ASCO 2015 Highlights

Final results from the pivotal phase 3 KEYNOTE-355 trial showed that the addition of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to chemotherapy resulted in a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival (OS) compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) whose tumors expressed PD-L1 with a combined positive score (CPS) ≥10.

Treatment with the investigational agent mosunetuzumab (RG7828) as monotherapy induced deep remissions in patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma, according to results of a recent trial presented at the ASH 2021 Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Results from 2 single-center studies presented at the ASH 2021 Annual Meeting and Exposition showed that nearly 1 in 6 patients with hematologic diseases had no or low antibody response after a second COVID-19 vaccination, but that the mRNA 1273 COVID-19 vaccine induced a strong antibody response in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

The results from 2 phase 3 clinical trials highlighted the superiority of CAR T-cell therapies over current standard of care (SOC) when used earlier in the course of treatment for patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL).

Rapid adoption of FDA-approved biosimilars is feasible, measurable, and scalable—and pharmacists should lead the charge, according to data presented at the virtual 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology Quality Care Symposium.

Many innovative therapies in oncology have made it to market recently, with a wealth of agents that are currently on the verge of FDA approval.

The success of oncology support services developed by pharmaceutical manufacturers depends on tailoring programs that meet the needs of their specific patient populations, said panelists at a roundtable discussion on patient centricity and connectivity in oncology support and HUB services.

Criteria to assess presenting patterns of organ damage have not been extensively evaluated. Preliminary evidence suggests identifying these patterns could be useful in profiling organ dysfunction in avapritinib clinical trials.

Cladribine has long been established as an efficient therapy in systemic mastocytosis and remains a valuable treatment option even as new therapies emerge.

Hereditary alpha-tryptasemia may promote development of systemic mastocytosis. Screening for variations in copy number of the alpha tryptase gene may provide early evidence for diagnosis of mastocytosis.