Prostate Cancer

Lung Cancer

<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.

Bridget F. Koontz, MD, associate professor of radiation oncology, Duke Cancer Institute, discusses a single-arm, phase II trial of 6 months of concurrent androgen deprivation therapy/abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) plus prednisone and definitive radiotherapy for men with intermediate- to high-risk localized prostate cancer.

Lung Cancer

Based on results of the phase III SPARTAN trial, apalutamide has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with&nbsp;nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, making it the first treatment to be approved in this setting.<br /> &nbsp;

Results from a phase II study presented at the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, demonstrated that durvalumab, a PD-L1 inhibitor, had synergy in combination with the PARP inhibitor olaparib in unselected men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

In findings from the STAMPEDE trial, a trial that has enrolled more than 9000 men with M0 and M1 prostate cancer since 2005, the addition of docetaxel (Taxotere) to frontline long-term hormone therapy improved quality of life and reduced the need for subsequent therapy in patients with advanced prostate cancer. This has led to lower overall costs in the nonmestatic setting.

In findings from the phase III SPARTAN trial presented at the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium and published in the&nbsp;<em>New England Journal of Medicine,&nbsp;</em>apalutamide (Erleada) reduced the risk of metastasis or death by 72% in patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

In findings from the phase III PROSPER trial released ahead of the&nbsp;2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, the&nbsp;enzalutamide (Xtandi) and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) combination&nbsp;reduced the risk of metastases or death by 71% compared with ADT alone for the treatment of patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

The combination of abiraterone acetate in combination with prednisone and androgen deprivation therapy has been approved by the FDA as a treatment for men with high-risk castration-sensitive prostate cancer.

Circulating tumor cell conversion and CTC value &ge; 1 at baseline were superior predictors of overall survival than PSA in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, according to an analysis of results from 5 clinical trials.<br /> &nbsp;

Charles J. Ryan, MD, will soon be joining the University of Minnesota Medical School as director of the Hematology, Oncology, and Transplantation Division in the Department of Medicine, effective April 2018.

Malcom Mason, MD, Cancer Research Wales Professor of Clinical Oncology at Cardiff University, discusses the significance of the PROTECT study in patients with localized prostate cancer.<br /> &#8203;

William K. Oh, MD, chief, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, professor of&nbsp;medicine and&nbsp;urology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, discusses the use of abiraterone and docetaxel in patients with&nbsp;metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.&nbsp;

Prachi Mishra, PhD, was awarded the first &ldquo;Colonel (Ret.) David G. McLeod Prostate Cancer Translational Research Fellowship&rdquo; at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences on December 7. She was presented this award in front of Department of Defense leadership, industry leaders, cancer scientists, military healthcare providers, and other colleagues.

With genetic screening for mutations and biomarkers gaining more prevalence in diagnosing and treating cancer, genetic testing and counseling for patients with prostate cancer is becoming a pressing concept that urologists need to better understand. At the 2017 LUGPA Annual Meeting, Leonard Gomella, MD, gave a presentation stressing the importance of integrating genetic testing into clinical practice.

Determining the sequence of therapies has yet to be wholly standardized for treating castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), particularly in the case of abiraterone (Zytiga) and enzalutamide (Xtandi).