Tony Berberabe, MPH

Twenty to 30 years ago, delivering a diagnosis of lung cancer to a patient was a difficult conversation to have for many oncologists. But that has given way to greater optimism today, according to Mark A. Socinski, MD.

Management of neuroendocrine liver metastases relies on many treatment modalities, ranging from surgery to ablation. Clinicians have in their armamentarium interventional radiology techniques that use regional and systemic treatments spanning a diverse group of biologic, cytotoxic, and targeted agents.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology and Friends of Cancer Research have issued a joint research statement that broadens eligibility criteria affecting 2 patient subgroups: patients with treated/stable brain metastases and those with new, active, or progressive brain metastases.<br /> &nbsp;

Findings from a phase I study investigating the use of nonengineered T-cell therapy suggest that the therapy is safe and feasible in pancreatic cancer and may offer benefit to patients. The novel therapy targets the tumor-associated antigens PRAME, SSX2, MAGEA4, NY-ESO-1, and Survivin.

Anna C. Pavlick, DO, MS, MBA, spoke with a group of physicians about the systemic therapy options, including immunotherapeutics, for treating patients with cutaneous carcinomas in a recent&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology&nbsp;</em>live case-based peer perspectives discussion. Pavlick explained treatment options based on 2 case scenarios of patients with cutaneous malignancies.

In a data set of 292&nbsp;oncologists who responded to questions about current awareness and incorporation of molecular testing in the treatment of cancer, almost 69% incorrectly matched the molecular alteration with the appropriate targeted therapy.

Jane Lowe Meisel, MD, reviewed systemic therapy options for treating patients with breast cancer with a group of physicians during a&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology&nbsp;</em>live case-based peer perspectives discussion. Meisel explained the treatment considerations she makes for treating patients with breast cancer during the dinner event in terms of 2 case studies.

The SOLAR-1 findings were presented during a satellite symposium at the 2019 European Society for Medical Oncology Breast Cancer Annual Congress in Berlin, Germany.&nbsp;The trial demonstrated the role of&nbsp;<em>PIK3CA&nbsp;</em>as a predictive marker for alpelisib&rsquo;s clinical efficacy, said Peter A. Fasching, MD, associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics at Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany, during the symposium.

Biomarker expansion has enjoyed a boom since 2006, with patient incidence of positive biomarkers reaching up to 50% in non&ndash;small cell lung cancer and melanoma and 25% in acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes, according&nbsp; to the <em>Global Oncology Trends 2018</em> report.

Bradley J. Monk, MD, noted the FDA&rsquo;s approval of the biosimilar agent bevacizumab-awwb across multiple indications including metastatic colorectal cancer, non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, glioblastoma, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, and cervical cancer,&nbsp;but he wondered aloud why ovarian cancer was not on the list.

In a posthoc analysis of the phase III SPARTAN trial, lead investigator Julie N. Graff, MD, and colleagues examined the study&rsquo;s apalutamide (Erleada) arm to determine whether the agent affected metastasis-free survival (MFS), time to metastasis (TTM), and location of metastasis as a function of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) nadir.

The American Cancer Society, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Baptist Cancer Center, and the Mayo Clinic report&nbsp;that treatment patterns varied markedly by cancer type and care facility setting for patients with de novo metastatic disease who died within 1 month after diagnosis, based on an analysis of data from 100,848 patients collected from the National Cancer Database, a hospital-based cancer registry that captures 70% of patients in the United States with a new diagnosis.

Radiolabeled somatostatin analogues, a form of peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, have gained clinical use in treating neuroendocrine tumors found in the midgut, the non-midgut, and the pancreas. NETs generally have high expression of somatostatin receptors, the target of somatostatin analogues. The most commonly used radionuclides, lutetium 177&nbsp;and yttrium 90&nbsp;are &beta; emitters.

In the current oncology climate, the search for affordable access to cancer care is a growing concern because of the steep price of treatment advancements, inpatient, outpatient, and ED costs, and financial bankruptcy or mergers that limit the number of community cancer clinics. During the 2019 Community Oncology Alliance annual conference in Orlando, Florida, Lucio N. Gordan, MD, of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute addressed the complex challenges faced by community oncology clinics.

The development and advancements in targeted therapies and immunotherapies have dramatically changed drug development and clinical practice. With access to widespread genomic research and next-generation sequencing, details about somatic and germline mutations in solid tumors can better inform the treatment plan,&nbsp;Howard &ldquo;Skip&rdquo; Burris III, MD, explains.

Oncology practices that adopt the OCM developed by the CMS face a tough road. The transformation requires changes in infrastructure encompassing administrative and care management service lines, as well as a change in philosophical outlook for clinicians and physician leadership; translational services for clinical interpretation; and internal reporting that is both costly and complex.

Vofatamab when given as a monotherapy or in combination with docetaxel was well tolerated and had no long-term safety issues in 55 patients with metastatic urothelial cancer who had failed platinum-based chemotherapy, according to the results of a phase II expansion study.

In a preliminary analysis of a phase II trial, the radiolabeled small molecule, ¹⁷⁷LuPSMA-617, demonstrated a biochemical progression-free survival of 4 months in a cohort of 64 men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

David R. Gandara, MD, discusses the treatment decisions he makes and the data that support his recommendations for treating patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer

During a <em>Targeted Oncology </em>live case-based peer perspectives presentation, Josephine Louella Feliciano, MD, explained the treatment considerations and decisions she makes when treating a patient with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer in the clinic and the data that support these options to a group of physicians.

Long-term follow-up findings from the BRIGHT study support the use of bendamustine plus rituximab as a first-line treatment option for patients with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma or mantle cell lymphoma.

The immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab continued to demonstrate encouraging antitumor activity in an interim analysis of KEYNOTE-057, which involved a subset of 102 patients with nonmuscle-invasive bladder cancer.

A discussion between&nbsp;regulators and special interest groups has cooled some of the excitement generated by the emergence of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for treating hematologic cancers.

Before a community oncology practice considers getting involved in clinical trials research, there are many factorsto consider. Perhaps foremost is the fact that cancer clinical trials provide the evidence base for new advances in oncology.&nbsp;

Artificial intelligence has made inroads in many industries&mdash;banking, finance, security&mdash;but its adoption in healthcare has been lagging and real-world clinical implementation has yet to become a reality. Nonetheless, proponents say it is only a matter of time and pilot programs are starting to yield some practical results.&nbsp;

The novel targeted radiation therapy, lutetium 177 prostate-specific membrane antigen, demonstrated safety and therapeutic efficacy in 22 patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, based on findings presented during the ESMO 2019 International Congress on Targeted Anticancer Therapies.

Because of the complex nature of diagnosing, treating, and managing hepatocellular carcinoma, a multidisciplinary approach in the community setting can provide optimal care to patients with the disease.

The establishment of a high-risk cancer screening and genetic counseling service in a community setting may be an arduous undertaking but, as demonstrated in a case study presented during the Association of Community Cancer Centers 45th Annual Meeting &amp; Cancer Center Business Center Summit held in Washington, DC, it could help to reduce the chance of patients developing a hereditary cancer.

Three next-generation physician practice management companies&mdash;US Oncology Network, American Oncology Network, and OneOncology&mdash;provided an overview of their business models to distinguish themselves from competitors at a breakout session during the Association of Community Cancer Centers 45th Annual Meeting &amp; Cancer Center Business Center Summit held in Washington, DC.

Overtreating men 70 years or older with prostate cancer cost Medicare more than $1.2 billion from 2004 to 2007, according to the results of a retrospective study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results&ndash;Medicare linked database.