News

Nivolumab (Opdivo) significantly improved overall survival (OS) versus chemotherapy in patients with unresectable advanced or recurrent esophageal cancer that is refractory to or intolerant of fluoropyrimidine plus platinum-based therapy, according to topline findings of the phase III ATTRACTION-3 study.

The FDA has accepted a supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for atezolizumab (Tecentriq), carboplatin, and nab-paclitaxel (Abraxane) as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Payer reimbursement requirements, uncertainties in reform policy, and cost of new treatments viewed as top threats.

Half of patients diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer were alive 6.8 years after diagnosis, according to new study findings.

The cancer death rate declined 27% in the United States from 1991 to 2016, as reported by the American Cancer Society in its annual report, in part due to the significant decline in smoking and an increase in advances for early cancer detection and screening.

The FDA has granted a breakthrough therapy designation to zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) for use in some patients with mantle cell lymphoma.

The FDA has approved cabozantinib (Cabometyx) to treat hepatocellular carcinoma in patients who previously received sorafenib (Nexavar).

UGN-101 demonstrated a 57% complete response rate in some patients with urothelial cancer, according to findings from the phase III OLYMPUS trial.

A Taiwanese study focused on the relationship between gender and analgesic adherence in cancer patients and shows some surprising results.

The presence of HPV-16 and -18 were associated with a higher risk of developing high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) in women under the age of 30, study says.

John Mendelsohn, MD, an internationally acclaimed leader in the medical field died January 7 at his home in Houston, Texas at the age of 82.

An ongoing randomized phase III clinical trial is investigating the safety and efficacy of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) as an adjuvant treatment in patients with high-risk, locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) after definitive local therapy, compared with placebo.

Waun Ki Hong, MD, a pioneering medical oncologist recognized for his practice-changing research in head and neck cancer, died at his home in California on January 2.

Axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) elicited a 2-year overall survival (OS) rate of 51% in patients with refractory large B cell lymphoma, representing a clear plateau in the survival curve.

Women who took part in a supervised exercise program during adjuvant treatment for breast cancer had better cardiovascular function than women who did not participate in the program, according to the findings of a study presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).

In the minds of Americans, there is no more trusted profession than nursing, according to a global analytics company called Gallup, which recently announced that for the 17th year in a row, nurses topped the list by a landslide.

Combining the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax (Venclexta) with endocrine therapy elicited notable activity with a tolerable safety profile in patients with estrogen receptor (ER)–positive and BCL-2–positive metastatic breast cancer.

The ongoing dialogue regarding healthcare payment reform that attempts to incentivize high-value care by linking reimbursement to quality rather than quantity has largely ignored the ultimate consumer/buyer—the patient.

Oncology nurses must acknowledge patients’ concerns about financial toxicity and help address them.

Younger patients with breast cancer who had lumpectomies reported higher quality of life (QOL) than those who underwent mastectomies, according to results of a survey of 560 women.

The FDA has approved dasatinib (Sprycel) tablets in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of pediatric patients ≥1 year of age with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

The median overall survival for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia has more than tripled since the 1970s, primarily due to an ever-expanding armamentarium of novel agents and earlier diagnosis.

Here are the top 5 Oncology Nursing News stories for December 2018.

The anti-BCMA CAR T-cell therapy bb21217 demonstrated an objective response rate of 83.3%, with a very good partial response or better rate of 75% in patients with heavily pretreated relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, according to initial results from a phase I study presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting.

Chemotherapy for breast cancer caused significantly more acute symptoms as compared with endocrine therapy, although the adverse effects of endocrine therapy increased over time, according to an updated analysis of the phase III TAILORx trial.

A large pivotal phase III trial has been initiated to evaluate the potential for the first-line combination of cabozantinib (Cabometyx) and atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in comparison with standard-of-care sorafenib (Nexavar) for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

U3-1402, an investigational antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targeting HER3, induced objective response in more than 40% of heavily pretreated patients with HER3-expressing breast cancer, according to results presented at the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Treatment with rivaroxaban (Xarelto) may reduce the risk for developing blood clots during active treatment with a systemic therapy like chemotherapy, according to results from the CASSINI trial.

The FDA has approved ravulizumab-cwvz (Ultomiris) as an injection treatment of adult patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare blood disorder that leads to hemolysis.

CT-P6, a proposed biosimilar to trastuzumab, exhibited long-term disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) similar to the reference product in the treatment of patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer.