News

Recent results from a survey of some 7000 patient specimens from the Cancer Genome Atlas concluded that gene fusion events, resulting in oncogenic activation, were commonly observed among members of the neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase family, with 23 gene fusions observed over a total of 9 different tumor types, including colorectal cancer.

Pembrolizumab, a PD-1 inhibitor, had an overall response rate of 12% in patients with PD-L1-positive, ER+/HER2 advanced breast cancer, according to data from the phase Ib KEYNOTE-028 trial.

Neratinib continued to show similar rates of disease-free survival for patients with HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer, according to a 3-year exploratory analysis of the ExteNET trial.

A team of researchers with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that adjuvant chemotherapy has a significant impact on patient survival, especially in patients with triple-negative breast cancer.

Uridine triacetate (Vistogard) has been given a green light by the FDA to treat adult and pediatric patients who have severe or life-threatening toxicities within 4 days of treatment following an overdose of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) or capecitabine.

Alectinib has been granted accelerated approval by the FDA in patients with metastatic ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following progression on crizotinib.

Palbociclib (Ibrance) has been given a priority review by the FDA. The treatment will be looked at as a combination with fulvestrant in pretreated patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, said Pfizer, the manufacturer of the CDK 4/6 inhibitor.

A rapid infusion formulation of bendamustine (Bendeka) has received FDA approval for the treatment of patients with CLL or indolent B-cell NHL that has progressed during or within 6 months of treatment with rituximab or a rituximab-containing regimen.

Implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may have helped increase the number of women whose cases of cervical cancers were found and treated early, according to a study published in JAMA.

Ovarian cancer outcomes appear to be improved in women with a history of oral contraceptive use, according to a retrospective study recently published in BMC Cancer.

In this review, our authors discuss the mechanism of action and clinical development of various checkpoint inhibitors in lymphoma.

Leonard Saltz, MD, discusses VEGF inhibitors, their history and why oncologists might be overestimating the treatment.

The FDA has granted a priority review for a supplemental new drug application for crizotinib (Xalkori). The indication is for patients with ROS1-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

A new study from the University of California, Los Angeles shows that less than 5% of men who opt for active surveillance of their low-risk prostate cancer receive the proper amount of monitoring.

Living a healthier lifestyle could be a robust preventative measure against metastatic prostate cancer. One new study suggests that leading a healthy lifestyle could reduce a man's chances of developing the cancer by up to 68%.

Recent studies suggest that RP may be a better initial treatment given many of these patients require multimodal therapy to manage their disease. The question about radiation versus surgery lies in the details, with treatment tailored to each patient.

Rindopepimut is the first immunotherapy to have ever shown a survival benefit in brain cancers, specifically glioblastoma, said David Reardon, MD.

A combination of the anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab with the anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody tremelimumab showed improved tumor response in patients with advanced NSCLC.

The PD-1 inhibitors pembrolizumab and nivolumab should be considered for all patients with advanced NSCLC, said Roman Perez-Soler, MD.

Details of a new technology for studying tumor metabolism have been published in Nature Materials, whereby a cellulose strip containing tumor cells was wrapped around a metal core and incubated, mimicking conditions consistent with in vivo tumors.

Elotuzumab (Empliciti) has been approved by the FDA for use in combination with lenalidomide (Revlimid) and dexamethasone in patients with multiple myeloma after the failure of at least 1 prior therapy.

The FDA has issued a complete response letter to Bristol-Myers Squibb regarding its supplemental biologics license application for the use of single-agent nivolumab in previously untreated patients with BRAF V600 mutation-positive advanced melanoma.

A regimen of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and low-dose ipilimumab (Yervoy) was effective, and tolerable, for patients with advanced melanoma, according to results from the phase Ib KEYNOTE-029 clinical trial presented by lead investigator Georgina Long, BSc, PhD, MBBS.

Therapies in the adjuvant setting like trastuzumab (Herceptin) and neratinib have shown more durable responses in patients with HER2+ breast cancer, as opposed to long-term treatment, said Mohammad Jahanzeb, MD.

Necitumumab (Portrazza) combined with gemcitabine and cisplatin has been approved by the FDA for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic squamous NSCLC.

Data showed patients with the HER2-enriched subtype had a high pCR with both single and dual anti-HER2 therapy and a high level of intertumoral heterogeneity.

UCLA researchers have discovered a new drug that helps reduce ascites in patients with ovarian cancer through inhibiting certain receptors.

Nivolumab (Opdivo) has been approved by the FDA as a single-agent to include the frontline treatment of patients with BRAF wild-type advanced melanoma.

The FDA has approved nivolumab (Opdivo) as a treatment for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma following prior treatment with an anti-angiogenic therapy.

A new method to elucidate the clonal relationship between tumors used tissues and clinical details from patients with contralateral breast cancer, and for the first time, next-generation sequencing.