Articles

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells have saved lives in some patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who had run out of other treatment options. This type of immunotherapy is making inroads in other hematologic malignancies as well, but it is still being studied in very sick patients.

A durable complete response was achieved in a high proportion of adults with refractory B-cell malignancies who received CD19+ chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells made up of a defined 1:1 ratio of CD8+ and CD4+ cells.

Extending aromatase inhibitor therapy with letrozole for an additional 5 years beyond standard treatment with letrozole improved disease-free survival (DFS) and reduced the rate of new contralateral breast cancer in postmenopausal women with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer.

Atezolizumab (Tecentriq) shows promise as primary therapy in patients with cisplatin-ineligible, locally advanced metastatic urothelial (bladder) cancer, according to data from the IMvigor210 study presented at ASCO 2016.

A gene-expression signature assay called ColDx (Almac Diagnostics) successfully identified high-risk patients with stage II colon cancer who would benefit from chemotherapy, according to results of a new, prospective analysis of the previously published phase 3 Alliance C9581 clinical trial.

Ongoing clinical trials at academic centers around the country are testing a new strategy of matching available targeted therapies to molecular abnormalities in tumors instead of treating the cancer site.

In addition to affecting patient well-being and quality of life, financial toxicity has been shown to worsen survival outcomes because of nonadherence to drug therapy. Although policy interventions, improvements in benefit designs, and adjustments to reimbursement may help reduce costs for patients in the long-term, immediate changes are needed to alleviate financial burden, said Yousuf Zafar, MD, MHS, of the Duke Cancer Institute, Durham, NC, at ASCO 2016.

An economic analysis of oncology regimens that were previously evaluated in trials conducted by the Canadian Cancer Society Research Institute has shown that the transition from branded to generic drug costs has a considerable impact on the cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of treatment.

Aggressive end-of-life care for patients with terminal cancer and other illnesses is costly and not recommended. ASCO recommends that patients with terminal cancer should receive palliative care rather than interventions that do not prolong life but do add to suffering.