Bladder Cancer

Lung Cancer

Based on the phase II study BLC2001, erdafitinib has been granted a breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic urothelial carcinoma, according to Janssen, the manufacturer of the oral pan-FGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

<em>Targeted Therapies in Oncology</em>, an oncology resource that provides oncology professionals with cutting-edge research, data, and treatment strategies surrounding molecular and immune system targets, welcomes&nbsp;Arjun V. Balar, MD,&nbsp;as its editor-in-chief.

A supplemental new drug application for Blue Light Cytoscopy with Cysview, a procedure for detecting bladder cancer, was recently approved by the FDA.

Lung Cancer

The FDA has approved a 4-week dosing schedule for the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) across several indications.

Cisplatin-based chemotherapy has been and remains the standard of care in advanced urothelial carcinoma, and can provide a cure for a small subset of these patients.

Updated findings from the phase III KEYNOTE-045 trial confirmed the benefit of&nbsp;pembrolizumab (Keytruda) compared with chemotherapy in pretreated patients with locally advanced or recurrent urothelial cancer. Two-year follow-up of the trial presented at the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium demonstrated that overall survival was improved with pembrolizumab.

During the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, Monika Joshi, MD, assistant professor, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, shared results of a phase Ib study of durvalumab (Imfinzi) and radiation therapy (DUART) followed by adjuvant durvalumab in patients with bladder cancer.

Arjun Balar, MD, recently shared the treatment considerations and decisions he makes when treating patients with advanced bladder cancer.

According to results from the phase I JAVELIN Solid Tumor study recently published in the Lancet Oncology, the PD-L1 inhibitor avelumab (Bavencio) induced an overall response rate of 17% in patients with platinum-refractory metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) has been approved in Japan for the treatment&nbsp;of patients with radically unresectable urothelial carcinoma who progressed after cancer chemotherapy, according to Merck, the manufacturer of the PD-1 inhibitor.

Arjun Balar, MD,&nbsp;discusses novel immunotherapy combinations for the treatment of patients with bladder cancer.

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy with bb2121 demonstrated an objective response rate of 94% in patients with&nbsp;relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, according to findings from a dose-escalation study. The senior study author, James N. Kochenderfer, MD, presented updated findings from the study during the 2017 ASH Annual Meeting, and commented that 89% of patients had a very good partial response or better, and 56% of patients had a complete remission.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;

Matthew D. Galsky, MD, Professor of Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, discusses progression in patients with metastatic bladder 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.

The use of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) is being recommended by the UK&#39;s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for treatment-na&iuml;ve patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who are not eligible for cisplatin-based therapy.

Combining the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) with the novel IDO inhibitor&nbsp;BMS-986205 generated promising response rates&nbsp;in patients with advanced cervical or bladder cancers and similar adverse effects to what is seen with anti&ndash;PD-1 monotherapy, according to findings of an early-phase clinical trial presented by Jason J. Luke, MD, during the&nbsp;SITC 32nd Annual Meeting.

Metastatic urothelial cancer is a relatively chemotherapy-sensitive malignancy. With contemporary cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy regimens, objective responses are achieved in approximately 50-60% of patients and complete radiographic responses are achieved in approximately 10-20% of patients.