Precision Medicine in Oncology®

January 8, 2021 — The FDA has granted a fast track designation to zenocutuzumab for the treatment of patients with metastatic solid tumors that harbor NRG1 gene fusions and have progressed on standard-of-care treatment.

January 4th, 2021 - A marketing authorization application has been submitted to the European Medicines Agency for the approval of amivantamab as a treatment for patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer that harbors EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations who have experienced disease progression following platinum-based chemotherapy.

January 4, 2021 - A marketing authorization application has been submitted to the European Medicines Agency for the use of sotorasib in patients with KRAS G12C–mutated locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer.

Rami Manochakian, MD, underscores the importance of looking for actionable alterations in lung cancer, barriers to genetic testing, and what is needed to overcome them.

Leonard G. Gomella, MD, discusses the growing importance of genetic testing in prostate cancer.

Neelima Vidula, MD, discusses the current and future utility of PARP inhibitors in triple-negative breast cancer, the promise of sacituzumab govitecan, and the need for germline genetic testing.

Phuong L. Mai, MD, discusses the situations in which genetic testing should be considered and the importance of bridging awareness and access within oncology.

Faculty of the MedStar Georgetown University Hospital-hosted Institutional Perspectives in Cancer webinar on lung cancer spotlight key advances made with targeted therapies in lung cancer, the ways in which immunotherapy has complicated treatment decisions, and more!

Nathan Bahary, MD, PhD, discusses the importance of seeking targetable alterations in GI cancers, as well as recent advancements in the space.

December 7, 2020 - The survival benefit of the novel agent fruquintinib will be tested during the phase 3 FRESCO-2 trial in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer who are either intolerant to or have received 3 prior lines of chemotherapy.

Keith T. Flaherty, MD, discusses the significance of the NCI-MATCH study.

Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, MD, FACP, discusses the need to focus efforts in preventive oncology and genetics.

Jason J. Luke, MD, FACP discusses the role of precision medicine and how it continues to lead the way in all areas of oncology, but especially in melanoma.

In our exclusive interview, Dr. Huntsman discusses the elements of precision medicine that have contributed to its growth in the field of oncology, some of the setbacks regarding its integration, and areas of research that have the potential to propel precision medicine to the next tier of scientific discovery and application.

Lan G. Coffman, MD, PhD, discusses the role of genetic testing in breast and gynecologic cancers and the many advances made with targeted therapies.

Clinical findings have recently been reported for 2 of the more advanced emerging tubulin-targeting agents, VERU-111 and plinabulin.

The FDA has approved naxitamab-gqgk (Danyelza) for use in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor as a treatment for pediatric patients 1 year of age and older and adult patients with relapsed/refractory high-risk neuroblastoma in the bone or bone marrow who have demonstrated a partial response, minor response, or stable disease to prior treatment.

November 24, 2020 - Until now, the field of cell-based immunotherapy has been dominated by chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, with groundbreaking FDA approvals for 3 drugs across several types of hematologic malignancies. In solid tumors, however, CAR T-cell therapies have yet to gain ground.

In our exclusive interview, Dr. Oxnard explained how precision medicine has affected the treatment landscape of lung cancer, discussed the current capabilities of liquid biopsy, and forecasted the future of precision oncology in the field.

The noninvasive blood-based targeted methylation assay ELSA-seq identified early cancers with high specificity and provided accurate predictions of the tissue of origin.

November 19, 2020 - Lorlatinib has been found to significantly prolong progression-free survival, elicit a higher overall and intracranial response, and improve quality of life compared with crizotinib in treatment-naïve patients with advanced ALK-positive non­–small cell lung cancer.

Although PARP inhibitors are generally reasonably well tolerated, certainly compared with platinum and other routinely employed cytotoxic antineoplastic drugs, the majority of patients receiving PARP inhibitors in multiple reported clinical trials reported low-grade nausea and fatigue.

The identification of chromosomal rearrangements that result in oncogenic gene fusions ushered in the era of molecularly targeted therapies in oncology.

November 16, 2020 — The FDA has approved the PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx to aid in the identification of patients with triple-negative breast cancer who are eligible to receive the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab.

In our exclusive interview, Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP, sheds light on the implications of targeting HRAS in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, details the data that has been reported to date with tipifarnib, and shares his expectations for the ongoing KO-TIP-007 trial.