Articles

San Francisco, CA—An increasing number of biosimilars have been approved in the United States, but many clinicians are still poorly informed about what constitutes a biosimilar, and what is involved in their unique pathway to approval, said Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, Medical Oncologist, Division of Hematologic Malignancies, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City. He discussed this topic at the NCCN 2019 Hematologic Malignancies meeting.

In the phase 2 STORM Part 1 clinical trial, 21% of patients with refractory multiple myeloma had a partial or better response to oral selinexor (Xpovio) plus dexamethasone. Those findings were the basis for the pivotal phase 2 STORM Part 2 study (Chari A, et al. N Engl J Med. 2019;381:727-738).

The introduction of BRAF- and MEK-targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors has significantly improved outcomes in patients with metastatic melanoma. However, many patients have drug resistance—acquired or primary—which results in death from underlying disease.

New York, NY—By its very nature, oncology is rife with change, with new research resulting in treatment advances at a rapid pace. Pending federal legislation aimed at reining in prescription drug prices and an upcoming presidential election may introduce yet further changes in oncology. A discussion on these issues was presented at the 2019 AVBCC Summit in October, with a look at the oncology landscape.

New York, NY—At the 2019 AVBCC Summit, a panel of payers, moderated by Mike Kolodziej, MD, Vice President, Chief Innovation Officer, ADVI Health, discussed strategies for improving the delivery of value-based cancer care, along with changes on the horizon as payers and providers strive to maximize access to high-quality oncology drugs.

New York, NY—With drug-pricing legislations currently before the House and the Senate, the issue of demonstrating value in high-cost drug therapies has become the front and center of the healthcare conversation. Moderator Roger Longman, MA, Co-Founder and Chairman, Real Endpoints LLC, a reimbursement-focused analytics and advisory firm, engaged an expert panel on the topic of value-based agreements during the 2019 AVBCC Summit.

New York, NY—Patients with cancer are not just faced with a terrifying disease; they must also surmount an uphill climb when it comes to accessing care. Advocates—some of whom have shared in their experiences as patients—are hard at work to ensure access is a reality. A roundtable discussion of patient advocates at the 2019 AVBCC Summit focused on identifying the major obstacles to care and what can be done to improve patient access.

Data from the single-arm, open-label phase 2 clinical trial FIGHT-202, which was presented at the ESMO Congress 2019, revealed that investigational pemigatinib induced a response in 35.5% of the 107 patients with FGFR2 fusions or rearrangements (cohort A), with a median duration of response of 7.5 months.

Barcelona, Spain—Ivosidenib (Tib­sovo), an oral therapy that targets isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutation, significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and an IDH1 mutation, in a phase 3 clinical trial reported lead investigator Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, Medical Oncologist, Gastrointestinal Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York City, at the ESMO Congress 2019.

San Francisco, CA—Cannabis has been credited as a medicinal plant with benefits ranging from pain and inflammation relief to epileptic seizure reduction to insomnia and anxiety cures, but the evidence is still limited, particularly in the setting of advanced cancer.