News

During a Targeted Oncology live case-based peer perspectives discussion, Matthew A. Gubens, MD, MS, reviewed with a group of physicians the localized and systemic treatment options available for the management of patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.<br /> &nbsp;

Surufatinib has been granted FDA Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, according to a press release from Hutchison China MediTech Limited.

Hodgkin lymphoma represents approximately 10% of all cases of malignant lymphoma. This group of diseases most commonly affects adolescent and young adults, although approximately 20% to 25% of patients are aged &ge;60 years at diagnosis. Advanced-stage disease is generally classified as Ann Arbor stage III to IV, but clinical trials often incorporate patients with high-risk stage II disease, such as those with B symptoms, multiple sites, or bulky disease

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, at the 2019 Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium, Marcia Brose, MD, PhD, discussed the cases of thyroid cancer in which molecular testing can be initiated upfront to aid in the treatment decisions of oncologists. She also advised physicians on how to decide when to test patients with the disease.

Cytotoxic chemotherapy has shown limited efficacy in metastatic RCC, but immunotherapeutic and antiangiogenic approaches have introduced promising treatment modalities. The use of immunotherapy has made a significant impact on the treatment of patients with RCC, first with single agents and then with combination regimens.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology during the 2019 Kidney Cancer Research Summit, Wayne A. Marasco, MD, PhD, discussed the intricacy of engineering CAR T cells and the early data he has observed with the approach in RCC.

The combination of onvansertib with abiraterone acetate decreased the prostate-specific antigen levels in most of the evaluable patients treated in a phase II study, which used the combination in adult patients with metastatic castration-resistance prostate cancer, according to a press release from onvansertib developer, Trovagene, Inc.

A new analysis of a multicenter, retrospective cohort study has found that first-line sorafenib improved overall survival in patients with progressive radioactive iodine-refractory differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Additionally, salvage therapy with lenvatinib improved OS in patients with disease progression after first-line sorafenib.<br /> &nbsp;

Tumor mutational burden has generated interest as a potential biomarker of response to immunotherapy and has already been examined in the context of several lung cancer trials to gauge its utility.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Chul Kim, MD, MPH, discussed the results from the phase I/II trial evaluating the combination of an EGFR TKI and Src inhibitor in&nbsp;<em>EGFR</em>-mutant NSCLC. He also highlighted other important advances in the treatment of lung cancer, including the evolving role of circulating tumor DNA to detect disease progression.

Dacomitinib monotherapy significantly prolonged progression-free survival in Asian patients with locally advanced or metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer with epidermal growth factor receptor-activating mutations, according to results of a subgroup analysis from the phase III ARCHER 1050 study, Pfizer reported in a press release.

The frontline combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab statistically and clinically improved progression-free survival and overall survival compared with sorafenib in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in the phase III IMbrave150 study, according to a press release from Roche.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Partow Kebriaei, MD, discussed the role of transplantation in patients with ALL following treatment with targeted cellular therapies, such as CAR T-cell therapy. She highlights the patient population that receives the most benefit from the use of CAR T-cell therapy and when transplant should be considered for these patients.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Lalit Sehgal, PhD, discussed the rationale for investigating how the tumor microenvironment impacts survival in patients with mantle cell lymphoma through various signaling pathways.&nbsp;

Overall survival was not improved with secondary cytoreduction followed by chemotherapy compared with chemotherapy alone in the phase III GOG-0213 trial, which missed its primary endpoint.

Over the last decade, immunotherapeutic options have led to impressive clinical responses in patients with various cancer types and this has increased expectations for successful treatment of the disease. Despite immunotherapy results leading to clinical trials in melanoma, renal cell carcinoma and non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, the percentage of patients who respond to immunotherapy remains low; this highlights the need to identify the patient population that will best respond to these approaches.

The FDA has approved acalabrutinib for the treatment of adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma as either an initial or subsequent therapy.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Bianca D. Santomasso, MD, PhD,&nbsp;discussed the challenges with treating patients who develop neurotoxicity following treatment with new CAR T cells following her talk at the 2019 SOHO Annual Meeting. She also highlighted how the CAR T cells are changing the treatment landscape for patients with lymphomas.

Five-year outcomes data from the S1106 phase II trial in patients with newly diagnosed mantle cell lymphoma found that the RB regimen was equally effective but less toxic than the RH regimen.&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Davis S. Snyder, MD, discussed the treatment approaches for patients with MF who are candidates for SCT, as well as prognostic scoring systems that can help determine a patient&rsquo;s likelihood of response to transplant.

The combination of nivolumab with ipilimumab showed no statistically significant benefit in patients with stage IIIB/C/D or stage IV melanoma compared with nivolumab alone in the phase III CheckMate 915 study, missing the co-primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival&nbsp; in patients with &lt;1% PD-L1 expression in their tumor cells, according to a press release from Bristol-Myers Squibb.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology at the 2019 Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium, Richard R.&nbsp; Furman, MD, reviewed his presentation on prognostic markers and their importance in the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The phase III B-MIND study of the investigational humanized Fc-engineered monoclonal antibody, tafasitamab plus bendamustine versus rituximab plus bendamustine for treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, has passed the pre-planned, event-driven interim analysis for futility, resulting in a recommendation to increase the number of study participants from 330 to 450, according to a press release from MorphoSys.

Joyce A. O&rsquo;Shaughnessy, MD, led a group of physicians at a recent Targeted Oncology live case-based peer perspective event in discussion on emerging data that could affect treatment options for patients with triple-negative breast cancer in the future.

The FDA has accepted a Biologics License Application (BLA) for SB8, a biosimilar candidate to reference bevacizumab that was submitted by Samsung Bioepis in September 2019, according to a press release from the company.

Male patients with advanced prostate cancer had a 97% response rate to relugolix, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor antagonist, in the phase III HERO study, meeting the primary end point of the study. The trial also met all 6 of its key secondary end points, according to a press release from Myovant Sciences.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Mark Yarchoan, MD, discussed the treatment options available for patients with liver-only HCC who are not eligible for surgery or transplant. He also highlighted the different treatment options that are under investigation now for patients with HCC in the first- and second-line settings.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Kathleen Moore, MD,&nbsp;discussed the data surrounding mirvetuximab soravtansine in this patient population and the plans to reevaluate the ADC following the results from the FORWARD I/GOG 3011 clinical trial. She also highlighted other areas of investigation for women with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer.

Patients with untreated advanced EGFR-mutant non&ndash;small cell lung cancer showed an improvement in progression-free survival with the combination of gefitinib, a TKI that targets EGFR, with carboplatin plus pemetrexed compared with gefitinib alone, according to the results of the NEJ009 study.

This year&rsquo;s Hot Topic Symposium during Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer&rsquo;s 34th Annual Meeting, co-chaired by Jennifer A. Ligibel, MD, and Jennifer Mcquade, MD, MS, MA, focused on modifiable factors that can affect tumor response to treatment.