Jason Harris

Articles by Jason Harris

Six-Gene Signature Predicts Poor PFS in MCL

Published: | Updated:

Expression of genes from the B-cell receptor pathway predicted shorter progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with mantle cell lymphoma, according to results from an examination of a subsection of patients in the ongoing Fondazione Italiana Linfomi MCL-0208 clinical trial.

Clinically meaningful improvements in insomnia severity scores for cancer survivors were seen with cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) and acupuncture, but CBT-I was more effective overall for reducing the severity of insomnia, according to data from the randomized CHOICE clinical trial, presented ahead of the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting.

MRD Emerging as a Biomarker in Acute Leukemia

Published: | Updated:

In results published in April in the New England Journal of Medicine, corresponding author Peter J. M. Valk, PhD, of the Department of Hematology, Erasmus University Medical Center, and colleagues found that MRD positivity was associated with a higher rate of relapse and a lower rate of relapse-free survival and overall survival for patients with newly diagnosed AML.

Updated results from the phase II LuPSMA study published in<em> The Lancet Oncology </em>showed radionuclide treatment with&nbsp;Lutetium-177 [<sup>177</sup>Lu]-PSMA-617 nearly doubled median PSA progression-free survival in men with progressive metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer compared with previous results with another radiopharmaceutical, radium-223.

Trump Announces Blueprint to Lower Drug Costs in US

Published: | Updated:

On Friday, President Donald Trump proposed a &ldquo;blueprint&rdquo; of widespread changes designed to reduce prescription drug costs, drawing a lot of attention from oncology groups and patient advocates across the nation. The proposal, a 44-page plan titled, <em>American Patients First,</em>&nbsp;promises to make generic drugs and biosimilars more accessible. Incentives keeping drug prices high will also be removed.

Analysis Identifies Distinct Characteristics of Male Breast Cancer

Published: | Updated:

Distinctive&nbsp;biologic features of breast cancer in men were determined in a recent&nbsp;analysis of clinical characteristics, gene expression, and 21-gene Breast Recurrence Score, which also&nbsp;suggested that that RS testing may have an important prognostic role for both men and women.

Results of an interim analysis from a small phase I trial presented at the 2018 American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Conference showed that CAR T-cell therapy can&nbsp;induce next generation sequencing negativity in patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia, suggesting a &ldquo;synergistic&rdquo; relationship with hematopoietic cell transplant that could enhance patient outcomes.

Voxtalisib Shows Promising Activity in Follicular Lymphoma

Published: | Updated:

Voxtalisib (XL765) monotherapy induced objective responses in 41.3% of patients with follicular lymphoma, but displayed minimal efficacy in patients with other lymphomas, according to results from a phase II trial of patients with relapsed or refractory lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia that were recently published in the Lancet Haematology.

Combinations are the Future for Chemotherapy-Free MCL Treatments

Published: | Updated:

The B-Cell Lymphoma Moon Shot Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center wants to increase the cure rate of the disease from 30% to 60% within 5 years. In a presentation at the <em>22nd Annual</em> International Congress on Hematologic Malignancies, Michael Wang, MD, detailed results from 3 clinical trials that may help make that 5-year goal into a reality for patients with mantle cell lymphoma.

Pembrolizumab produced a &ldquo;modest but durable&rdquo; response in heavily pretreated women with PD-L1&ndash;positive, estrogen receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer, according to results from the KEYNOTE-028 trial which were recently published in <em>Clinical Cancer Research</em>.

Venetoclax Shows Promise as Salvage Therapy in CLL

Published: | Updated:

Venetoclax induced a response in two-thirds of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia who had progressed after receiving prior therapy with idelalisib, according to findings of a phase II study recently published in <em>Blood</em>.

Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Significantly Improves PFS in TMB-High NSCLC

Published: | Updated:

The 1-year progression-free survival rate was more than tripled&nbsp;with the combination of&nbsp;nivolumab and ipilimumab versus chemotherapy in&nbsp;treatment-na&iuml;ve patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer with high tumor mutation burden,&nbsp;according to initial findings from the phase III CheckMate-227 trial.

FDA Introduces Initiatives to Ease Development of Genetic Tests

Published: | Updated:

According to a recent announcement, the FDA has&nbsp;introduced new guidelines in order to ease development of genetic and genomic-based tests. The guidelines were&nbsp;designed to speed up the process for submitting investigational cancer drugs and biological products

Combination of Venetoclax and Ibrutinib Shows Promise in MCL

Published: | Updated:

There was a 16-week complete response rate of 42% per CT imaging with the combination of venetoclax (Venclexta) and ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in patients with previously untreated or relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma, according to results from the phase II AIM study.

Rova-T Delivers Disappointing Results in Phase II SCLC Trial

Published: | Updated:

In preliminary findings from the single-arm, phase II TRINITY trial investigating Rovalpituzumab Tesirine (Rova-T) in the third-line setting for patients with relapsed/refractory small cell lung cancer (SCLC) demonstrating high DLL3 expression, the DLL3-targeted antobody-drug conjugate delivered disappointing results.

MRD Associated With Worse Outcomes in AML

Published: | Updated:

According to results published in <em>The&nbsp;New England Journal of Medicine</em>, molecular minimal residual disease was associated with a higher rate of relapse and a lower rate of relapse-free survival and overall survival for patients with newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia.