The addition of the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab to chemotherapy with cisplatin/gemcitabine as first-line therapy improved overall survival in patients with advanced biliary tract cancer, according to results of the KEYNOTE-966 trial presented at the 2023 American Association for Cancer...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Xu et al, an interim analysis of the phase III RATIONALE-306 trial has shown improved overall survival with the addition of the anti–PD-1 antibody tislelizumab to chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Vicky Makker, MD, and colleagues, an updated analysis of the phase III Study 309/KEYNOTE-775 trial showed overall and progression-free survival benefits with lenvatinib/pembrolizumab vs physician’s choice of chemotherapy among previously treated...
The addition of a checkpoint inhibitor to standard chemotherapy as first-line treatment of advanced endometrial cancer reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 70% in patients with mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) tumors in two recent phase III studies. The results of the two...
Researchers have found that the novel intravesical chemotherapy delivery system TAR-200 may be safe and effective for patients with advanced muscle-invasive bladder cancer who are medically unfit for standard treatment, according to a new study published by Tyson et al in The Journal of Urology....
On April 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the antibody-drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin-ejfv (Padcev) in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who are...
Menin inhibitors are making inroads in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). These drugs selectively target KMT2A-rearranged or NPM1-mutant AML, and early studies suggest they will be a welcome addition for patients with these aberrations. KMT2A rearrangements occur in about 5% of patients ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Kim N. Chi, MD, and colleagues, the phase III MAGNITUDE trial showed that the addition of niraparib to abiraterone acetate and prednisone improved radiographic progression–free survival as first-line treatment in patients with metastatic...
In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Tang et al found that the use of the subcutaneous route for administering medications and fluids in patients with cancer was highly predominant in a Canadian center, whereas use of the intravenous (IV) route was nearly universal in a U.S....
On March 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval to the anti–PD-1 therapy pembrolizumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) solid tumors, as...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by de Braud et al, findings in the expansion cohort of a phase Ib trial indicate activity with the combination of the BRAF/CRAF kinase inhibitor naporafenib and trametinib in patients with advanced or metastatic NRAS-mutant melanoma. Study Details In ...
On January 27, 2023, pirtobrutinib was granted accelerated approval for treatment of relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma after at least two lines of systemic therapy, including a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor.1 Pirtobrutinib is a noncovalent inhibitor of BTK. Supporting Efficacy...
Northwell Health has appointed Richard D. Carvajal, MD, a clinician and researcher in melanoma and early-phase drug development, as Deputy Physician-in-Chief and Director of Medical Oncology at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute. He also was named the R. J. Zuckerberg Chair in Medical Oncology....
In a phase II trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Locke J. Bryan, MD, and colleagues found that the combination of pembrolizumab with ICE chemotherapy (a regimen including ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide) produced a high rate of complete response in patients with relapsed or refractory...
Results of the interim analysis of KEYNOTE-859 are in, and they confirm the overall survival benefit of first-line immunotherapy plus chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer.1 Pembrolizumab plus a fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing doublet provided a statistically significant improvement in...
In an analysis from the phase III KEYNOTE-826 trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Bradley J. Monk, MD, and colleagues found that the addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab did not adversely affect health-related quality of life in patients with persistent,...
A trial conducted at the University Hospital Bonn, Germany, has been testing the benefit of PSMA-PET/CT (prostate-specific membrane antigen–positron-emission tomography/computed tomography) to help target where to take biopsy samples, potentially improving the diagnosis of prostate cancer by giving ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored that public health is the product of one global, integrated ecosystem. Although it is tempting to focus on specific aspects of local health-care systems, or the political or physical environment, health and health care in other countries also impacts the United ...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Toni K. Choueiri, MD, and colleagues, extended follow-up of the phase III CLEAR trial has shown maintained progression-free and overall survival benefits with first-line lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab vs sunitinib in patients with advanced clear cell renal cell...
In the phase II SWOG Cancer Research Network S1801 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Sapna P. Patel, MD, and colleagues found that neoadjuvant plus adjuvant pembrolizumab significantly improved event-free survival vs adjuvant pembrolizumab alone in patients with stage IIIB to...
In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Saberzadeh-Ardestani et al found that first-line pembrolizumab was associated with clinically significant prolongation of survival outcomes in mostly older patients with mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer....
Although patient navigation is increasingly recognized as an important component in the delivery of patient-centered cancer care, the service is not universally available across all cancer programs in the United States, often because of the concerns of extra cost without tangible financial...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Marina C. Garassino, MD, and colleagues, 5-year follow-up in the phase III KEYNOTE-189 trial has shown maintained progression-free and overall survival benefits with the addition of pembrolizumab to pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy in the...
Combination regimens beyond lenalidomide/dexamethasone were shown to significantly delay—and potentially prevent altogether—progression from smoldering disease to active multiple myeloma, according to researchers who reported findings from two studies at the 2022 American Society of Hematology...
Results of the interim analysis of KEYNOTE-859 are in, and they confirm the overall survival benefit of first-line immunotherapy plus chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer. Pembrolizumab plus a fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing doublet provided a statistically significant improvement in...
As in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2023 ASCO GI Cancers Symposium—its 20th such gathering—played to a full ballroom. It featured a stellar lineup of experts in the field as well as high-quality, impactful research in esophageal, gastric, hepatocellular, pancreatic, biliary tract, and ...
In a Chinese phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ding et al found that camrelizumab plus apatinib produced durable objective responses in most patients with recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Study Details The multicenter trial enrolled 58 patients between...
Urvi A. Shah, MD, Assistant Attending at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, moderated the session where the MagnetisMM trial updates1,2 were reported and was interviewed by The ASCO Post. Elranatamab vs Teclistamab Dr. Shah noted...
As reported in The Lancet by de Langen et al, the phase III CodeBreaK 200 trial has shown a significant improvement in progression-free survival with sotorasib vs docetaxel in previously treated patients with advanced KRAS G12C–mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Study Details In the...
In a French noncomparative phase II trial (PRODIGE 41-BEVANEC) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Walter et al found that the addition of bevacizumab to FOLFIRI (irinotecan, leucovorin, and fluorouracil) did not appear to improve overall survival in the second-line treatment of patients with advanced ...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Silvia Novello, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the 5-year update of the phase III KEYNOTE-407 trial showed continued overall survival and progression-free survival benefit with the addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of...
On January 27, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to pirtobrutinib (Jaypirca) for patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma after at least two lines of systemic therapy, including a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor. BRUIN Efficacy was...
On January 26, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for adjuvant treatment following resection and platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with stage IB (T2a, ≥ 4 cm), II, or IIIA non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). KEYNOTE-091 Efficacy was evaluated in...
Urvi A. Shah, MD, Assistant Attending at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Assistant Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, moderated the session where the MagnetisMM trial updates1,2 were reported and was interviewed by The ASCO Post. Elranatamab vs Teclistamab Dr. Shah noted...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Pieter Sonneveld, MD, PhD, of Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and colleagues, the final overall survival analysis of the phase III CASTOR trial has shown a significant benefit of the addition of daratumumab to...
In an analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Vicky Makker, MD, and colleagues provided updated findings from the phase Ib/II Study 111/KEYNOTE-146 trial of lenvatinib and pembrolizumab in previously treated patients with advanced endometrial carcinoma. The study supported the...
The combination of palbociclib and fulvestrant did not prolong progression-free survival compared to fulvestrant alone in patients with hormone receptor–positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who had disease progression on prior treatment with a CDK4/6 inhibitor and endocrine therapy,...
In a single-center phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ludford et al found that neoadjuvant pembrolizumab produced a high pathologic complete response rate and radiographic objective response rate in patients with localized microsatellite instability–high/mismatch...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Qin et al, the phase III KEYNOTE-394 trial showed overall and progression-free survival benefits with pembrolizumab vs placebo in previously treated Asian patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Study Details The double-blind trial...
On September 20, 2022, sodium thiosulfate was approved to reduce the risk of ototoxicity associated with cisplatin in pediatric patients (aged ≥ 1 month) with localized, nonmetastatic solid tumors.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the multicenter open-label SIOPEL 6...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Sonneveld et al, the final overall survival analysis of the phase III CASTOR trial has shown a significant overall survival benefit with daratumumab plus bortezomib/dexamethasone (D-Vd) vs bortezomib/dexamethasone alone (Vd) in patients with...
In an Australian phase IIb trial (MedCan1-CBD) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hardy et al found that use of cannabidiol (CBD) oil did not improve symptom distress vs placebo in adult patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative care. Study Details The double-blind multicenter...
The ASCO Post is pleased to present Hematology Expert Review, an ongoing feature that quizzes readers on issues in hematology. In this installment, Drs. Syed Ali Abutalib and Mrinal M. Patnaik explore the current treatment and prognosis of chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. For each quiz question...
On September 20, 2022, sodium thiosulfate was approved to reduce the risk of ototoxicity associated with cisplatin in pediatric patients (aged ≥ 1 month) with localized, nonmetastatic solid tumors.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on findings in the multicenter open-label SIOPEL 6...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Gilberto de Castro, Jr, MD, PhD, and colleagues, 5-year follow-up of the KEYNOTE-042 trial showed a maintained overall survival benefit with first-line pembrolizumab vs chemotherapy in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a PD-L1...
The highly anticipated final analysis of the phase III LEAP-002 trial failed to meet expectations, as first-line treatment with lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab did not significantly improve outcomes in unresectable advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Both progression-free survival and overall survival ...
Pembrolizumab plus chemoradiation failed to demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in event-free survival vs chemoradiation alone in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, but favorable numerical trends were demonstrated, according to results of the phase ...
On March 23, 2022, the radioligand therapeutic agent lutetium Lu-177 vipivotide tetraxetan was approved for treatment of patients with prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have been treated with an androgen receptor pathway inhibitor ...
“CodeBreaK 200 clearly establishes sotorasib as the new standard of care, replacing docetaxel as second- or third-line therapy for advanced KRAS G12C–mutated lung cancer,” stated invited discussant Natasha Leighl, MD, of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto. “Sotorasib improved...
The KRAS G12C inhibitor sotorasib doubled the rate of progression-free survival at 12 months and reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 34% compared with standard second-line docetaxel for patients with previously treated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and KRAS G12C mutations....