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Showing 451 - 500FDA Grants Alectinib Priority Review for Initial Treatment of ALK-Positive Lung Cancer
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted Genentech’s supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) and granted Priority Review for alectinib (Alecensa) as a first-line treatment for people with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive, locally advanced, or metastatic...
In Case You Missed It: Short Takes on Current Cancer Research
MOST ONCOLOGISTS are familiar with the findings of the plenary sessions featured at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting, with topics ranging from the duration of adjuvant oxaliplatin-based therapy in stage III colon cancer to patient-reported outcomes for symptom monitoring during routine cancer...
Effect of BRAF V600E Mutation on Outcome in Pediatric Low-Grade Gliomas
An analysis reported by Lassaletta et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology showed that BRAF V600E mutation is associated with a poor outcome in pediatric low-grade gliomas treated with standard adjuvant therapy. Study Details The study involved patients with low-grade gliomas with long-term...
Analysis Reveals Genomic Alterations, Oncogenes Driving Medulloblastoma Subtypes
The most comprehensive analysis yet of medulloblastoma has identified genomic changes responsible for more than 75% of the brain tumors, including two new suspected cancer genes that were found exclusively in the least understood disease subgroups. The study from an international research...
Single-Center Trial of Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Completely Resected Brain Metastases
In a U.S. single-institution study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Mahajan et al found that stereotactic radiosurgery to the surgical cavity reduced local recurrence vs observation in patients with completely resected brain metastases. Study Details In the trial, 128 evaluable patients at MD...
Breast Cancer and Brain Metastases: Whole-Brain Radiotherapy May Not Be the Answer
FOR PATIENTS WITH BREAST CANCER who have metastases to the central nervous system (CNS), clinicians should think twice before administering whole-brain radiotherapy, according to Kimberly Blackwell, MD, Professor of Medicine and Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Duke University Medical...
Expert Point of View: Lynn Schuchter, MD
DISCUSSANT LYNN SCHUCHTER, MD, the C. Willard Professor of Medicine at the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, said the findings herald “a new era on two fronts…. Systemic therapy as initial treatment for patients with asymptomatic central nervous system (CNS)...
Drug Combinations Prove Effective Against Melanoma Brain Metastases
STUDIES PRESENTED at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting have shown that for melanoma that metastasizes to the brain, the combined use of checkpoint inhibitors and targeted agents can be effective. In COMBI-MB, 58% of patients responded intracranially to the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib (Tafinlar) plus the...
Stereotactic Radiosurgery vs Whole-Brain Radiotherapy for Resected Metastatic Brain Disease
In the phase III NCCTG N107C/CEC.3 trial, stereotactic radiosurgery to the surgical cavity reduced cognitive deterioration and was associated with similar overall survival vs whole-brain radiotherapy in patients with resected brain metastasis. These results were reported by Brown et al in The...
ASTRO Updates Insurance Coverage Recommendations for Proton Therapy
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has issued an update to its recommendations for medical insurance coverage regarding the use of proton beam therapy to treat cancer. The updated Proton Beam Therapy Model Policy provides guidance to payers on clinical indications that are...
Study Demonstrates Potential for Artificial Intelligence and Whole-Genome Sequencing to Scale Access to Precision Medicine
In a study published by Wrzeszczynski et al in Neurology: Genetics, researchers at the New York Genome Center (NYGC), The Rockefeller University, and IBM illustrated the potential of IBM Watson for Genomics to analyze complex genomic data from state-of-the-art sequencing of whole genomes. The study ...
FDA Approves Aminolevulinic Acid Hydrochloride as an Optical Imaging Agent Indicated in Gliomas
ON JUNE 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride, known as ALA HCl (Gleolan), as an optical imaging agent indicated in patients with gliomas (suspected World Health Organization [WHO] grades III or IV) for preoperative imaging, as an adjunct for the...
Atezolizumab as First-Line or Subsequent Treatment in PD-L1–Selected Advanced NSCLC
In the phase II BIRCH trial, atezolizumab (Tecentriq) was found to produce higher response rates as first-line or subsequent therapy in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with higher levels of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression. Study findings were...
Alectinib vs Crizotinib in First-Line Treatment of ALK-Positive NSCLC
In 2011, crizotinib (Xalkori) became the first effective targeted therapy for anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Now data from a phase III trial show that alectinib (Alecensa), a second-generation ALK inhibitor, outperformed crizotinib, the current...
Lessons Learned and to Be Learned: Reducing Risk of Subsequent Malignancies in Childhood Cancer Survivors
I recently saw a patient in our survivorship clinic. She was treated at age 15 years for Hodgkin lymphoma and is now in her early 50s. During the prior 2 decades, she had developed both bilateral breast cancer and thyroid cancer, as well as multiple basal cell carcinomas, all occurring within her...
FDA Approves Aminolevulinic Acid Hydrochloride as an Optical Imaging Agent Indicated in Gliomas
On June 6, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aminolevulinic acid hydrochloride, known as ALA HCl (Gleolan), as an optical imaging agent indicated in patients with gliomas (suspected World Health Organization [WHO] Grades III or IV) for preoperative imaging, as an adjunct for the...
Combinations of Novel Treatment Approaches Continue to Make Progress in Overcoming Challenges of Pediatric Brain Tumors
Nearly 2,500 children in the United States are diagnosed with brain tumors each year, making these malignancies among the most common solid tumors in children and adolescents. Despite advances over the past few decades, the treatment of brain tumors remains one of the most challenging clinical...
ALEX Trial: Alectinib vs Crizotinib in Untreated Advanced ALK-Positive NSCLC
As reported at the recent ASCO Annual Meeting and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Peters et al, the phase III ALEX trial has shown improvement in progression-free survival with alectinib (Alecensa) vs crizotinib (Xalkori) in the first-line treatment of advanced ALK-positive...
Dinutuximab vs Temsirolimus in Combination Therapy for Children With Refractory or Relapsed Neuroblastoma
A randomized phase II trial (Children’s Oncology Group [COG] ANBL1221) has resulted in the selection of dinutuximab (Unituxin) plus irinotecan/temozolomide as a regimen to be further evaluated in the treatment of pediatric patients with refractory or relapsed neuroblastoma. Study results were ...
Eric Jonasch, MD, on Von-Hippel Lindau Disease: Pazopanib Trial
Eric Jonasch, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the largest prospective VHL disease-specific therapeutic trial performed to date, and the data that show pazopanib resulted in significant and sustained disease control for the majority of patients enrolled on the...
FDA Broadens Ceritinib Indication to Previously Untreated ALK-Positive Metastatic NSCLC
On May 26, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to ceritinib (Zykadia) for patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors are anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive as detected by an FDA-approved test. In April 2014,...
After Nearly 4 Decades of Research, W.K. Alfred Yung, MD, Sees a New Era Ahead for Advances in Brain Tumors
After he was not accepted into the University of Hong Kong, plan B for W.K. Alfred Yung, MD, was to leave his country and immigrate to the United States to attend the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis—a move he considers more exile than choice. Born on April 8, 1948, in Hong Kong, Dr. Yung...
Osimertinib in Metastatic EGFR T790M–Mutant NSCLC After EGFR Inhibitor Therapy
On March 30, 2017, osimertinib (Tagrisso) was granted regular approval for the treatment of patients with metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M–mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as detected by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved test, who have progressed...
Key Gene Controlling Tumor Growth in Gliomas Pinpointed
Cedars-Sinai investigators have identified a stem cell–regulating gene that affects tumor growth in patients with brain cancer and may strongly influence survival rates of patients. The findings, published by Edwards et al in Scientific Reports,1 may move physicians closer to their goal of better...
Optimizing Treatment for Elderly Patients With Glioblastoma
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...
Short-Course Radiotherapy Plus Temozolomide Improves Survival in Older Patients With Glioblastoma
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...
Revisions to the International Neuroblastoma Response Criteria
A consensus statement from a National Cancer Institute–sponsored clinical trials planning meeting, reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Park et al, presents revisions to the International Neuroblastoma Response Criteria (INRC) for assessing treatment response in patients with...
ONS 2017: Hospital-Wide Initiative to Standardize the Administration of Vinca Alkaloids Using a Mini-Bag, Side-Arm Technique
Many patients with cancer who receive vinca alkaloids such as vincristine have a treatment regimen including other chemotherapy drugs that are administered intrathecally. If vincristine is mistakenly administered into the spinal fluid, it is uniformly fatal, causing ascending paralysis, neurologic...
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)...
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...
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...
AANS 2017: Genetic Underpinnings of Desmoplastic Infantile Ganglioglioma/Astrocytoma
Winner of the American Brain Tumor Association Young Investigator Award Anthony C. Wang, MD, a neurosurgeon at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Mattel Children’s Hospital and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, presented his research findings on desmoplastic infantile...
One Physician’s Experience
In a separate interview, George Ansstas, MD, a medical neuro-oncologist at Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University, St. Louis, discussed his experience in treating patients with tumor-treating fields. He has treated about 35 patients with glioblastoma in the first-line setting and 20 with...
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...
Study Finds Vaccine-Chemotherapy Combination Prolongs Overall Survival in Glioblastoma
Despite highly aggressive therapy that includes maximal tumor resection, high-dose radiation, and temozolomide chemotherapy, the prognosis for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma is dismal, with a median survival of less than 15 months, prompting researchers to study novel approaches to...
Potential Therapeutic Target for Malignant Teratoid/Rhabdoid Tumors Identified in Preclinical Study
Using state-of-the-art gene-editing technology, scientists from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago have discovered a promising target to treat atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor, a highly aggressive and therapy-resistant brain tumor that mostly occurs in infants. They found...
AACR 2017: Addition of TTFields to Temozolomide Treatment Improves Survival for Patients With Glioblastoma
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 ...
FDA Grants Osimertinib Full Approval in Metastatic EGFR T790M Mutation–Positive NSCLC
On March 30, 2017, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to osimertinib (Tagrisso) for the treatment of patients with metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as detected by an...
New First-Line Options for ALK-Positive Lung Cancer on the Horizon
Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements define a subset of non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients for whom ALK inhibitors are highly effective. In PROFILE 1014, the multitargeted ALK inhibitor crizotinib (Xalkori) was shown to be superior to platinum/pemetrexed (Alimta) chemotherapy...
Adding Temozolomide to Short-Course Radiotherapy in Older Patients With Glioblastoma
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 ...
Busulfan and Melphalan vs Carboplatin, Etoposide, and Melphalan in High-Risk Neuroblastoma
In a phase III trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ladenstein et al found that high-dose chemotherapy with busulfan and melphalan vs carboplatin, etoposide, and melphalan was associated with an improved event-free survival in patients with high-risk neuroblastoma and adequate disease response to ...
Factors Associated With Early Death in Childhood Cancer
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Green et al found that risk factors for death within 1 month of diagnosis of childhood cancer included age up to 1 year, specific diagnoses, and minority race/ethnicity. The study involved analysis of data from SEER (Surveillance,...
Key Gene Controlling Tumor Growth in Gliomas Pinpointed
Cedars-Sinai investigators have identified a stem cell–regulating gene that affects tumor growth in patients with brain cancer and can strongly influence survival rates of patients. The findings, published by Edwards et al in Nature Scientific Reports, could move physicians closer to their...
Low-Grade Gliomas: Understanding the New Treatment Paradigm
Diffuse infiltrating low-grade gliomas include oligodendrogliomas and astrocytomas and account for about 5% of all primary brain tumors. Treatment strategies for these low-grade gliomas in adults have recently changed, as detailed in a recent review in the Journal of Oncology Practice.1 The...
Osimertinib in EGFR Inhibitor–Pretreated T790M-Positive Advanced NSCLC
In the phase II extension component of the phase I/II AURA trial, reported by Yang et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, osimertinib (Tagrisso) was found to be highly active in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor–pretreated T790M-positive advanced...
Study Finds No Evidence of Cytomegalovirus in Glioblastoma and Other High-Grade Gliomas
In a rigorous study of tumor tissue collected from 125 patients with aggressive brain cancers, researchers at Johns Hopkins said they have found no evidence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and concluded that a link between the two diseases, as claimed by earlier reports, likely does not exist. A ...
Holger N. Lode, MD: Neuroblastoma Survival Update (German Language Version) 
Holger N. Lode, MD, of the University of Greifswald, discusses in German the survival of neuroblastoma patients treated with long-term infusion of the anti-GD2 antibody ch14.18/CHO and killer-cell Ig-like receptor genotypes and Fc-receptor polymorphisms. (Abstract 111)
Holger N. Lode, MD: Neuroblastoma Survival Update
Holger N. Lode, MD, of the University of Greifswald, discusses the survival of neuroblastoma patients treated with long-term infusion of the anti-GD2 antibody ch14.18/CHO and killer-cell Ig-like receptor genotypes and Fc-receptor polymorphisms. (Abstract 111)
Bright Future for Osimertinib in EGFR T790M–Positive Lung Cancer
The AURA3 study—reported by Mok and colleagues and reviewed in this issue of The ASCO Post—confirms the dramatic activity of osimertinib (Tagrisso) in patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and acquired resistance to prior EGFR...
