News

According to findings from the phase III REFLECT trial now published online in the <em>Lancet,</em>^&nbsp;lenvatinib improved progression-free survival and was noninferior for overall survival compared with sorafenib for the frontline treatment of patients with&nbsp;unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Brad S. Kahl, MD,&nbsp;discusses the latest data for ibrutinib and highlighted emerging treatments in MCL.<br /> &nbsp;

Hackensack Meridian <em>Health</em> John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center has appointed Louis M. Weiner, MD, to its advisory board. Weiner is the director of the Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center and director of the MedStar Georgetown Cancer Institute.

Ryan J. Sullivan, MD, discusses&nbsp;the available therapies for patients with <em>BRAF-</em>mutant and non-<em>BRAF</em>-mutant melanoma, as well as the current role of mutation status in treatment decision making.<br /> &nbsp;

Michael A. Morse, MD, discusses a number of key trials that have broadened the treatment landscape of mCRC, the importance of toxicity management in this setting, and other ongoing developments in GI cancers.

In a final analysis of the phase III CALOR trial, the survival benefit demonstrated with adjuvant chemotherapy&nbsp;was sustained in patients with ER-negative breast cancer with isolated locoregional recurrence.

Updates from the KEYNOTE-189 and IMpower150 trials demonstrated the significant impact of adding&nbsp;immunotherapy to treatment regimens for patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.

Stand Up To Cancer has awarded 2 individuals with the 2018 Laura Ziskin Prize in Translational Research, Jos Jonkers, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, and Helen Piwnica-Worms, of the MD Anderson Cancer Center. The 2 will share the $250,000 grant for a year-long project together.

According to phase I findings published in <em>The Lancet Oncology,</em>&nbsp;an&nbsp;objective response rate of 37% was induced in patients with&nbsp;relapsed/refractory lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated with the&nbsp;PI3K-delta inhibitor umbralisib.

The primary endpoint of improving overall survival was not met in the phase III&nbsp;JAVELIN Lung 200 Trial of avelumab in patients with&nbsp;non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, according to&nbsp;Merck KGaA&nbsp;and Pfizer, the&nbsp;co-developers&nbsp;of avelumab.

Treatment with the&nbsp;CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel, formally known as JCAR017) demonstrated&nbsp;a complete response rate of 63% and an&nbsp;objective response rate of 81%&nbsp;in patients with&nbsp;relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Northwell Health Cancer Institute has appointed Richard R. Barakat, MD, to lead all cancer services and research. Barakat will serve as physician-in-chief and director of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute, senior vice president of the health system&rsquo;s Cancer Service Line, and professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.

Saad Z. Usmani, MD, Department of Hematologic Oncology and Blood Disorders, Levine Cancer Institute/Carolinas HealthCare System, highlights some of the ongoing studies presented at the 2017 ASH Annual Meeting.

Peter Martin, MD,&nbsp;reflects on the MCL data presented at the 2017 ASH Annual Meeting, and shared his insight on the future of clinical trials in the disease.

In results of a phase II study, cabozantinib (Cabometyx) showed signs of activity in patients with progressive glioblastoma who were na&iuml;ve to antiangiogenic therapy, despite the predefined statistical target for success not being met.

Kenneth Aldape, MD, has joined the National Cancer Institute&rsquo;s Center for Cancer Research as chief of the Laboratory of Pathology, an integral component of the research and clinical community at the National Institutes of Health.<br /> &nbsp;

The Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey has announced 2 new additions to its team of oncology leaders. Wadih Arap, MD, PhD, will serve as the new director of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey at University Hospital, and Renata Pasqualini, PhD, will serve as the chief of the Division of Cancer Biology in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

Brian T. Hill, MD, PhD,&nbsp;shares more insight on acalabrutinib and ibrutinib&rsquo;s efficacy in patients with MCL and highlights emerging novel strategies in the treatment landscape.

Jean-Charles Soria, MD, PhD, will be honored with the Targeted Anticancer Therapies 2018 Honorary Award for cancer drug development. Soria has played a large part in cancer drug development across molecular targeted agents, precision medicine, and immunotherapy for the last 15 years.

Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, discusses the phase III COMBI-AD study and the phase III CheckMate-238 trial,&nbsp;as well as the most exciting ongoing research at his institution.

In findings from the phase III COLUMBUS trial, the combination of the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib and the MEK inhibitor binimetinib improved survival versus single-agent&nbsp;vemurafenib (Zelboraf) in patients with&nbsp;<em>BRAF</em>-mutant advanced, unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

C. Ola Landgren, MD, PhD, recently shared the treatment considerations and decisions he makes when treating patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma

Based on results from the phase III PACIFIC trial, durvalumab has been granted approval by the FDA&nbsp;for the treatment of patients with locally advanced, unresectable stage III non&ndash;small cell lung cancer who have not progressed following chemoradiotherapy.

Although the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer 90101 CREATE study fell short of its primary endpoint, it demonstrated the activity of crizotinib (Xalkori) in patients with advanced or metastatic alveolar soft part sarcoma in key secondary endpoints.

Enrollment in a phase I/II clinical trial began recently for a study of PT-112 monotherapy in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, according a news release from Phosplatin Therapeutics LLC, the company developing the small molecule conjugate.

Combining consolidative radioimmunotherapy and sequential maintenance rituximab following chemoimmunotherapy improved progression-free survival at 3 years in patients with previously untreated follicular lymphoma, according to findings from the phase II SWOG S0801 study recently published in <em>The Lancet Hematology</em>.

According to results of a phase I study recently published in&nbsp;<em>Journal of Clinical Oncology</em>, treatment with the investigational agent&nbsp;DNX-2401 resulted in 20% of patients with&nbsp;recurrent malignant glioma surviving more than 3 years from the time of treatment.

Based on findings from a phase I trial presented at the 2017 ASH Annual Meeting, ivosidenib (AG-120) has been granted a priority review designation by the FDA for the&nbsp;treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory <em>IDH1</em>-mutant acute myeloid leukemia.

The first-in-class glutaminase inhibitor CB-839 showed encouraging activity and tolerability when combined with everolimus and cabozantinib in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, according to results from a phase I study presented in a poster session at the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco, California.

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;