FDA Grants Priority Review to Lorlatinib for Patients With ALK+ NSCLC
February 13th 2018Pfizer announced that the FDA has granted a priority review to a new drug application for lorlatinib, an ALK inhibitor, for use in patients with ALK-positive metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who have progressed on 1 or more ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
Patient Navigation Initiative Takes Aim at Health Disparities
February 12th 2018Patient navigation is playing an increasingly vital role in guiding patients with breast cancer through the maze of the American healthcare system. The Patient Navigation Initiative is a pioneering project of Susan G. Komen of Greater New York City focused on helping women overcome barriers to care, which leads to improved outcomes.
Palliative Care Services Are on the Rise but More Progress Is Needed
February 12th 2018Eighty percent of hospitalized patients in the U.S. have access to palliative care services. But that means that 20% do not. For patients with cancer, this can potentially mean the difference between effective symptom management and end-of-life care, and inadequate usual care.
LivingWith App Helps Patients with Cancer Manage their Experience
February 12th 2018The LivingWith app helps patients connect with a close circle of contacts and enables them to ask for help with daily tasks, track their symptoms, and collect important documents and information from appointments.
FDA Extends Shelf Life of IV Solutions
February 7th 2018To ensure the adequate availability of IV solutions that may be in high demand during the flu season, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) extended the expiration dates of some IV products after Baxter, a major IV solution manufacturer, submitted safety data that indicated that extended expiration dates meet FDA safety standards.
Therapy Dogs Reduce Stress in Families of Pediatric Patients
February 6th 2018The Canines and Childhood Cancer Study – the first and largest randomized, controlled clinical trial to measure the effects of animal-assisted therapy in the field of pediatric oncology – recently showed significant benefits to families in a time of great need.
Patients With Brain Metastases May Now Have a Better Chance of Inclusion in Clinical Trials
February 2nd 2018Patients whose cancers have metastasized to the brain or central nervous system are often excluded from clinical trials, but now, new guidelines may help researchers identify appropriate clinical trials in which these people may be included.
Older Patients with Colorectal Cancer Are More Likely to Develop Cardiovascular Disease
February 2nd 2018According to results from an analysis of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database of the National Cancer Institute, older adults with colorectal cancer are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and congestive heart failure.
Brain Training Is Key in Helping Cognitive Function in Breast Cancer Survivors
February 1st 2018Changes in cognitive function, or chemobrain, are common among patients who survive breast cancer. However, limited efforts have been put in to understanding or managing these cognitive changes in survivors. Now, there is a web site that can help with just that.
Dense Tissue Is Not an Obstacle to Immunotherapy in Desmoplastic Melanoma
January 31st 2018Researchers have recently discovered that immunotherapy agents have potential to effectively treat desmoplastic melanoma, even though the dense tissue associated with this rare cancer would seem to preclude it.
Ovarian Cancer Research Pivots Toward Combination Therapies
January 31st 2018Immunotherapy alone has not shown much success in treating ovarian cancer, despite success with other cancers, so researchers are now testing combinations of immunotherapy drugs with other agents to see if it enhances effectiveness.
Acupuncture Reduces Joint Pain from Aromatase Inhibitors
January 29th 2018The first large, multicenter trial to investigate the effect of acupuncture in treating aromatase inhibitor-induced joint symptoms in women with breast cancer reported a statistically significant reduction in pain with acupuncture use.
FDA Approves Lutathera for Treatment of Patients With GEP-NETs
January 26th 2018Based on impressive results from the phase III NETTER-1 trial, the FDA has approved Lutathera (lutetium [177Lu] oxodotreotide) for the treatment of patients with somatostatin receptor-positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs).
Emerging Treatments in Bladder Cancer
January 25th 2018The year 2017 saw significant advancements in the field of bladder cancer treatment. Five Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals for checkpoint inhibitors in both the first and second line setting opened up the immunotherapy landscape, and more develoments are on the way.
FDA Grants Priority Review to Daratumumab for First-line Treatment of Multiple Myeloma
January 23rd 2018Daratumumab (Darzalex) in combination with bortezomib (Velcade), melphalan, and prednisone (VMP), has been granted a priority review designation by the FDA for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant.
FDA Approves Carfilzomib Label Update to Include Overall Survival Data for Myeloma
January 18th 2018Impressive overall survival (OS) data from the phase III ENDEAVOR trial inspired the FDA to approve a supplemental new drug application to add it to the label for carfilzomib (Kyprolis) for use in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.