News

Nearly 1 year following the first checkpoint inhibitor approval in advanced triple-negative breast cancer, additional immunotherapeutic agents are poised to enter the field, according to Rita Nanda, MD.

The FDA has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act deadline for a new drug application (NDA) for avapritinib (Ayvakit) as a treatment for adult patients with fourth-line gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). The deadline, which was initially February 14, 2020, has been extended by 3 months to May 14, 2020, according to BluePrint Medicines, the developer of avapritinib.

Study findings, “changed how we see and treat patients with ovarian cancer,” said one expert.

Oncology Nursing News contributor, Donna Clark, RN, BSN, OCN, passed away on February 4, 2020, leaving a lasting legacy on the world of oncology nursing.

With the advent of targeted therapy, understanding the genetic components of a patient's disease has become critical in oncology. As the role of genetic testing in prostate cancer has grown, the field is also overcoming hurdles with making it more widespread, said Thomas J. Polascik, MD.

There are gaps in knowledge between socioeconomic and education status regarding cancer knowledge, according to a survey conducted in honor of World Cancer Day.

The use of liquid biopsies can expand in the world of oncology, according to Benjamin P. Levy, MD.

Despite the emergence of PARP inhibitors, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and immunotherapy in the treatment of patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), more work is needed to propel further progress, according to Kevin Kalinsky, MD, MS.

The presence of the proteins p16 and p21 has shown to be predictive of treatment response in patients with osteosarcoma, a disease that previously had no identified biomarkers to indicate whether or not patients would benefit from therapy, explained C. Parker Gibbs, MD.

The FDA has granted a priority review designation to a new drug application (NDA) for selpercatinib (LOXO-292) for the treatment of patients with advanced RET fusion–positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), and RET fusion–positive thyroid cancer.

Here are the top 5 Oncology Nursing News® stories for January 2020.

Compassion fatigue leads to high nursing turnover, and can also affect patient care, according to recent research.

Relationships between nurses and patients can be nuanced, and we want to hear what you think about interacting on social media.

The role of radical surgical resection in advanced melanoma has become more conservative and cosmetically sensitive, according to Richard L. Shapiro, MD.

As life expectancies grow longer in Lebanon, there is an increase in the amount of people diagnosed with cancer.

Encorafenib (Braftovi) plus cetuximab (Erbitux) with or without binimetinib (Mektovi) demonstrated longer maintenance of quality of life (QoL) on patient-reported assessments over current standard of care in the treatment of patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer.

While earlier efforts of precision medicine focused on basket trials, Tanios S. Bekaii-Saab, MD, explained that it’s time for the field of oncology to move on to umbrella trial designs that can better target an individual cancer.

Optimal management of treatment-related dermatologic adverse events (AEs) in patients with melanoma is essential for proper care, according to Tracey Liebman, MD.

Updated data on several emerging treatment modalities were presented at the 2019 ASH Annual Meeting in multiple myeloma, including CAR T-cell therapy, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs), and a novel selinexor (Xpovio) combination, explained Sandy W. Wong, MD.

Certain GE Healthcare Clinical Information Central Stations and Telemetry Servers may be compromised, according to the FDA.

The FDA has granted an accelerated approval to tazemetostat (Tazverik) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients aged ≥16 years old with metastatic or locally advanced epithelioid sarcoma that is not eligible for complete resection.

Biosimilars are moving into the breast cancer treatment space, and have potential to bring costs down, but the hard numbers are still to be determined.

Surufatinib improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with placebo in patients with low- or intermediate-grade advanced pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) for whom there is no effective therapy, according to a preplanned interim analysis of the phase III SANET-p trial (NCT02589821) that was completed by an independent data monitoring committee (IDMC).

The FDA has granted an orphan drug designation to durvalumab (Imfinzi) and tremelimumab for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

The agency granted the immunoconjugate targeting B-cell maturation antigen priority review to belantamab mafodotin for the treatment of heavily pre-treated patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Oncoprex in combination with osimertinib received fast track designation from the FDA to treat patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Being able to quickly detect and properly manage adverse events (AEs) that arise in patients with melanoma who are receiving immunotherapy is key to improving their experience with treatment, explained Kathleen Madden, RN, MSN, FNP-BC, AOCNP®, APHN.

The role of radiation therapy, specifically with elective nodal irradiation (ENI), has evolved over the past several years, said He James Zhu, MD, PhD, adding that the technique should be performed in patients with breast cancer on an individualized basis.

Despite the approvals of targeted agents and immunotherapy in the treatment paradigm of metastatic melanoma, clinical trials remain the gold standard for patients with newly diagnosed disease, according to Anna C. Pavlick, DO.

Nurses and other healthcare practitioners should discontinue use of Cardinal Health surgical gowns and packs, according to the agency.