Articles

San Francisco, CA—The combination of the PD-1 inhibitor durvalumab ­(Imfinzi) and the investigational CTLA-4 inhibitor tremelimumab plus best supportive care improved overall survival (OS) by more than 2 months versus best supportive care alone in a phase 2 clinical trial of patients with refractory colorectal cancer (CRC), reported Eric Xueyu Chen, MD, PhD, Staff Oncologist, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada, at the 2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

On June 10, 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the novel antibody-drug conjugate polatuzumab vedotin-piiq (Polivy; Genentech) in combination with bendamustine plus rituximab for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) that has progressed or returned after at least 2 previous therapies. This is the first chemoimmunotherapy regimen approved for use in patients with DLBCL who are ineligible for hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation.

On May 3, 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla; Genentech) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer who have residual invasive disease after neoadjuvant taxane and trastuzumab-based treatment. Patients should be selected for treatment with this agent based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic test (Ventana Medical System’s PATHWAY anti-HER-2/neu [4B5] Rabbit Monoclonal Primary Antibody assay or INFORM HER2 Dual ISH DNA Probe Cocktail assay).

Orlando, FL—The discontinuation of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) is considered safe and appropriate in consenting patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) under specific circumstances and with careful molecular monitoring, according to the updated National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) management guideline for CML.

On March 11, 2019, the FDA approved trastuzumab-qyyp (Trazimera; Pfizer) as the fourth biosimilar to trastuzumab (Herceptin; Genentech) for the treatment of patients with HER2-positive breast cancer or HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. This approval was based on several studies confirming that trastuzumab-qyyp is biosimilar to the originator drug, Herceptin.

It is no surprise that healthcare costs are at an all-time high and continue to take center stage in political, social, and economic debates. Employers, as health plan sponsors and as purchasers of care, are looking to take matters into their own hands and tackle the problem through innovative reimbursement strategies. Not all employers, however, are built the same. Experiences in controlling healthcare costs vary between small and large employers. The most affected employers are in the middle and are known as midsize employers.

San Francisco, CA—Increased understanding of tumor genetics and tumor metabolism has led to improved therapies for cancer. The impact of cancer metabolism on tumor pathways is particularly important in pancreatic cancer. A novel tumor metabolism–altering oral drug known as SM-88 combines the investigative tyrosine derivative (D,L-alpha-metyrosine) with 3 repurposed agents—an mTOR inhibitor (sirolimus), a CYP3A4 inducer (phenyt­oin), and an oxidative stress catalyst (methoxsalen).

San Francisco, CA—Updated results from the safety lead-in of the phase 3 BEACON CRC clinical trial show a mature median overall survival (OS) of 15.3 months with the triple-drug regimen of encorafenib (Braftovi), a BRAF inhibitor; binimetinib (Mektovi), a MEK inhibitor; and cetuximab (Erbitux), an EGFR inhibitor, for the treatment of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) and BRAF V600E mutation.

San Francisco, CA—Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as a second-line therapy improved overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced or metastatic esophageal cancer and high PD-L1 expression compared with chemotherapy, according to findings from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-­­­181 study presented at the 2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.

San Francisco, CA—Adjuvant treatment with durvalumab (Imfinzi), a checkpoint inhibitor, in patients with residual disease after trimodal therapy for advanced esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adeno­carcinoma was associated with a 79% 1-year relapse-free survival rate in a phase 2 clinical trial. Historically, the 1-year relapse rate has been 50% in patients with GEJ carcinoma who do not achieve a pathologic complete response with trimodal therapy, even with additional chemotherapy, said Hirva Mamdani, MD, Thoracic Oncology, Karmanos Cancer Institute/Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, at the 2019 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.