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Gina Columbus

Articles by Gina Columbus

The FDA has approved niraparib (Zejula) for the treatment of patients with advanced ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who have been treated with ≥3 prior chemotherapy regimens, and whose cancer is associated with homologous recombination deficiency–positive status.

The first-line combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus low-dose ipilimumab (Yervoy) given concomitantly with 2 cycles of chemotherapy showed superior overall survival compared with up to 4 cycles of chemotherapy alone followed by optional maintenance treatment in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer.

The combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab showed statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in both progression-free and overall survival compared with sorafenib in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma who have not received prior therapy, meeting the coprimary endpoints of the IMbrave150 trial.

Findings from the 2019 ESMO Congress showcased that biosimilars for pegfilgrastim, filgrastim, bevacizumab, and trastuzumab demonstrated efficacy and safety equivalency with their reference counterparts in a number of malignancies.

The next-generation androgen receptor apalutamide, in combination with androgen deprivation therapy, demonstrated a 25% reduction in the risk of death compared with placebo/ADT in patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in the phase III SPARTAN trial.

The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended approval of nivolumab at a flat dosing schedule of either 240 mg over 30 minutes every 2 weeks, or 480 mg infused over 60 minutes every 4 weeks, for the adjuvant treatment of patients with melanoma who have involvement of lymph nodes or metastatic disease who have undergone complete resection.

The uptick of biosimilars has led to a surge of new data and regulatory decisions in recent years, with a focus on similarity between biosimilars and their reference products while reducing healthcare costs. This week, data on subcutaneous formulations of one biosimilar and long-term experience with another were provided, as well as an authorization of a trastuzumab (Herceptin) biosimilar in Canada.

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has adopted a positive opinion to recommend approval of the combination of avelumab and axitinib for the frontline treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.