Lisa Miller

Treatment with trastuzumab (Herceptin) has shown such a benefit in the treatment of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer that it is now the standard of care despite its association with cardiotoxicity. As such, researchers have taken to searching for ways to lessen or prevent the incidence of cardiac events in trials with trastuzumab. 

Philadelphia chromosome Ph–like acute lymphoblastic leukemia accounts for more than 20% of all adult patients with ALL and is associated with a poor outcome, according to findings published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Pembrolizumab demonstrated durable activity in 3 clinical trials in previously treated patients with mucosal melanoma.

Heather Wakelee, MD, discusses T790M mutation detection among different platforms in an analysis from the TIGER-X trial

Treatment with onartuzumab did not provide any additional clinical benefit when added to bevacizumab (Avastin) in the treatment of patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), according to a study recently published in the <em>Journal of Clinical Oncology</em>.

Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) using yttrium 90 (Y-90) microspheres has been recommended for selected patients with chemotherapy-resistant or refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) with liver metastases in an update to the NCCN guidelines for colon cancer and rectal cancer.

Women who are experiencing symptoms of menopause are less likely to adhere to treatment, according to findings presented at the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Adjuvant ibandronate (Boniva) added to hormone therapy did not provide a clinical benefit to postmenopausal patients with HR-positive, early-stage breast cancer, according to findings from the phase III TEAM IIB trial.

Adding everolimus to fulvestrant reduced the risk of progression or death by 40% compared with fulvestrant alone for postmenopausal patients with metastatic HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer who are resistant to aromatase inhibitor therapy.

Regorafenib (Stivarga) demonstrates the first survival benefit in second-line setting for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) who have progressed on sorafenib, according to results of the phase III RESORCE trial published in <em>The Lancet</em>.

An expert panel, consisting of the College of American Pathologists, American Society for Clinical Pathology, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology&nbsp;issued comprehensive, evidence-based guidelines for clinicians and pathologists regarding the testing of HER2 status for patients with gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma.&nbsp;

Among the new agents currently being explored in clinical trials, NKTR-214 stands out as a new cytokine therapy approach that could show additive benefit when combined with checkpoint inhibitors.&nbsp;

The presence of both PD-L1&ndash;positive and CD8+ cells may help to predict response in patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with durvalumab (MEDI4736), according to findings presented during a late-breaking abstract session at the <em>SITC 31st Annual Meeting &amp; Associated Programs</em>. Sonja Althammer, PhD, presented on the correlation between improved survival rates to durvalumab treatment and high CD8+ and PD-L1+ cell densities.&nbsp;

Jochen H. Lorch, MD, MS&nbsp;discusses&nbsp;current approved treatment options for patients with MTC, the biology of the disease, managing potential progression, and future possibilities in the treatment of MTC.

Lynette M. Sholl, MD, discusses advancements in molecular diagnostics that have led to the development of numerous single-gene&nbsp;assays for the detection of genetic mutations that can be targeted in the treatment of cancers.

Dmitriy Zamarin, MD, PhD,&nbsp;details 5 categories of immunotherapy strategies currently undergoing development.

A genetic understanding of dMMR in rectal cancer could lead the way to precision medicine for these&nbsp;subgroups of patients

Although prostate cancer was among the first tumor types to be studied with immunotherapy treatments, prostate cancer appears to not be immunologic, according to Susan F. Slovin, MD, PhD.

Follow up at 80 weeks to the open-label phase III RESPONSE trial confirmed the benefit of ruxolitinib over best available therapy (BAT) in the treatment of patients with polycythemia vera (PV) who are resistant to or intolerant of hydroxyurea.

Leptomeningeal metastases are more common in patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer who harbor <em>EGFR </em>mutations.&nbsp;Tyrosine kinase inhibitors were found to be the optimal treatment method for these patients, especially if they have not yet received a TKI treatment.

Liver metastases have long led to a poor diagnosis&nbsp;for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer&nbsp;(mCRC), especially when the metastases&nbsp;are unresectable. However, an increasing number of&nbsp;adjunct techniques can treat the liver until surgery&nbsp;becomes possible, and there are also alternatives to&nbsp;surgery for nonresectable patients.

Deciding the sequencing order of therapies for patients with ALK-positive non&ndash;small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a challenge, as new information on next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) comes to light, says Robert Doebele, MD, PhD. Testing for ALK translocations can help to determine which therapies NSCLC patients should be receiving, but questions regarding the sequencing of ALK inhibitors still remain.

Dual anti-HER2-directed therapies have emerged as the most beneficial neoadjuvant treatment option for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer, according to Frankie Ann Holmes, MD.

The addition of chemotherapy to standard hormonal therapy does not improve survival rates for patients with early breast cancer who are at low-risk for recurrence using the 21-gene recurrence score.

Research is making only modest progress in the discovery&nbsp;of receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors that show benefit&nbsp;in the treatment of sarcomas, Gary K. Schwartz, MD, argued during a presentation at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Among immunotherapies PD-1 inhibitors are gaining the most attention for<br /> the treatment of patients with sarcomas.

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) detection has 48% sensitivity and 100% specificity in the prediction of radiologic recurrence at 36 months in postoperative patients with stage II colon cancer.

TNFSF11, also known as RANKL, shows potential as a genetic pathway in the prevention of breast cancer for women carrying BRCA1 mutations. Early study findings, published in Nature Medicine, show that a drug currently used in the treatment of osteoporosis, denosumab (Xgeva)-an inhibitor of RANKL-could also be used for the prevention and delay of tumor growth for BRCA1-mutation carriers.

Gastric cancers with high-level clonal FGFR2 gene amplification responded to AZD4547, a selective FGFR inhibitor, in a phase II open label trial of previously treated, advanced FGFR amplified cancer. Yet tumors with multiple FGFR1 genes, low level or subclonal amplification of FGFR2 did not respond similarly to the drug.

An individualized, risk-based approach to screening current and former smokers for the early detection of lung cancer would dramatically expand the population that could benefit from the preventive strategy.