Oncology

Sasha Watson, PharmD, BCOP, discusses the emerging role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in colon cancer, highlighting its potential to enhance precision oncology by improving early detection, guiding adjuvant therapy decisions, and monitoring disease recurrence and treatment resistance.

Updates on April 30, 2025, introduce changes to treatment regimens, sequencing flexibility, febrile neutropenia risk assessments, and drug-specific safety and supportive care guidance.

A phase 1b study demonstrated that continuous subcutaneous infusion of low-dose lenalidomide in patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma achieved promising efficacy with significantly reduced hematologic toxicity compared to conventional oral dosing.

Artificial intelligence (AI) models enhance cancer cachexia detection, improving accuracy in predicting muscle atrophy and patient outcomes through advanced biomarker analysis.

A novel orally bioavailable RIPTAC therapeutic targeting the p53-Y220C mutation demonstrates selective cancer cell killing by inducing proximity between mutant p53 and an essential protein, offering a promising new strategy for treating historically untreatable tumors.

Hyperglycemia is a common and significant adverse effect of PI3K and AKT inhibitors in hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer.

Rising costs of these therapies challenge affordability and access.

The phase 2 ROME trial demonstrated that combining tissue and liquid biopsies to guide tailored therapy in advanced solid tumors significantly improves survival outcomes compared to standard of care or single-biopsy approaches, highlighting the value of dual profiling in precision oncology.

Study shows a significant decline in breast cancer mortality across multiple subtypes.

Acneiform rash is a common adverse effect of EGFR-targeting therapies.

Dostarlimab in the neoadjuvant setting yielded a 100% clinical complete response in patients with rectal cancer.

A phase 2 trial showed that using ctDNA to guide adjuvant pembrolizumab therapy after surgery effectively cleared minimal residual disease and reduced recurrence in patients with resected mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) solid tumors.

The study found that 4 weeks was the ideal time point to test for cTDNA.

Certain antibiotics may have a more significant impact on CAR T-cell efficacy and toxicity.

AI may help to accurately classify pediatric sarcoma subtypes using digitized pathology images, potentially improving diagnosis and treatment accessibility across diverse health care settings.

Interim results from the phase 1 SENTI-202-101 trial show that SENTI-202, a logic-gated, off-the-shelf chimeric antigen receptor natural killer (CAR NK) cell therapy, achieved complete remission in 4 patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Pretrained foundation machine learning models significantly improved the accuracy of diagnosing non-melanoma skin cancer from digital pathology images and may offer a practical, resource-efficient solution for cancer diagnosis in underserved settings.

Zoldonrasib, a novel oral KRAS G12D-selective inhibitor, demonstrated promising safety and early antitumor activity in patients with previously treated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), offering a potential new targeted therapy for this underserved population.

NCCN updates colon cancer guidelines, emphasizing testing for DPYD gene variants before initiating fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy.

This alternative to IV infusion reduces patient treatment times and eases providers’ operational burdens.

Pyrotinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is independently developed in China.

The treatment received indications as a monotherapy and in combination regimen with carboplatin or cisplatin and gemcitabine.

Ginger Blackmon, PharmD, explains how NCODA’s Positive Quality Interventions (PQIs) help improve oncology care by guiding best practices, supporting teamwork, and streamlining workflows.

The combination yielded superior progression-free (PFS) survival compared with standard of care.

Patients in both arms achieved statistically significant rates of compliance up to 97%.

The FDA approves zanidatamab for HER2-positive biliary cancer, improving treatment options.

PAK5 is a protein that drives resistance to trastuzumab emtansine in patients with HER2+ breast cancer.

Though new treatments offer hope, careful monitoring and understanding of risks remain essential for their success.

Obecabtagene autoleucel improves CAR T-cell therapy for B-cell ALL.