News

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Ruben Mesa, MD, discussed the results from the reanalysis of the JAKARTA-2 trial that led to the approval of fedratinib in patients with MF. He also highlighted the role of the FREEDOM study that is currently enrolling patients with MF for treatment with fedratinib.

Selinexor plus dexamethasone induced objective responses and a significant overall survival among heavily pretreated patients with multiple myeloma, according to results from the phase IIb STORM trial published in&nbsp;<em>The New England Journal of Medicine.</em>

The FDA has granted a New Drug Application for zanubrutinib a priority review for the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma who have previously received at least 1 prior treatment.

A recent study of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) who were surveyed about their perceived choice in receiving radioactive iodine (RAI) treatment suggests the need for increased shared decision making between physicians and their patients regarding treatment choices.

The FDA has granted a priority review to a supplemental New Drug Application for a new indication for enzalutamide as a treatment for men with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.

During the <em>20th Annual </em>International Lung Cancer Congress, <em>Targeted Oncology</em> spoke with another Lung-MAP investigator, Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, about the status and importance of the trial and new recommendations for molecular testing and liquid biopsies working their way into practice in the lung cancer field.

The combination of durvalumab and tremelimumab did not meet its primary overall survival endpoint compared with platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with previously untreated stage IV non&ndash;small cell lung cancer and a high tumor mutational burden, according to final OS results from the phase III NEPTUNE trial.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Agarwal, professor of medicine at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, gave an overview of the TALAPRO-2 trial and discussed its potential for changing the standard of care for patients with mCRPC.

A combination of vorinostat, cladribine, and rituximab demonstrated high, durable rates of complete response in patients with previously untreated mantle cell lymphoma, according to the results of a phase I/II trial of the triplet regimen in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.<br /> &nbsp;

A neoadjuvant regimen of dabrafenib plus trametinib in patients with&nbsp;<em>BRAF&nbsp;</em>V600E&ndash;mutated anaplastic thyroid carcinoma offered a feasible way to prepare patients for life-extending and quality-of-life-enhancing surgical resection, according to the results of a case series report of patients with locoregionally advanced ATC at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Heather Williams, MD provided background on the study of nivolumab as salvage therapy in heavily pretreated patients with gynecologic malignancies in an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>.<strong> </strong>

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Robert L. Redner, MD, highlighted the new agents available for the treatment of AML and some of the ongoing studies that could impact clinical practice.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em> following his presentation at the <em>3rd Annual</em> Congress on Oncology &amp; Pathology hosted by PER&reg;, Gulam A. Manji, MD, discussed the emergence of new therapies for targeting mutations in patients with colon cancer.

At a recent&nbsp;Targeted Oncology&nbsp;live case-based peer perspectives event, Kanwal P. S. Raghav, MBBS, MD, presented a case scenario of a patient with colorectal cancer who has already gone through first- and second-line treatments. Raghav explained the treatment considerations he would make with similar patients in the clinic and the treatment options available to this patient with CRC in this setting.

The FDA has approved the treatment of fedratinib for the treatment of adult patients with intermediate-2 or high-risk primary or secondary myelofibrosis, including post-polycythemia vera or post-essential thrombocythemia myelofibrosis.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Alessandra Tedeschi, MD, discussed the 5-year data she presented at the 2019 EHA Meeting for frontline ibrutinib as a treatment for patients with CLL. She also highlighted other research that may also benefit elderly patients with CLL, including the emerging combination of venetoclax and obinutuzumab.

The FDA has approved entrectinib for the treatment of adult patients with <em>ROS1</em>-positive metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer. An accelerated approval was also granted to entrectinib for the treatment of adult and adolescent patients with solid tumors harboring an <em>NTRK </em>gene fusion and who have no alternative, effective therapies available.

Krishnansu S. Tewari, MD, discussed the results from the phase III clinical trial investigating the addition of bevacizumab to standard chemotherapy treatment following surgery in patients with advanced ovarian cancer, and the next steps for research regarding the role of bevacizumab in ovarian cancer treatment.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology&nbsp;</em>following a presentation at the Charlotte Plasma Cell Disorder Congress, Cesar Rodriguez Valdes, MD explained how small molecules fit into the myeloma treatment and notes the ongoing research that shows promise for the next class of small molecules in the future.<br /> &nbsp;

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology, </em>James&nbsp;McCloskey, MD, explained the need for consideration of elderly patients when designing clinical trials for <em>IDH</em>-mutated AML and other considerations when treating this patient population.

In the largest genomic study of Merkel cell carcinoma tumors to date, investigators identified 2 distinct molecular subgroups, an ultraviolet light&ndash;driven subtype and a viral-driven subtype, which matched with tumor mutational burden classifications.&nbsp;

The FDA has granted a breakthrough therapy designation to acalabrutinib monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.&nbsp;The breakthrough designation was given based on the results of interim analyses from 2 phase III trials: ELEVATE-TN and ASCEND.&nbsp;

Olaparib in combination with bevacizumab demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival as a frontline maintenance regimen compared with bevacizumab alone in women with advanced ovarian cancer, according to early results from the phase III PAOLA-1 trial.

In patients with <em>RAS </em>wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer, maintenance therapy with single-agent panitumumab was inferior in terms of progression-free survival compared with a combined regimen of panitumumab plus fluorouracil and leucovorin; however, the combination regimen showed a higher rate of treatment-related toxicities, according to results from the phase II noninferiority VALENTINO trial.<br /> &nbsp;

Ripretinib demonstrated a significantly improved progression-free survival compared with placebo in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors being treated in the fourth-line setting or beyond, according to topline results from the phase III INVICTUS trial. An NDA for ripretinib is planned for the first quarter of 2020.&nbsp;

During an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Charu Agarwal, MD, reviewed the findings of a prospective study of pembrolizumab monotherapy in patients with advanced NSCLC.

Reporting on the debate with his peer, Lawrence J. Solin, MD, FACR, FASTRO explained his stance on whole breast irradiation in comparison with partial breast irradiation in breast cancer treatment during an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>.&nbsp;More research is needed to support the idea that PBI can be used for more patients, according to Solin.

Vicinium has demonstrated positive 12-month complete response rate findings in the VISTA trial of patients with high-risk patients with non&ndash;muscle-invasive bladder cancer who were unresponsive to bacillus Calmette-Gu&eacute;rin treatment, according to updated preliminary findings from the phase III clinical trial.

The American Society of Hematology has chosen Philip Greenberg, MD, to receive the 2019 E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize for his work in immunotherapy.

Osimertinib has demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival compared with standard first-generation EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors in patients with newly diagnosed <em>EGFR</em>-mutated non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, according to updated findings from the phase III FLAURA trial.