Bonnie Gillis

Determining the optimal sequencing of novel agents with standard chemotherapy has become a key issue in the management of castration-resistant prostate cancer.

Rates of overall survival, disease-free survival, and local control were found to be comparable in select patients with early-stage breast cancer who underwent accelerated partial breast irradiation using multicatheter brachytherapy versus conventional whole breast irradiation.

The IMA901 multipeptide vaccine added to sunitinib failed to improve outcomes versus sunitinib alone as first-line therapy for advanced/metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

Tasquinimod, a drug that showed great promise in phase II trials, failed to improve overall survival in a phase III trial in men with treatment-naïve metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

An early study presented at the 2014 AACR Annual Meeting showed promise for a new targeted therapy for acute myeloid leukemia

Dacomitinib holds promise for the treatment of metastatic or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN).

Preliminary evidence supports the use of bromodomain inhibitors in hematologic malignancies, including acute leukemia (mainly acute myelogenous leukemia) and other hematological malignancies, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

It may be possible to predict which men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer will not respond to enzalutamide by using a simple blood test to detect the presence of AR-V7 in circulating tumor cells.

The FDA approval of two anti-CD20 antibodies-ofatumumab and, recently, obinotuzumab-has greatly advanced the outlook for managing chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Several new drugs have recently shown promise for the treatment of gastric cancer, including rilotumumab, ramucirumab, and anti-HER2 agents, according to a presentation at the 2013 Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium.

Switching chemotherapy based on level of elevated circulating tumor cells after one cycle of chemotherapy did not improve OS or PFS in women with metastatic breast cancer.

PIK3CA-mutated tumors in patients with HER2-positive (HER+) breast cancer (BC) are associated with a much lower rate of pathological complete response (pCR). The lowest pCR was observed in HER2+/hormone receptor-positive (HR+), PIK3CA-mutated tumors.

A prescribed exercise program reduces joint pain in breast cancer survivors taking AIs, with pain reductions observed at all levels of exercise.

Anastrozole may be a new option for primary prevention of breast cancer in postmenopausal women at high risk for the disease.

Bevacizumab did not improve invasive disease-free survival or overall survival when added to adjuvant therapy for HER2-positive breast cancer in the large randomized BETH trial.

Women aged 65 and older with hormone receptor-positive, axillary node-negative breast cancer may be able to forego radiation therapy after breast conserving surgery if they are treated with hormonal therapy and considered to be at low risk for breast cancer recurrence.

Several protocols of novel immune and targeted agents show promise alone and in combination, including monoclonal antibodies, immune therapies, and newer proteasome inhibitors.

At the recent NCCN 8th Annual Congress on Hematologic Malignancies, Michael Millenson, MD, Fox Chase Cancer Center, discussed considerations in selecting second- and third-generation tyrosine-kinase inhibitors for the management of chronic myelogenous leukemia

Drugs targeting B-cell receptor signaling pathways are improving outcomes for patients with B-cell lymphomas; these novel agents include idelalisib and ibrutinib, and are considered a breakthrough for CLL and other B-cell lymphomas.

Dovitinib failed to meet the primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival versus sorafenib (Nexavar) in patients with heavily pretreated progressive renal cell carcinoma

Trebananib added to paclitaxel significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer compared with placebo plus paclitaxel in the large international TRINOVA-1 trial.

The first-in-human phase I/II dose-finding study of a novel ALK/EGFR inhibitor called AP26113 demonstrated promising results in both crizotinib-resistant and crizotinib-naïve patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Exploratory analysis of biomarkers in the BOLERO-3 trial suggests that the addition of everolimus to trastuzumab plus vinorelbine for HER2-positive advanced breast cancer may be most beneficial in patients with low PTEN or high pS6 levels.

A phase I study has shown remarkable and durable responses with the engineered monoclonal antibody MPDL3280A in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, including tumors with squamous and adenocarcinoma histology.

T-DM1 extended progression-free survival compared with "physician's choice of treatment" in women with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer.

A cost analysis found that para-aortic radiotherapy, dogleg radiotherapy, and 1 cycle of carboplatin are cost-effective strategies for the management of stage I testicular seminoma post-orchiectomy compared with surveillance.

Studies that continue to shed light on the optimal use of sipuleucel-T in men with prostate cancer were presented at the 2013 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

Vorinostat added to standard chemotherapy before, during, and after hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation reduced the cumulative incidence of graft-versus-host disease.

The addition of dasatinib to standard therapy with docetaxel failed to improve survival and most other clinical endpoints in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in the phase III READY trial.

An updated interim analysis of the COU-AA-302 trial upholds the benefits of abiraterone acetate in mildly symptomatic or asymptomatic patients with progressive mCRPC untreated with prior chemotherapy.