Steep Rise in Price of Chemotherapy Drug Causes Anger and Dismay
January 8th 2018NextSource Pharma has raised the price of oral chemotherapy agent lomustine (Gleostine) by 1400% since acquiring the drug, which is used to treat Hodgkin lymphoma and glioblastoma, from Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2013.
Combo of Lenalidomide and Rituximab Effective for Mantle Cell Lymphoma
January 5th 2018The duo of lenalidomide (Revlimid) and rituximab (Rituxan) is a combination that is feasible, safe and active as initial and maintenance therapy for use in patients with mantle cell lymphoma, according to a new study.
FDA Grants Breakthrough Designation to Ribociclib for Breast Cancer Treatment
January 4th 2018Some younger women with breast cancer may soon have a new first-line treatment option. Ribociclib (Kisqali), has been granted a breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA for use in combination with tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor (AI) as frontline treatment for pre- or perimenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer.
FDA Priority Review Granted to Brentuximab Vedotin as Frontline Treatment for Hodgkin Lymphoma
January 3rd 2018Seattle Genetics announced that a supplemental biologics license application for brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) used in combination with Adriamycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine as a frontline treatment for advanced classical Hodgkin lymphoma has been granted a priority review by the FDA.
Lapatinib/Trastuzumab Combo Improves PFS in Patients with HER2+/HR+ Metastatic Breast Cancer
January 3rd 2018A new study shows that using the targeted agents lapatinib (Tykerb) and trastuzumab (Herceptin) together, combined with an aromatase inhibitor (AI), significantly reduced the risk of death or progression in women with HER2-positive/HR-positive metastatic breast cancer compared with each single targeted agent in combination with an AI.
Investigating the Use of Olaparib and Durvalumab in BRCA-mutant Breast Cancer Treatment
December 28th 2017The combination of olaparib (Lynparza) and durvalumab (Imfinzi) for pretreated patients with germline BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm), HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer shows great promise for future treatment.
Stereotactic Radiotherapy Device Approved by FDA to Treat Early Stage Breast Cancer
December 27th 2017The FDA has approved a novel breast-specific stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) device known as GammaPod as a treatment for patients with early breast cancer, based on findings from a 17-patient study.
FDA Grants Priority Review to Apalutamide for Treatment of Prostate Cancer Subset
December 26th 2017The FDA has granted a priority review to a new drug application (NDA) for apalutamide (ARN-509) for the treatment of patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Apalutamide is an oral androgen receptor inhibitor.
Precision Medicine in HER2+ Breast Cancer Treatment Is Essential
December 21st 2017Mothaffar Fahed Rimawi, MD, explains the importance of targeting treatments for patients with low levels of HER2 protein based on their genetic mutations, and the possible use of immunotherapy for these patients.
FDA Approves Pertuzumab Regimen as Adjuvant Treatment for HER2+ Breast Cancer
December 21st 2017The FDA has approved the combination of pertuzumab (Perjeta), trastuzumab (Herceptin) and chemotherapy as an adjuvant treatment for patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer at high risk for recurrence.
Frontline Osimertinib for NSCLC Gets Priority Review
December 18th 2017The FDA has granted a priority review to a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for the use of osimertinib as a first-line treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors harbor EGFR mutations.
FDA Grants Combination Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Treatment Priority Review for RCC
December 15th 2017The FDA has granted a priority review to a supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for use of this combination as a frontline treatment for intermediate- and poor-risk patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Promising Agent Shows Significant Activity in Patients with Advanced Systemic Mastocytosis
December 14th 2017Results of a phase I trial presented showed that the agent BLU-285 (Avapritinib) agent was well tolerated among patients with an advanced or aggressive form of systemic mastocytosis (ASM), a rare blood disorder that originates in mast cells.
PFS Improves with Ribociclib Use in Younger Women with HR+/HER2- Breast Cancer
December 12th 2017Results of a new study show that adding ribociclib (Kisqali) to standard endocrine therapy with temporary ovarian suppression significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) when used as a first-line treatment for
Pembrolizumab Gets Priority Review for Relapsed/Refractory PMBCL
December 12th 2017A supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) has been granted FDA priority review status for the treatment of adults and children with relapsed/refractory primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL).