Authors

Roundtable Discussion: Dietrich and Santos Look at Targeted Treatments for Patients With NSCLC

A 72-year-old White man presented with chest pain, cough, and dyspnea. He had a medical history of type 1 diabetes that was adequately controlled, and was a former smoker.

GRIFFIN Follow-Up Shows Promising Responses With Daratumumab plus VRD

Updated results of the GRIFFIN trial revealed that the addition of daratumumab to a standard-of-care regimen used in the treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma met the trials primary end point of higher rates of stringent complete response in patients who are eligible for transplant.

FDA Considers New Warning and Label Recommendations for Breast Implants

According to a statement from the FDA, the agency has issued a draft guidance proposing labeling recommendations for breast implant manufacturers that would help patients understand the benefits and risks of implants. The labeling recommendations would include the addition of a boxed warning.

Parotid Node Metastases in Locally Advanced Nasopharyngeal and Oropharyngeal Cancer

To determine the frequency and clinical characteristics of parotid gland metastasis from nasopharyngeal cancer and oropharyngeal cancer and define criteria for elective inclusion of parotidean nodes in the radiotherapy clinical target volume.

DNA Testing for Breast Cancer Risk: What the Current Medical Evidence Tells Us

While predictive genetic testing is useful and even crucial for many populations, new medical advances are routinely overhyped in the media and misunderstood by consumers and providers alike.

Anti-TIGIT and ICI Combinations Supported by Early-Phase Research

Approaches that pair anti-TIGIT antibodies with other immune checkpoint inhibitors have sparked interest among investigators. Results of early-stage studies evaluating these unique combinations were recently presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021. Later-stage studies are ongoing.

IDH Mutations Offer Hope as a Prognostic Indicator and Treatable Target in Gliomas

Several presentations at the 2019&nbsp;American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting highlighted a hopeful new direction in the treatment of gliomas, demonstrating the relevance of <em>IDH1/2</em> mutational status and its feasibility as a target of therapy.

Abscopal Effect Induction Among Patients With Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

The prognosis for patients with metastatic non&ndash;small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is poor.&nbsp;However, with recent trials showing improved overall survival with checkpoint inhibitors compared with standard chemotherapy, disease management is changing.

Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in Esophagogastric Cancers

The poor prognosis for patients with esophagogastric cancers (EGC) requires the development of newer more effective therapies to further improve the treatment outcomes for this disease. Immunotherapy is a novel treatment strategy that is dramatically changing the treatment landscape for several types of cancers. Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) antibody and antagonists of the programmed death (PD)-1/PD-ligand 1 are essential immune checkpoint inhibitors that suppress T-cell activation.

The Targeted Pulse: Tune-In to Discover The Most Recent FDA Approvals and Investigators’ Captivating Findings in Glioblastoma and Brain Mets Therapy

Recent cancer treatment breakthroughs include FDA approvals for zenocutuzumab and durvalumab, and sacituzumab tirumotecan gained breakthrough therapy status. In addition, sonodynamic therapy shows promising results in recurrent glioblastoma, and systemic therapy choices impact brain metastases outcomes, according to new research.

Ropeginterferon Alfa Gains NCCN Backing in Essential Thrombycythemia

Genetic Testing is Essential in NSCLC Prior to Induction Therapy

Testing for driver mutations is essential before initiating therapy in patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, because there is a risk that the type of upfront treatment chosen could add to the toxicity of, and spur resistance to, targeted therapy options, Suresh S. Ramalingam, MD, said at the 14th Annual New York Lung Cancers Symposium.

Q & A With Kimberly L. Blackwell: The Treatment of HER2 Metastatic Breast Cancer

Since its approval in 1998 to treat metastatic disease, trastuzumab has dramatically expanded life expectancy and improved quality of life for women diagnosed with HER2-positive breast cancer.

Ramucirumab: A Novel Antiangiogenic Agent for Gastric Cancer and Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer

Advanced gastric cancer and gastroesophageal junction cancers are highly aggressive cancers with poor prognosis and limited treatment options. The VEGF pathway has been one of the key signaling pathways under investigation for these cancers.

Future Directions of Neoadjuvant Therapy in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer

Cisplatin-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radical cystectomy has been the standard of care in muscle-invasive bladder cancer for almost 2 decades. However, the rates of NAC utilization remain low and many patients are ineligible to receive cisplatin due to diminished renal function or other factors. Additionally, there are no reliable biomarkers routinely used in clinical practice that identify patients most likely to benefit from NAC, and limited prospective comparisons of the NAC regimens.

Immunotherapy’s Potential in Neuro-Oncology

A plenary session held November 15 at the Society of Neuro-Oncology’s (SNO) 2014 Annual Meeting in Miami Beach focused on immunotherapy’s promise as well as its challenges as a treatment for patients with brain cancer.

Clinical Validation and Utility of a Liquid Biopsy in NSCLC

Veena Singh, MD, senior vice president and senior medical director, Biocept, Inc., discusses the clinical validation and utility of a liquid biopsy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using circulating tumor cells (CTCs) and ctDNA to analyze EGFR, ALK and ROS status.

Novel Proteasome Inhibitors for Multiple Myeloma

The recent approval of the second-generation proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib by the FDA comes nine years after the initial approval of bortezomib, the first-in-class drug of its type.

An Expert's Overview of CDK4/6 Inhibitors for HR+/HER2- Metastatic Breast Cancer

Inhibition of CDK4/6 results in improvements in progression-free survival in women with estrogen receptor ER-positive HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer whether it is endocrine sensitive or resistant.

Acalabrutinib Shows High Response, Prolonged Survival in Ibrutinib-Intolerant R/R CLL

Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor acalabrutinib demonstrated a high rate of response, prolonged survival, and high tolerability in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who demonstrated intolerance to ibrutinib. Findings were presented at the 15th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma.

A Phase II Trial of Cetuximab and Docetaxel With Radiation for Head and Neck Cancer

The use of low-dose radiotherapy may offer transient benefits; nonetheless the potential for palliative care exists.

Sub-Centimeter Thyroid Nodule Size May Not Offer Good Prognostic Indicator for Biopsy

The rising overall risk of all sizes of malignant thyroid cancer has made clinicians question whether or not sub-centimeter thyroid nodules should also be biopsied.

PD-L1 Strongly Correlates With Papillary Thyroid Cancer Aggressiveness

Investigators at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Toronto, Canada, have been working on a potential correlation for aggressiveness and/or disease-free survival in thyroid cancer patients.

RET Rearrangements in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Chromosomal rearrangements involving the gene that encodes the RET tyrosine kinase are known oncogenic drivers in 1% to 2% of patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer.&nbsp;These RET rearrangements occur with characteristic partners, most commonly KIF5B, but also CCDC6, NCOA, TRIM33, CUX1, KIAA1217, FRMD4A, and KIAA1468.