ASCO 2015 Highlights

The International Cholangiocarcinoma Research Network (ICRN) is a program initiated by the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation (CCF).

According to data from a European registry, approximately 1 in 6 patients with cancer who recovered from COVID-19 infection experienced long-term sequelae (ie, “long-haul” COVID-19), placing them at increased risk for death or discontinuation of anticancer treatment.

On March 18, 2022, the FDA approved the combination of 2 distinct immune checkpoint inhibitors, the new LAG-3 antibody relatlimab-rmbw (Opdualag; Bristol Myers Squibb) plus the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo; Bristol Myers Squibb), for patients aged ≥12 years with unresectable or metasta­tic melanoma.

On February 28, 2022, the FDA accelerated the approval of pacritinib (Vonjo; CTI BioPharma), a kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of adult patients with intermediate- or high-risk primary or secondary (postpolycythemia vera or postessential thrombocythemia) myelofibrosis with a platelet count below 50 × 109/L.

On January 25, 2022, the FDA accelerated the approval of tebentafusp-tebn (Kimmtrak; Immunocore), a bispecific gp100 peptide-HLA–directed CD3 T-cell engager, for the treatment of adult patients with HLA-A*02:01 unresectable or metastatic uveal (intraocular) melanoma.

On March 21, 2022, the FDA approved a new indication for the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck) as monotherapy for advanced endometrial carcinoma that is microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR), as determined by an FDA-approved test, in patients whose disease progressed after previous systemic therapy in any setting and who are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation.

On March 11, 2022, the FDA accelerated the approval of the oral PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza; AstraZeneca) for the adjuvant treatment of adults with HER2-negative, high-risk early breast cancer and deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA mutation after neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients must be selected for olaparib therapy for this indication based on an FDA-approved test.

On March 4, 2022, the FDA accelerated the approval of the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo; Bristol Myers Squibb) in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy for the neoadjuvant treatment of adults with resectable non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This represents the first FDA approval for neoadjuvant therapy for early-stage NSCLC.

Two years of abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) plus prednisone added to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) improved metastasis-free survival and overall survival compared with ADT alone in men with nonmetastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer, whereas the addition of enzalutamide (Xtandi) to ADT had no benefit, and much greater toxicity.