Articles

Basal-cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC), commonly referred to as non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs), are the most common types of cancers in the United States. These 2 cancers account for approximately 2 million cases of skin cancer annually.

The US Food and Drug Admini­s­tration (FDA) approved a new indication for imatinib (Gleevec; Novartis) for the treatment of children with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common type of pediatric cancer.

The FDA has issued a boxed warning for brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris, Seattle Genetics) related to the risk of John Cunningham virus infec­tion, leading to progressive multifocal leu­ko­­encephalopathy (PML) and death in patients who take brentuximab to treat Hodgkin lymphoma or systemic anaplastic large-cell lymphoma.

The FDA has accepted a New Drug Application (NDA) for bosutinib (Pfizer), an oral dual Src and Abl tyrosine kinase inhibitor, as a second-line therapy for adult patients with previously treated Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

The apoptotic topical gel ingenol mebutate (Picato; Leo Pharma) has received FDA approval for the treatment of actinic keratosis, a precancerous condition that can progress to squamous-cell carcinoma.

The FDA approved a new, subcutaneous route of administration for the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib (Velcade; Millennium) as an alternative method to the previously approved intravenous (IV) form of the drug in all the FDA indications.

The FDA approved the newest oral kinase inhibitor axitinib (Inlyta; Pfizer) for the treatment of patients with advanced renal-cell carcinoma that has failed to respond to previous therapy.

The US Food and Drug Admin­istration (FDA) approved vismodegib (Erivedge; Hoffmann–La Roche), a hedgehog pathway inhibitor, for the treatment of basal-cell carcinoma (BCC) in adults with locally advanced disease who are not candidates for surgery or radiotherapy and in those with metastatic disease.

Results of a phase 1 study show that navitoclax, a new BH3 mimetic that targets BCL2 and related antiapoptotic intracellular proteins in cancer cells, inhibits the development of lympho­cytosis in patients with chronic lymphoyctic leukemia (CLL; Roberts AW, et al. J Clin Oncol. Epub December 19, 2011).

Findings from a longitudinal study of impaired cognitive functioning and cerebral white matter integrity in women who receive chemotherapy for breast cancer suggest that chemotherapy-induced structural changes in the brain are correlated with impaired cognitive functioning (Deprez S, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2012;30:274-281).