HCC

Integrating a geriatric assessment into the care of older adults who are receiving cancer treatment in communi­ty oncology practices improves patient and caregiver satisfaction and encourages commu­nication about aging-related concerns, accord­ing to results of a clinical trial that enrolled 541 patients with advanced cancer.

Wasif M. Saif, MD, deputy physician in chief at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute and a professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, shares his expert opinion on the importance of the phase III IMbrave150 trial, which evaluated a targeted therapy combination in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.<br /> &nbsp;

The standard of care for some patients with intermediate-stage hepa&shy;tocellular carcinoma may include lenvatinib if investigators further explore results from a proof-of-concept obser&shy;vational study. The recommended treatment for intermediate-stage hepatocellular carcinoma, transarterial chemo&shy;embolization, is unsuitable in patients with high-tumor-burden hepatocellular carcinoma, leaving a signif&shy;icant unmet need in clinical practice for this patient subgroup.

The present and future benefits of telehealth in oncology can be observed through Tahoe For&shy;est Cancer Center and its affiliation with the UC Davis Cancer Center, use of other remote clinics, and participation in virtual tumor boards. Even though there are roadblocks to telehealth reaching more locations and more patients, the potential benefit warrants the time needed to get over those hurdles.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Wasif M. Saif, MD, discussed the current treatment landscape and recent expansions in hepatocellular carcinoma that are providing him with hope for the field.

A phase Ib/2 clinical trial has been initiated to assess the anti-tumor activity of FGFR4 targeted therapy fisogatinib plus the anti&ndash;PD-L1 monoclonal antibody CS1001 for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma.

The FDA granted approval to countless treatments across cancer types throughout 2019 until the end of the year, with a final approval on December 31^st&nbsp;for the first BRCA targeted therapy in pancreatic cancer. Following the excitement for a new year of further advances,&nbsp;Targeted Oncology&nbsp;followers on Twitter shared their thoughts on some of the most impactful FDA approvals in 2019.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Thomas Yau, MD, discussed the findings from the phase III CheckMate trial evaluating nivolumab in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma compared with standard-of-care sorafenib. He highlighted the next steps for the trial following these data, which were presented at the 2019 European Society of Medical Oncology Congress.

Mar&iacute;a Varela, MD, PhD, discusses the findings from a real-life analysis to confirm the benefit of regorafenib as treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have progressed on prior sorafenib. Regorafenib was approved by the FDA for second-line treatment in this patient population based on data from the phase III RESORCE trial.

In November 2019, the FDA approved a number of treatments, including acalabrutinib for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic leukemia, as well as zanubrutinib for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma. A biosimilar for pegfilgrastim was also approved under indications.