Latest Conference Articles

As the breast cancer genome continues to be unraveled, a host of new targetable alterations outside of HER2 and the estrogen receptor are beginning to emerge, providing the exciting potential for development of new therapies.

Figuring out how a certain genetic result found through multigene testing might change not only the type of intervention but its timing is the chief challenge, according to Mark Robson, MD, in a presentation at the 2017 Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.

Advancements made in the field of molecular genetics for patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms may be increasingly incorporated into treatment decisions, according to a presentation by Ann Mullally, MD, during the 2017 SOHO Annual Meeting.

Initial results from a phase III trial indicated that patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia treated with bosutinib (Bosulif) achieved response faster than patients treated with imatinib (Gleevec).

Judith Paice, PhD, RN, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the current pain management for patients with breast cancer.

The treatment of myelofibrosis has changed significantly in the past few years, largely due to the approval of ruxolitinib (Jakafi). Although it provides durable improvements, the JAK inhibitor may be even more effective in combination—as inhibition of JAK-STAT signaling has not shown to be curative.

Efforts to improve outcomes in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia should follow leads provided by next-generation sequencing and appropriate use of minimal residual disease criteria, a pediatric hematologist said at the 2017 Society of Hematology Oncology Annual Meeting in Houston.

Andrew Seidman, MD, discusses the Watson for Oncology application and the potential for Watson to be a valuable partner for oncologists during the 19^th Annual Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women around the world, and those in low- and middle-income countries experience the most deaths from the disease, representing a major need for improvement with significant challenges. 

Benjamin O. Anderson, MD, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, discusses the current global unmet need for the treatment of patients with breast cancer.

Judith A. Paice, PhD, RN, discusses the best way to approach pain management in breast cancer.

Robert Orlowski, MD, PhD, Florence Maude Thomas Cancer Research professor and chair, ad interim, Department of Lymphoma & Myeloma at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses remaining questions with multiple myeloma treatment.

Updated findings from the registration trial of the first FDA-approved CAR T-cell therapy showed that 83% of patients with acute lymphoblastic lymphoma achieved complete remission with complete or incomplete hematologic recovery, as reported at the 2017 Society of Hematologic Oncology Annual Meeting.<br /> &nbsp;

Guillermo Garcia-Manero, MD, discusses&nbsp;the potential impact of harnessing immunotherapeutics in MDS.

After a median follow-up of 2.8 years, the 3-year relapse-free survival rate in patients with <em>BRAF</em>-mutant stage III melanoma&nbsp;who were treated with adjuvant dabrafenib and trametinib was 58% compared with 39% for placebo,&nbsp;according to findings&nbsp;from the phase III COMBI-AD study.

There was no overall survival improvement seen by expanding surveillance from chest x-ray to follow-up with PET-CT scan after surgery for patients with&nbsp;early-stage non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, according to data reported during the 2017 ESMO Congress.

According to findings presented at the 2017 ESMO Congress,&nbsp;nab-paclitaxel monotherapy demonstrated efficacy in patients with pretreated advanced nonsquamous&nbsp;non&ndash;small cell lung cancer that is not improved by the addition of CC-486.&nbsp;

In patients with previously treated advanced non-small cell lung cancer,&nbsp;^&nbsp;superior progression-free survival was induced with continuous treatment with nivolumab until disease progression compared with a 1-year fixed duration treatment.

Median overall survival findings from treatment with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) were significantly longer compared with chemotherapy in patients with recurrent, advanced urothelial carcinoma, according to mature results from the phase III KEYNOTE-045 study.&nbsp;

Joshua Bauml, MD, assistant professor, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, discusses the randomized phase III FLAURA study of frontline osimertinib (Tagrisso) in patients with EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer.

When abemaciclib was added to a non-steroidal aromatase inhibitor in treatment-naive patients with HER2-negative, HR-positive advanced breast cancer, the combination reduced the risk of progression of disease or death by 46% compared with either anastrozole or letrozole alone, according to findings from the phase III MONARCH 3 trial.

Andrea Apolo, MD, medical oncologist at the National Cancer Institute and chief of the bladder cancer section of the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, discusses the recent updates presented at the 2017 ESMO Annual Congress regarding avelumab (Bavencio) monotherapy for patients with urothelial carcinoma.&nbsp;

The combination of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab (Avastin) demonstrated greater progression-free survival in patients with untreated metatatic renal cell carcinoma compared with standard sunitinib (Sutent), according to findings presented at the 2017 ESMO Congress held in Madrid, Spain.&nbsp;

Celeste Lebb&eacute;, MD, from the H&ocirc;pital Saint Louis, in Paris, France, discusses avelumab treatment in chemotherapy-naive patients with distant metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma during the 2017 ESMO Annual Congress.

In findings reported at the 2017 ESMO Annual congress in Madrid, a majority of patients with advanced melanoma responded to the combination of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and the investigational IDO1 inhibitor epacadostat.

In patients with metastatic triple negative breast cancer, turning a nonimmunogenic (&ldquo;cold&rdquo;) tumor into an immunogenic (&ldquo;hot&rdquo;) tumor appears to be feasible, thereby improving sensitivity to immune therapy with nivolumab.

According to a retrospective analysis of a randomized study presented at the 2017 ESMO Congress, a liquid biopsy&nbsp;that measures tumor mutational burden showed promise for predicting benefit in patients with non&ndash;small cell lung cancer treated with a checkpoint inhibitor.&nbsp;

For patients with <em>BRAF</em>-mutant advanced melanoma, the&nbsp;BRAF inhibitor encorafenib combined with the MEK inhibitor binimetinib demonstrated significant improvements in progression-free survival (PFS) compared with single-agent vemurafenib or encorafenib, according to updated findings from the phase III COLUMBUS trial presented at the 2017 ESMO Congress.

Treatment with the PD-L1 inhibitor durvalumab (Imfinzi) improved median PFS by 11.2 months compared with placebo for patients with locally advanced, unresectable stage III non&ndash;small cell lung cancer who had not progressed following chemoradiotherapy, according to phase III results from the PACIFIC trial presented at the 2017 ESMO Congress.

In results from the phase III FLAURA study of frontline osimertinib (Tagrisso) in patients with <em>EGFR</em>-mutant non&ndash;small cell lung cancer, osimertinib demonstrated a progression-free survival &nbsp;rate of 18.9 months (95% CI, 12.5-21.4), which was significantly improved over standard therapy.&nbsp;