News

Based on data from part 1a of the phase III CheckMate-227 trial, nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) in combination show improved progression-free survival (PFS) versus with chemotherapy in treatment-naïve patients with high tumor mutation burden (TMB) non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

In findings from the phase III SPARTAN trial presented at the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium and published in the&nbsp;<em>New England Journal of Medicine,&nbsp;</em>apalutamide (Erleada) reduced the risk of metastasis or death by 72% in patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

In findings from the phase III PROSPER trial released ahead of the&nbsp;2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, the&nbsp;enzalutamide (Xtandi) and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) combination&nbsp;reduced the risk of metastases or death by 71% compared with ADT alone for the treatment of patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).

In a phase Ib/II dose escalation study, rapid and tolerable responses were seen with the combination of selinexor, daratumumab, and low-dose dexamethasone in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma who were previously exposed to immunomodulatory and proteasome inhibitors.<br /> &nbsp;

As stated in findings from IMmotion151, a phase III open-label study, the combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab (Avastin) induced a 26% reduction in the risk of progression or death compared with sunitinib (Sutent) for patients with untreated PD-L1&ndash;positive metastatic renal cell carcinoma. This study was released ahead of the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

The combination of abiraterone acetate in combination with prednisone and androgen deprivation therapy has been approved by the FDA as a treatment for men with high-risk castration-sensitive prostate cancer.

Overall survival was extended for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma by nearly 8 months with the&nbsp;combination of carfilzomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone compared with&nbsp;lenalidomide and dexamethasone alone in results from the phase III ASPIRE trial.

Based on supporting data from the phase III DUO trial and the phase II DYNAMO study, duvelisib has been submitted to the FDA for a full approval&nbsp;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.

Lymphoma expert Andrew M. Evens, DO, MSc, FACP, has joined Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey as associate director. He is also serving as medical director of the oncology service line at RWJBarnabas Health. Evens will focus on integrated cancer care delivery in his roles across both institutions.

Patients with relapsed/refractory myeloma&nbsp;who had prior exposure to lenalidomide (Revlimid) experienced a significant improvement in&nbsp;progression-free survival with pomalidomide (Pomalyst) added to the combination of bortezomib (Velcade) and low-dose dexamethasone,&nbsp;according to findings from the phase III OPTIMISMM trial.

Matthew S. Davids, MD, MMSc, recently discussed the treatment choices for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and the factors he considers when choosing a treatment, based on 2 patient cases.

Renowned physician, researcher, and scholar, Thomas Buchholz, MD, has been named medical director of an upcoming collaboration between Scripps Health and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Women with newly diagnosed stage III&nbsp;epithelial ovarian cancer experienced an improvement in&nbsp;relapse-free survival and overall survival with the addition of&nbsp;hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy to interval cytoreductive surgery, according to results&nbsp;from a multicenter, open-label, phase III trial.

Eflapegrastim (Rolontis), a novel long-acting granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, has met its primary endpoint of non-inferiority in duration of severe chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in comparison with pegfilgrastim (Neulasta) in the phase III ADVANCE study, according to Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the biotechnology company developing the agent.

According to results of an open-label, single-center, 2-stage, proof-of-concept phase II study, prexasertib (LY2606368), a cell cycle checkpoint kinase 1 and 2 inhibitor, demonstrated clinical activity and was tolerable in&nbsp;women with measurable, recurrent high-grade serous or high-grade endometrioid ovarian carcinoma.

In findings from the phase II&nbsp;MDV3100-11 study published in the<em> Journal of Clinical Oncology</em>, enzalutamide demonstrated early signs of efficacy in&nbsp;patients with androgen receptor-positive triple-negative breast cancer.

Jhanelle E. Gray, MD, recently shared the treatment considerations and decisions she makes when treating patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, with a special focus on immunotherapy.&nbsp;Gray, associate member, Director of Thoracic Clinical Research, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, explained her treatment decisions based on 2 case scenarios during a&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>&nbsp;live case-based peer perspectives dinner.

Progression-free survival was improved by nearly 15% with CHOP-RIT compared with R-CHOP alone in previously untreated patients with follicular lymphoma,&nbsp;according to findings from the phase III SWOG-S0016 trial published in the <em>Journal of Clinical Oncology</em>.

Treatment with cabozantinib induced similar quality of life results as treatment with everolimus in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, according to results of the&nbsp;randomized, open-label, international phase III METEOR trial.

Arjun Balar, MD, recently shared the treatment considerations and decisions he makes when treating patients with advanced bladder cancer.

Rapid growth continues for research surrounding combination therapies of immunotherapy with chemotherapy for patients with NSCLC.

Four US studies of&nbsp;BPX-501 have been halted by the FDA after&nbsp;3 patients developed encephalopathy possibly related to treatment with the&nbsp;novel cellular immunotherapy for cancers and orphan inherited blood disorders.

Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD,&nbsp;discusses the current and future state of immunotherapy in the treatment of melanoma.

Treatment with lomustine plus bevacizumab provided a slightly improved progression-free survival, but did not demonstrate an overall survival advantage over treatment with lomustine alone in patients with progressive glioblastoma, according to results of a randomized phase III trial published in the<em> New England Journal of Medicine</em>.

Circulating tumor cell conversion and CTC value &ge; 1 at baseline were superior predictors of overall survival than PSA in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, according to an analysis of results from 5 clinical trials.<br /> &nbsp;

During their 155th annual meeting, to be help April 29, the National Academy of Science (NAS) will award 19 individuals for their extraordinary scientific achievements in a wide range of fields including the physical, biological, and medical sciences.

Charles J. Ryan, MD, will soon be joining the University of Minnesota Medical School as director of the Hematology, Oncology, and Transplantation Division in the Department of Medicine, effective April 2018.

A phase III clinical trial of VAL-083, a first-in-class small molecule chemotherapy agent, has opened for patients with glioblastoma multiforme whose disease has progressed during or after standard treatment with chemoradiation, according to a news release from Atlantic Health System. &nbsp;

David F. McDermott, MD,&nbsp;shares some of the successes with immunotherapy in RCC and gave his insight on the future treatment of these patients.

Based on results of the phase III NETTER-1 trial, Lutathera has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with somatostatin receptor-positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.