Articles

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have changed the treatment landscape for many cancer types. These immunomodulatory antibodies target the PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4 pathways to help restore immune responses against tumors.

San Francisco, CA—The immunotherapy combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) provides durable clinical benefit in patients with previously treated DNA mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC).

In a January 3, 2018, statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, the FDA announced new steps to promote generic drug competition as a way to expand potential access to inexpensive medicines, which would be especially helpful for patients with cancer. These new steps are a part of the FDA’s ongoing implementation of the Drug Competition Action Plan.

In ovarian epithelial cancer, fallopian tube cancer, and primary peritoneal cancer, malignant cells form in the tissue covering the ovary or lining the fallopian tube or peritoneum. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2017 more than 22,000 women in the United States were estimated to be diagnosed with these cancers and more than 14,000 to die from them.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), a form of cancer that starts in the lymphatic system, is the most common type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in adults. In the United States, approximately 72,000 new cases of NHL are diagnosed annually; more than 20,000 people were estimated to die from the disease in 2017.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a rare but deadly cancer. Approximately 21,400 new cases of AML were diagnosed in 2017 in the United States, and nearly 10,600 people died from the disease. Approximately 60% to 70% of adults with AML respond to initial treatment with cytotoxic chemotherapy. However, the 5-year survival rate for patients with AML remains poor at approximately 27%.

Breast cancer affects more women than any other type of cancer, and represents 15% of all new cancer cases in the United States. A total of 252,710 new breast cancer cases were estimated to be diagnosed in 2017, and more than 40,600 deaths. The prognosis worsens for patients with locally advanced breast cancer and even more so for those with metastatic disease.

Urothelial carcinoma is the most common subtype of bladder cancer, accounting for more than 90% of bladder cancer diagnoses in the United States. In 2017, more than 79,000 bladder cancer cases were diagnosed in the United States, and more than 16,000 people died from this disease. The prognosis is favorable for patients with localized disease, with a 5-year relative survival rate of 78% for all stages of bladder cancer, which decreases to 5% for patients with distant disease.

Multiple myeloma is a cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow that often leads to bone destruction and bone marrow failure. According to the American Cancer Society, more than 30,280 new cases of multiple myeloma will be diagnosed in 2017, and 12,590 deaths will be attributed to the disease. In the past 20 years, mortality rates associated with multiple myeloma have declined. Novel therapies, as well as improvements in autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) procedures and supportive care, have contributed to extended survival for patients with this malignancy.