December 2, 2020

Earlier in the year, Javier Cortes, MD, PhD, presented progression-free survival results from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-355 clinical trial, which showed the importance of the addition of taxanes to a platinum-based regimen in the triple-negative breast cancer space.

Despite the success of CDK4/6 inhibitors in patients with advanced hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, acquired resistance develops in many. For these patients, research indicates that treatment sequencing may soon include agents that act on implicated pathways of resistance.

Expanding beyond the chronic lymphocytic leukemia/ small lymphocytic lymphoma space, the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax garnered attention in 2020 for positive reports from phase 3 clinical trials exploring its use in acute myeloid leukemia and multiple myeloma.

After decades of dormancy, the therapeutic landscape of locally advanced/metastatic urothelial cancer underwent a paradigm shift—with multiple regulatory approvals of immune checkpoint inhibitors as second-line treatment—leading to changes in guideline-recommended management of patients in this setting.

Significant progress was made this year toward effectively hitting KRAS-driven tumors, leading to a great deal of excitement in the field.

FDA approvals of novel agents for molecularly defined subtypes of non–small cell lung cancer are poised to change both patient outcomes as well as pretreatment testing requirements for those harboring these tumors.

Response from oncologists and other clinicians who participated in a series of online educational seminars and Twitter polls showed that the conversion of follow-up visits to telemedicine for patients with lung cancer continues to expand, mainly due to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although the use of TMB as a biomarker has been established in certain tumors, such as non–small cell lung cancer, the pan-cancer approval came as a surprise to some in the oncology community.

Multiple chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies for the treatment of lymphomas and multiple myeloma have moved forward in the regulatory process, with 1 new FDA approval in 2020 and others anticipated in the near future.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, visits to doctor’s offices and infusion centers dramatically declined in an attempt to reduce patient exposure to the virus, which led to delays in the delivery of certain therapies in the oncology setting.

As of early December 2020, nearly 70 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 1.4 million deaths from the disease have been reported worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.