Trending News on Targeted Oncology, Week of December 11, 2020

The week of December 11, 2020, has been an exciting week in the field of hematologic malignancies, as well as breast cancer, with 2 medical meetings disseminating important knowledge from clinical trials and key opinion leaders over the last few days. The 2020 Annual Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and the 2020 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) were held virtually over the last week, and Targeted Oncology covered all the latest updates from these meetings.

These updates and others were trending:

FDA Grants Sotorasib Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Advanced KRAS G12C-Mutant NSCLC

The FDA granted a Breakthrough Therapy designation to the KRAS G12C inhibitor sotorasib for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer who harbored a KRAS G12C mutation as detected by an FDA-approved test and following at least 1 prior line of systemic therapy.

Activity of Brentuximab Vedotin Plus Nivolumab Clinically Meaningful for Subset of Patients with HL

The combination of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) and nivolumab (Opdivo) demonstrated activity in patients with previously untreated Hodgkin lymphoma who had comorbidities in a phase 2 clinical trial, despite the trial not meeting its prespecified criteria for activity.

Elderly Patients With HER2+ Advanced Breast Cancer Experience Poorer Outcomes, Increased Toxicity

Despite having similar disease characteristics and treatment patterns, elderly patients with HER2-positive advanced breast cancer aged ≥ 70 years experienced shorter chemotherapy durations than patients under the age of 70, as well as, poorer overall survival, and increased rates of adverse events in a real-world study.

Broad Spectrum of Upfront Therapies Available for Follicular Lymphoma

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, John M. Burke, MD, of Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers, discussed the current treatment paradigm for patients with follicular lymphoma and reviewed the factors he considers when making treatment decisions for this population.

Mosunetuzumab Elicits High and Durable Responses in Subgroups of Patients With FL

A phase clinical trial has demonstrated that administering a mosunetuzumab fixed-duration lead to high, durable, and consistent responses in patients with follicular lymphoma, across multiple subgroups.

Combination Strategy May Play Role in Treatment of HR+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

From the 2020 SABCS: Sara M. Tolaney, MD, MPH, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses where she sees the treatment landscape evolving in the future for the treatment of patients with hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer.

REACH3 Study Demonstrates Promising Objective Responses in Chronic GVHD

From the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting: Robert Zeiser, MD, discusses the findings from the phase 3 REACH3 clinical trial of ruxolitinib as treatment of patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease with an inadequate response to corticosteroids.

Special Feature: COVID-19

Increased Risk for Poor COVID-19 Outcomes Found With Blood Cancers

A research collaboration has identified that patients with hematologic malignancies who are infected with COVID-19 are at greater risk for poor outcomes from the virus.

New Networking Opportunities Emerge As Medical Meetings Move to Virtual Format

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a currently interminable pause on in-person professional networking.