News

Immunotherapy vaccine approaches that involve harvesting a patient’s dendritic cells and priming them to recognize a tumor-specific antigen before injecting them back into the patient to activate a T-cell response against the tumor have achieved encouraging but limited success.

Progression on treatment with ibrutinib in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was associated with pretreatment BCL6 abnormalities, acquired mutations in BTK and PLCG2, and complex karyotypes.

First-line treatment with lapatinib (Tykerb) and a taxane failed to improve progression-free survival (PFS) versus trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus a taxane in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, according to final results from the phase III MA.31 trial.

To gain new insight on bortezomib’s use in the frontline MCL setting, Targeted Oncology interviewed Andrew Evens, DO, MSc, director of the Tufts Cancer Center.

Recent advancements in the treatment of ovarian cancer have led the National Comprehensive Cancer Network to make changes to their clinical practice guidelines in its 20th annual edition.

Solid tumors often have an abnormal web of blood vessels, creating areas of hypoxia that protect the tumor from the toxic effects of chemotherapy drugs and radiation, which are designed to seek out well-oxygenated tissue.

Combination therapy with ibrutinib plus bendamustine and rituximab significantly extended progression-free survival compared with BR alone in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma enrolled in the phase III HELIOS trial.

What if the answer to earlier tumor detection is right in front of our faces—or, more accurately, right in front of our dog’s faces?

Growth in healthcare spending in the United States continues to outpace growth in European countries that enjoy a similar standard of living.

Dinutuximab (Unituxin) has been approved by the FDA in combination with interleukin-2, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and isotretinoin as a frontline therapy for pediatric patients with high-risk neuroblastoma.

Treatment with 2 angiogenesis-targeting drugs led to objective responses in a fourth of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), results of a dose-finding study showed.

Harold Varmus, MD, may be stepping down as director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the end of March, but in an interview with Targeted Oncology, he made it clear that he is not retiring.

Through a $21 billion acquisition of Pharmacyclics, AbbVie has announced plans to acquire the blockbuster BTK inhibitor ibrutinib (Imbruvica).

The FDA has approved nivolumab (Opdivo) for the treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The approval comes 3 months ahead of the FDA’s scheduled decision date.

Two recently published studies have reported discoveries that could eventually lead to improved outcomes in patients with pancreatic cancer.

The FDA has accepted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for ipilimumab (Yervoy) as an adjuvant treatment of patients with stage III melanoma at high risk of recurrence following complete resection.

Carfilzomib (Kyprolis) doubled progression-free survival (PFS) versus bortezomib (Velcade) in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma in the phase III ENDEAVOR trial.

Nivolumab (Opdivo) has been granted a priority review for use in patients with previously treated, advanced, squamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Response rates to standard platinum-based chemotherapy among patients with the clear cell subtype of ovarian cancer are especially low, necessitating new treatment targets.

The FDA has approved panobinostat (Farydak) in combination with bortezomib (Velcade) and dexamethasone for patients with previously treated multiple myeloma.

The FDA has granted rindopepimut (Rintega) a Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of adult patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) that test positive for the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) variant (EGFRvIII).

Many patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have no identifiable mutations, and therefore their disease cannot be managed with targeted treatments.

The MEK inhibitor cobimetinib has received an FDA priority review for use in combination with the BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib (Zelboraf) to treat patients with BRAF V600–positive advanced melanoma.

Ibrutinib (Imbruvica) showed promising activity in heavily pretreated, relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT).

Lenalidomide (Revlimid) plus dexamethasone has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma who are not candidates for stem cell transplant, based on findings from the phase III FIRST trial.

The oral multikinase inhibitor motesanib failed to meet the primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the phase III MONET-A trial.

To gain insight into the integration of olaparib (Lynparza) into clinical practice, Targeted Oncology interviewed Ursula A. Matulonis, MD, medical director of gynecologic oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Novartis Oncology hopes to overcome many of these challenges with the innovative Signature Clinical Trial program, which “bring[s] the ‘Protocol to the Patient.

Amgen and its subsidiary Onyx Pharmaceuticals have submitted an sNDA to the FDA for the full regulatory approval of carfilzomib (Kyprolis) as a treatment for patients with relapsed multiple myeloma.

An orphan drug designation has been granted to Reolysin (wild-type reovirus) for the treatment of patients with ovarian cancer.