News

The FDA has approved lenvatinib (Lenvima) as a treatment for patients with progressive, radioactive iodine (RAI)-refractory differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC).

An international team of scientists has shed additional light on the important role of Yes-associated protein (YAP) in tumor development and in treatment response.

The FDA has scheduled a hearing to discuss the biologics license application (BLA) for the immunotherapy talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) as a treatment for patients with metastatic melanoma.

The proteasome inhibitor ixazomib (MLN9708) met its primary endpoint of improving PFS at a prespecified interim analysis of a phase III trial of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Targeted agents have become available in recent years to treat many major cancers, but for women with ovarian cancer, standard treatment following cytoreductive surgery remains systemic intravenous/intraperitoneal chemotherapy with a platinum agent and a taxane. Approximately 80% of women who receive first-line treatment with this platinum-based regimen experience relapsed disease. However, early research indicates that more and better options may be on the way.

The risk of death was significantly reduced for patients with BRAFV600E/K mutation-positive metastatic melanoma treated with dabrafenib and trametinib compared with dabrafenib alone.

Representatives Diana DeGette (D, Colorado) and Fred Upton (R, Michigan) recently released a "discussion draft" of the 21st Century Cures Act.

Genentech, the manufacturer of obinutuzumab, plans to file for FDA and EMA approval after a phase III study of the anti-CD20 agent in indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL) garnered positive results in an interim analysis.

Acting two months ahead of its deadline, the FDA granted an accelerated approval to palbociclib (Ibrance) as a first-line treatment for patients with ER-positive metastatic breast cancer.

During the past year, many corporations, academic institutions, and government health organizations announced new funding or collaborative efforts totaling billions of dollars to identify genetic targets for novel cancer therapies.

Guardant360 is a highly sensitive digital sequencing system that requires only a 10 mL blood sample, and allows for simultaneous assessment of more than 60 actionable genes in circulating, cell-free DNA.

The anti–PD-L1 agent MPDL3280A has received a breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA as a potential treatment for patients with PD-L1–positive NSCLC who have progressed on platinum-based chemotherapy and a EGFR or ALK inhibitor.

The “Precision Medicine Initiative” that was briefly mentioned by President Barack Obama during his State of the Union Address last week will require a $215 million initial investment, with the goal of discovering cures for diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

The FDA has expanded the approval of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) for the treatment of patients with Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia.

In many cases, prostate cancer grows slowly and causes few symptoms; thus, many men remain unaware that they have the disease.

Every time you check out at the supermarket with your customer loyalty card, a computer makes a record of your purchases, which links to your demographic profile.

Topline results from the phase II TERRAIN trial showed enzalutamide increased progression-free survival (PFS) by nearly 10 months compared with bicalutamide in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

The FDA has granted a Fast Track Designation to CPX-351, a liposomal formulation of cytarabine and daunorubicin, for the treatment of elderly patients with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Precision, personalized, individualized, targeted — most oncologists are well acquainted with these terms.

ASCO named the improved outlook for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) as its inaugural “Cancer Advance of the Year.”

The New York State Stem Cell Science Program recently awarded a 4-year $11.9 million grant to Roswell Park Cancer Institute to fund research and development of a stem-cell based treatment for ovarian cancer.

The start of 2015 brought news from Novartis that it had signed an agreement with Intellia Therapeutics and Caribou Biosciences to license its proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing platform to develop novel treatments for chronic genetic-based diseases.

Nivolumab (Opdivo) improved survival compared with docetaxel in patients with pretreated squamous cell non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the phase III CheckMate-017 trial, according to Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), which manufactures the drug.

One of the leading non-clinical attributes that affect how oncologists decide which therapeutic agent to prescribe over another is patient affordability.

In a unanimous 14-0 vote, the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recommended the approval of EP2006, a biosimilar version of filgrastim (Neupogen; Amgen).

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) and Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) are characterized by a high frequency of BRAFV600E mutations, which are responsive to treatment with BRAF inhibitors such as vemurafenib.

Amgen and Kite Pharma have announced that they will collaborate on the development of novel CAR T-cell immunotherapies, with Amgen providing cancer targets and Kite offering its engineered autologous cell therapy platform.

The FDA approved nivolumab for patients with advanced melanoma in December 2014, joining 6 other melanoma treatments approved in the past 3 years, including monoclonal antibodies pembrolizumab and ipilimumab.

A bundled payment model may signal the expansion of cost reforms in oncology treatment.

Researchers will dissect topline results from the MARIANNE trial in an effort to understand why T-DM1 failed to triumph as a first-line treatment in the metastatic setting for patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer despite the promise of earlier findings.