Lung cancer persistently remains the leading cause of cancer death among men and women in the United States. Only about 15% of lung cancers are diagnosed at the localized stage, when clinical intervention could markedly improve patient outcomes. For decades, lung cancer specialists and advocacy...
On May 23, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic, microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) solid tumors that have progressed ...
Puma Biotechnology presented interim results from the phase Ib/II FB-10 clinical trial of the oral pan-HER family irreversible tyrosine kinase inhibitor neratinib given in combination with the antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (also known as T-DM1, Kadcyla) at the 2017 American...
In 2005, Stupp and colleagues published their landmark paper demonstrating in a randomized phase III trial that the addition of temozolomide to radiation increased overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Notably, patients over age 70 years were excluded from this study.1...
In a phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, James R. Perry, MD, of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, and colleagues found that adding temozolomide to short-course radiotherapy improved overall survival in patients aged at least 65 years with newly diagnosed...
In patients with stage III/IV melanoma, immunologically “cold” tumors were rendered immunologically active through intratumoral injections of plasmid interleukin-12 (IL-12) combined with pembrolizumab (Keytruda).1 Describing the approach at the 2017 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium,...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who have disease progression during or following platinum-containing chemotherapy or within 12 months of neoadjuvant or...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Lee et al, a phase I study has shown activity of the combination of the programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor durvalumab with either the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) or vascular endothelial growth...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Laurent et al, expert review of lymphoma diagnoses in French patients resulted in a change in diagnosis in 19.4% of cases of noncutaneous disease. Study Details In the study, 42,145 samples from patients with newly diagnosed or suspected...
On May 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the copackaging of ribociclib (Kisqali) and letrozole (Femara) tablets for the treatment of hormone receptor–positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer in postmenopausal ...
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 ...
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)...
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...
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 ...
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 ...
Scientific Name: Vaccinium macrocarpon Common Names: Mossberry, sassamanash, bounceberry Case Study M.C. is a 55-year-old woman with a history of stage I endometrial cancer, diagnosed and curatively treated 5 years ago. Since then, she has been having urinary tract infections from time to time....
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has issued a new clinical guideline for the management of oropharyngeal cancer. The guideline, “Radiation therapy for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma: An ASTRO Evidence-based Clinical Practice Guideline,” was published by Sher et ...
The programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)–inhibitor avelumab (Bavencio) has shown activity in patients with refractory metastatic urothelial cancer, according to findings in a phase Ib study reported by Apolo et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. This patient cohort is part of the...
A French phase III trial (IFM 2009), reported by Attal et al in The New England Journal of Medicine, has shown that consolidation treatment with lenalidomide (Revlimid), bortezomib (Velcade), and dexamethasone (RVD) was associated with poorer progression-free survival vs high-dose chemotherapy and...
Interim results from the phase Ib/II FB-10 clinical trial of neratinib given in combination with the antibody-drug conjugate ado-trastuzumab emtansine (T-DM1, Kadcyla) were reported in a poster at the 2017 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, according...
On March 13, the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor ribociclib (Kisqali) was approved for use in combination with an aromatase inhibitor as initial endocrine-based therapy for the treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to avelumab (Bavencio) on March 23, 2017, for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, including those who have not received prior chemotherapy. Avelumab is a...
In the phase II KEYNOTE-055 trial, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was found to produce durable responses in patients with platinum- and cetuximab (Erbitux)-refractory head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Results of the trial were reported by Bauml et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology....
Patients with glioblastoma who wore a medical device that delivers alternating electrical fields in addition to being treated with the chemotherapeutic temozolomide had significantly improved median overall survival compared with those treated with temozolomide only, according to final results from ...
About 5% to 10% of breast cancer cases and 10% to 18% of ovarian cancer cases can be attributed to two BRCA genetic mutations. Testing for these genetic abnormalities has risen steadily over the past decade. Previously, mainly women with a history of cancer were referred for genetic testing, but as ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today granted accelerated approval to avelumab (Bavencio) for the treatment of adults and pediatric patients 12 years and older with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, including those who have not received prior chemotherapy. Avelumab is a programmed cell...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Chan Shen, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues found that more than three-quarters of patients receiving targeted oral therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) reached the catastrophic phase of the...
Geriatrician-oncologist Arti Hurria, MD, has been named Vice Provost for Clinical Faculty at City of Hope. “I spent most of my formative years at City of Hope and was very fortunate,” said Dr. Hurria, who’s been at the medical center for 10 years. “I had mentors who helped me along the way and...
In a phase III trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Perry et al found that adding temozolomide to short-course radiotherapy improved overall survival in patients aged ≥ 65 years with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. The survival advantage was largest among patients with methylated ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an anti–PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1) therapy, for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients who have refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma or have relapsed after three or more prior lines of...
On March 13, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ribociclib (Kisqali), a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6 inhibitor, in combination with an aromatase inhibitor as initial endocrine-based therapy for the treatment of postmenopausal women with hormone receptor–positive,...
The investigational drug pacritinib met the primary endpoint of the phase III PERSIST-2 trial in high-risk patients with myelofibrosis and thrombocytopenia. Treatment with the Janus kinase (JAK)1/2 inhibitor pacritinib achieved a significant reduction in spleen volume compared with best available...
Three outstanding individuals have been honored with the American Cancer Society Medal of Honor Award. The Medal of Honor is awarded to those who have made the most valuable contributions and impact in saving more lives from cancer through basic research, clinical research, and cancer control....
Despite advances in treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the 5% to 10% of patients who develop Richter transformation continue to have poor outcomes. For these patients, median progression-free survival is approximately 6 months, and median overall survival is about 8 months. Phase II...
In the phase III OPTIMIZE-2 trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Hortobagyi et al found that an every-12-week schedule of zoledronic acid was noninferior to an every-4-week schedule in terms of skeletal-related event rate in women with bone metastases from breast cancer who were currently receiving...
On February 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for review two supplemental Biologics License Applications (sBLAs) for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. Specifically, the application for first-line use was accepted and...
Classical Hodgkin lymphoma is one of the malignancies most susceptible to treatment with monoclonal antibodies targeting the programmed cell death protein (PD-1). Nivolumab (Opdivo) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in patients with relapsed/refractory...
In a study reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice, Shen et al found that more than three-quarters of patients receiving targeted oral therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) reached the catastrophic phase of the Medicare Part D benefit within the calendar year of starting such treatment....
The BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax (Venclexta) was found to be active in patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), according to a phase I study reported by Davids et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Further study of this agent, including in combination therapy to augment...
Technically, vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone, not a vitamin. Increasing evidence indicates that vitamin D exerts effects beyond calcium homeostasis. Importantly, for example, higher serum vitamin D levels are associated with better cancer outcomes, including survival.1-3 The protective effects...
Telehealth is the delivery of health care remotely via telecommunication tools. Its aim is to increase access to care, especially for patients with chronic diseases such as cancer and for populations for whom care is not always available. With the growing availability of broadband and portable...
Precision medicine has advanced to the point where it can now impact the care of a majority of children with brain tumors, a new study by investigators at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center suggests. In the largest clinical study to date of genetic abnormalities in...
In a phase Ib study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Seymour et al found that the combination of the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax (Venclexta) and the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab (Rituxan) was highly active in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia...
In an article published by Siegel et al in The Journal of Nuclear Medicine, researchers assert that exposure to medical radiation does not increase a person’s risk of getting cancer. The long-held belief that even low doses of radiation, such as those received in diagnostic imaging, increase...
Additional interventions following upfront autologous stem cell transplant in multiple myeloma did not further improve progression-free or overall survival over transplant alone in a multicenter study presented as a late-breaking abstract at the 2016 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual...
Asian patients with head and neck cancer live longer with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) immunotherapy than the overall population, according to a subanalysis of the KEYNOTE-012 trial presented at the ESMO Asia 2016 Congress in Singapore. “Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is the seventh most...
The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) are calling on policymakers and leaders throughout the world to provide robust and sustained funding for cancer research. The two organizations say there has been a...
City of Hope’s Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, has received an accolade that recognizes his decades-long dedication to treating patients with lung cancer and researching new therapies. Dr. Salgia received the 2016 Asclepius Award from...
On November 21, 2016, daratumumab (Darzalex) was approved for use in combination with lenalidomide (Revlimid) and dexamethasone or with bortezomib (Velcade) and dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy.1,2 The drug was initially ...
Compared with standard therapy, pacritinib significantly reduces spleen size among people with myelofibrosis who have very low levels of platelets, according to a late-breaking study presented by Mascarenhas et al during the 58th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition...