The Week of June 24 in Review

FDA Approves Labeling Update for Dasatinib

TweetThe FDA approved an update to the product labeling for dasatinib (Sprycel), Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Otsuka America Pharmaceutical announced on June 20.

Dr. Mark Gilbert Discusses Frontline Bevacizumab in Glioblastoma

Mark R. Gilbert, MD, a professor of neuro-oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, reviews the trial design and findings from the RTOG 0825 phase III study that evaluated bevacizumab in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma.

Sorafenib Doubles PFS in DTC

Interim findings from a randomized, global, phase III study presented at ASCO 2013 indicate that sorafenib (Nexavar) nearly doubled progression-free survival (PFS) for patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) resistant to standard radioactive iodine therapy (RAI).

Dr. Shaw on Crizotinib Versus Chemotherapy in ALK-Positive NSCLC

Alice T. Shaw, MD, PhD, an attending physician in the Center for Thoracic Cancers at Massachusetts General Hospital, describes a trial comparing crizotinib and chemotherapy in patients with advanced ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer.

Novel Proteasome Inhibitors for Multiple Myeloma

The recent approval of the second-generation proteasome inhibitor carfilzomib by the FDA comes nine years after the initial approval of bortezomib, the first-in-class drug of its type. Not only does carfilzomib demonstrate activity in a relapsed and refractory setting, it has a superior toxicity profile as well.

Dr. Sartor on Recent Progress on the Molecular Front for the Treatment of Prostate Cancer

A. Oliver Sartor, MD, Director of the Tulane Cancer Center, discusses the recent progress for the treatment of prostate cancer. At the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Meeting, Sartor says, there was not much clinical progress in prostate cancer presented, as there was no new positive phase III data.

Genomic Alterations Characterized in HNSCC

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) have different patterns of genetic alterations, some of which may be actionable or druggable, according to a study by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) that was presented at the AACR 2013 annual meeting.

Dr. Andreas du Bois Reviews Maintenance Pazopanib in Ovarian Cancer

Andreas du Bois, MD, a professor of gynecologic oncology at Kliniken Essen Mitte in Essen, Germany, discusses the background, rationale, and results for the exploration of maintenance pazopanib as a treatment for patients with advanced ovarian cancer.

High Response Rates to Ibrutinib Seen in CLL, MCL

Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) showed high response rates to therapy with ibrutinib.

Dr. Vogelzang Discusses Treatment With Radium-223 and Chemotherapy for Prostate Cancer

Nicholas J. Vogelzang, MD, member of the US Oncology Network, site research leader for Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada, professor of medicine at the University of Nevada School of Medicine, gives an overview of combining radium-223 with other agents for the treatment of prostate cancer.

ARCHER-1050: A Study of Dacomitinib vs Gefitinib in First-Line Treatment of Advanced NSCLC

The second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) dacomitinib, designed to treat non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), is being evaluated in an international phase III clinical trial that will measure the drug’s effectiveness as a first-line treatment in a genetic subset of patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease.

Dr. Mario Sznol Reviews the Efficacy of Nivolumab in Advanced Melanoma

Mario Sznol, MD, a professor of medical oncology at the Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Connecticut, discusses the long-term follow-up results from a phase I trial investigating the anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody nivolumab.