News

Sreeni Chittoor, MD, FACP, discusses the role of liquid biopsies in non–small cell lung cancer and the advantages of using this type of assay compared with tissue-based genotyping across cancer types. 

The FDA has awarded 12 new research grants that together total more than $15 million, to enhance the development of medical products for patients with rare diseases, including acute myeloid leukemia and gastrointestinal stromal tumor, among others.

Ivan M. Borrello, MD, discusses the most impactful agents that have entered the relapsed/refractory setting of multiple myeloma and details some of the guiding principles of treatment selection.

Leading oncology experts at the University of California, Los Angeles share the pivotal research being conducted at their institution.

Leisha A. Emens, MD, PhD, discusses the rationale behind the KATE2 study and the results that may signal clinical significance.

Updated results from the phase I/II MEDIOLA study strengthen the case for combining olaparib and durvalumab in patients with metastatic breast cancer and relapsed ovarian cancer with germline BRCA mutations. The updated data were featured in two separate presentations at the 2019 ESMO Congress.

Eduardo Sotomayor, MD, discusses the evolution of CAR T-cell therapy, adverse events that require careful monitoring, and novel strategies under development that may mitigate toxicity and improve T-cell persistence.

Combining nivolumab with the angiogenesis inhibitor tivozanib led to a high response rate and durable disease control in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, a preliminary open-label study showed.

The combination of ramucirumab and erlotinib demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival versus erlotinib alone in treatment-naïve patients with EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer, according to results of the phase III RELAY trial that have now been published in The Lancet Oncology.

Mitchell R. Smith, MD, PhD, discusses the use of chemotherapy versus targeted therapy in patients with newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Evidence is increasing that blood-based biomarkers have predictive utility in advanced non–small cell lung cancer. Going further, blood-based next-generation sequencing appears to have clinical utility in selecting targeted treatment in this setting.

Reagan M. Street, MD, MMS, discusses the shift toward targeted treatment in advanced ovarian cancer partly brought on by PARP inhibitors and the importance of hierarchical genomic testing.

Faculty from Texas Oncology and Quest Med Fusion highlight exciting ongoing research efforts at their respective institutions.

Treatment with pemigatinib resulted in a durable objective response rate in 35.5% of patients with previously treated, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma who harbored an FGFR2 fusion or rearrangement.

Larotrectinib demonstrated a clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival compared with time to progression on prior treatment in patients with TRK fusion–positive cancers using a measure known as the growth modulation index.

Treatment with the novel KIT and PDGFRA inhibitor ripretinib reduced the risk of progression or death by 85% compared with placebo for heavily pretreated patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors, according to findings from the phase III INVICTUS trial presented at the ESMO Congress 2019.

The FDA has granted a breakthrough therapy designation to the PARP inhibitor niraparib for the treatment of patients with BRCA1/2–mutant metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have previously received chemotherapy and an androgen receptor inhibitor.

Treatment with the MEK inhibitor trametinib significantly improves progression-free survival and leads to a strong trend toward improved overall survival in recurrent, low-grade serous ovarian cancer.

Durvalumab added to etoposide and platinum-based chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer delays development of new lesions and improves patient-reported outcomes compared with etoposide and platinum-based therapy alone.

Patients with ROS1-positive and NTRK-positive non–small cell lung cancer had frequent and durable responses, which appeared to deepen over time in some cases, with the multikinase inhibitor entrectinib.

The FDA has approved a labeling supplement for neratinib for the extended adjuvant treatment of patients with HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer.

Molecular testing has become an imperative step in the treatment decision-making process for oncologists, and new technologies and assays are emerging to further help identify tumor abnormalities and at the right time.

Robert G. Uzzo, MD, MBA, FACS, discusses the evolving yet relevant role of surgery in renal cell carcinoma.

Lewis R. Roberts, MB, ChB, PhD, discusses the past, present, and future of treatment in patients with perihilar and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.  

Chen Fu, MD, discusses the data supporting the use of CT-P6 in HER2-positive breast cancer, the benefits to bringing more biosimilars to the market, and the future that these products have in oncology.