inhibitor monotherapy. Updated results of the phase III CheckMate 067 trial found the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) improved survival in...
On the Variance of Cancer Outcomes by Time and Geography
A recent study by Mokdad and colleagues, reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post, looks at cancer demographic data for 28 cancers and compares mortality rates in 1980 to results in 2014.1 Publishing mortality rates by geographic area and the observation of significant differences is not new. The...
ELCC 2017: Study Shows White Blood Cell–Boosting Drugs Safe During Small Cell Lung Cancer Chemoradiotherapy
A late-breaking subanalysis of the phase III CONVERT trial presented by Gomes et al at the 2017 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC) shows that white blood cell–boosting drugs are safe during concurrent chemoradiotherapy of small cell lung cancer (SCLC, Abstract LBA2_PR). “The...
ELCC 2017: Some Patients With Lung Cancer Benefit From Immunotherapy Even After Disease Progression
Some patients with advanced lung cancer benefit from immunotherapy, even after the disease has progressed as evaluated by standard criteria, according to research presented by Artal-Cortes et al at the 2017 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC, Abstract 96PD). The findings pave the way for certain ...
ELCC 2017: White Blood Cell Count May Predict Response to Lung Cancer Immunotherapy
White blood cell counts may predict whether patients with lung cancer will benefit from immunotherapy, according to research presented by Tiseo et al at the 2017 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC, Abstract 30PD). “Immune checkpoint inhibitors such as nivolumab [Opdivo] and...
ELCC 2017: Osimertinib Improves Symptoms in Advanced Lung Cancer
Osimertinib (Tagrisso) improved cancer-related symptoms in patients with advanced lung cancer, according to an analysis of patient-reported outcomes from the AURA3 phase III clinical trial presented by Lee et al at the 2017 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC, Abstract 85O). “With my...
Pembrolizumab in Relapsed or Refractory Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Chen et al, the phase II KEYNOTE-087 trial has shown that the programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)–inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is highly active in patients with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma. Findings in the study ...
Germline Genetic Testing and Treatment Decisions in Early-Stage Breast Cancer
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Kurian et al, surveys in a population-based sample of patients recently diagnosed with breast cancer indicate that many undergo genetic risk testing without seeing a genetics counselor and that many with BRCA1/2 variants of uncertain significance...
AANS 2017: Seizure Outcome After Surgical Resection of Insular Glioma
Winner of the Journal of Neuro-Oncology Award sponsored by Kluwer Academic Publishers, Doris Du Wang, MD, PhD, a resident in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), presented her research on seizure outcome after surgical resection of insular...
PD-L1 Expression and Radiation Resistance in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma
According to a study by Skinner et al, the primary cause of death in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is local treatment failure. Although human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is sensitive to radiation, HPV-negative tumors are...
Adding Bevacizumab to Paclitaxel-Carboplatin in Recurrent Platinum-Sensitive Ovarian Cancer
In a phase III trial (NRG Oncology/Gynecologic Oncology Group GOG-0213 trial) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Coleman et al found evidence of an overall survival advantage with the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to paclitaxel-carboplatin in recurrent platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer. The...
Cancer Mortality Trends in the United States Vary Widely by County From 1980 to 2014
In a study reported in JAMA, Ali H. Mokdad, PhD, and colleagues from the University of Washington, Seattle, found that cancer mortality rates in the United States dropped from 240.2 to 192.0 per 100,000 population between 1980 and 2014.1 Mortality rates varied widely among U.S. counties for...
Expert Point of View: George Demetri, MD
“I am intrigued by this study. I have no idea by which molecular mechanism this [tumor-treating fields therapy] works, but the data are the data,” said George Demetri, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Center, Boston. Dr. Demetri moderated the press conference where these data were discussed. “A panoply...
‘Out-of-the-Box’ Approach Plus Temozolomide Extends Survival in Glioblastoma
Using a novel approach called tumor-treating fields—which involves the delivery of low-intensity electric fields to the brain by a patient-operated device—along with standard-of-care temozolomide therapy improved overall survival and progression-free survival vs temozolomide alone in patients with...
First-in-Human Experience With Abemaciclib
The investigational cyclin D–dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib was recently evaluated in several solid tumor types in a phase I multicenter trial.1 Given primarily as a single agent and with continuous dosing, abemaciclib showed encouraging early signals of clinical activity not only ...
CDK4/6 Inhibitors: Where They Are Now and Where They Are Headed in the Future
Geoffrey I. Shapiro, MD, PhD, Director of the Early Drug Development Center at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, explained the current research initiatives involving cyclin D–dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitors. Mechanism of Action How do CDK4/6 inhibitors work at the cellular level in...
CDK4/6 Inhibitors: Their Role in Breast Cancer
The robust progression-free survival benefits achieved with the use of the CDK4/6 inhibitors palbociclib or ribociclib in the metastatic setting provided the impetus to study these agents in early-stage breast cancer. Adjuvant studies are underway, but they take time to mature. For evaluating...
ELCC 2017: Men May Need More Frequent Lung Cancer Screening Than Women
Men may need more frequent lung cancer screening than women, according to research to be presented by Koo et al at the 2017 European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC). The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends annual screening for lung cancer with low-dose computed tomography (CT) in adults...
Higher Costs for Complex Cancer Surgery May Be an Indicator of Lower-Quality Care
Higher costs for complex cancer surgery may be an indicator of worse—rather than better—quality of care, according to new research by experts at Rice University and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Their findings are published by Ho et al in Surgery, and provide...
European Commission Approves Nivolumab for Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma Progressing on or After Platinum-Based Therapy
On April 28, the European Commission approved nivolumab (Opdivo) as monotherapy for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) in adults with disease progression on or after platinum-based therapy. Nivolumab is the first and only immuno-oncology treatment that has...
Perioperative Hepatic Arterial Infusion Pump Chemotherapy After Resection of Colorectal Liver Metastases
A propensity score analysis in a prospectively maintained database at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) has shown that use of perioperative hepatic arterial infusion pump chemotherapy after complete resection of colorectal liver metastases is associated with a marked improvement in...
Prostate-Specific Antigen Testing Rates Appear to Level Off After Recent Drop
Declines in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing that came after changes in government screening guidelines have abated in recent years, according to a new study. In JAMA Internal Medicine, American Cancer Society (ACS) investigators led by Stacy A. Fedewa, PhD, wrote that about 1 in 3 men aged...
Complete Surgical Metastasectomy for Patients With Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma May Extend Life Expectancy
Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered that surgery could more than double life expectancy for many patients with late-stage kidney cancer, giving them anywhere from 2 to almost 10 years more than they would have without the surgery. A paper published by Zaid et al in The Journal of Urology found...
Nivolumab in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Nivolumab (Opdivo) has been found to produce durable responses in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, in the phase I/II CheckMate 040 trial. These findings were reported in The Lancet by El-Khoueiry et al. Study Details The phase I/II dose-escalation and dose-expansion trial was...
Lenalidomide Maintenance in Older Patients With Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
In the international phase III REMARC trial reported by Thieblemont et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, lenalidomide (Revlimid) maintenance was found to prolong progression-free survival vs placebo in older patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma responding to first-line R-CHOP...
FDA Approves Brigatinib for Metastatic ALK-Positive Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer
On April 28, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to brigatinib (Alunbrig) for the treatment of patients with metastatic anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have had disease progression on or are...
Potential Predictive Biomarker of Response to Crizotinib in Lung Cancer
Although the duration and magnitude of clinical response are unpredictable in patients with ALK-rearranged non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with crizotinib (Xalkori), eventually all patients develop resistance to the drug. A study by Pailler et al evaluating whether circulating...
Novel Imaging Method for Predicting Immunotherapy Response
Although cancer immunotherapy can produce dramatic responses, only a minority of patients benefit from such therapy. Being able to differentiate treated responders from nonresponders early in the course of therapy would help to triage nonresponding patients away from ineffective therapies, reducing ...
Second-Line Pazopanib vs Weekly Paclitaxel in Relapsed or Progressive Urothelial Cancer
A UK phase II trial comparing pazopanib (Votrient) with paclitaxel after failure of platinum-based therapy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma was stopped early due to futility. These results were reported by Jones et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Two...
