September 4th 2024
Findings from the CUPISCO study found that molecularly guided therapy is more effective than standard chemotherapy for patients with unfavorable nonsquamous cancer of unknown primary.
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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42nd Annual CFS: Innovative Cancer Therapy for Tomorrow®
November 13-15, 2024
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Community Practice Connections™: 5th Annual Precision Medicine Symposium – An Illustrated Tumor Board
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42nd Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference®
March 6 - 9, 2025
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The Evolving Tool Box in Advanced HR+/HER2– Breast Cancer: What You Need to Know About Next-Generation SERDs, PI3K/AKT, ADCs, CDK4/6 and Beyond…
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Coffee Talk™: Navigating the Impact of HER2/3, TROP2, and PARP from Early Stage to Advanced Breast Cancer Care
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Fighting Disparities and Saving Lives: An Exploration of Challenges and Solutions in Cancer Care
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Cancer Center in Under-Served Community Highlights Benefits of a Genetic Testing Program
November 2nd 2019Yuma Regional Medical Center Cancer Center has implemented a genetic cancer screening and testing for their patients through collaboration with Myriad Genetics, a molecular diagnostic testing company, according to a presentation by Erica Martinez, RN, OCN, at the Association of Community Cancer Centers’ 2019 National Oncology Conference. After partnering with Myriad Genetics, the cancer center saw a 4-fold increase in genetic testing of patients with cancer in the first 4 months, which led to a change in clinical management in 20% of those cases.
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Survey Shows Growing Use of Genetic Testing in Prostate Cancer Management in the Community
October 28th 2019In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Raoul S. Concepcion, MD, discussed the existing challenges with implementing genetic testing and genetic counseling in community practices and how they can potentially be addressed.
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AML Relapse Predictive Ability of ctDNA Comparable With Bone Marrow Mutation Persistence
October 15th 2019Among patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome who completed myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the predictive utility of testing circulating tumor DNA was comparable with that of mutation persistence evaluation in matched bone marrow samples, according to a study published recently in Blood.
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Case Series Reveals Activity of Afatinib in NRG1+ Solid Tumors
October 11th 2019In a presentation at the 2019 ESMO Congress on a case series of 7 pretreated patients with <em>NRG1</em>-positive tumors, Stephen Liu, MD, and colleagues discussed the efficacy of afatinib and explained that afatinib may be a potential treatment option for <em>NRG1</em>-positive tumors across multiple cancer types.
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Expert Reports Mixed Results in Interim Analysis for Multiarm NSCLC Trial
October 11th 2019Findings from an interim analysis of the National Lung Matrix Trial, a large, multiarm trial involving patients with non–small cell lung cancer, demonstrated both promising activity and shortcomings in predefined goals in a presentation at the 2019 World Conference on Lung Cancer.
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New Insights From Genomic Classification Affecting Choice of Targeted Agents or Immunotherapy
October 10th 2019At the recent <em>20th Annual </em>International Lung Cancer Congress® in Huntington Beach, California, a number of very prominent contributors to the lung cancer translational and clinical field provided updates regarding novel strategies to address unmet needs.
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Blood-Based Biomarkers Useful in NSCLC Management
October 8th 2019Multiple presentations at the 2019 ESMO Congress add to the evidence that blood-based biomarkers have predictive utility in advanced non-small cell lung cancer. Blood-based next-generation sequencing has also shown clinical utility in aiding treatment decisions for physicians treating this disease.
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Identification of Actionable Mutations Remains an Unmet Need in CRC
September 26th 2019Gulam A. Manji, MD, PhD, discusses the need to identify mutations that may be actionable in patients with colorectal cancer. The identification of such mutations can further impact patient survival and improve efficacy, says Manji, in both CRC and other gastrointestinal cancers.
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Improved Mutation Profiles Inch Prostate Cancer Algorithms to the Next Level
September 18th 2019Advances in molecular profiling have driven development and use of personalized medicine approaches in oncology, enabling detection of biomarkers for predicting prognosis and treatment response and determining inheritable cancer risk.
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NGS Testing Necessary for Treatment of Lung Adenocarcinoma
September 17th 2019Timothy F. Burns, MD, PhD, discusses the necessary role of next-generation sequencing testing in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. In order to incorporate this into clinical practice, there is still a lot more work to be done, Burns says. Around 20% to 25% of patients with adenocarcinoma have targetable alterations.
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RET Inhibitor Demonstrates High Response Rate in RET+ NSCLC, Companion Diagnostic in the Works
September 10th 2019Treatment with selpercatinib induced responses in 68% of patients with <em>RET </em>fusion–positive non–small cell lung cancer, according to findings from the phase I/II LIBRETTO-001 trial.
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Molecular Testing Benefits Patients as Targeted Therapies Continue to Evolve for Metastatic NSCLC
September 7th 2019In a recent analysis published in <em>JAMA</em>, data were evaluated from a collection of clinical trials and analyzed for important takeaways in the testing and treatment of patients with non–small cell lung cancer. The authors stress the importance of molecular testing in patients with NSCLC as more targeted therapies become available. <br />
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In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology,</em> Carol Mangione, MD, MSPH, a co-author on the USPSTF Recommendation Statement, gave insight into the specifics of the recommendations and how the Task Force hopes these suggestions will impact patient outcomes.<br />
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Precision Medicine Trials and Molecular Testing Guidelines Expand to Reach More Patients
August 21st 2019During the <em>20th Annual </em>International Lung Cancer Congress, <em>Targeted Oncology</em> spoke with another Lung-MAP investigator, Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, about the status and importance of the trial and new recommendations for molecular testing and liquid biopsies working their way into practice in the lung cancer field.
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FDA Approves Entrectinib for ROS1+ NSCLC and NTRK+ Solid Tumors
August 16th 2019The FDA has approved entrectinib for the treatment of adult patients with <em>ROS1</em>-positive metastatic non–small cell lung cancer. An accelerated approval was also granted to entrectinib for the treatment of adult and adolescent patients with solid tumors harboring an <em>NTRK </em>gene fusion and who have no alternative, effective therapies available.
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Molecular Subtypes of Merkel Cell Carcinoma Identified in Large Genomic Study
August 14th 2019In the largest genomic study of Merkel cell carcinoma tumors to date, investigators identified 2 distinct molecular subgroups, an ultraviolet light–driven subtype and a viral-driven subtype, which matched with tumor mutational burden classifications.
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Expert Highlights Importance of Molecular Testing in Patients With Lung Cancer
August 14th 2019Fred R. Hirsch, MD, PhD, shares a message with oncologists regarding molecular testing in patients with lung cancer. He says the most important message is that molecular characterization of the patient’s tumor must be done in order to best treat the patient.
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Researchers at Sarah Cannon Show Increase in NGS Utilization in Community Practice
August 6th 2019Next-generation sequencing has increasingly become more valuable to physicians treating cancer at academic medical centers, but these tests also need to be incorporated more into community oncology practices. A recent study, presented at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, demonstrated that the use of these tests has increased in the community setting as the technology, and the use and approval of matched therapies, continues to develop.
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International Consortium Defines Guidelines for Conducting Neoadjuvant Trials in Melanoma
July 26th 2019In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Rodabe N. Amaria, MD, discussed the guidelines and recommendations outlined by the INMC. She also highlighted the importance of genomic testing in the neoadjuvant setting of melanoma.
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Barriers to Interpreting Results in Molecular Profiling Exist Among Oncologists
July 18th 2019In a data set of 292 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.
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Delivering Precise Immunotherapy With NGS in NSCLC
July 17th 2019Charu Aggarwal, MD, MPH, the Leslye M. Heisler Assistant Professor for Lung Cancer Excellence at Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and other researchers conducted a prospective study using next-generation sequencing as a biomarker to predict response and progression-free survival rates in patients with non–small cell lung cancer receiving pembrolizumab monotherapy. The data were presented during the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting.
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Expert Discusses Benefits of Identifying Mutations in CML with NGS Testing
July 15th 2019In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Susan Branford, PhD discussed the current role of NGS testing in hematologic malignancies. Following her presentation at the 2019 EHA Congress, she addressed how NGS can be incorporated more into the community practice and what challenges must be overcome in order to make this happen.
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GEOMETRY Study Confirms Importance of Testing for METex14 Alterations in Advanced NSCLC
July 12th 2019Jurgen Wolf, MD, discusses the importance of broad genomic testing to identify alterations in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). By identifying molecular alterations and driver mutations early on, patients can receive matched targeted therapies at a time in the course of disease when the treatments would have the greatest impact.
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Clinical Findings Identify Associations Between Genomic Correlates and Outcomes in Metastatic CRPC
July 12th 2019A study aimed at exploring genomic diversity and defining its associations with clinical outcomes in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer found that alterations in RB1 were a potent predictor of poor survival and that other common aberrations may serve as prognostic indicators of treatment response, according to recent work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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