October 2021, Vol 12, No 5

According to results from a recent study, balstilimab, an investigational PD-1 inhibitor, demonstrated meaningful and durable clinical activity in patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer. These findings were presented by Cailin E. Joyce, MD, Director, Applied Technology, Agenus, Boston, MA, during the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2021 virtual annual meeting
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The use of the PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) for 1 year after receiving standard chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant or the adjuvant setting significantly improved invasive disease-free survival in patients with high-risk, early-stage, HER2-negative breast cancer and BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, according to results presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2021 virtual meeting.
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The addition of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor tucatinib (Tukysa) to trastuzumab (Herceptin) and capecitabine continued to improve overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer, according to updated results from the pivotal HER2CLIMB trial. The findings were presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2021 virtual annual meeting by lead investigator Giuseppe Curigliano, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Medical Oncology, University of Milano, Italy, and Director, New Drugs and Early Drug Development for Innovative Therapies, Istituto Europeo di Oncologia, Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.
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Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act was associated with significant increases in breast reconstruction surgery among non-Hispanic black women and women with lower income and education levels, according to results of a study presented during the American Society of Breast Surgeons 22nd Annual Meeting. At times, these increases achieved parity with non-Hispanic white women.
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The novel BCL-2 inhibitor, lisaftoclax (APG-2575), elicited encouraging responses and acceptable tolerability in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and other hematologic malignancies, according to results of a phase 1 study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2021 virtual annual meeting.
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Key topics related to intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) were presented at the 2021 Society of Interventional Oncology (SIO) and the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) meetings and were discussed during the CCA Summit. Bruno C. Odisio, MD, FSIR, Interventional Radiologist and Co-Director of Research, Department of Interventional Radiology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, reviewed the significance of these findings.
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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.
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On August 25, 2021, the FDA approved ivosidenib (Tibsovo; Servier Pharmaceuticals), an oral IDH1 inhibitor, for the treatment of adults with previously treated, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) and an IDH1 mutation, as detected by an FDA-approved test. The FDA granted ivosidenib a priority review for this indication and an orphan drug designation.
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On August 31, 2021, the FDA approved zanubrutinib (Brukinsa; BeiGene), a Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, for the treatment of adults with Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia. Zanubrutinib was previously approved for the treatment of adults with mantle-cell lymphoma.
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On July 16, 2021, the FDA approved belumosudil (Rezurock; Kadmon Holdings), a kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of patients aged ≥12 years with chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after failure of ≥2 previous lines of systemic therapy. The FDA granted belumosudil breakthrough therapy designation and priority review for this indication.
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