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Skin Cancers
FDA Grants Pembrolizumab Priority Review for TMB-High Tumors
April 07, 2020
The FDA has accepted and granted a priority review to a supplemental Biologics License Application for pembrolizumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic solid tumors with tissue tumor mutational burden-high who have progressed following prior treatment and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options.
Rarity of Uveal Melanoma Challenges Clinical Trial Enrollment
April 04, 2020
In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Richard D. Carvajal, MD, discussed the challenges of conducting clinical trials for the treatment of patients with uveal melanoma, as well as the excitement surrounding 2 potential therapies in this space.
Chemotherapy Toxicity Correlates With Nutritional Factors in Solid Tumors
March 30, 2020
An association was found between a lower risk of grade 3 or higher chemotherapy toxicity with higher body mass indexes and normal albumin, a protein made in the liver, levels in older adult patients with solid tumors, according to an analysis of a prospective, multicenter study.
COVID-19 Presents an Opportunity for Precision Medicine to Play Expanded Role in Care
March 30, 2020
A sudden surge in the cases of COVID-19 due to pandemic, along with efforts to contain it, has led to multiple challenges that no country has experienced in the last several decades. The global pandemic from COVID-19 poses a unique set of challenges not only for patients with cancer who need their treatment, but also for caregivers, oncologists, and the overall care team.
Targeted Therapies Contribute to Significant Decline in Melanoma-Related Mortality
March 24, 2020
The mortality rate for cutaneous melanoma was significantly reduced between 2013 to 2016 as a result of new targeted therapies for metastatic disease, according to a recent report in the American Journal of Public Health. It is the largest death decline ever recorded for skin cancer.
South Carolina Oncology Practice Continues Cautious Operation Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic
March 23, 2020
In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Kashyap Patel, MD, discussed the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of new precautions in his practice as the number of COVID-19 infected persons rises in the state.
Benefit of PARP Inhibitors May Extend to Certain Tumors With IDH Mutations
March 21, 2020
Patients harboring IDH1/2 muta­tions may receive benefit by the use of PARP inhibitors, with investigators initi­ating clinical trials in patients across multiple different tumor types to determine the efficacy of this strategy.
Pembrolizumab Monotherapy Elicits Responses in Patients With Advanced Rare Cancers
March 20, 2020
Treatment with pembrolizumab demonstrated antitumor activity along with tolerable toxicity in patients with 4 different rare and hard-to-treat malignancies, according to results from a phase II study led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center researchers and published in the Journal for ImmunoTherapy of Cancer.
Adjuvant Ipilimumab Dose Improves Survival Benefit for Resected High-Risk Melanoma
March 17, 2020
Adjuvant ipilimumab at a dose of 3 mg/kg demonstrated a survival benefit in patients with resected high-risk melanoma compared with high-dose interferon alfa-2b, according to the findings for a phase III E1609 clinical trial from the North American Intergroup.
How Physicians Can Detect ctDNA in Melanoma
March 17, 2020
David Polsky, MD, PhD, discusses methods to identify circulating tumor DNA in patients with melanoma.