May 1st 2024
The combination of pembrolizumab, trastuzumab, and chemotherapy showed significant improvement in overall survival vs placebo in patients with HER2-positive advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.
Community Practice Connections™: Real-World Applications of Novel Therapies Across TNBC and Addressing Disparities in Care
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6th Annual Precision Medicine Symposium: An Illustrated Tumor Board
October 18-19, 2024
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Advances in TNBC: Communicating with Your Patients About Clinical Trial Awareness and Treatment Concerns to Improve Clinical Outcomes
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Community Practice Connections™: 5th Annual Precision Medicine Symposium – An Illustrated Tumor Board
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41st Annual CFS®: Innovative Cancer Therapy for Tomorrow
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Prefilled Syringe of Lanreotide Approved for GEP-NETs by FDA
June 25th 2019A prefilled syringe of lanreotide has been approved by the FDA to enable healthcare providers to administer the injection easier to adults with unresectable, well or moderately differentiated, locally advanced or metastatic gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.
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Treatment Patterns at End of Life Explored in Large, National Database
June 20th 2019The American Cancer Society, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Baptist Cancer Center, and the Mayo Clinic report 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.
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FDA Issues Draft Guidance to Broaden Clinical Trial Inclusion
June 19th 2019The FDA recently released 5 new draft guidance documents that promote broader patient eligibility for cancer clinical trials. The policies encourage inclusion of certain individuals who were previously disqualified due to medical conditions or biological factors, including brain metastases, organ dysfunction, prior or concurrent malignancies, chronic infections, and age.
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Strategies to Engage Underrepresented Populations Improves Inclusivity in Clinical Trials
June 17th 2019A cohort of cancer centers was selected to serve as models for identifying key strategies for racial and ethnic minority group engagement in clinical trials. On the basis of several qualifying criteria, such as sustained accrual of minorities into clinical cancer research, an established minority population ≥10% in the overall catchment, an established clinical trial infrastructure, and a formal community outreach program, the investigators identified 8 cancer centers for participation.
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Novel Combinations Explored in CRC With Rare Gene Mutations
June 15th 2019In a case-based-style discussion, Tanios S. Bekaii-Saab, MD, and Wells Messersmith, MD, reviewed the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer whose tumors express rare gene mutations or molecular signatures, such as <em>NTRK</em> fusions.
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Expert Explores Role of Radionuclide Therapy in Well-Differentiated Neuroendocrine Tumors
June 14th 2019Radiolabeled 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 and yttrium 90 are β emitters.
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Fifth Biosimilar for Trastuzumab Approved by FDA
June 14th 2019ABP 980, a trastuzumab biosimilar, has been approved by the FDA for the treatment of patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer as well as HER2-overexpressing metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, marking the fifth approval by the agency for a trastuzumab biosimilar.
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Bekaii-Saab Considers TKI Therapy to Treat Patients With Advanced GI Cancers
June 13th 2019During a recent <em>Targeted Oncology </em>live case-based peer perspectives presentation, Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD, discussed with a group of physicians the treatment options for patients with gastrointestinal cancers and the characteristics that influence his decision making. Bekaii-Saab explained his clinical decisions based on the case scenario of one patient with colorectal cancer and one with hepatocellular carcinoma.
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Oncology Experts Review Key Updates from the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting
June 12th 2019<em>Targeted Oncology</em> spoke with experts in attendance at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting to review what they believed were some of the biggest takeaways from this year's presentation across the fields of lung cancer, breast cancer, GI cancers, genitourinary cancers, melanoma, and multiple myeloma.
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Phase III Trial Begins for Frontline Pemigatinib in FGFR2+ Cholangiocarcinoma
June 5th 2019A phase III trial has begun for the investigational agent pemigatinib in comparison with gemcitabine and cisplatin chemotherapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed patients with metastatic or surgically unresectable cholangiocarcinoma who have activating <em>FGFR2 </em>rearrangements. The first patient has already been treated with the selective FGFR inhibitor in the open-label, randomized FIGHT-302 trial, according to a press release from Incyte, the company developing the agent.
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Less AEs, Similar Efficacy Reported in Advanced G/GEJ Cancers With Frontline Pembrolizumab
June 1st 2019Patients with PD-L1–positive, HER2-negative, advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer had non-inferior overall survival with frontline pembrolizumab compared with standard chemotherapy, according to results from the phase III KEYNOTE-062 trial.
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HER2-Targeted Antibody ZW25 Earns FDA Fast Track Designation in GEA
May 31st 2019The novel bispecific antibody ZW25 has been granted a fast track designation by the FDA for the treatment of patients with HER2-overexpressing gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma to be used in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy.
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Oncology Experts Select Top Abstracts Ahead of 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting
May 29th 2019In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, experts in gynecology, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, lung, and breast cancers spoke to the significance of the abstracts they are most looking forward to at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting.
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Elderly, Frail Patients With Gastroesophageal Cancer Can Benefit From Lower Dose of Chemotherapy
May 16th 2019Comparable efficacy and minimized adverse events were seen with a lower dose of oxaliplatin (Eloxatin) and capecitabine (Xeloda) in elderly and frail patients with advanced gastroesophageal cancer, according to findings to be presented during the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.
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Radioembolization Is Effective in Neuroendocrine Tumors With Liver Metastases
May 13th 2019Radioembolization is an effective treatment option for patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms and liver metastases, demonstrating a disease control rate of >90% in an international, retrospective study.
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Existing Drugs May Offer Treatment Opportunities in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma
April 16th 2019Findings from a study of tumor samples collected from patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma revealed that 17% of tumors harbored a known genomic alteration for which targeted therapies have already been developed, conferring feasibility to implementing precision medicine in a disease that has seen little progress in the development of effective therapeutic agents.
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Study Finds Extended-Release Anagrelide Noninferior to Reference Product in ET
April 16th 2019A new phase III trial has demonstrated that a novel extended-release formulation of anagrelide (Thromboreductin) is noninferior to immediate-release anagrelide in reducing platelet counts in patients with essential thrombocythemia.
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Patient Misconceptions About Clinical Trials Are a Common Source of Resistance, Expert Panel Says
April 8th 2019Before 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.
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Despite Slow Adoption, Artificial Intelligence Pilot Programs Yield Practical Results
April 6th 2019Artificial intelligence has made inroads in many industries—banking, finance, security—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.
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Challenges Persist With CAR T-Cell Therapy in Pancreatic Cancer
April 2nd 2019The success of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy observed in hematologic malignancies has not yet translated into the solid tumor setting; however, efforts continue to try to bring this new modality into the treatment paradigm for solid tumors, including pancreatic cancer.
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CMS Mulls Opposition to Downsizing Part D Protected Drug Classes
March 15th 2019The healthcare community is still awaiting a response from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to the opposition of the agency’s proposal to substantially revise the Medicare Part D protected drug classes.
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Avoiding Overtreatment Saves Medicare $320M Over 3-Year Period in Older Men With Prostate Cancer
March 13th 2019Overtreating 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–Medicare linked database.
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Fourth Trastuzumab Biosimilar Granted Approval by FDA
March 12th 2019A fourth trastuzumab biosimilar has been granted approval by the FDA. The approval was for PF-05280014 for the treatment of patients with HER2-overexpressing breast cancer as well as HER2-overexpressing metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.
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Frontline Olaparib Succeeds as Maintenance Therapy in BRCA+ Pancreatic Cancer
February 27th 2019AstraZeneca and Merck, the codevelopers of olaparib, have announced that findings from the phase III POLO trial showed use of the PARP inhibitor as a frontline maintenance for patients with germline <em>BRCA</em>-mutated metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas significantly reduced the risk of disease progression or death versus placebo.
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TAS-102 Receives FDA Approval for Gastric/GEJ Cancer
February 25th 2019Based on data from the phase III TAGS trial, TAS-102 has been approved by the FDA as a treatment for adult patients with metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma previously treated with at least 2 prior lines of chemotherapy that included a fluoropyrimidine, a platinum, either a taxane or irinotecan, and if appropriate, HER2/neu-targeted therapy.
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Pembrolizumab Falls Short in Confirmatory HCC Trial
February 21st 2019Merck, the developer of pembrolizumab, has announced that the coprimary endpoints of the KEYNOTE-240 trial were not met, as adding the agent to best supportive care failed to improve progression-free or overall survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who were previously treated with systemic therapy.
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