Articles

One question on oncologists’ minds these days is whether treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with cancer has a negative effect on COVID-19 disease. So far, the data have not shown a deleterious effect, but the definitive answer is unknown. In fact, some experts think immune checkpoint inhibitors may have a positive effect on COVID-19.

On September 4, 2020, the FDA accelerated the approval of pralsetinib (Gavreto; Blueprint Medicines/Genentech), an oral RET inhibitor, for the treatment of adults with metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and RET-activating fusions, as detected by an FDA-approved test.

On August 5, 2020, the FDA accelerated the approval of belantamab mafodotin-blmf (Blenrep; GlaxoSmithKline), a B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed antibody and microtubule inhibitor conjugate, for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received ≥4 previous therapies, including an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, a proteasome inhibitor, and an immunomodulatory agent.

On July 31, 2020, the FDA accelerated the approval of tafasitamab-cxix (Monjuvi; Incyte/MorphoSys US), a CD19-directed cytolytic antibody, in combination with lenalidomide (Revlimid) for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified, including DLBCL arising from low-grade lymphoma, who are not eligible for autologous stem-cell transplant.

On July 24, 2020, the FDA accelerated the approval of brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus; Kite Pharma), a CAR T-cell therapy, for the treatment of adults with mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL) whose disease has not responded to or has relapsed after other therapies. Brexucabtagene autoleucel is the first gene therapy FDA-approved specifically for the treatment of patients with MCL, a rare type of B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Capmatinib (Tabrecta), a selective inhibitor of the mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) receptor, showed significant antitumor activity in patients with metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and gene mutations that lead to MET exon 14 skipping, according to the results of a recently published study.

The overall mortality for lung cancer has declined in the United States, but little is known about the mortality trends by lung cancer subtype, because death certificates do not record this information. To address this limitation in the data collection, the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program has linked mortality records to incident cancer cases in all cancer types.

The safety and durability of responses to multitargeted inhibitors in thyroid cancer are at least partially limited by side effects. In all, 70% of patients with medullary thyroid cancer carry the RET mutation; RET fusions are rare in other types of thyroid cancer. The efficacy and safety of selective RET inhibition in patients with RET-altered thyroid cancer is unknown.

The prognosis of older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has been poor, even after treatment with a hypomethylating agent. A previous phase 1b study of azacitidine (Vidaza) added to venetoclax (Venclexta) showed promising efficacy and duration of response in treatment-naïve patients with AML who were ineligible for chemotherapy.

The combination of carfilzomib (Kyprolis) with lenalidomide (Revlimid) and dexamethasone (KRd) as induction therapy does not improve outcomes in patients newly diagnosed with multiple myeloma compared with the current standard of care with bortezomib (Velcade), lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRd).