News

Elaine R. Mardis, PhD, has been selected as president-elect of the American Association for Cancer Research for 2018-2019. Mardis’ position will become official at the AACR Annual Meeting 2018, to be held in Chicago, Illinois, from April 14-18, and she will assume her presidency in April 2019.

According to findings from the phase III ATLAS trial, disease-free survival was not extended with adjuvant axitinib (Inlyta) versus placebo for patients at high risk of recurrent renal cell carcinoma after nephrectomy.

According to preliminary results of a phase II trial, the combination of obinutuzumab (Gazyva), ibrutinib (Imbruvica), and venetoclax (Venclexta) is a safe initial therapy for treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Several individuals will be recognized by the American Association for Cancer Research for their dedication to the field of cancer research during the 2018 AACR Annual Meeting, to be held April 14-18, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.

According to Neil E. Kay, MD, novel agents, such as ibrutinib (Imbruvica), venetoclax (Venclexta), idelalisib (Zydelig), and acalabrutinib (Calquence), are revolutionizing treatment for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. However, the best way to sequence these agents to maximize the benefit to patients is still unclear.

Carlos Becerra, MD, recently shared the treatment considerations and decisions he makes when treating patients with metastatic colorectal cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma. Becerra, a medical oncologist at Texas Oncology, Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center, explained his treatment decisions based on 2 case scenarios during a <em>Targeted Oncology </em>live case-based peer perspectives presentation.

Overall survival was extended in patients with&nbsp;hepatocellular carcinoma and elevated baseline alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) who received second-line treatment with ramucirumab (Cyramza) versus placebo,&nbsp;according to findings from the phase III REACH-2 trial.

There was a 16-week complete response rate of 42% per CT imaging with the combination of venetoclax (Venclexta) and ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in patients with previously untreated or relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma, according to results from the phase II AIM study.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Mark Robson, MD, discussed the current and future role of olaparib, as well as the role of genetic testing in the treatment of breast cancer.

A new drug application seeking a full approval for duvelisib for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma and an accelerated approval for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma has been granted a priority review by the FDA.

Three months of capecitabine (Xeloda) and oxaliplatin (CAPOX) was noninferior for recurrence of death compared with a 6-month course, according to the published findings from IDEA, a pooled analysis of 6 phase III trials.

Based on findings from the phase III ARIEL3 trial, rucaparib (Rubraca) tablets have been approved by the FDA&nbsp;for use as a maintenance treatment for patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in a complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy, according to Clovis Oncology, the manufacturer of the PARP inhibitor.

According to findings from the phase III ECHO-301/KEYNOTE-252 trial, progression-free survival was not improved with the combination of&nbsp;the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and the IDO1 inhibitor epacadostat versus single-agent&nbsp;pembrolizumab in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

The US Department of Defense has selected Sanjeevani Arora, PhD, as the recipient of the Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program Career Development award and grant for fiscal year 2017.&nbsp;The grant will be used to fund clinical efforts benefiting both military and civilian patients.

According to initial results presented at the 2018 Society of Gynecologic Oncology Annual Meeting, 43% of the first 14 patients with platinum-resistant epithelial ovarian cancer treated with the combination of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and mirvetuximab soravtansine (IMGN853), a folate receptor-alpha antibody drug conjugate, had partial responses.

Studies have shown that older patients with either active, relapsed, or refractory acute myeloid leukemia have had lower survival rates, poor risk assessments, and limited therapeutic options. The standard care of these patients is salvage chemotherapy. Investigators are pretreating patients in this high-risk population with Iomab-B, a novel radiolabeled antibody&ndash;drug conjugate&nbsp;as part of a stem cell transplantation regimen in hopes of improving remission and survival outcomes.

According to findings from a phase I/II study published in&nbsp;<em>The Lancet Oncology</em>, there was an&nbsp;&ldquo;unprecedented&rdquo; objective response rate of 93% with larotrectinib&nbsp;in patients with&nbsp;TRK&nbsp;fusion&ndash;positive solid tumors.

The treatment paradigm of chronic lymphocytic leukemia continues to advance, with many ongoing clinical trials investigating combinations seeking to build upon the success seen with Bruton&rsquo;s tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Such potential combination therapies for CLL include venetoclax (Venclexta) with either ibrutinib (Imbruvica) or acalabrutinib (Calquence).

In preliminary findings from the single-arm, phase II TRINITY trial investigating Rovalpituzumab Tesirine (Rova-T) in the third-line setting for patients with relapsed/refractory small cell lung cancer (SCLC) demonstrating high DLL3 expression, the DLL3-targeted antobody-drug conjugate delivered disappointing results.

According to Pfizer, manufacturer of a pan-human EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), a priority review has been granted by the FDA for their TKI inhibitor, dacomitinib, in the frontline setting for patients with&nbsp;<em>EGFR</em>-positive locally advanced or metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.

According to results from an extended follow-up of the CheckMate-205 trial looking at patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma after autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation,&nbsp;nivolumab (Opdivo) caused an overall objective response rate of 69%.

According to results published in <em>The&nbsp;New England Journal of Medicine</em>, molecular minimal residual disease was associated with a higher rate of relapse and a lower rate of relapse-free survival and overall survival for patients with newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia.

Moxetumomab pasudotox has been granted a priority review by the FDA for the treatment of adult patients with hairy cell leukemia (HCL) who have received at least 2 prior lines of therapy, according to AstraZeneca (MedImmune),&nbsp;the developer of the anti-CD22 recombinant immunotoxin.

Several new indications were approved by the FDA in March, including blinatumomab (Blincyto)&nbsp;for MRD+ ALL, brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) for Hodgkin lymphoma, and a 4-week nivolumab (Opdivo) dosing schedule across several indications. Here&rsquo;s a look back on the FDA happenings for the month of March 2018.

A&nbsp;marketing authorization application for olaparib (Lynparza) for the&nbsp;treatment of women with <em>BRCA</em>-mutated, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer who previously received chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, or metastatic setting has been accepted by the&nbsp;European Medicines Agency.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Kris, a medical oncologist and the William and Joy Ruane Chair in Thoracic Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discussed how the approval of durvalumab has changed the treatment landscape of NSCLC.

Based on data from the phase III 482 study, denosumab (Xgeva) has been approved for an expanded indication by the European Commission&nbsp;for the prevention of skeletal-related events in adult patients with multiple myeloma, according to Amgen, the developer of the RANK ligand inhibitor.

Ani S. Balmanoukian, MD,&nbsp;discusses immunotherapy developments in GU malignancies

Stuart L. Goldberg, MD,&nbsp;discussed the management of patients with acute myeloid leukemia as well as those with myelodysplastic syndrome.

The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) has named Thomas A. Gallo, MS, MDA, as the 2018-2019 president of ACCC. This was announced at the ACCC&rsquo;s 44th Annual Meeting &amp; Cancer Center Business Summit on March 16, 2018.