April 2019, Vol 10, No 2

On February 22, 2019, the FDA approved a new indication for trifluridine plus tipiracil (Lonsurf; Taiho Pharmaceuticals), an oral combination of a nucleoside metabolic inhibitor and a thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor for the treatment of patients with metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma who received ≥2 lines of chemotherapy regimens with a fluoropyrimidine, a platinum, a taxane or irinotecan, and, if appropriate, HER2/neu-targeted therapy. The FDA used its priority review process for this new indication and granted it an orphan drug designation. Trifluridine plus tipiracil was previously approved for metastatic colorectal cancer.
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On February 15, 2019, the FDA approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with melanoma and involvement of lymph node(s) after a complete resection. This is the second melanoma-related indication for pembrolizumab, which was previously approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma.
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On January 31, 2019, the FDA approved the combination of pemetrexed (Alimta; Eli Lilly) plus pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck) and platinum-based chemotherapy for first-line treatment of patients with metastatic nonsquamous non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and no EGFR or ALK mutations.
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On January 28, 2019, the FDA approved the combination of the oral Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor ibrutinib (Imbruvica; Pharmacyclics), plus the CD20-directed cytolytic antibody obinutuzumab (Gazyva; Genentech), for the treatment of adults with untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). Imbruvica was already approved as a single agent for different indications, including for adults with CLL or SLL, with or without 17p deletion.
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On January 14, 2019, the FDA approved a new indication for cabozantinib (Cabometyx; Exelixis), an oral multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who had previously received treatment with sorafenib (Nexavar).
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San Francisco, CA—Tumor expression of PD-L1 has consistently predicted ­response and survival outcomes in non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), whereas the role of PD-L1 in immune cells is unclear, said Edward B. Garon, MD, Director, Thoracic Oncology Program, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, at the 2019 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium.
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San Francisco, CA—Many patients with leukemia or lymphoma who receive treatment with anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy achieve minimum residual disease (MRD) negativity, and many are in complete remission well beyond 12 months.
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San Antonio, TX—Adding the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab (Tecentriq) to nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) chemother­apy is the first immunotherapy-based combination to improve progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in women with advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer and PD-L1 expression compared with placebo plus nab-paclitaxel, according to results of the IMpassion130 clinical trial.
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