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Bendamustine debulking followed by ofatumumab and ibrutinib demonstrated an overall response rate of 92% in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, meeting the primary end point of the phase II CLL2-BIO trial, and was well-tolerated with no new safety signals. Results from the study were published in Haematologica.

Circulating free DNA in the blood may be a more effective way to measure disease in patients with breast cancer and track the progression of the disease, according to a study from researchers at the Fox Chase Cancer Center.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Andre Goy, MD, discussed the evolving role of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors for the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma, as well as where this field is headed based on ongoing clinical trials in this space.

The FDA has granted 2 orphan drug designations to ALPN-101 for both the prevention and treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease, according to a press release from Alpine Immune Sciences.

Ruxolitinib was found to be safe and effective for long-term treatment of patients with polycythemia vera who are resistant to or intolerant of hydroxyurea, according to the 5-year follow-up data from the phase III RESPONSE trial, recently published in The Lancet Haematology. 

Adjuvant ipilimumab at a dose of 3 mg/kg demonstrated a survival benefit in patients with resected high-risk melanoma compared with high-dose interferon alfa-2b, according to the findings for a phase III E1609 clinical trial from the North American Intergroup.

Ropeginterferon alfa-2b improved responses overtime in patients with polycythemia vera who presented predominantly without splenomegaly compared with hydroxyurea, according to findings from the phase III PROUD-PV clinical trial and its extension study, CONTINUATION-PV.

As business slows down in most sectors worldwide due to the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the biopharmaceutical industry is doubling its efforts in order to develop life-saving vaccines and diagnostic tools for use by clinicians across medical specialties. Swift actions by the FDA and other public health organizations are being taken to ensure the health care industry has the tools it needs to care for patients who may be affected by the virus.

The addition of tremelimumab to frontline durvalumab and the standard of care, platinum-based chemotherapy, did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in overall survival in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, missing the co-primary end point of the phase III CASPIAN trial, according to high-level results from the final analysis of the trial.

To help assess the advances the United States has made in decreasing cancer-related deaths, a collective of public health bodies found that monitoring trends in cancer risk, screening test use, and mortality is informative. A report published in&nbsp;<em>Cancer</em>&nbsp;shows that progress has been made in recent years, but there is more work to be&nbsp;<a>done.</a>

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Carl Morrison, MD, DVM, senior vice president Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, discussed the rationale for evaluating the Ion Torrent-based approach to predicting response to immunotherapy. He highlighted the importance of this in the clinical setting and advances are necessary to further validate this as a biomarker of response.

From 2001 to 2017, the cancer death rates continued to decline in the United States, and these decreases were observed in all major racial and ethnic groups, as well as in males, females, adolescents, young adults, and children. However, the rates of cancer incidence for all cancers slightly increased in females from 2012 to 2016, according to the Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, which was published in&nbsp;Cancer.^&nbsp;

Vemurafenib monotherapy is an effective treatment for patients with&nbsp;BRAF&nbsp;V600-mutated non&ndash;small cell lung cancer,&nbsp;according to results from the phase II AcSe vemurafenib trial&nbsp;II study published in the&nbsp;Annals of Oncology.

Researchers have developed a baseline score to determine the risk for heart failure in patients with acute leukemias, to address the scarcity in knowledge around the increasing incidence and risk factors of symptomatic heart failure in this patient population. The findings were published in&nbsp;JACC: CardioOncology.

Randall A. Oyer, MD, was named President for 2020 to 2021 of The Association of Community Cancer Centers during the ACCC 46th Annual Meeting Cancer Center Business Summit, according to a press release.

A post hoc analysis of the ALTER 0303 trial has found that anlotinib, compared with placebo, extended the time patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer had before brain metastases developed or existing brain lesions increased in size, reports a recent paper in The Oncologist.

African American males with prostate cancer may fare better in terms of overall survival than Caucasian males, according to the results of a pooled analysis of phase III data. The data were obtained through the PROCEED registry, which includes over 1900 patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with sipuleucel-T, created at the recommendation of the FDA.

Patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer with a luminal B tumor are associated with better outcomes with the addition of docetaxel chemotherapy to androgen deprivation therapy compared with androgen deprivation therapy alone. In a correlative study presented at the 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Sumposium, investigators also determined that the basal tumor subtype did not experience as much of a survival benefit with the addition of docetaxel to androgen deprivation therapy.

The phase III JAVELIN 100 trial of avelumab plus chemoradiotherapy versus standard-of-care&nbsp; CRT in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma&nbsp; has been terminated due to doubt that the combination will meet the primary end point, progression-free survival.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Tony S. K. Mok, MD, BMSc, FRCPC, discussed the final progression-free survival data for frontline alectinib comparted with crizotinib as treatment of patients with advanced&nbsp;ALK-positive non&ndash;small cell lung cancer in the ALEX trial.

The FDA has granted a Fast Track designation for the evaluation of balstilimab in combination with zalifrelimab for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory metastatic cervical cancer, according to a press release from Agenus, Inc., the developer of balstilimab. Comprehensive data supporting the potential of the combination served as the basis for the designation.

The FDA has recommended that a preliminary meeting for a potential Breakthrough Therapy designation be requested for leronlimab as a treatment of patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer, based on positive data from a phase Ib/II study.

The largest prospective dataset in previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma revealed the molecular heterogeneity of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma with potential treatment targets harbored by the cell-of-origin subtypes, based on data from a phase III GOYA study.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;

The addition of cediranib to olaparib did not result in improved progression-free survival in comparison with platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer, which was the primary end point of the phase III NRG-GY004 trial, according to a press release from AstraZeneca and Merck.

Pemetrexed-based chemotherapy regimens were more effective as treatment of patients with&nbsp;<em>RET</em>-rearranged non&ndash;<a>small</a>&nbsp;cell lung cancer compared with other regimens, according to a multicenter, retrospective study. This treatment also showed similar benefit for various&nbsp;<em>RET</em>&nbsp;fusion types, including&nbsp;<em>KIF5B-<a>RET&nbsp;</a></em>and non-<em>KIF5B-RET</em>&nbsp;fusions.

The FDA has placed a partial clinical hold on the phase I trial of ACTR707 in combination with rituximab in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell lymphoma from Unum Therapeutics, following the submission of a safety report from the company. The FDA notified Unum of the hold verbally on March 4. Unum Therapeutics acknowledged the partial clinical hold in filings with the Securities and Exchange commission.

Cirmtuzumab in combination with ibrutinib induced a clinical benefit rate of 100% in a small cohort of patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma, according to interim results of the phase I/II CIRLL trial.

Acelarin demonstrated clinical activity in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer who were heavily pretreated with at least 3 lines of chemotherapy, according to preliminary results from part 1 of phase II PRO-105 study, announced in a press release from the drug developer, NuCana plc.

Progression-free survival failed to meet the threshold for statistical significance with the addition of ixazomib to lenalidomide and dexamethasone in patients with newly diagnosed, transplant-ineligible multiple myeloma in the phase III TOURMALINE-MM2 trial, not meeting the primary endpoint.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Eric Kmiec, PhD, discussed the evolution of CRISPR and how it fits into the treatment landscape for physicians in the community practice. He highlights the challenges that arise with the use of CRISPR and how to address these issues.