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Data from the TRACERx lung study suggest that circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) may be a biomarker for the detection of postsurgical minimal residual disease (MRD) in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), suggesting which patients are at increased risk for disease relapse and will require more aggressive adjuvant therapy. Read More ›

The combination of the checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab (Imfinzi), the poly (ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza), and chemotherapy with paclitaxel used as neoadjuvant therapy improved the pathological complete response (pCR) of patients with high-risk HER2-negative stage II or III breast cancer compared with the physician’s choice of chemotherapy. Read More ›

A combination of nivolumab (Opdivo), gemcitabine (Gemzar), and cisplatin as neoadjuvant therapy resulted in a pathologic nonmuscle-invasive rate of 66% and a pathologic complete response rate (pCR) of 49% in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), according to results from the phase 2 BLASST-1 clinical trial. Read More ›

The combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus the investigational drug sitravatinib improved progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with pretreated metastatic clear-cell renal-cell carcinoma (RCC) and the historical disease control rates compared with nivolumab alone, according to the results of a phase 1/2 clinical trial reported at the 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. Read More ›

A biosimilar is a “highly similar” copy of a biologic drug, but it is not a generic. This definition understandably causes confusion among patients and providers alike, but it is an important distinction, according to Jim Koeller, MS, FHOPA, Professor, Pharmacotherapy, The University of Texas at Austin. Read More ›

On May 8, 2020, the FDA accelerated the approval of a new kinase inhibitor, selpercatinib (Retevmo; Loxo Oncology) capsules, for the treatment of 3 types of cancer—metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), metastatic medullary thyroid cancer, and other types of thyroid cancer—that are associated with RET gene mutations or fusions, as determined by an FDA-approved test. Selpercatinib is the first therapy approved specifically for the treatment of patients with cancer that is linked to RET mutations or fusions. The FDA granted selpercatinib breakthrough therapy and orphan drug designations. Read More ›

On May 6, 2020, the FDA accelerated the approval of oral capmatinib (Tabrecta; Novartis), a kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of adults with metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Capmatinib is the first agent approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic NSCLC associated with mutations that lead to mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) exon 14 skipping, as determined by an FDA-approved test. The FDA granted capmatinib breakthrough therapy and orphan drug designations. Read More ›

On April 17, 2020, the FDA approved pemigatinib (Pemazyre; Incyte), an oral kinase inhibitor, as the first treatment for adults (aged ≥18 years) with previously treated, locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma that is associated with a fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) gene fusion or other rearrangements, as detected by an FDA-approved test. This is the first targeted therapy approved for patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma. Until now, the standard of therapy for this patient population has been chemotherapy combinations. Read More ›

On May 29, 2020, the FDA approved ramucirumab (Cyramza; Eli Lilly) in combination with erlotinib (Tarceva) for first-line treatment of patients with metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 19 deletions or exon 21 (L858R) mutations. Ramucirumab was previously approved for several types of cancer, including, in combination with docetaxel, for metastatic NSCLC, after platinum-based chemotherapy. Read More ›

The COVID-19 pandemic will have far-reaching economic implications in the United States and abroad for the foreseeable future. During this session, Murray Aitken, MBA, Director, IQVIA Institute, presented emerging data regarding some of the ways in which the pandemic is affecting the US economy. Read More ›