News

The IDH2 inhibitor AG-221 has demonstrated promising response rates in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and other hematologic malignancies.

Inhibition of the activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1) protein may prevent metastasis of breast cancer, according to a study published in Cancer Research.

The combination of selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) with first-line chemotherapy showed a 31% reduction in the risk of disease progression within the liver of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) compared with chemotherapy alone.

Researchers at the Wistar Institute Cancer Center have discovered a new potential circulating biomarker for non–small cell lung cancer. It is a cancer testis antigen expressed by a cancer/testis gene called AKAP4. The exciting prospect this heralds is the development of an accurate, quick blood test for early-stage NSCLC.

A team at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York that is studying ovarian cancer has not only discovered another mechanism by which tumors evade attack by the immune system, but is also devising a first-in-class potential treatment.

The next-generation ALK inhibitor alectinib has demonstrated robust objective response rates (ORR) in patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer, including those with central nervous system metastases.

The glycoprotein CD31 was associated with improvements in overall survival and progression-free survival for patients with advanced ovarian cancer treated with frontline bevacizumab.

Rucaparib showed an overall response rate of 82% among a cohort of patients with BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer in the phase II ARIEL2 study.

The FDA has granted a priority review to pembrolizumab as a potential treatment for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer following treatment with chemotherapy or a targeted therapy, if applicable.

The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved the 21st Century Cures Act in a 51-0 vote that took place last week.

The vortex fluidic device, invented by Colin Raston FRACI CChem FRSC, is capable of “uncooking” an egg, but latest research demonstrates it can also manufacture new targeted cancer therapies at lower costs.

Treatment with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab demonstrated similar efficacy regardless of prior treatment with a BRAF inhibitor or ipilimumab in patients with BRAF mutant or wild type metastatic melanoma.

Optimal outcomes, and perhaps even a cure, could be achieved with the combination of targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors.

A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, May 18, 2015, details payer cost and use, as well as out-of-pocket (OOP) spending, for privately insured nonelderly patients receiving oral or intravenous (IV) chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer.

Joyce A. O’Shaughnessy, MD, chair, breast cancer service at Baylor-Sammons Cancer Center provided Targeted Oncology with a sneak peek into some of the recent advances in breast cancer that will be discussed at the 14th Annual International Congress on the Future of Breast Cancer®

TAS-102 (tipiracil hydrochloride) improved overall survival (OS) compared with placebo for patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC).

Treatment with the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib could enhance the efficacy of chemoimmunotherapy without increasing toxicity for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Treatment with lapatinib plus a taxane was associated with a shorter duration of progression-free survival compared with trastuzumab plus a taxane as a frontline therapy for patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Zarxio, the first FDA-approved biosimilar, has effectively been blocked from reaching US markets by an injunction from Amgen.

Venetoclax (GDC-0199/ABT-199), a Bcl-2 inhibitor, has been granted a breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The designation is specific to those patients who harbor a 17p deletion (del[17p]).

The level of TILs identified at the time of diagnosis were found to be an independent prognostic marker for pathologic complete response and event-free survival in patients treated with neoadjuvant HER2-target therapy plus chemotherapy for HER2-positive early breast cancer.

Treatment with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab was active and tolerable across three doses for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

The added overall survival benefit seen with intraperitoneal versus intravenous chemotherapy extends beyond 10 years for patients with ovarian cancer.

The oral combination of olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, and BKM120, a PI3K inhibitor, demonstrated to be safe and clinical beneficial in women with high-grade serous ovarian cancer, as well as patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

The treatment of patients with ovarian cancer has evolved from an approach focused on chemotherapy and surgery to one involving targeted therapies and monoclonal antibodies.

The third-generation EGFR inhibitor rociletinib demonstrated promising responses in patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer with or without the acquired resistance mutation T790M.

The FDA’s recent approval of olaparib for women with BRCA-mutated advanced ovarian cancer marks a significant therapeutic advance for women with the malignancy, but the specific indication is far too restrictive and the drug should be offered to many more patients.

Treatment with the third-generation EGFR inhibitor AZD9291 was found to be highly active in patients with EGFR T790M-mutated NSCLC following progression on prior therapy with an EGFR TKI.

The PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) has been has been assigned priority review designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a treatment for previously untreated patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.

Members of the FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) and Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee (CTGTAC) voted 22-1 in a combined decision to recommend approval of the oncolytic immunotherapy talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) as a treatment for patients with advanced melanoma.