News

Recent studies have demonstrated that somatic mutations of ATM denote greater response to radiation therapy and that gene patterns may help predict the timing of recurrence following radiation.

The American Medical Association Foundation announced a national fellowship program to promote best practices and shared outcomes for the LGBTQ community; the FDA issued guidances promoting development of gene therapy products; the CDC announces 110 possible cases of coronavirus in the United States.

The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) published a draft evidence report on crizanlizumab (Adakveo), voxelotor (Oxbryta), and L-glutamine (Endari) for sickle cell disease, as well as a draft scoping document on valoctocogene roxaparvovec, an investigational gene therapy, and emicizumab (Helimbra) for hemophilia.

Lloyd Damon, MD, discusses the evolution of the treatment paradigm in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The medical director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Clinic at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital shared his insight into the potential of using an SCN1A-targeted adeno-associated viral vector-based gene therapy in epilepsy.

Reviews of apixaban in active cancer, Medicare costs after CAR T-cell therapy, and the need for financial assistance for novel therapies.

The FDA has granted a priority review designation to a supplemental new drug application for olaparib (Lynparza) for the treatment of patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have deleterious or suspected deleterious or somatic homologous recombination repair gene mutations, and who have also progressed on prior therapy with a new hormonal agent.

A pair of interviews on investigational therapies whose sponsors reported updates at the 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition: UCART19 from Servier and a revamped anti-BCMA therapy ide-cel from bluebird bio.

The first-line combination of sintilimab injection plus pemetrexed and platinum-based therapy showed a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival compared with chemotherapy and placebo in patients with advanced or recurrent nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer who did not harbor EGFR or ALK abnormalities, according to an interim analysis of the phase III ORIENT-11 trial.

CAR T cells are a highly active field of investigation, with many companies at work on formulations they hope to bring to market, but these agents have limitations, particularly with metastasized solid tumors.

Ulka Vaishampayan, MD, discusses the historical management of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma and how advances with systemic therapy have impacted the sequencing of cytoreductive nephrectomy in the treatment paradigm.

Jonathan E. Brammer, MD, discusses the role of minimal residual disease and transplant in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, as well as the introduction of CAR T-cell therapy and other novel agents to the armamentarium.

The associate professor at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center explained the goals for the future of the CAR T-cell therapy data in patients with DLBCL.

Few immune-mediated adverse events were observed with frontline durvalumab plus platinum-based therapy and etoposide in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, and no treatment-emergent antidrug antibodies were elicited by the PD-L1 inhibitor, according to an analysis of the phase III CASPIAN trial reported at the 2019 ESMO Immuno-Oncology Congress.

The recommendations defined when and how radiation therapy should be used to treat patients with basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

Jean L. Koff, MD, MS, highlights exciting advances made in follicular lymphoma and the promise of CAR T-cell therapies in other lymphoma subtypes.

An application has been submitted to the FDA for selinexor for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma who have received at least 2 prior multiagent therapies and who are ineligible for stem cell transplantation, including CAR T-cell therapy.

Michael Wang, MD, discusses the ZUMA-2 trial and the potential impact of CAR T-cell therapy on the treatment paradigm in mantle cell lymphoma.

Induction therapy with R-CHOP followed by maintenance rituximab continued to show improvements in survival and responses compared with R-CHOP and interferon-alpha maintenance in older patients with mantle cell lymphoma.

Minimal residual disease has become an important investigational prognostic marker and risk stratification tool in acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The company presented updated phase 1 results for a revamped version of bb2121 that point to sustained responses for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Joseph Wynne, MD, discusses ongoing studies with blinatumomab and CAR T-cell therapy in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, as well as the importance of assessing minimal residual disease in this space.

Karl M. Kilgore, PhD, discusses how results of real-world analysis may impact the utilization of CAR T-cell therapy for older patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Recommendations defined when and how radiation therapy should be used to treat patients with basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

Bristol-Myers Squibb has submitted a biologics license application to the FDA seeking approval of the anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy lisocabtagene maraleucel for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma after at least 2 prior therapies.

The submission to the FDA for the investigational CAR T-cell therapy is based on data from the phase II ZUMA-II trial for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma.