Standard of Care Reigns Superior for Low-Risk HPV+ Oropharyngeal Cancer
October 29th 2018Though many patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal cancer have been treated with cetuximab (Erbitux), results from the international De-ESCALaTE HPV trial showed that chemoradiotherapy, the current standard of care, is still the most effective.
FDA Grants Priority Review to Ruxolitinib for Acute GVHD
October 27th 2018The Food and Drug Administration has granted a priority review to the supplemental new drug application for ruxolitinib (Jakafi) to treat patients with acute graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) who have had an inadequate response to corticosteroids.
FDA Grants Priority Review to TAS-102 for Advanced, Metastatic Gastric Cancer
October 26th 2018The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted a priority review to the oral chemotherapy TAS-102 (trifluridine/tipiracil; Lonsurf) for use in previously treated patients with advanced or metastatic gastric adenocarcinoma, including cancer of the gastroesophageal junction.
Expanding Financial Advocacy Under the Value-Based System
October 24th 2018To help patients and programs meet the challenges of affording cancer treatments, community cancer centers are expanding the role of financial advocates in their organizations. Financial advocates may be financial counselors, nurses, navigators, social workers; pharmacy technicians; practice managers, and others.
FDA Grants Priority Review to Ibrutinib Plus Obinutuzumab in Frontline CLL
October 17th 2018The FDA has granted a priority designation to a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for ibrutinib (Imbruvica) for use in combination with obinutuzumab (Gazyva) for the frontline treatment of adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).
FDA Approves Second PARP Inhibitor to Treat Breast Cancer
October 16th 2018The FDA has approved talazoparib (Talzenna) for patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated, HER2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, according to Pfizer, the manufacturer of the PARP inhibitor.
FDA Grants Breakthrough Designation to LOXO-292 for Thyroid Cancer Subtype
October 15th 2018The FDA has granted a breakthrough therapy designation to LOXO-292 for the treatment of patients with advanced RET fusion–positive thyroid cancer who require systemic therapy, have progressed on prior treatment, and have no other acceptable alternative treatment options.
Barbells for Boobs Partners With CancerCare to Launch Breast Cancer Support Line
October 12th 2018In an effort to help individuals gain access to breast health services, Barbells for Boobs and CancerCare®, the leading national cancer support organization, have officially launched the NYC Support Line.
FDA Advisory Committee Recommends Approval of Rituximab Biosimilar to Treat NHL
October 10th 2018The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) recommended approval of CT-P10, a biosimilar for the monoclonal antibody rituximab (Rituxin), for 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma indications in a 16-0 vote.
Higher Nursing Education Translates to Better Care for Patients
October 9th 2018For clinical nurse specialist and Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) member Anne Kolenic, DNP, APRN, AOCNS, her decision to pursue a DNP degree meant taking critical research results and implementing them to improve care at her institution.
Adding Durvalumab to Chemoradiation Improves OS in Unresectable Stage III NSCLC
October 4th 2018Durvalumab (Imfinzi) induced a clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival (OS) compared with placebo in patients with stage III, unresectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have not progressed following chemoradiotherapy.
Immunotherapy Pioneers Win Nobel Prize for Research on Checkpoint Inhibitors
October 4th 2018Immunotherapy pioneers James P. Allison, PhD, and Tasuku Honjo, MD, PhD, have won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research that eventually led to the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors to treat cancer.
FDA Grants Rucaparib Breakthrough Designation for mCRPC
October 2nd 2018The FDA has granted the PARP inhibitor rucaparib (Rubraca) a breakthrough therapy designation for single-agent use in adult patients with BRCA1/2-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) following at least 1 androgen receptor–directed therapy and taxane-based chemotherapy.
Brigatinib Bests Standard of Care to Improve PFS in Advanced NSCLC
October 2nd 2018Brigatinib (Alunbrig) reduced the risk of disease progression or death by more than 50% compared to crizotinib (Xalkori) in adult patients with ALK-positive, locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had not received a prior ALK inhibitor.
Alpelisib Improves PFS in PIK3CA+ Advanced Breast Cancer
October 1st 2018Combining alpelisib (BYL719) with fulvestrant (Faslodex) improved progression-free survival versus fulvestrant alone in postmenopausal women and men with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative, PIK3CA-mutant advanced or metastatic breast cancer that progressed after aromatase inhibitor treatment with or without a CDK4/6 inhibitor.
FDA Approves Cemiplimab for CSCC
September 29th 2018The FDA has approved the PD-1 inhibitor cemiplimab (Libtayo) for the treatment of patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) or patients with locally advanced CSCC who are not candidates for curative surgery or curative radiation.