Articles

Real-world study suggests prostate-specific antigen levels, race, and the use of androgen deprivation therapy are predictors of a positive FACBC PET/CT scan.

Personalized medicine has expanded the treatment options for patients with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). At the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation (CCF), Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, MBA, Professor of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, discussed recent developments in personalized therapies, highlighting genomic alterations that are informing the new therapies for patients with CCA.

The theme for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2021 virtual annual meeting was “Equity: Every Patient. Every Day. Everywhere.” As ASCO President Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, explained during her opening address, there is an urgent need to focus on effective ways to eliminate racial and socioeconomic disparities so that every patient can receive care that results in the best possible outcome.

Treatment with the immune checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab (Tecentriq) following surgical resection and chemotherapy significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS) compared with best supportive care (BSC) alone in patients with stage II-IIIA non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and tumor composite score PD-L1 ≥1%, according to interim results from the phase 3 IMpower010 clinical trial, which were presented at the ASCO 2021 virtual annual meeting.

Biosimilars have the potential to create a more sustainable healthcare environment by offering substantial cost-savings and expanding patient access to lifesaving therapies. At the ASCO 2021 virtual annual meeting, Lalan S. Wilfong, MD, Executive Vice President, Value-Based Care and Quality Programs, and Medical Oncologist/Hematologist, Texas Oncology, Presbyterian Cancer Center Dallas, TX, discussed how a community practice model for therapeutic interchange of brand drugs to biosimilars led to a significant increase in utilization of biosimilars and substantial cost-savings over the course of a single year at his institution.

A single dose of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel), an investigational B-cell maturation antigen–directed CAR T-cell therapy, resulted in early, deep, and durable responses in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, according to updated results from the phase 1b/2 CARTITUDE-1 clinical trial. These findings were reported by Saad Zafar Usmani, MD, FACP, Director, Plasma Cell Disorder Program, and Director, Clinical Research in Hematologic Malignancies, Levine Cancer Institute, Charlotte, NC, at the ASCO 2021 virtual annual meeting.

On June 30, 2021, the FDA accelerated the approval of asparaginase erwinia chrysanthemi (recombinant)-rywn (Rylaze; Jazz Pharmaceuticals), an asparagine-specific enzyme, as a component of a multidrug chemotherapy regimen for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) in patients aged ≥1 months with hypersensitivity to Escherichia coli–derived asparaginase. The FDA granted asparaginase erwinia a fast-track review and an orphan drug designation for this indication.

On May 28, 2021, the FDA accelerated the approval of infigratinib (Truseltiq; QED Therapeutics), an oral kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of adults with previously treated, unresectable locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and FGFR2 fusion or other rearrangement, as detected by an FDA-approved test. The FDA granted infigratinib priority and fast-track review, as well as orphan drug designation for this indication.

On July 9, 2021, the FDA accelerated the approval of a new indication for daratumumab and hyaluronidase-fihj (Darzalex Faspro; Janssen Biotech), in combination with pomalidomide (Pomalyst; Bristol Myers Squibb) and dexamethasone, for the treatment of adults with multiple myeloma who have received at least 1 previous line of therapy, including lenalidomide (Revlimid) or a proteasome inhibitor.

On June 16, 2021, the FDA approved a new indication for avapritinib (Ayvakit; Blueprint Medicines) for the treatment of adults with advanced systemic mastocytosis (AdvSM), including patients with aggressive systemic mastocytosis, systemic mastocytosis with an associated hematologic neoplasm, and mast-cell leukemia. The FDA granted this indication a priority review and breakthrough therapy and orphan drug designations.