All Oncology News

February 4, 2021 — The Israeli Ministry of Health has approved selinexor for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma or diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

February 4, 2021 - The China National Medical Products Administration has granted a conditional approval to gilteritinib for use in adult patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia with a FLT3 mutation detected by a validated test.

Ziad Hanhan MD, MPH, FACS, highlights the evolution of surgery in the field of lung cancer, the advantages associated with robotic techniques, and the crucial role of the surgeon in determining eligibility for these approaches.

In a year marked by collaboration and innovation, therapeutic developments in oncology care once again dominated the novel drug approvals in 2020.

The landscape for pediatric oncology drugs expanded dramatically last year, with 8 new drugs or indications specifically approved for children compared with just 47 for treatment and supportive care products from the early 1950s through 2019.

Although safety remains a concern with gene therapy, investigators are breaking ground in cell and gene therapy, and many believe that ultimately, a string of cured cancers will follow.

February 3, 2021 - The Drive-By Flu-Fecal Immunochemical Test program not only provides safe and socially distanced colorectal cancer screening opportunities during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, but also may help to address screening declines in diverse communities.

February 3, 2021 - Recent progress made with messenger RNA vaccines has led to amplified protein translation, stronger modulation of immunogenicity, and improved delivery, which has all contributed to an evolution in the application of these products in the field of cancer.

Florian Fintelmann, MD, discusses lung cancer screening with low-dose chest CT, barriers to testing, and the potential expansion of USPSTF lung cancer screening guidelines.

February 3, 2021- The FDA has granted an accelerated approval to tepotinib for adult patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer harboring MET exon 14 skipping alterations.

February 3, 2021 - The combination of ceralasertib plus durvalumab improved overall response rate in patients with non‒small cell lung cancer who progressed on an anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy.

Neil Berinstein, MD, discussed the early promise with this T-cell therapy in relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

February 3, 2021 - Oral endoxifen, when delivered during the “window of opportunity” between diagnosis of breast cancer and surgery, resulted in a 74% average reduction in Ki-67 and Ki-67 levels lower than 25% at the time of surgery.

Investigators are seeking to determine whether seribantumab, a novel monoclonal antibody, can effectively treat patients with solid tumors that harbor rare NRG1 fusions.

February 2, 2021 — Larotrectinib was found to elicit high response rates, durable responses, and to extend survival benefit in patients with advanced lung cancer whose tumors harbor an NTRK gene fusion, including those with central nervous system metastases.

February 2, 2021 - The time to treatment deterioration for symptoms such as cough, dyspnea, and pain in the chest was found to be comparable between treatment-naïve patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer who received lorlatinib versus crizotinib.

Biond Biologics Ltd. will join Sanofi in an exclusive worldwide license agreement for the development and commercialization of the novel immunotherapy BND-22.

February 2, 2021 - Emil J. Freireich, MD, DSc, a founding father of modern clinical cancer research and the 2015 Giants of Cancer Care award winner for Lymphoid Neoplasms, has died at age 93.

Shella Saint Fleur-Lominy, MD, PhD, discusses the current landscape of MPNs and the importance of addressing disease burden and progression.

Investigators are seeking to determine whether amcenestrant can generate meaningful antitumor activity when administered as short-term preoperative therapy to postmenopausal patients with newly diagnosed early breast cancer.

February 2, 2021 - Virtual prehabilitation could potentially improve physical activity level and exercise capacity in patients with lung cancer before they undergo surgery for their disease.

February 2, 2021 - ASCO has chosen molecular profiling driving progress in gastointestinal cancers as its Advance of the Year.

February 1, 2021 — Targeted circulating tumor DNA methylation marker panels possess the potential for early blood-based detection of lung cancer with a high sensitivity and specificity.

Marc J. Braunstein, MD, PhD, discusses the current landscape of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma and the utility of minimal residual disease in the research sphere.

Richard L. Schilsky, MD, FACP, FSCT, FASCO, sat down to share his proudest moments and obstacles throughout his career with ASCO, as well as advice for his successor, Julie Gralow, MD, who will step into the position on February 15, 2021.

Dan Costin, MD, discusses his strategies for patients with early-stage lung cancer and ongoing trials that could improve outcomes even further. 

Data from 3 pivotal trials—PROfound, CARD, and HERO—have served to propel the metastatic prostate cancer treatment paradigm forward.

February 1, 2020 - The European Medicines Agency’s Committee of Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended a label expansion for pembrolizumab for use as a single agent in adult and pediatric patients aged 3 years and older with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma for whom autologous stem cell transplant has failed or following at least 2 previous therapies when ASCT is not an option.

Over the past 2 decades, a growing number of targetable tumor-specific molecular alterations have been identified, ushering in the era of precision oncology. Now, alterations in the RET gene can be added to the list of druggable targets.

Lecia V. Sequist, MD, discusses some of the biggest advancements of 2020 in lung cancer.