Articles

Advocacy and Community Involvement Abstract from the 4th Annual AVBCC Conference

Hollywood, FL—The updated National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for the management of melanoma now include the BRAF inhibitor dabrafenib (Tafinlar) as a Category 1 recommendation for the primary treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma and BRAF mutation, as well as the use of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MEK) inhibitor trametinib (Mekinist) for the treatment of patients with melanoma and BRAF mutation. These 2 drugs, which received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval last year, are now added to the NCCN targeted therapies for the treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic melanoma.

Hollywood, FL—The updated guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) for the management of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) includes new strategies in the management of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and new guidelines for T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders.

Washington, DC—A new framework for transforming cancer care by harnessing the meaningful use criteria of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) was proposed by a team of researchers at the 2013 American Medical Informatics Association meeting.

Washington, DC—Patients with cancer are often prescribed medications for the treatment of comorbid conditions, and some of those medications may have harmful drug interactions with the therapies used to treat their cancer. Computerized alert systems are now being used to inform providers or support personnel on such contraindications.

San Francisco, CA—In routine patient care, adding bevacizumab (Avastin) to standard FOLFIRI (leucovorin, 5-fluorouracil, and irinotecan) improves progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), according to data presented at the 2014 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

Boston, MA—Combinations of targeted therapies will be key to overcoming resistance that occurs in tumor cells and leads to eventual failure of a single targeted agent, said Alex Adjei, MD, PhD, the Katherine Anne Gioia Chair in Cancer Medicine, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, at the Second Global Biomarkers Consortium annual conference.

A genomic test to sequence the circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from whole blood, ClearID Breast Cancer from Cynvenio Biosystems, is now available commercially to molecularly monitor for breast cancer recurrence. The test uses a standard blood draw from which DNA from tumor cells is isolated and interrogated using next-generation–sequencing tools to determine the presence of cancer-associated DNA mutations.

San Diego, CA—Results of a new small study have shown that histology without the use of Oncotype DX Breast Cancer assay accurately predicts the risk for recurrence in low-grade breast carcinoma. Although Oncotype DX is useful in predicting recurrence in high-grade breast cancer, this study suggests that low-grade tumors may be adequately assessed for recurrence by histology only.

San Francisco, CA—Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided brachy­therapy led to significantly less urinary dysfunction in men being treated for localized prostate cancer compared with ultrasound-guided techniques, according to a long-term prospective cohort study reported at the 2014 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.