Audrey Sternberg

During a recent&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology&nbsp;</em>live case-based peer perspectives presentation, Corey J. Langer, MD, discussed with a group of physicians the diagnostic workup and the considerations for treatment he makes when seeing a patient with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer in the clinic. Langer, director of thoracic oncology, Abramson Cancer Center, and professor of medicine, Hematology/Oncology Division, University of Pennsylvania, reviewed treatment options based on a case study of a patient with stage III NSCLC.

Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD, discussed the treatment decisions he makes when treating a patient with a myeloproliferative neoplasm.

A theranostic approach to radioactive iodine therapy in thyroid cancer has become the standard of care and represents a more precise means of managing patients based on disease-specific features, according to a presentation on differentiated thyroid cancer management at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging 2019 Annual Meeting, held June 22-25, 2019, in Anaheim, California.

Updated results of the phase III KEYNOTE-048 trial comparing pembrolizumab as monotherapy and in combination with platinum chemotherapy and fluorouracil with standard-of-care chemotherapy support the use of the PD-1 inhibitor in&nbsp;the frontline for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, according to Danny Rischin, MD, who presented the results of the final analysis at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

To move the treatment of colon cancer forward, investigators are identifying better biomarkers for response to adjuvant chemotherapy and as early indicators of chemotherapy success, said Jeanne Tie, MD, MBChB, to an audience at the ASCO: Medical Crossfire&reg;: How to Use Liquid Biopsies in Oncology Care hosted by Physicians&rsquo; Education Resource&reg;, LLC.

Patients with nonmetastic&nbsp; squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx and unknown primaries treated with induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy had fewer symptom burdens, including need of a feeding tube, due to a significant response in primary and nodal sites.

Patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer receiving frontline HER2-targeted therapy with pertuzumab&nbsp;and trastuzumab followed by T-DM1 in the second-line setting may be able to forgo chemotherapy without increasing the risk of early death, according to results from the phase II PERNETTA trial.

By testing circulating tumor DNA at critical time points throughout neoadjuvant chemotherapy and cystectomy,&nbsp;clinicians may be able to better predict which patients with advanced bladder cancer would likely benefit from additional systemic therapies, according to results of a study published in the <em>Journal of Clinical Oncology</em>.

Kartik Konduri, MD, discussed with a group of physicians in a recent&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology&nbsp;</em>live case-based peer perspectives presentation the diagnostic workup and treatment considerations he makes when he sees a patient with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer in the clinic. Konduri explained his treatment decision making based on the case scenario of a patient with locally advanced NSCLC.&nbsp;

A cohort of cancer centers was selected to serve as models for identifying key strategies for racial and ethnic minority group engagement in clinical trials. On the basis of several qualifying criteria, such as sustained accrual of minorities into clinical cancer research, an established minority population &ge;10% in the overall catchment, an established clinical trial infrastructure, and a formal community outreach program, the investigators identified 8 cancer centers for participation.

In a case-based-style discussion, Tanios S. Bekaii-Saab, MD, and Wells Messersmith, MD, reviewed the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer whose tumors express rare gene mutations or molecular signatures, such as <em>NTRK</em> fusions.

Determining the optimal therapy strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma when patients are eligible for multiple different agents in clinical practice requires detailed analysis of patient- and tumor-specific characteristics.

The novel bispecific antibody ZW25 has been granted a fast track designation by the FDA for the treatment of patients with HER2-overexpressing gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma to be used in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy.

John M. Burke, MD, reviews the treatment options he considers when treating a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and the factors that sway his clinical decisions.

During a <em>Targeted Oncology </em>live case-based peer perspectives presentation, Jonathon B. Cohen, MD, MS, discussed the diagnostic workup and treatment considerations he makes when seeing a patient with Hodgkin lymphoma in the clinic.

New guidance has been developed for the management of adverse events observed with the use of copanlisib (Aliqopa) in patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) who are on third-line or later therapy.

Benjamin P. Levy, MD, recently discussed the treatment considerations and decisions he makes when treating patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer. Levy, the clinical director of medical oncology and associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Sibley Memorial Hospital, revealed his treatment decisions to the group based on 2 case scenarios of patients with NSCLC that does not have a genetic driver.

Besides standard-of-care chemotherapy in the frontline setting, definitive therapy selection in patients with cholangiocarcinoma in both the adjuvant and second-line settings require data from confirmatory clinical trials for further clarification, says Lorenza Rimassa, MD.

Findings from a study of tumor samples collected from patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma revealed that 17% of tumors harbored a known genomic alteration for which targeted therapies have already been developed, conferring feasibility to implementing precision medicine in a disease that has seen little progress in the development of effective therapeutic agents.

In an analysis comparing real-life outcomes, interferon-a demonstrated more profound hematologic responses compared with hydroxyurea in select patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms. Additionally, molecular responses to therapy were limited to those patients who received IFN-a.

A recent retrospective cohort study found that site of care may be a significant factor associated with racial and ethnic differences in the receipt of palliative care, according to results published in <em>JAMA Network Open.</em>

A retrospective study revealed an increase in the incidence of colorectal cancer in patients &lt;50 years across all income brackets and demographic groups, according to investigators from The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School. The findings were presented at the 2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Naiyer A. Rizvi, MD, explained, in a presentation at the European Society of Medical Oncology 2019 International Congress on Targeted Anticancer Therapies, that plasma assays for determining TMB are becoming more diagnostically relevant.

Investigational agent tinostamustine (EDO-S101), a first-in-class alkylating deacetylase inhibiting molecule, has been granted orphan drug designation by the FDA for the treatment of patients with T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia.

The presence of comorbid conditions was associated with lower rates of clinical trial discussions between patients and their physicians, subsequently leading to decreased trial participation, according to an analysis performed by Southwest Oncology Group.

In his presentation at the 2019 Annual Practical Recommendations in Immuno and Molecular Oncology Meetingi, Sanjiv S. Agarwala, MD, reviewed survival statistics of patients with melanoma being treated at different stages of their disease.

Maintenance therapy with lenalidomide (Revlimid) significantly improved progression-free survival compared with observation alone in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma and the benefit was seen in both transplant-eligible and -ineligible groups.

Lenvatinib demonstrated promising antitumor activity and a manageable toxicity profile in 3 main subtypes of thyroid cancer, according to findings recently published in <em>Future Oncology.</em>

Liquid biopsies have evolved beyond finding genotypes and have moved into the cancer detection and monitoring spaces, according to Geoffrey R. Oxnard, MD, medical oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Advances in checkpoint inhibitor therapy have gained speed in cancer care; however, ovarian cancer has yet to see any approved indications for immunotherapy agents, said Lana E. Kandalaft, PharmD, PhD, to an audience at the European Society for Medical Oncology 2018 Immuno-Oncology Congress.