All Oncology News

Health Canada has approved the BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib for the treatment of adult patients with Waldenström macroglobulinemia.

Merck has withdrawn pembrolizumab from the US market for the treatment of patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer who experienced disease progression on or after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least 1 previous line of treatment.

Daniel H. Ahn, DO, and Manish A. Shah, MD, discuss the emergence of HER2 as a validated target in GI malignancies, the approval of trastuzumab deruxtecan in gastric/GEJ cancer, and other emerging agents that are poised to propel HER2-targeted therapy in these diseases.

Minimal residual disease has helped to predict relapse in numerous leukemia subtypes, with novel testing methods helping to identify the biomarker at a higher sensitivity than ever before.

Mei Wei, MD, discusses the efficacy of fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki in HER2-positive breast cancer, as demonstrated in the DESTINY-Breast01 trial.

Tian Zhang, MD, discusses emerging biomarkers that are helping to guide treatment for patients with renal cell carcinoma.

The treatment landscape of Waldenström macroglobulinemia is becoming increasingly complex with second-generation BTK inhibitors; however, the combination of bendamustine and rituximab remains the frontline standard of care for this patient population.

As more options emerge in the mantle cell lymphoma paradigm, choosing among the agents available has become all the more challenging.

Michael B. Atkins, MD, discusses the efficacy of dabrafenib plus trametinib in patients with BRAF-mutated melanoma.

Immune therapy has evolved rapidly in multiple myeloma, and the field is on the verge of major improvements in outcomes.

A supplemental new drug application has been submitted to the FDA for ivosidenib tablets as a potential therapeutic option for patients with previously treated, IDH1-mutated cholangiocarcinoma.

The FDA has issued a complete response letter to Athenex, Inc. stating that it will not, at this time, approve the new drug application for oral paclitaxel in combination with encequidar for the treatment of patients with metastatic breast cancer.

Although scientific advances in hematology and oncology have been extraordinary, the US health care system faces significant challenges in ensuring that patients receive high-quality, cost-effective care.

Yttrium-90 glass microspheres administered in a personalized, dosimetric approach demonstrated a 16-month improvement in overall survival compared with a standard dosimetric approach in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Chemoimmunotherapy has maintained its role as a go-to frontline approach in patients with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Several options have emerged for patients with acute myeloid leukemia who are not candidates to receive chemotherapy, with venetoclax-based regimens chief among them.

Targeted therapies have helped to improve responses in patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia regardless of high-risk disease, although optimal sequencing and toxicity management need to be further explored to strengthen the utilization of these options.

The FDA has approved melphalan flufenamide for use in combination with dexamethasone in the treatment of select adult patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Natural killer cells can offer several advantages over T cells for CAR therapy in that the former uses both a CAR dependent and independent mechanism for tumor eradication, has better safety, and off-the-shelf feasibility—all at a potentially lower cost.

Although the research that emerged from the discovery of the HeLa cell line has helped to prevent 4.5 billion global infections and 10.3 million global deaths, the unethical and controversial nature of their discovery has raised issues with regard to privacy and consent in underrepresented patient populations.

High-dose chemotherapy and transplant remains the second-line standard of care for the majority of patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma; however, CAR T-cell therapy and other novel agents, which have transformed the third-line setting, may offer alternative and more personalized second-line options in the coming years.

Rituximab plus CHOP is not a suitable frontline treatment regimen for all patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, explained Andre H. Goy, MD, who specified that patients with a high-risk International Prognostic Index, elderly patients, and patients with high-risk molecular subtypes require alternative treatment.

Hun Ju Lee, MD, discusses a phase 1/2 study evaluating cirmtuzumab in combination with ibrutinib in patients with mantle cell lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Kerry A, Rogers, MD, discusses the rationale behind the phase 1b study of VAY736 combined with ibrutinib in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and the next steps for this research.

Neoantigen long peptide vaccines continued to show durable T-cell responses in patients with high-risk melanoma that persisted 4 years after initial vaccination.

February 26, 2021 - The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use granted a positive opinion to dostarlimab as a treatment for patients with recurrent or advanced microsatellite instability–high/mismatch repair deficient endometrial cancer who have progressed on or following platinum-based chemotherapy.

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has adopted a positive opinion for the combination of cabozantinib plus nivolumab for use as a frontline treatment in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.

Maryam Lustberg, MD, MPH, has been appointed Director of The Breast Center at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Chief of Breast Medical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center.

Tanios S. Bekaii-Saab, MD, FACP, shares his approach for treating patients with HCC across several lines of therapy, as well as factors to consider when making sequencing decisions.

Mark Walters, MD, discusses the safety profile of betibeglogene autotemcel gene therapy in pediatric patients with transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia, as reported in the phase 3 Northstar-2 and Northstar-3 trials.