Danielle Ternyila

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Pier Francesco Ferrucci, MD, discussed the findings from the updated analysis, which he shared in a presentation at the 16th International Congress of the Society for Melanoma Research, highlightening the important takeaways from this follow-up analysis.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Ruben Mesa, MD, discussed the findings from the pooled analysis of fedratinib at full dose in patients with myelofibrosis who had baseline platelet counts below 100 X 10⁹/L. He also highlighted other agents and therapies that appear promising for the treatment of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Steven H. Kirtland, MD, FCCP, discussed the different factors that play a role in the decline of lung cancer mortality over the last few years. He highlighted how these advancements will continue to impact the survival of patients with lung cancer and his thoughts on the evolving landscape.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Pasi A. Jänne, MD, PhD, discussed the current treatment landscape for patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancer, as well as some therapies that currently are under both preclinical and clinical investigation at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He shared advice for community oncologists treating this patient population.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, John M. Burke, MD, discussed the ongoing phase Ib First-MIND clinical trial of tafasitamab in combination with R-CHOP with or without lenalidomide as treatment of patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Eric Pujade-Lauraine, MD, PhD, discussed the data from the JAVELIN Ovarian 200 trial, which he presented at the 2019 Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting. He highlighted the need for biomarkers in this space, as well as some data from an exploratory analysis from this trial.

The autologous dendric cell vaccine targeting Wilms tumor-1 antigens with or without preferentially Expressed Antigen in Melanoma was well tolerated and feasible in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, meeting the co-primary end points of the phase I/II clinical trial.

To support the commercialization of the blood-based companion diagnostic test Guardant360 companion diagnostic for AMG 510, Guardant Health, Inc, will collaborate with Amgen, developer of AMG 510, and pursue an FDA Pre-Market Approval as a companion diagnostic for AMG 510 in patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer with a KRAS G12C mutation, according to a press release.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Rajat Bannerji, MD, PhD, discussed the safety and efficacy findings from the phase I trial of a bispecific antibody in patients with heavily pretreated NHL, including cohorts of patients with follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Andrew J. Cowan, MD, discussed the findings from the first-in-human clinical trial evaluating the combination of a GSI and BCMA CAR T cells in patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma. He highlighted the next steps for this research and how he sees CAR T-cell therapy evolving over the coming years.

The CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy lisocabtagene maraleucel demonstrated promising responses and a manageable toxicity profile in patients with high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic leukemia who have previously progressed on ibrutinib in the updated findings from the phase I/II TRANSCEND CLL 004 study.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Simon Rule, MD, discussed the findings from a pooled analysis evaluating the efficacy and safety of using ibrutinib in patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma. He also highlighted other abstracts of interest that were presented during the 2019 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting that were of interest in the field of mantle cell lymphoma.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Wasif M. Saif, MD, discussed the current treatment landscape and recent expansions in hepatocellular carcinoma that are providing him with hope for the field.

The overall response rate was improved with itacitinib plus corticosteroids compared with placebo plus corticosteroids in patients with treatment-naïve acute graft-versus-host disease in the phase III GRAVITAS-301 trial. However, the difference in ORR for the treatment arm compared with the placebo arm was not statistically significant, missing the trial’s primary end point.

The Ion Torrent Oncomine Myeloid Research Assay, the first fully-integrated next-generation sequencing platform, will be available in 2020 on the new Ion Torrent Genexus System for research use, according to a press release from Thermo Fisher Scientific. The platform features automated workflow to allow for result delivery within a single day, requiring minimal user intervention and tissue sample input.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Courtney D. DiNardo, MD, discussed the interim analysis results from the ongoing phase II trial evaluating the combination of enasidenib plus azacitidine in newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

A phase Ib/2 clinical trial has been initiated to assess the anti-tumor activity of FGFR4 targeted therapy fisogatinib plus the anti–PD-L1 monoclonal antibody CS1001 for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma.

The FDA granted approval to countless treatments across cancer types throughout 2019 until the end of the year, with a final approval on December 31^st for the first BRCA targeted therapy in pancreatic cancer. Following the excitement for a new year of further advances, Targeted Oncology followers on Twitter shared their thoughts on some of the most impactful FDA approvals in 2019.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Nizar Bahlis, MD, discussed the updated findings from the MAIA trial, which he presented at the 2019 ASH Annual Meeting. He highlighted the updates to the PFS, OS, and overall response rate data, as well as some other areas daratumumab is under investigation now following the positive data from this trial. 

In December 2019, the FDA approved a number of new treatments in lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, urothelial carcinoma, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. A tissue complete assay was also approved by the FDA for use in a clinical trial evaluating pembrolizumab.

During a Targeted Oncology tweet chat, Erika P. Hamilton, MD, and Stephanie Graff, MD, discussed treatment options and considerations for the case of a patient with ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who relapsed on letrozole, an aromatase inhibitor.

Osimertinib demonstrated a manageable toxicity profile and encouraging activity in patients with non–small cell lung cancer who harbor an uncommon EGFR mutation, according to results from a phase II clinical trial conducted in Korea.

The combination of off-the-shelf, antibody-targeted natural killer cells and IL-15 superagonist N-083 with low-dose metronomic chemoradiation, adenoviral and year tumor-associated antigen vaccines, and a PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitor had ongoing durable complete responses in patients with triple-negative breast cancer who failed standard-of-care treatment, according to a press release from NantKwest Inc., manufacturer of the NK cell-based therapy.

The Cchek Prostate Cancer Confirmation test&mdash;which utilizes artificial intelligence, flow cytometry, and liquid-biopsy technology to detect prostate cancer&mdash;has been commercially launched, according to Anixa Biosciences, Inc., developer of the test. Once it becomes available, this test will reduce the need for expensive and invasive biopsy procedures to diagnose patients with prostate cancer in certain patients.<br /> &nbsp;

Shekeab Jauhari, MD, a medical oncologist/hematologist, has been named principal investigator at the Florida Cancer Specialists &amp; Research Institute, and he will lead phase I clinical trials at the FCS Drug Development Unit in Lake Mary, Florida, at the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, which is the newest unit in the FCS that is set to open in January 2020.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Ian W. Flinn, MD, PhD, discussed the results from the ZUMA-2 trial which evaluated the efficacy and safety of KTE-X19, a CAR T-cell therapy, in patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma. He highlighted how unique this product is compared to other CAR T-cell therapies and where he believes it will fit into the treatment landscape for patients with mantle cell lymphoma.

Older patients with mantle cell lymphoma were more likely to have a maintained response with induction rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone followed by rituximab maintenance when compared against R-CHOP and interferon-alpha maintenance.

A Biologics License Application has been submitted to the FDA for ABP 798, a biosimilar candidate for rituximab, announced Amgen and Allergan, who are collaborating on 4 biosimilar agents together, in a press release.

The FDA has granted a&nbsp;<a>priority review designation to the new drug application&nbsp;</a>for UGN-101 for the potential treatment of patients with low-grade upper tract urothelial cancer, UroGen Pharma Ltd., announced in a press release.

In a unanimous vote, the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee of the FDA is in favor of the benefit-risk profile of tazemetostat for the treatment of patients with metastatic or locally advanced epithelioid sarcoma who are not eligible for curative intent surgery, according to a press release from Epizyme, Inc., manufacturer of the drug.