September 2019

“New therapies have increased the median survival for advanced-stage melanoma from approximately 9 months before 2011 to at least 2 years, based on [data from] clinical trials,” Elizabeth Ward, PhD, and colleagues wrote about their report on cancer burden in younger patients.

The discussion about the pros and cons of a 4-drug regimen for patients with multiple myeloma was highlighted during the 2019 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology conference.

Even as supplies of bacillus Calmette-Guérin, a standard of care for many patients with non–muscle invasive bladder cancer, continue to dwindle, oncologists have undertaken some desperate measures to continue the care they have been providing to their patients.

Certain patients with cancer who are treated using immune checkpoint inhibitors may develop a form of insulin-dependent diabetes that is associated with immune-related adverse events resulting from therapy, according to research published in <em>The Lancet Diabetes &amp; Endocrinology</em>.

In his presentation on translational research in non&ndash;small cell lung cancer during the <em>20th Annual </em>International Lung Cancer Congress&reg;, Scagliotti, a professor of oncology at the University of Torino in Italy, discussed the promising evolution of therapeutic options, pointing to steps being taken to create a larger precision medicine ecosystem.&nbsp;

Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor acalabrutinib demonstrated a high rate of response, prolonged survival, and high tolerability in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who demonstrated intolerance to ibrutinib. Findings were presented at the 15th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma.

Now in it 24th year, the annual International Congress on Hematologic Malignancies: Focus on Leukemias, Lymphomas, and Myeloma, hosted by Physicians&rsquo; Education Resource, LLC, continues to bring significant advances in hematology to the forefront.

&quot;Early-relapsing lymphoma is a problem, there is no debate about that. The hard part is in trying to manage these patients effectively,&rdquo; Jonathon B. Cohen, MD, MS, told an audience at the 2019 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology conference held in Sea Island, Georgia.<br /> &nbsp;

Based on findings from retrospective analyses and clinical trial data, patients with <em>ALK</em>-rearranged non&ndash;small cell lung cancer may be able to receive sequential ALK inhibitors following progression with similar second and third-generation agents.

Advances in molecular profiling have driven development and use of personalized medicine approaches in oncology, enabling detection of biomarkers for predicting prognosis and treatment response and determining inheritable cancer risk.

Rate of response and progression-free survival were superior with venetoclax versus chlorambucil in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who also received obinutuzumab, and this trend was observed across all genetic subgroups.<br /> &nbsp;

Thomas J. Herzog, MD, provided an overview of clinical research in cervical, endometrial, and ovarian cancer settings that covered cancer vaccines, adoptive T-cell transfer therapy, and immune checkpoint inhibitors during the 14th Annual New Orleans Summer Cancer Meeting.

Patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer on radiotherapy had a worse overall survival when a hurricane disaster was declared for their hospital than patients who did not experience a declaration, according to a study published in<em> JAMA</em>.

The use of more aggressive frontline chemotherapy regimens plus biologics for the treatment of patients with meta-static colorectal cancer may be warranted based on mutational status, tumor sidedness, treatment goals, prognosis, and patient disposition, according to a presentation by Axel Grothey, MD, at the 14th Annual New Orleans Summer Cancer Meeting, held July 19 to 21, 2019, in Louisiana.