Gina Columbus

The approval of eltrombopag (Promacta) in combination with standard immunosuppressive therapy has been expanded by the FDA to include newly diagnosed adult and pediatric patients 2 years and older with severe aplastic anemia, according to Novartis, the manufacturer of eltrombopag.^ Eltrombopag was also granted a breakthrough therapy designation as a counter measure for hematopoietic sub-syndrome of acute radiation syndrome.

The CD8-tracer 89Zr-IAB22M2C, an anti-CD8 radiolabeled minibody, was found to be safe, well-tolerated, and demonstrated whole-body biodistribution of CD8-positive T cells in tumors and reference tissues, according to first-in-human results presented at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer.

Selinexor has been granted a fast track designation by the FDA for the treatment of patients with previously treated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who are ineligible to receive high-dose chemotherapy with stem cell rescue or chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy.

Pegfilgrastim-cbqv (CHS-1701; Udencya), a pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) biosimilar, has been granted approval by the FDA for patients with cancer receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy.

Sherene Loi, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, FAHMS, discusses the current status of immunotherapy research in HER2-positive breast cancer.

Results from the phase III IMpower130 trial demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in both progression-free survival and overall survival with a triplet regimen of atezolizumab, carboplatin, and nab-paclitaxel compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with previously untreated stage IV nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer.

A combination of an immune checkpoint inhibitor and a VEGF inhibitor, avelumab and axitinib, induced 2-fold higher objective response rates compared with sunitinib in patients with treatment-naïve advanced renal cell carcinoma, regardless of their PD-L1 expression. Progression-free survival was also significantly improved over sunitinib, according to findings from the phase III JAVELIN Renal 101 trial presented at the 2018 ESMO Congress.

In results from an analysis of the phase III PALOMA-3 trial, patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer who had progressed or relapsed on prior endocrine therapy achieved a clinically meaningful benefit in overall survival from the combination of palbociclib plus fulvestrant. 

The combination of atezolizumab and nab-paclitaxel demonstrated a 2.5-month benefit in progression-free survival over nab-paclitaxel alone in patients with PD-L1–positive metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, according to findings of the phase III IMpassion130 trial presented at the 2018 ESMO Congress.

Patients with <em>EGFR</em>-mutant non&ndash;small cell lung cancer who had&nbsp;<em>MET</em> amplification and <em>EGFR</em> C797S mutations were most likely to have resistance to first-line treatment with&nbsp;osimertinib (Tagrisso),&nbsp;according to preliminary findings presented at the 2018 ESMO Congress.

Olaparib (Lynparza) has been granted an&nbsp;orphan drug designation by the FDA for the treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer,&nbsp;AstraZeneca and Merck, the developers of the PARP inhibitor, have announced.

Talazoparib has been approved by the FDA for treatment of patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline <em>BRCA</em>-mutated, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, according to Pfizer, the manufacturer of the PARP inhibitor.

According to topline findings, the phase III CheckMate-331 trial of nivolumab monotherapy for patients with small cell lung cancer who relapsed following platinum-based chemotherapy failed to meet its primary endpoint of improved overall survival compared with the standard topotecan or amrubicin.

LOXO-292 has been granted a breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA&nbsp;for treatment of patients with advanced RET fusion&ndash;positive thyroid cancer requiring systemic therapy, who have progressed on prior treatment and have no other acceptable alternative treatment options. Loxo Oncology, the developer of the selective RET inhibitor, released the news of the designation in a statement today.

Further advancements in precision medicine for patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer necessitate the use of more umbrella trials to evaluate therapies based on molecular aberrations versus tumor types, Vassiliki A. Papadimitrakopoulou, MD, suggested during a presentation at the <em>19th Annual </em>International Lung Cancer Congress.

In a presentation at the&nbsp;<em>19th Annual</em> International Lung Cancer Congress,&nbsp;Tetsuya Mitsudomi, MD, PhD, provided sequencing options to utilize the many available regimens for the best potential survival outcomes for patients with&nbsp;<em>EGFR</em>-mutant non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.

Several biomarkers are beginning to emerge for immunotherapy in non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, and the collection of these markers, when used together, could further help to predict which patients are likely to respond to these therapies alone or in combination, according to a presentation by Giorgio Scagliotti, MD, PhD, at the <em>19th Annual</em> International Lung Cancer Congress.

Sumanta Kumar Pal, MD,&nbsp;sheds light on the latest frontline therapeutic options for patients with mRCC and other advancements on the horizon.

Despite recommendations from the United States Preventative Services Task Force, 1.9% of the 7.6 million current and former heavy smokers underwent cancer screening in 2016, suggesting screening is still inadequate. These results were presented ahead of the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting being held in Chicago, Illinois on June 1-5, 2018.

According to results of a pilot study presented at the 2018 AACR Annual Meeting and simultaneously published in the <em>New England Journal of Medicine,</em>&nbsp;neoadjuvant treatment with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) demonstrated a 45% major pathologic response rate in patients with resectable stage I to III non&ndash;small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) irrespective of PD-L1 expression.

Matthew S. Davids, MD,&nbsp;sheds light on the significant findings of this study and gave a look ahead to ibrutinib combination therapies in the future treatment landscape of CLL.

Leonard Saltz, MD,&nbsp;highlights the current go-to therapies and overarching questions for mCRC treatment.

Richard S. Finn, MD,&nbsp;covers the evolution of CDK4&amp;6 inhibition in the field of breast cancer and appropriately selecting patients for this type of therapy.

Suresh A. Ramalingam, MD,&nbsp;discusses some of the changes to the NCCN guidelines in NSCLC, specifically with <em>EGFR</em>-mutation&ndash;positive disease, and how the frontline recommendation of osimertinib will impact clinical practice.

Richard S. Finn, MD, highlights the evolution of CDK 4/6 inhibition in the field of breast cancer and appropriate patient selection for this type of therapy.

Experts within the lung cancer community are eagerly anticipating the phase III findings of the KEYNOTE-189 trial, and they are hopeful that the combination of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus carboplatin and pemetrexed (Alimta) will demonstrate an overall survival advantage in patients with nonsquamous non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.

In an effort to improve bladder preservation and quality of life, investigators are currently exploring the efficacy of risk-adapted treatment for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer&nbsp;after receiving a neoadjuvant accelerated methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, and cisplatin (MVAC) regimen.

In a presentation at the&nbsp;35th annual CFS, Edward S. Kim, MD, discussed the &quot;renaissance&quot; in the&nbsp;non&ndash;small cell lung cancer landscape that has come with the rapid evolution of targeted treatment for patients with&nbsp;<em>EGFR</em>-mutation&ndash;positive disease.

Peter R. Dottino, MD, discusses&nbsp;the utilization of molecular methods to identify ovarian cancer following treatment with chemotherapy, and how this type of research impacts the field going forward.

The treatment armamentarium of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) is expanding to potentially include novel systemic therapies, a refined understanding of genetic changes in patients with pancreatic NETs, and improvements in surgical timing and quality of life (QoL), according to Diane Reidy Lagunes, MD.