ASCO 2015 Highlights

On August 10, 2021, the FDA approved the combination of lenvatinib (Lenvima; Eisai) plus pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck) for the first-line treatment of adults with advanced renal-cell carcinoma (RCC). The FDA granted this combination a priority review and breakthrough therapy designation.

On July 26, 2021, the FDA accelerated the approval of a new indication for the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck) for the treatment of patients with high-risk, early-stage, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in combination with chemotherapy as a neoadjuvant treatment, and then continued as a single agent as adjuvant treatment after surgery.

The recent release of EMPIRE-1 phase 2/3 trial results indicates the use of fluorine 18 fluciclovine PET/CT to guide salvage postprostatectomy radiotherapy increases event-free survival from biochemical recurrence or persistence.

Promising diagnostic and prognostic information with PSMA-based radioligands discussed in recently released review article.

Investigators released participant group data from a clinical trial looking at the use of fluorine 18 fluciclovine PET/CT in men with prostate cancer and biochemical recurrence to identify potential targets for therapy.

Updates on patient eligibility and methods from the INDICATE phase 3 trial were presented at the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.

Real-world study suggests prostate-specific antigen levels, race, and the use of androgen deprivation therapy are predictors of a positive FACBC PET/CT scan.

Personalized medicine has expanded the treatment options for patients with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). At the 2021 Annual Meeting of the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation (CCF), Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD, MBA, Professor of Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, discussed recent developments in personalized therapies, highlighting genomic alterations that are informing the new therapies for patients with CCA.

The theme for the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2021 virtual annual meeting was “Equity: Every Patient. Every Day. Everywhere.” As ASCO President Lori J. Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, explained during her opening address, there is an urgent need to focus on effective ways to eliminate racial and socioeconomic disparities so that every patient can receive care that results in the best possible outcome.

Treatment with the immune checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab (Tecentriq) following surgical resection and chemotherapy significantly improved disease-free survival (DFS) compared with best supportive care (BSC) alone in patients with stage II-IIIA non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and tumor composite score PD-L1 ≥1%, according to interim results from the phase 3 IMpower010 clinical trial, which were presented at the ASCO 2021 virtual annual meeting.