Tony Berberabe, MPH, is the assistant managing editor for Targeted Therapies in Oncology. Berberabe received his Bachelor of Arts in Biology from Rutgers University and his Master of Public Health from the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey. He covers genitourinary cancers and myeloproliferative neoplasms. Contact him at aberberabe@targetedonc.com.
Biomarker expansion has enjoyed a boom since 2006, with patient incidence of positive biomarkers reaching up to 50% in non–small cell lung cancer and melanoma and 25% in acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes, according to the <em>Global Oncology Trends 2018</em> report.
Bradley J. Monk, MD, noted the FDA’s approval of the biosimilar agent bevacizumab-awwb across multiple indications including metastatic colorectal cancer, non–small cell lung cancer, glioblastoma, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, and cervical cancer, but he wondered aloud why ovarian cancer was not on the list.
In a posthoc analysis of the phase III SPARTAN trial, lead investigator Julie N. Graff, MD, and colleagues examined the study’s apalutamide (Erleada) arm to determine whether the agent affected metastasis-free survival (MFS), time to metastasis (TTM), and location of metastasis as a function of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir.
The American Cancer Society, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Baptist Cancer Center, and the Mayo Clinic report that treatment patterns varied markedly by cancer type and care facility setting for patients with de novo metastatic disease who died within 1 month after diagnosis, based on an analysis of data from 100,848 patients collected from the National Cancer Database, a hospital-based cancer registry that captures 70% of patients in the United States with a new diagnosis.
Radiolabeled somatostatin analogues, a form of peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, have gained clinical use in treating neuroendocrine tumors found in the midgut, the non-midgut, and the pancreas. NETs generally have high expression of somatostatin receptors, the target of somatostatin analogues. The most commonly used radionuclides, lutetium 177 and yttrium 90 are β emitters.
In the current oncology climate, the search for affordable access to cancer care is a growing concern because of the steep price of treatment advancements, inpatient, outpatient, and ED costs, and financial bankruptcy or mergers that limit the number of community cancer clinics. During the 2019 Community Oncology Alliance annual conference in Orlando, Florida, Lucio N. Gordan, MD, of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute addressed the complex challenges faced by community oncology clinics.
The development and advancements in targeted therapies and immunotherapies have dramatically changed drug development and clinical practice. With access to widespread genomic research and next-generation sequencing, details about somatic and germline mutations in solid tumors can better inform the treatment plan, Howard “Skip” Burris III, MD, explains.
Oncology practices that adopt the OCM developed by the CMS face a tough road. The transformation requires changes in infrastructure encompassing administrative and care management service lines, as well as a change in philosophical outlook for clinicians and physician leadership; translational services for clinical interpretation; and internal reporting that is both costly and complex.
Vofatamab when given as a monotherapy or in combination with docetaxel was well tolerated and had no long-term safety issues in 55 patients with metastatic urothelial cancer who had failed platinum-based chemotherapy, according to the results of a phase II expansion study.
In a preliminary analysis of a phase II trial, the radiolabeled small molecule, <sup>177</sup>LuPSMA-617, demonstrated a biochemical progression-free survival of 4 months in a cohort of 64 men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.
David R. Gandara, MD, discusses the treatment decisions he makes and the data that support his recommendations for treating patients with non–small cell lung cancer
During a <em>Targeted Oncology </em>live case-based peer perspectives presentation, Josephine Louella Feliciano, MD, explained the treatment considerations and decisions she makes when treating a patient with non–small cell lung cancer in the clinic and the data that support these options to a group of physicians.
Long-term follow-up findings from the BRIGHT study support the use of bendamustine plus rituximab as a first-line treatment option for patients with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma or mantle cell lymphoma.
The immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab continued to demonstrate encouraging antitumor activity in an interim analysis of KEYNOTE-057, which involved a subset of 102 patients with nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer.
A discussion between regulators and special interest groups has cooled some of the excitement generated by the emergence of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for treating hematologic cancers.
Before a community oncology practice considers getting involved in clinical trials research, there are many factorsto consider. Perhaps foremost is the fact that cancer clinical trials provide the evidence base for new advances in oncology.
Artificial intelligence has made inroads in many industries—banking, finance, security—but its adoption in healthcare has been lagging and real-world clinical implementation has yet to become a reality. Nonetheless, proponents say it is only a matter of time and pilot programs are starting to yield some practical results.
The novel targeted radiation therapy, lutetium 177 prostate-specific membrane antigen, demonstrated safety and therapeutic efficacy in 22 patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, based on findings presented during the ESMO 2019 International Congress on Targeted Anticancer Therapies.
Because of the complex nature of diagnosing, treating, and managing hepatocellular carcinoma, a multidisciplinary approach in the community setting can provide optimal care to patients with the disease.
The establishment of a high-risk cancer screening and genetic counseling service in a community setting may be an arduous undertaking but, as demonstrated in a case study presented during the Association of Community Cancer Centers 45th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Center Summit held in Washington, DC, it could help to reduce the chance of patients developing a hereditary cancer.
Three next-generation physician practice management companies—US Oncology Network, American Oncology Network, and OneOncology—provided an overview of their business models to distinguish themselves from competitors at a breakout session during the Association of Community Cancer Centers 45th Annual Meeting & Cancer Center Business Center Summit held in Washington, DC.
Overtreating men 70 years or older with prostate cancer cost Medicare more than $1.2 billion from 2004 to 2007, according to the results of a retrospective study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Medicare linked database.
Gareth Morgan, MD, PhD, presented the findings for the final analysis from the phase III TOURMALINE-MM3 trial at the 2019 Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Meetings, where there was a 28% reduction in the risk of progression and death in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma.
Reduced-dose rituximab combined with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone had a similar complete response rate, progression-free survival, and overall survival compared with standard-dose R-CHOP or previous dose-adjusted R-CHOP chemotherapy in elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
In a presentation during the 2nd Annual Precision Medicine Through Plasma: Using Liquid Biopsies in Contemporary Oncology Care symposium, Bob T. Li, MD, MPH, explained ctDNA’s growing importance in lung cancer, given the disease’s challenging prognosis.
Despite encouraging results in other cancers, the use of immunotherapy to treat glioblastoma, which appeared promising in early-phase trials, has not panned out as well in larger, phase III trials. However, researchers continue to search and are optimistic about immunotherapy’s prospects.
More men than women are dying from malignant melanoma, according to findings presented at the National Cancer Research Institute Cancer Conference held in Glasgow, United Kingdom.
The combination of sorafenib and modified FOLFOX demonstrated encouraging efficacy in a small phase II study, but some patients exhibited moderate hepatoxicity, according to investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.
Patients who continued receiving osimertinib after their non–small cell lung cancer had progressed demonstrated a prolonged benefit beyond the initial progression event, according to a retrospective analysis of 118 patients from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute.
In “Global Cancer Statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN Estimates of Incidence and Mortality Worldwide for 36 Cancers in 185 Countries,” Freddie Bray, BSC, MSC, PhD, and colleagues describe the global magnitude and distribution of the disease overall and discuss the associated risk factors and prospects for prevention of the major cancers observed worldwide in their study.