News

Mosunetuzumab, a CD3 and CD20 bispecific antibody, induced complete remission rates over 30% in patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma and relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma or transformed follicular lymphoma, and demonstrated a tolerable safety profile, showing promise for these patients with B-cell indolent and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas. 

According to findings from the FLYER trial presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, treatment with 2 fewer frontline cycles of R-CHOP greatly reduced toxicity in younger patients with low-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The progression-free survival rates were also similar between the 2 arms. 

Two variants of the chemotherapy regimen R-CHOP resulted in comparable overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with previously untreated stage III or IV indolent B-cell lymphoma, including grades 1 to 3 follicular lymphoma, according to a long-term follow-up analysis from a combined phase II/III randomized trial.

The immunomodulating agent lenalidomide induced a complete response in 74% of patients with high tumor burden follicular lymphoma when used in combination with rituximab and a 4-drug chemotherapy regimen, according to a recent study.

Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD, discusses the second-line use of ruxolitinib in patients with in PV and additional benefits with the agent as more data become available.

During a&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>case-based peer perspectives program, John Marshall, MD, reviewed his clinical considerations for the management of pancreatic cancer. Marshall discussed his treatment options and other factors that go into his decision making with the group during the meeting based on 2 case scenarios of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

Beginning ruxolitinib (Jakafi) therapy at lower doses may limit the anemia frequently seen early in treatment in patients with myelofibrosis while still providing clinical benefits like improvements in splenomegaly, according to the results of a 24-week open-label phase II dose escalation study.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Jonathon B. Cohen, MD, discussed the evolving treatment landscape of MCL.

Gilteritinib has been approved by the FDA&nbsp;for the treatment of adult patients with&nbsp;<em>FLT3</em>&nbsp;mutation&ndash;positive relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

During a&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology&nbsp;</em>case-based peer perspectives program, Sikander Ailawadhi, MD, reviewed with other physicians his clinical considerations for the management of multiple myeloma. Ailawadhi discussed his treatment options and other factors that go into his decision making with the group during the meeting based on a case scenario of a patient with high-risk, transplant-ineligible multiple myeloma.

The FDA has granted approval to the&nbsp;rituximab (Rituxan) biosimilar, CT-P10 (Truxima; rituximab-abbs), for the treatment of adult patients with CD20-positive, B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) as a single agent or in combination with chemotherapy, making it the first&nbsp;biosimilar approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with NHL.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Charalambos Andreadis, MD, MSCE, discussed the use of CAR T-cell therapy in patients with DLBCL, as well as the toxicities associated with each product. He also highlights other promising therapies in the treatment landscape.

A phase II trial is currently recruiting patients with Merkel cell carcinoma to participate in a single-arm study evaluating the safety and efficacy of INCMGA00012.¹The open-label, multicenter study seeks to enroll 90 patients, including at least 52 patients who are treatment-na&iuml;ve. In addition, only 40 patients who are chemotherapy-refractory will be allowed to participate

Toni K. Choueiri, MD, discusses pivotal phase III findings for the combination of axitinib plus&nbsp;avelumab in previously untreated patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

The CheckMate-451 trial missed its primary endpoint of overall survival with the combination of&nbsp;nivolumab and ipilimumab as a maintenance therapy for patients with&nbsp;extensive-stage small cell lung cancer without disease progression following frontline platinum-based chemotherapy.

The FDA has granted an&nbsp;accelerated approval to larotrectinib (Vitrakvi)&nbsp;for use in adult and pediatric patients with solid tumors that have an <em>NTRK</em> gene fusion without a known acquired resistance mutation, are metastatic or where surgical resection is likely to result in severe morbidity, and have no satisfactory alternative treatments or that have progressed following treatment.

Targeted agents have produced new treatment options for patients with advanced thyroid cancers, with significant advances being seen this year in moving toward precision medicine for various thyroid cancer subtypes, according to Marcia S. Brose, MD, PhD.&nbsp;

Patients with thyroid cancer classified as having low risk of disease recurrence can be treated safely with a lower dose of radiation following surgery, compared with the standard higher dose, according to long-term findings from the HiLo trial presented at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference.

A new drug application for&nbsp;quizartinib has been granted a priority review by the FDA&nbsp;for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory&nbsp;<em>FLT3</em>-ITD&ndash;positive acute myeloid leukemia. The designation is based on findings from the&nbsp;phase III QuANTUM-R study.&nbsp;

More research is still needed to determine the risk of developing a subsequent malignant neoplasm following radioactive iodine treatment for thyroid cancer, according to findings that were presented during the Annual Meeting of the American Thyroid Association and published in <em>Thyroid</em>.

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy has generated new excitment in select hematologic malignancies. Despite recent advances, more research is necessary in order to both move these treatments to earlier settings and drive costs down, Brian Till, MD, noted.

Patients with advanced alveolar soft part sarcoma demonstrated durable responses that occurred early following the initiation of atezolizumab, according to phase II trial findings presented at the 2018 CTOS Annual Meeting. Atezolizumab was also well tolerated and demonstrated a favorable safety profile.

Glasdegib (Daurismo) has been granted FDA approval for combination use&nbsp;with low-dose cytarabine for the treatment of patients with newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia who are aged 75 years or older or who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy.

Venetoclax (Venclexta) has been granted an accelerated approval by the FDA for combined use with&nbsp;azacitidine or decitabine or low-dose cytarabine as a treatment for&nbsp;adult patients with newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia who are aged 75 years or older,&nbsp;or who have comorbidities that preclude use of intensive induction chemotherapy.

<br /> Mary-Beth Percival, MD, discusses the ongoing development of FLT3 inhibitors and other current research in patients with AML.

Using the VR-CAP regimen instead of R-CHOP significantly improved median overall survival in previously untreated newly diagnosed patients with mantle cell lymphoma who were not eligible for transplant, according to results from the long-term follow-up phase of a randomized, open-label, phase III trial.

During a <em>Targeted Oncology </em>live case-based peer perspective presentation, Ajai Chari, MD, spoke on the treatment options and considerations he makes when treating patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Mutations in 8 high-risk genes are associated with an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) diagnosis, according to a deep sequencing analysis. Hetty Carraway, MD, said that these findings lay the ground work for upcoming research on early detection and novel treatment strategies.

Patients with acute myeloid leukemia now have more treatment options available than ever, due to some major changes to the field over the last year. With 2 drugs already approved for patients with <em>IDH</em> mutations and 4 new drugs expected to receive approval in the next year, it is a more hopeful time than ever for this patient population.

During a <em>Targeted Oncology </em>case-based peer perspectives program, Ryan Gentzler, MD, reviewed with other physicians his clinical considerations for the management of non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.