Lisa Astor

The FDA has granted ivosidenib plus azacitidine a breakthrough therapy designation for the treatment of newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia who harbor an <em>IDH1 </em>mutation and are &ge;75 years old or have comorbidities that would prevent them from receiving intensive induction chemotherapy.

A supplemental biologics license application has been submitted to the FDA for the potential approval of a new indication for daratumumab. The sBLA was for the combination of daratumumab plus bortezomib, thalidomide, and dexamethasone for the treatment of newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma who are eligible for autologous stem cell transplant.

Lurbinectedin (PM1183) monotherapy induced responses in patients with relapsed small cell lung cancer, achieving the primary endpoint of overall response rate in a single-arm phase II trial, according to an announcement from PharmaMar, the company developing lurbinectedin.

Be careful with the investigational use of venetoclax (Venclexta) for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma, the FDA has warned in an alert to healthcare professionals and clinical investigators.

Diagnosis, risk stratification, and the management of patients with polycythemia vera and myelofibrosis have all been significantly improved by the inclusion of a greater understanding of the clinical and molecular characteristics of these 2 different myeloproliferative neoplasms, according to Abdulraheem Yacoub, MD.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Therapies in Oncology</em>, Michael Cusnir, MD, explained that Y-90 is a type of beta emitter that is extremely focused, which allows for the treatment to be localized without affecting healthy portions of the liver or other structures surrounding the liver; it is delivered to selectively embolize the liver.

A novel Fc-enhanced CD19-targeted antibody, MOR208, is generating interest for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who are not eligible for high-dose chemotherapy and autologous stem cell transplantation and is making its way toward a future regulatory filing.

Genomic testing could increasingly be utilized to guide treatment decisions for Veteran patients with cancer. Two recent announcements confirm an emerging focus from Veterans Affairs on genetic testing that provides more informed and tailored cancer care for US Veterans.

The combination of lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab induced responses in a quarter of patients with urothelial carcinoma, according to the results of a small study presented at the 2019 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium. The immunotherapy/targeted therapy combination also demonstrated a manageable toxicity profile.

A novel agent demonstrated efficacy in treating patients with early recurrent or refractory acute myeloid leukemia when administered via continuous intravenous infusion, according to results from a phase I/II trial recently published in <em>Cancer. </em>The agent was also well tolerated among patients.

Although immune checkpoint inhibition&ndash;related hepatotoxicity is a rare occurrence, it leads to ICI treatment discontinuation in more than two-thirds of affected patients, according to the results of a retrospective study presented at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases&rsquo; 2018 Liver Meeting.

During a presentation at the <em>16th Annual </em>Winter Lung Cancer Conference,&nbsp;Julie R. Brahmer, MD, MSc shed light on some of the immunotherapy treatment options that could be entering the lung cancer pipeline over the next 5 years.

Edward B. Garon, MD,&nbsp;discusses the newer role of immunotherapy in the treatment of patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC with the approval of durvalumab in this setting for patients whose disease has not progressed following concurrent chemoradiation.

Christina S. Baik, MD, MPH,&nbsp;discusses several existing and emerging treatment options for <em>ROS1</em>, <em>BRAF</em>, and <em>NTRK </em>genetic aberrations.

During a presentation at the 16th Annual Winter Lung Conference, Gregory J. Riely, MD, PhD, discusses how oncologists can differentiate between the&nbsp;many EGFR TKIs available for patients with&nbsp;<em>EGFR</em>-mutant non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.

A prospective, observational study recently published in the&nbsp;<em>European Journal of Cancer&nbsp;</em>helped to clarify the prognostic role of&nbsp;<em>TERT&nbsp;</em>promoter mutations among patients with localized thyroid cancer, revealing that&nbsp;<em>TERT&nbsp;</em>mutations were associated with poor outcomes among patients with nonmetastatic disease that do not have an aggressive histology.

Eribulin mesylate (Halaven) demonstrated efficacy in the first-line for patients with aggressive HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer that have received prior treatment with a taxane in the (neo)adjuvant setting, according to results from the phase II MERIBEL trial.

Autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation consolidation after induction therapy may improve progression-free survival in younger, fit patients with mantle cell lymphoma, according to the results of a retrospective analysis recently published in the <em>Journal of Clinical Oncology. </em>

This week the FDA granted a fast track designation to the novel targeted therapy vofatamab for the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who harbor an <em>FGFR3 </em>alteration, according to Rainier Therapeutics, the company developing vofatamab.

A triplet regimen consisting of chlorambucil and rituximab in combination with an individualized dose of lenalidomide can potentially be used as a frontline treatment for patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia who are older or unfit for standard treatment with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab.

Promising efficacy was seen with anlotinib therapy in patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic medullary thyroid cancer in the form of durable antitumor responses, according to the results of a Chinese phase II study recently published in the journal <em>Thyroid</em>.

A targeted conditioning regimen may help to bridge patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation, according to preliminary feasibility and safety findings from the pivotal randomized phase III SIERRA trial.

The combination of ibrutinib and durvalumab demonstrated a modest clinical benefit for patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma and germinal center B-cell diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, according to the results of a phase I/II trial.

A large pivotal phase III trial has been initiated to evaluate the potential for the first-line combination of cabozantinib and atezolizumab in comparison with standard-of-care sorafenib for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Exelixis and Ipsen, the companies developing cabozantinib, announced the COSMIC-312 trial last week.

Patients with triple-negative breast cancer who received chemotherapy treatment more than 30 days after surgery had worse survival rates and outcomes than patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy within 30 days of surgery,&nbsp;according to findings from a retrospective study presented at the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Targeted agents have produced new treatment options for patients with advanced thyroid cancers, with significant advances being seen this year in moving toward precision medicine for various thyroid cancer subtypes, according to Marcia S. Brose, MD, PhD.&nbsp;

An analysis of patients who presented to MD Anderson Cancer Center&rsquo;s dermatology clinic following treatment with anti&ndash;PD-1/PD-L1 treatment suggests a potential association between the development of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma lesions and PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibition.

An analysis of immunologic biomarkers in a phase II trial of patients with advanced colorectal cancer treated with chemotherapy and PD-1 checkpoint inhibition identified several factors associated with a patient&rsquo;s beneficial response to the chemo-immunotherapy regimen, according to findings presented during the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer.

A peptide-based personalized vaccine demonstrated encouraging signals of efficacy and was well tolerated in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, according to the results of the phase I GAPVAC-101 trial.

Douglas A. Levine, MD, has suggested that many cases of ovarian cancer are preventable, especially in the case of women with hereditary mutations that lead to an increased risk for developing the disease.