The Targeted Pulse: Catch Up on AUA, AACR, and More

KEYNOTE-689 Trial of Pembrolizumab Shows Promising EFS in LA-HNSCC

Ravindra Uppaluri, MD, PhD, chief of head and neck surgery at the Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center, and chief of the otolaryngology group at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, discusses the findings from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-689 (NCT03765918) trial of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with newly diagnosed, resectable, locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (LA-HNSCC).

Data presented at the 2025 AACR Annual Meeting showed that for the primary end point of the study, EFS, rates were significantly higher in the pembrolizumab arm at 51.8 months vs 30.4 months in the control group. Secondary end points of the study included pathological response and overall survival, with the latter showing no significant difference.

Check out the interview with Dr. Uppaluri here.

Bladder Cancer Takes Center Stage With Breakthrough Advancements at AUA 2025

The American Urological Association (AUA) 2025 Annual Meeting took place last week, and for oncologists specializing in bladder cancer, several key presentations offered compelling insights into potential shifts in treatment paradigms. Among the most eagerly awaited updates were findings from pivotal studies addressing both Bacillus Calmette Guérin (BCG)-naive and BCG-unresponsive high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC).

Watch the full video here.

Novel CAR T Therapy Earns FDA Breakthrough Status for Incurable Pediatric Brain Tumor

BCB-276, a B7-H3-targeting CAR T-cell therapy, has been granted FDA breakthrough therapy designation for the treatment of pediatric diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG).

DIPG primarily affects pediatric patients between the ages of 5 and 10, with about 300 cases diagnosed per year. The current standard-of-care therapy for DIPG is palliative focal radiation, which has a median overall survival of 11 months from diagnosis. CAR T-cell therapies like BCB-276 can be administered directly into the tumor bed via a catheter to the cerebrospinal fluid. Additionally, BCB-276 keeps the blood-brain barrier intact and minimizes any on-target, off-tumor toxicities.

Read the whole story here.

Assessing Risk for JAK Inhibitor Selection in Myelofibrosis

Experts explore how assessing individual risk factors is crucial in selecting the appropriate JAK inhibitor for patients with myelofibrosis with moderator Aaron T. Gerds, MD, assistant professor of medicine at Cleveland Clinic.

See what experts have to say here.

Ropeginterferon Alfa Shows Disease-Modifying Potential in Polycythemia Vera

Douglas A. Tremblay, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, New York, discusses the data showing disease-modifying potential of ropeginterferon alfa-2b-njft (Besremi) in patients with polycythemia vera.

Based on the phase 3, open-label, randomized clinical trial PROUD-PV and its phase 3b extension trial CONTINUATION-PV (NCT01949805, NCT02218047), ropeginterferon demonstrated reduction in JAK2 allele burden, which is a surrogate for reduction of thrombosis and disease progression over the long term. Rates of clinical events were low during the study period, requiring longer-term follow-up to show differences in progression rates.

Hear more from Dr. Tremblay here.

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