Ariela Katz

Although he held a longtime fascination with space exploration to the moon and Mars, Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, took a different path and broke new ground in another frontier: genitourinary oncology.

Genesis Healthcare Partners, the region’s largest independent urology practice, is challenged by regulatory changes and the dominance of the regional managed care market, which has huge control of patient flow and payment structures.

The addition of a novel PD-1 inhibitor to a combination of BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and MEK inhibitor trametinib (Mekinist) is being tested to determine whether the triplet is safe and effective for patients with metastatic or unresectable melanoma.

Investigators are assessing whether Oraxol, an oral formulation of paclitaxel, will be safer and more efficacious than the widely used chemotherapy drug administered by traditional intravenous infusion.

Investigators are evaluating whether eryaspase (Graspa), an L-asparaginase-based therapy that triggers tumor cell death, can extend survival for patients with pancreatic cancer.

The FDA has granted the PARP inhibitor rucaparib a breakthrough therapy designation for single-agent use in adult patients with BRCA1/2-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer following at least 1 androgen receptor–directed therapy and taxane-based chemotherapy.

Investigators are hopeful that M7824, a bifunctional fusion protein that inhibits the PD-L1 and TGF-β pathways, will improve immune system responses across tumor types.

Virginia Urology, a practice with specialists in surgery, radiation, and oncology, has grown steadily over 75 years by remaining patient focused. Centered in Richmond, Virginia Urology has always prioritized quality care.

In recent years, tyrosine kinase inhibitors that specifically target RET have entered the pipeline. Although none have yet received FDA approval, the promise of these agents has spurred interest in diagnostic assays.

Axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel; Yescarta) is being evaluated in patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma—a rare B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that contributes 4200 new patients in the United States each year.

Results from the phase III TAILORx study will enable physicians to reduce the toxicity of treatment for many patients with early stage breast cancer.

Use of androgen deprivation therapy in combination with docetaxel or abiraterone in newly diagnosed cases of metastatic noncastrate prostate cancer is recommended in recently updated ASCO guidelines.

A novel glutaminase inhibitor CB-839, may provide a survival benefit in combination with cabozantinib (Cabometyx) by cutting off the energy supply to tumor cells in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Investigators are hopeful that idasanutlin, a novel small molecule that targets the MDM2 protein, can improve the efficacy of chemotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

Oncologists have been slow to introduce targeted and immune therapies into the treatment of gastrointestinal cancers, but that is changing, and poor patient survival statistics call for a continuation of this trend, according to John L. Marshall, MD.

Many pressures on independent oncology practices have contributed to regionalization of services, in which practices merge or establish relationships with larger health systems. The forms that these larger systems have taken are diverse, but they do fall into several basic categories.

Investigators are hopeful that CMB305, a vaccine that boosts the immune response to tumor cells expressing the antigen NY-ESO-1, can improve survival outcomes for patients with synovial sarcoma.

ASTRAL-2 and ASTRAL-3, are designed to determine whether guadecitabine (SGI-110), a potent second-generation hypomethylating agent, could answer the unmet medical needs for AML, MDS, and CMML.

The use of PARP inhibitors in patients with a variety of tumor types is backed by a growing body of research, and there is now strong justification for clinical trials of these agents in patients with prostate cancer.

Moving radium-223 (Xofigo) up in the treatment paradigm for patients with prostate cancer could provide better outcomes and longer survival, according to Richard G. Stock, MD.

Greater Boston Urology strives to offer comprehensive urologic care that includes up-and-coming diagnostics and treatments, such as the Prostate Health Index blood test and high intensity–focused ultrasound.

The BOSTON trial is randomizing patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma to a triplet combination of selinexor (KPT-330), bortezomib (Velcade), and dexamethasone versus a combination of bortezomib and dexamethasone.

Data from recent trials in metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer have demonstrated the heterogeneous nature of prostate cancer and its subtypes, highlighting the importance of a more cautious approach in choosing therapies for patients.

SL-401, a novel therapy that targets a cancer stemness pathway, is being investigated in patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm in a phase I/II trial.

Since 2005, physician partners at Comprehensive Urologic Care have been using a form of clampless surgery, which they developed at their practice, for partial nephrectomies.

The phase IIb UNITY-NHL clinical trial is exploring the novel drug umbralisib as monotherapy or as part of a doublet or a triplet. The doublet includes ublituximab and the triplet includes ublituximab and bendamustine.

Data from the phase III POUT clinical trial demonstrated that adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy improves disease-free survival and metastasis-free survival in patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma.

A novel inhibitor that targets the AKT node in the PI3K pathway may offer a treatment option in cases of resistance to chemotherapy in 2 patient populations: triple-negative breast cancer or ER-positive/HER2-negative breast cancer with certain molecular aberrations.

Older patients with active, relapsed, or refractory acute myeloid leukemia have a low survival rate, very poor risk assessments, and limited therapeutic options, with conventional care consisting primarily of salvage chemotherapy.

The current standard-of-care therapy for patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma is sunitinib, but many patients relapse or don't have responses to the drug.