Oncology

Oncologists have grown increasingly concerned that high costs create ‘financial toxicity’ and may keep patients from getting needed treatments.

Researchers report promising activity with a novel drug that targets a key molecular driver of clear cell renal cell carcinoma in patients with metastatic disease.

This is the first newly approved therapy for high risk locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of LA-SCCHN in 25 years.

Prior authorization (PA) requirements, cost, and other factors can lead to turnaround times of up to 3 weeks, delaying the start of therapy and creating substantial anxiety for patients.

Two recently approved leukemia drugs could be enlisted against treatment-resistant lung cancer.

Officials from the FDA have approved a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for neratinib (NERLYNX, Puma Biotechnology) in combination with capecitabine for the treatment of adult patients with advanced or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer that have received 2 or more prior anti-HER2-based regimens in the metastatic setting.

The research resulted in nearly 50 new drugs with previously unrecognized anti-cancer activity.

Patients with CLL may have genetic mutations that predict response to different treatments.

Current FDA-approved CAR-T cell therapies express CARs recognizing CD19, which is expressed on the surface of almost all B cells, making these therapies specific for B-cell malignancies.

Monotherapy with talazoparib demonstrated encouraging antitumor activity in patients with DNA damage repair mutations and docetaxel pretreated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

HER2 is a membrane-bound tyrosine kinase that when amplified contributes significantly to a tumor’s ability to proliferate and survive.

To stay up-to-date on the latest in oncology pharmacy, make sure to check out the slate of programming that will be offered this year through our Directions in Oncology PharmacyTM series.

Patients with ulcerative colitis have an increased risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC), are diagnosed with less advanced CRC, and are at increased risk of death from CRC.

Guidelines indicate that there are a number of treatment options for head and neck cancers.

Patients diagnosed with Crohn disease and colorectal cancer (CRC) have a higher rate of mortality than patients without Crohn disease who are also diagnosed with CRC.

In a Directions in Oncology PharmacyTM Peer Exchange series, experts explained the right time to use bevacizumab, either as a front-line therapy or at the time of disease progression.

In a Directions in Oncology Pharmacy Peer Exchange series, experts discuss the PRIMA trial and the rationale for using PARP inhibitors.

Enfortumab vedotin-ejfv in combination with the anti-PD1-therapy pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who are unable to receive cisplatin-based chemotherapy in the first-line setting.

The FDA has accepted Genentech’s supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) and granted priority review for atezolizumab (Tecentriq) as a first-line monotherapy for some patients with advanced non-squamous and squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

In the pivotal phase 3 KEYNOTE-355 study, pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck) combined with chemotherapy met one of its dual primary endpoints of progression-free survival (PFS) as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) whose tumors expressed programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1).

The DKFZ discovered traces of a total of 23 different virus types in 356 patients with cancer. The most common drivers of tumor initiation and growth were found, including the genome of Epstein-Barr viruses (EBV) and hepatitis B virus (HBV).

Physicians treating patients with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer can choose from a range of therapies, including doublet chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab (Avastin) and PARP inhibitors.

There are 5 available EGFR TKIs for the treatment of patients with EGFR-mutant lung cancers: gefitinib (Iressa), erlotinib (Tarceva), afatinib (Gilotrif), dacomitinib (Vizimpro), and osimertinib.

The Fair Access to Cancer Treatment Act is expected to be signed by Governor Tom Wolf in the near future.

CAR NK cells are allogenic, which is defined as taking the cells from a non-related healthy donor rather than the patient themselves. Therefore, CAR NK cells have the potential to be manufactured in advance and stored for off-the-shelf immediate use.

Based on molecular similarities in human and canine diffuse gliomas, researchers have posited that working to cure brain cancer in dogs may lead to improved treatments and even a cure for humans.

Positive results were based on the PROSPER trial, which evaluated the overall survival of enzalutamide plus androgen deprivation therapy versus standard of care.

Capmatinib is an investigational, oral, and selective MET inhibitor, and if approved, it will be the first therapy to specifically target METex14 mutated advanced lung cancer, according to the company.