SKIN CANCERS

Cemiplimab has been approved by the European Commission for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic or locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma who are not candidates for curative surgery or curative radiation.

Significant activity was observed when ibrutinib was administered concurrently with CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy compared with separately in patients with high-risk relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia who had progressed on or were intolerant of ibrutinib. Data presented at the 15th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma show a high response rate with this concurrent treatment. 

The phase III IMspire170 trial failed to meet its primary endpoint according to topline results from the study. The combination of atezolizumab and cobimetinib did not improve progression-free survival compared with pembrolizumab in patients with previously untreated<em> BRAF&nbsp;</em>V600 wild-type melanoma.

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.

The FDA recently released 5 new draft guidance documents that promote broader patient eligibility for cancer clinical trials.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.

A 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 &ge;10% in the overall catchment, an established clinical trial infrastructure, and a formal community outreach program, the investigators identified 8 cancer centers for participation.

In 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.

<em>Targeted Oncology</em>&nbsp;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&#39;s presentation across the fields of lung cancer, breast cancer, GI cancers, genitourinary cancers, melanoma, and multiple myeloma.

Recurrent Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Neoadjuvant&nbsp;talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC) led to a significant improvement in the 1-year recurrence-free survival rate in patients with resectable advanced melanoma compared with surgery alone, according to a randomized trial presented at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting.

The investigational PD-1 inhibitor spartalizumab demonstrated a high rate of complete responses in combination with&nbsp;dabrafenib and trametinib in&nbsp;patients with previously untreated advanced&nbsp;<em>BRAF&nbsp;</em>V600&ndash;mutant melanoma. Patients pooled from 2 parts of the 3-part COMBI-i study demonstrated a CR rate of more than 40%.

Keith T. Flaherty, MD, director, Termeer Center for Targeted Therapy, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, shares updated overall survival data from the phase III COLUMBUS trial examining encorafenib plus binimetinib versus vemurafenib or encorafenib in patients with BRAF V600-mutant melanoma.

Metastatic Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Cemiplimab demonstrated substantial antitumor activity and induced durable responses in patients with locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma who were enrolled in the pivotal EMPOWER-CSCC-1 phase II study, and these results were similar to previously reported data in patients with metastatic CSCC enrolled in the same study.

Updated data from the phase III EORTC 18071 study showed that patients with&nbsp;surgically resected high-risk, stage III melanoma experienced&nbsp;a 25% reduction in the risk of recurrence or death with adjuvant ipilimumab compared with placebo.

According to the latest Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, cancer death rates have declined in men, women, and children across all cancer types, and have continued to decline between 1999 and 2016. In a special section of this year&rsquo;s report, however, data show that both cancer incidence and death rates were higher in women aged 20 to 49 compared to male counterparts.