Gina Columbus

Articles by Gina Columbus

According to findings from the KEYNOTE-181 trial, pembrolizumab demonstrated a significant improvement in overall survival in patients with PD-L1–positive advanced or metastatic esophageal or esophageal junction carcinoma who progressed on standard therapy, marking the first time a PD-1 inhibitor has demonstrated a survival improvement in this patient population.

A supplemental biologics license application submitted to the FDA for atezolizumab, carboplatin, and nab-paclitaxel has been accepted. The application, based on findings from the phase III IMpower130 trial, is seeking the agent's approval for patients with metastatic nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer.

The investigational BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) has received a breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA for the treatment of adult patients with mantle cell lymphoma who have previously received at least 1 prior therapy, BeiGene, the company manufacturing the agent, has announced.

ASLAN Pharmaceuticals, the company developing varlitinib (ASLAN001), has announced that a phase II frontline trial investigating the pan-HER inhibitor added to mFOLFOX6 in patients with HER1/HER2 co-expressing advanced or metastatic gastric cancer has missed its primary endpoint.

According to recently announced topline findings, the confirmatory phase III SOLO-3 trial of&nbsp;olaparib has met its primary endpoint, demonstrating a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in&nbsp;objective response rate in patients with <em>BRCA</em>-mutant ovarian cancer who have relapsed on at least 2 prior lines of therapy

Dasatinib (Sprycel) tablets has been approved by the FDA to be used in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of pediatric patients &ge;1 year of age with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.<br /> &nbsp;

Olaparib has been approved by the FDA as a maintenance therapy for&nbsp;patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline or somatic <em>BRCA</em>-mutated advanced epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to frontline platinum-based chemotherapy, as approved by an FDA-approved companion diagnostic assay.

Based on findings from the phase III ARIEL3 trial, the European Medicines Agency&rsquo;s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has issued a positive opinion recommending an expanded approval for single-agent rucaparib as a maintenance treatment for&nbsp;adult patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed high-grade epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy.

The phase III TAHOE trial evaluating rovalpituzumab tesirine as a second-line treatment for&nbsp;patients with advanced small cell lung cancer has been put on hold, based on a recommendation from an&nbsp;Independent Data Monitoring Committee, according to AbbVie, the developer of the investigational antibody-drug conjugate.<br /> &nbsp;

Atezolizumab (Tecentriq) has been approved by the FDA&nbsp;for use in combination with bevacizumab, carboplatin, and paclitaxel as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer. This indication excludes patients with <em>EGFR</em>/<em>ALK</em> aberrations.

According to findings from the phase III ECHELON-2 trial presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, the use of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) in combination with chemotherapy demonstrated a clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with CD30-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphoma. These data were also published online in&nbsp;<em>Lancet Oncology</em>.

According to findings from the phase III TOURMALINE-MM3, a 39% improvement in progression-free survival was demonstrated with 2-year maintenance therapy with ixazomib compared with placebo for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who had previously achieved a partial response with&nbsp;an induction therapy of a proteasome inhibitor and/or an immunomodulatory agent&nbsp;following autologous stem cell transplant.

According to a retrospective phase I/II study, over 80% of patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia responded to concurrent treatment with ibrutinib and the CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor CAR T-cell therapy, JCAR014.<sup>1</sup> Findings from this study were presented at&nbsp;the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting.

The FDA has granted approval to the&nbsp;rituximab (Rituxan) biosimilar, CT-P10 (Truxima; rituximab-abbs), for the treatment of adult patients with CD20-positive, B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) as a single agent or in combination with chemotherapy, making it the first&nbsp;biosimilar approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with NHL.

Treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic cancers with the transforming growth factor-&beta; receptor type 1 inhibitor LY3200882 demonstrated a tolerable safety profile and early signs of efficacy, according to the results from a first-in-human, dose-escalation phase I trial presented at the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer.

According to the findings from phase III JAVELIN Ovarian 200 trial, avelumab either alone or in combination with pegylated liposomal doxorubicin did not induce a statistically significant improvement in overall survival or progression-free survival in patients with platinum&ndash;resistant/refractory ovarian cancer&nbsp;compared to PLD monotherapy.

Nivolumab in combination with low-dose ipilimumab has been recommended by the European Medicines Agency&rsquo;s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use as treatment for patients with intermediate- and poor-risk advanced renal cell carcinoma in the frontline setting, according to Bristol-Meyers Squibb, the developer of both immunotherapy agents.