The OncLive® News page includes the latest in clinical oncology news, including breaking regulatory decisions, clinical trial findings, pivotal and practice-changing data published in academic peer-reviewed journals, and more across solid and hematologic malignancies. Regulatory news includes new drug approvals by the FDA and European Union, priority review and breakthrough therapy designations, and orphan drug and fast track statuses.
Coroner's Report: Part B Payment Model Is Dead
December 17th 2016CMS and Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) have confirmed the demise of the Medicare Part B Drug Payment Model "experiment" to cut margins paid to physicians on some of the most expensive drugs and introduce private sector thinking into drug purchasing and pricing systems.
Frontline Pembrolizumab Receives Positive CHMP Opinion for PD-L1+ NSCLC
December 17th 2016The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended approval of frontline pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer whose tumors do not harbor EGFR or ALK mutations.
ABIM Will Offer 2-Year "Knowledge Check-in" Test for MOC
December 16th 2016After 2 years of reflecting on feedback from the medical community, the American Board of Internal Medicine has developed a new iteration of its Maintenance of Certification testing that it hopes will satisfy the needs of physicians.
Continuous Low-Dose Ribociclib Both Safe and Active in Advanced Breast Cancer
December 16th 2016A continuous low-dose of ribociclib demonstrated both preliminary activity and an acceptable safety profile when compared with an intermittent dose of ribociclib when combined with fulvestrant in the treatment of postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer.
Addition of Daratumumab Triples Increase in MRD Conversion in Relapsed Myeloma
December 16th 2016The addition of daratumumab to standard-of-care regimens tripled the increase in conversion to negative minimal residual disease status in the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.
Dual Androgen Blockade Ineffective After Enzalutamide in mCRPC
December 16th 2016Adding enzalutamide to abiraterone acetate failed to improve progression-free survival versus abiraterone alone in chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who progressed on enzalutamide.
Amid Explosion of Novel Agents, Chemo Could Still Have Curative Role in Urothelial Carcinoma
December 15th 2016Even with 1 FDA approval of an immunotherapeutic agent in urothelial carcinoma—and more expected in the coming months—chemotherapy regimens will continue to play a pivotal part in the treatment of patients with this disease.
Adequate Testing Critical to Advancing Care in NSCLC Patients With Rare Mutations
December 15th 2016Though testing for mutations in EGFR, ALK, and ROS1 is a standard approach in patients with non–small cell lung cancer, the same is not true for less common genetic abnormalities, including RET, BRAF, c-MET, and NTRK.
MSKCC Collaborates With Hackensack Meridian Health in Precision Medicine
December 15th 2016To great fanfare, Hackensack Meridian Health of New Jersey and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center announced a co-branding partnership that they say would lead to highly fruitful collaborative research and make hundreds of clinical trial opportunities available to their patients.
Emerging Treatments, New Guidelines Advance MPN Care
December 14th 2016The NCCN recently published new guidelines for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), with an emphasis on diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care strategies for myelofibrosis. Subsequent editions will focus more on other MPNs, including essential thrombocythemia, polycythemia vera.
Expert Expresses Need for More Effective Treatments for Aggressive Lymphomas
December 14th 2016Treatment for patients with aggressive lymphomas needs to be intensified with more effective strategies, potentially including an infusion, dose-adjusted regimen of etoposide phosphate, prednisone, vincristine sulfate, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin hydrochloride, and rituximab.
President Obama Signs 21st Century Cures Act
December 14th 2016President Barack Obama signed the 21st Century Cures Act into law today, earmarking $6.3 billion over 10 years for advancements in precision medicine development, brain research, heroin and prescription drug abuse prevention, and mental health.
Expert Says Biomarkers Top Priority for Immunotherapy Progress in Ovarian Cancer
December 13th 2016Although randomized phase III clinical trials often lead to groundbreaking drug approvals and offer novel therapeutic regimens, Maurie Markman, MD, insists that the search for validated, actionable biomarkers is more important than initiation of new studies.
Additional Research Required for Immunotherapy to Replace Chemo in Upfront Bladder Cancer Care
December 13th 2016Immunotherapy may be having a moment in the changing landscape of bladder cancer, but expert Gopa Iyer, MD, advises that there is much research to be done before physicians replace chemotherapy with these agents upfront.
Expert Explains Keys to Additional Advances in Lung Cancer
December 12th 2016The field of lung cancer has undoubtedly seen notable advances over the past year—especially with the game-changing November 2016 approval of pembrolizumab for the frontline treatment of patients with non–small cell lung cancer.
Combinations, Better Biomarkers Key to Advancing Immunotherapy in NSCLC
December 12th 2016Beyond the strong efficacy outcomes observed with single-agent immunotherapies in non–small cell lung cancer—including pembrolizumab, nivolumab, and atezolizumab—the field is now awaiting the next phase: combination regimens.