© 2023 HSP News Service, L.L.C.
On September 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted de novo marketing authorization for the Invitae Common Hereditary Cancers Panel, an in vitro diagnostic test that may help detect hundreds of genetic variants associated with an elevated risk of developing certain cancers. The...
Desheng Liang, MD, PhD, of China’s Central South University, discusses the ability of mesenchymal stem cells to target tumor and the progress he and his team have made in genetically engineering these cells for cancer treatment. Mesenchymal cells, which hold promise for therapeutic advances, are safe and relatively simple to produce, according to Dr. Liang.
In a phase II trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Eric Bouffet, MD, and colleagues found that the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib produced a higher objective response rate vs standard chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of pediatric patients with low-grade glioma...
Researchers have singled out mutations in 11 genes associated with aggressive types of prostate cancer, according to a novel study published by Darst et al in JAMA Oncology. The new findings may lead to improvements in diagnosis and treatment. Background Currently, oncologists use genetic tests to...
In patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR mutations, the role of immune checkpoint inhibitors following disease progression with tyrosine kinase inhibitors has been unclear. Several studies reported at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 2023 ...
In a Korean phase II trial (KCSG HN 15-16 TRIUMPH) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Keam et al described results of a personalized biomarker-driven umbrella trial for the treatment of patients with platinum-refractory recurrent and/or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma...
In an analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Knikman et al found that reduced doses of fluoropyrimidine therapy in patients with cancer with DPYD variant alleles did not result in poorer outcomes vs DPYD wild-type controls receiving full fluoropyrimidine doses. Study Details The...
Aaron C. Tan, PhD, MBBS, of the National Cancer Centre Singapore, discusses new findings on early evaluation of circulating tumor DNA via low-pass whole-genome sequencing. The results of his study suggest this method may represent an early pharmacodynamic biomarker of therapeutic response (particularly for targeted treatments) that may influence decisions on dose determination (Abstract 23).
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Mandelker et al found that pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma was associated with a high prevalence of BRCA2 germline pathogenic variants and genomic features of homologous recombination deficiency (HRD). The study involved somatic and germline ...
In a genetic analysis from the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network 1102 Study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Versluis et al found that allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) improved overall survival compared with non-HCT treatment in patients with...
23andMe has announced that the company has received a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance to expand its existing BRCA1/BRCA2 (Selected Variants) Genetic Health Risk Report. The clearance allows 23andMe to report an additional 41 variants in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes known to be ...
In a phase I study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Sacher et al found that the covalent KRAS G12C inhibitor divarasib (also referred to as GDC-6036) produced durable responses in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors with a KRAS G12C mutation. In the study, 137 patients ...
Researchers may have identified how low levels of the TET2 gene may fuel rapid cancer growth in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a recent study published by Li et al in Cell Stem Cell. Background AML is distinguished by the rapid division and metastasis of immature leukemia...
Researchers have identified genes that may be associated with breast cancer and could eventually be included in tests to identify high-risk patients, according to a recent study published by Wilcox et al in Nature Genetics. Background Currently, genetic tests for breast cancer consider a few genes...
Long-molecule scars may help identify patients with BRCA1- and BRCA2-deficient cancer types, according to a recent study published by Setton et al in Nature. Background Once DNA is damaged by toxins, radiation, or normal cell division, human cells must continually fix DNA breaks to survive. When...
Researchers have found that the new PENK methylation (mePENK) test could potentially pave the way for a breakthrough in early bladder cancer detection in patients with hematuria, according to a novel study published by Oh et al in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics. The findings could reduce the...
“Clinically, the implications [of the THOR trial] are clear in that all metastatic urothelial cancers should be tested for FGFR mutations,” stated invited discussant Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, of Yale School of Medicine. “This should be done at the beginning of treatment for metastatic disease, as it...
Targeted treatment with the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitor erdafitinib significantly improved overall survival, progression-free survival, and objective response rates compared with investigator’s choice of chemotherapy in patients with advanced urothelial cancers and FGFR2/3...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Karim Fizazi, MD, PhD, of Gustave Roussy Institute, Paris-Saclay University, and colleagues, the phase III TRITON3 trial has shown significantly improved progression-free survival with rucaparib vs physician-selected single-agent therapy in the...
On August 11, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the fixed-dose combination of niraparib and abiraterone acetate (Akeega), with prednisone, for adult patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious BRCA-mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, as determined by...
On August 9, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regular approval to pralsetinib (Gavreto) for adults with metastatic RET fusion–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as detected by an FDA-approved test. ARROW Trial Pralsetinib was previously granted accelerated approval for...
In the phase II RAGNAR study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Shubham Pant, MBBS, and colleagues found that the pan-FGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor erdafitinib showed activity in patients with advanced solid tumors with FGFR alterations. Study Details In the ongoing study, 217 patients aged ≥ 12...
In a recent study (Dutch Childhood Oncology Group [DCOG] ALL11) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Pieters et al found that modifications in therapy appeared to improve outcomes and reduce drug exposure in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) compared with treatment ...
A revised report of findings from the phase II TRICOTEL study of atezolizumab, vemurafenib, and cobimetinib in patients with melanoma and central nervous system (CNS) metastases was published in The Lancet Oncology by Reinhard Dummer, MD, and colleagues. The first version of trial findings,...
“Clinically, the implications [of the THOR trial] are clear in that all metastatic urothelial cancers should be tested for FGFR mutations,” stated invited discussant Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, of Yale School of Medicine. “This should be done at the beginning of treatment for metastatic disease, as it...
Targeted treatment with the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) inhibitor erdafitinib significantly improved overall survival, progression-free survival, and objective response rates compared with investigator’s choice of chemotherapy in patients with advanced urothelial cancers and FGFR2/3...
On July 20, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved quizartinib (Vanflyta) with standard cytarabine and anthracycline induction and cytarabine consolidation, and as maintenance monotherapy following consolidation chemotherapy, for the treatment of adults with newly diagnosed acute...
As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Masahiro Tsuboi, MD, and colleagues, the planned final overall survival analysis of the phase III ADAURA trial has shown a significant benefit with osimertinib vs placebo in patients with resected EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)....
In a phase III trial (LASER301) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Byoung Chul Cho, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that lazertinib improved progression-free survival vs gefitinib in the first-line treatment of EGFR-mutated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). As stated by the...
Researchers have uncovered how non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors may develop drug resistance over time and identified the APOBEC3A protein as a potential target for novel cancer therapeutics, according to a study published by Isozaki et al in Nature. The findings point to potential...
In a phase I/IIa study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Piotrowska et al found that the EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor zipalertinib showed activity and an acceptable safety profile in previously treated patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and EGFR exon 20...
Researchers have revealed that combining pembrolizumab with other treatments may reduce the size of target tumors, resulting in a higher response rate for patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a recent study published by Gutierrez et al in Nature Medicine. “We are...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Seagle et al identified the prevalence of germline colorectal cancer susceptibility gene variants according to race and ethnicity among patients with early-onset colorectal cancer. Study Details The study involved patients aged 15 to 49 years ...
A genetic marker involving the EGFR and ERBB2 genes may be predictive of which patients with hepatocellular carcinoma are most likely to develop resistance to lenvatinib, according to a study published by Lim et al in Gastroenterology. The new findings could help researchers develop alternative...
Commenting on this study on clinical genomic profiling for colorectal cancer, Lisa Newman, MD, MPH, FACS, FASCO, Chief of the Section of Breast Surgery and leader of the Multidisciplinary Breast Oncology Programs at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian, commended the authors for...
Black individuals have a higher incidence of colorectal cancer than White individuals, and their outcomes are worse. Undoubtedly, reasons for this are multifaceted, but the disparity in outcomes may be partly explained by genomic differences, documented in a large retrospective study presented at...
Researchers have revealed that the KDM5D gene on the Y chromosome, which is upregulated in KRAS-mutated colorectal cancer, may be responsible for increasing tumor cell invasiveness and reducing antitumor immunity in male patients, according to a recent study published by Li et al in Nature. The new ...
Researchers have found that the loss of the Y chromosome, a common impact of the aging process in men, may help cancer cells evade the body’s immune system and result in aggressive bladder cancer—but it may also render the disease more vulnerable and responsive to immune checkpoint...
On June 20, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved talazoparib (Talzenna) with enzalutamide for homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene–mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. TALAPRO-2 Efficacy was evaluated in TALAPRO-2 (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier...
In the phase II PHAROS trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Gregory J. Riely, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the combination of encorafenib and binimetinib showed activity in both treatment-naive and previously treated patients with BRAF V600E–mutant metastatic non–small cell...
A novel, automated liquid biopsy test—the Liquid Biopsy for Breast Cancer Methylation assay—may be effective at predicting early disease progression and potential survival outcomes in patients with metastatic breast cancer after as little as 1 month of treatment, according to a study published by...
Researchers have shared novel insights into the evolution of multiple myeloma from precursor disease, which may help physicians better identify patients whose disease is likely to progress as well as develop new interventions, according to a recent study published by Dang et al in Cancer Cell. How...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Tanios S. Bekaii-Saab, MD, and colleagues, findings in the phase II cohort of the KRYSTAL-1 trial showed activity of adagrasib in patients with KRAS G12C–mutated advanced solid tumors. As noted by the investigators, the KRAS G12C inhibitor...
The rates of survival and disease recurrence improved significantly when a personalized mRNA vaccine tailored to the patients’ tumor genetics was coupled with immunotherapy in those who had undergone surgery for high-risk melanoma, according to novel findings presented by Khattak et al at the 2023...
For some precancerous cells, traveling from the bone marrow to the skin can trigger genetic transformations that can result in leukemia, according to a novel study published by Griffin et al in Nature. The new findings may have shed light on what researchers have termed the “genetic travelogue” of...
Narjust Florez, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Ferdinandos Skoulidis, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discuss results of a biomarker subgroup analysis, showing that sotorasib demonstrated consistent clinical benefit vs docetaxel in all molecularly defined subgroups of patients with pretreated KRAS G12C–mutated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although no predictive biomarkers were confirmed, novel hypothesis-generating signals were observed (Abstract 9008).
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has launched a new set of large, precision medicine–based clinical trials—known as the ComboMATCH initiative—that will examine the efficacy of novel drug combinations targeting specific tumor mutations in adult and pediatric patients with cancer. The new...
In a study reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Singh et al found that haptoglobin (HP) gene expression was associated with risk of anthracycline-related cardiomyopathy in childhood cancer survivors. Study Details In the study, messenger RNA sequencing was performed on total RNA from the peripheral...
Three clinical trials demonstrated positive results from the targeted therapy erdafitinib for patients with multiple tumor types harboring FGFR alterations. The data were presented at the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting. Erdafitinib is an oral medication that blocks the activity of FGFR signaling...
Vorasidenib, an oral dual inhibitor of mutant IDH1/2 enzymes, significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with grade 2 gliomas. This treatment delayed disease progression and was well tolerated. These findings from the INDIGO trial represent a significant step forward in the...