In the phase III NETTER-1 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Jonathan R. Strosberg, MD, of the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, and colleagues found that the addition of the targeted radiotherapeutic agent lutetium Lu-177 dotatate to the long-acting repeatable (LAR)...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Antonia R. Sepulveda, MD, PhD, of Columbia University, and colleagues, a joint guideline on the use of molecular biomarkers for evaluation of colorectal cancer has been developed by an expert panel from the American Society for Clinical Pathology...
As reported by Hua et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, long-term survivors of colorectal cancer with KRAS wild-type tumors had improved survival with regular use of any nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) post diagnosis. The study involved data from 2,149 patients aged 18 to 74...
The phase III UK TACT2 trial has shown no efficacy benefit of accelerated vs standard epirubicin and a potential quality-of-life benefit of capecitabine vs CMF (cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, fluorouracil) as adjuvant therapy for breast cancer. The findings were reported in The Lancet Oncology by...
In a UK phase II trial reported in The Lancet Oncology, Middleton et al found that adding the multi–tyrosine kinase inhibitor vandetanib (Caprelsa) to gemcitabine did not improve overall survival in patients with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic carcinoma. John P....
In a Swedish study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Stacy Loeb, MD, of New York University, and colleagues found that use of testosterone replacement therapy was not associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer and was associated with a lower risk of aggressive cancer among...
In a retrospective multicenter cohort study reported in JAMA, Lucie M. Turcotte, MD, MPH, of the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and colleagues found that the risk of subsequent neoplasms in 5-year survivors of childhood cancers decreased between those diagnosed in the 1970s vs the 1990s but ...
A phase III equivalence trial has shown comparable pathologic complete response rates with the proposed trastuzumab biosimilar CT-P6 vs reference trastuzumab (Herceptin) in neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer. The study was reported by Stebbing et al in The Lancet Oncology....
A retrospective analysis reported in the Journal of Oncology Practice by Einstein et al showed the benefits of embedding palliative care in a clinic specializing in targeted and immune-based treatments in patients with melanoma or renal cancer. Study Details The study included data from 114...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Morrow et al found that the rates of surgery after initial lumpectomy for stage I or II breast cancer have decreased with dissemination of guidelines advocating a minimal negative surgical margin. A 2014 consensus statement of the Society of Surgical Oncology...
According to a study by Olszewski and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Medicare Part D beneficiaries without a low-income subsidy may face daunting barriers in affording oral immunomodulatory drugs for myeloma. The low-income subsidy markedly reduces out-of-pocket costs for...
The phase III ASCEND-5 trial has shown a significant improvement in progression-free survival with ceritinib (Zykadia) vs chemotherapy in advanced ALK-rearranged non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) previously treated with crizotinib (Xalkori) and chemotherapy. Trial results were reported in...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Shah et al, the phase IIIB HELOISE trial has shown no survival benefit of high-dose vs standard trastuzumab (Herceptin) maintenance plus chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma....
A Dutch study has shown long-lasting risk for human papillomavirus (HPV)-related carcinoma and premalignancies in women with a diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3). The findings were reported by Ebisch et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Study Details The...
In the phase III BELLE-2 trial, the addition of the PI3K inhibitor buparlisib to fulvestrant (Faslodex) improved progression-free survival in postmenopausal hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer—but at the cost of excessive toxicity. Results were reported in...
As reported by Le et al in Science, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was found to be active across a range of solid tumors with mismatch-repair (MMR) deficiency. Pembrolizumab was recently approved for treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or...
As reported by Petty et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, analysis of outcomes in the UK phase III Cancer Esophagus Gefitinib trial showed an overall survival benefit with second-line gefitinib (Iressa) in patients with advanced esophageal cancer who had epidermal growth factor receptor...
In the phase III MONARCH 2 trial reported at the recent ASCO Annual Meeting and in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Sledge et al, the addition of the selective cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor abemaciclib to fulvestrant (Faslodex) improved progression-free survival in hormone...
As reported by Heist et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan showed activity in patients with previously treated metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Sacituzumab targets Trop-2, present on many solid tumors; govitecan is the...
The phase III MSLT-II trial showed that completion dissection was not associated with improved melanoma-specific overall survival vs observation in patients with sentinel node metastasis, although a benefit was observed in regional disease control. The findings were reported in The New England...
In a French randomized phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Thomas et al found that clofarabine-based consolidation may provide improved relapse-free survival vs conventional high-dose cytarabine in postremission treatment in younger patients with acute myeloid leukemia...
As reported by Joanne L. Blum, MD, PhD, of Baylor University Medical Center, Texas Oncology, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the efficacy analysis of the combined adjuvant Anthracyclines in Early Breast Cancer (ABC) Trials showed better invasive disease-free survival with taxane ...
In the phase III CA184-095trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tomasz M. Beer, MD, FACP, of the Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, and colleagues found that ipilimumab (Yervoy) did not increase overall survival vs placebo in men with asymptomatic or...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by W.U. Shipley, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and colleagues in the NRG Oncology Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG), the final analysis of the phase III RTOG 9601 trial shows that the addition of...
In the phase III OAK trial reported in The Lancet by Achim Rittmeyer, MD, of Lungenfachklinik Immenhausen, Germany, and colleagues, treatment with the anti–programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibody atezolizumab (Tecentriq) improved overall survival vs docetaxel in previously treated non–small ...
In the French phase III IFM 2009 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Michel Attal, MD, of the Institut Universitaire du Cancer de Toulouse-Oncopole, and colleagues, consolidation treatment with lenalidomide (Revlimid), bortezomib (Velcade), and dexamethasone (RVD) was...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. On May 10, 2017, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was granted accelerated...
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...
A retrospective biomarker analysis of the phase III GOG-0218 trial indicated a higher tumor microvessel density was associated with progression-free and overall survival benefit with bevacizumab (Avastin) vs placebo plus front-line chemotherapy in patients with ovarian cancer. These findings were...
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 ...
Combined testing for urinary PCA3 and TMPRSS2:ERG (T2:ERG) RNA may increase accuracy in identifying the risk for aggressive early prostate cancer, according to a study reported in JAMA Oncology by Sanda et al in the EDRN-PCA3 Study Group. Study Details The study involved 516 development cohort...
In a single-site experience reported in The Lancet Oncology by Shaverdian et al, patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the phase I KEYNOTE-001 trial of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) were found to have better outcomes if they had received prior radiotherapy. Study Details...
As reported in the Plenary Session at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Robson et al, the phase III OlympiAD trial showed that the poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) prolonged progression-free survival vs standard therapy in...
As reported in the Plenary Session at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Fizazi et al, the phase III LATITUDE trial has shown that the addition of abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) and prednisone to androgen-deprivation therapy resulted in marked improvements in...
As reported by Pemmaraju et al in the Journal of Oncology Practice, use of Twitter at the ASCO Annual Meeting has increased dramatically between 2011 and 2016. The investigators conducted a retrospective review of publicly available tweets collected by Nephrology On-Demand Analytics for the ASCO...
A pooled analysis of three PETHEMA/GEM studies has shown that minimum residual disease (MRD)-negative status after induction therapy is more prognostic of favorable outcome than complete response alone in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. The findings were reported by Lahuerta et al in the Journal...
The Japanese phase III J-ALEX trial has shown improved progression-free survival with alectinib (Alecensa) vs crizotinib (Xalkori) in ALK inhibitor–naive patients with ALK-positive non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Results were reported by Hida et al in The Lancet. Study Details In...
As reported by Visscher et al in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, changes in the histologic category between initial and subsequent biopsies had a significant effect on the risk for breast cancer among women with serial benign biopsy findings. Study Details The study involved 1,414...
As reported by Zhao et al in JAMA Oncology, luminal B prostate cancers carry a worse overall prognosis than luminal A and basal-like cancers, but luminal B tumors respond better to postoperative androgen-deprivation therapy. Study Details In the study, the PAM50 classifier was used to subtype...
Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) showed activity in previously treated patients with advanced programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)–positive endometrial cancer in a cohort of the phase Ib KEYNOTE-028 study. These findings were reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ott et al. Study Details ...
The final overall survival results of the phase III TH3RESA trial indicate a 32% reduction in risk of death with ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) vs treatment of physician’s choice in patients with previously treated HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. The findings were reported in The ...
As reported by Jones et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, BRAF mutations occurring outside of codon 600 are found in a small proportion of cases of metastatic colorectal cancer and are associated with improved clinical outcome. Study Details The retrospective cohort study involved 9,643...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Irwin et al, Tai Chi Chih, a form of movement meditation, was noninferior to insomnia-specific cognitive behavioral therapy in improving insomnia in breast cancer survivors. Study Details In the study, 90 patients with insomnia from the...
In the phase III OPTIMIZE-2 trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Gabriel N. Hortobagyi, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and colleagues found that an every-12-week schedule of zoledronic acid was noninferior to an every-4-week schedule with regard to skeletal-related event...
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...
On March 31, 2017, palbociclib (Ibrance) was granted regular approval for treatment of hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer in combination with an aromatase inhibitor as initial endocrine-based therapy in postmenopausal women.1,2 Palbociclib received...
On March 27, 2017, the oral poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor niraparib (Zejula) was approved for maintenance treatment of patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy.1,2...
In a UK study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Allgood et al found that provision of a second timed appointment for breast cancer screening improved screening rates among women who did not attend a first offered appointment. Study Details In the study, women who were invited for breast screening...
As reported by Hyman et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, a basket study has shown activity of an investigational ATP-competitive pan-AKT kinase inhibitor (AZD5363) in solid tumors with AKT1 E17K mutation. Study Details In the study, 52 patients with advanced estrogen...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Diéras et al, the final overall survival results of the phase III EMILIA trial show improved outcome with ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) vs capecitabine plus lapatinib (Tykerb) in previously treated HER2-positive advanced breast cancer. Approval of...