Oncology

A poster presented at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition assessed disease-related health care utilization and costs among patients with multiple myeloma.

In a session at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition, held December 7-10 in Orlando, Florida, experts presented on the evolution of CLL therapy, how to make treatment decisions, and what’s to come in the future based on ongoing studies.

Jennifer Woyach, MD, associate professor at The Ohio State University, discusses current clinical trials going on in the chronic lymphocytic leukemia space that are most likely to impact the treatment landscape.

Jennifer Woyach, MD, associate professor at The Ohio State University, explains how patient-specific factors can help determine treatment decisions in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

A novel, off-the-shelf bispecific antibody could serve as a new treatment option for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who don’t respond to CAR T-cell therapy.

The analysis evaluated emerging mutations in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia receiving gilteritinib therapy in the phase 3 ADMIRAL study.

Patients receiving novel oral therapeutics often have a high dependence on financial assistance; specialty pharmacies may help facilitate access to these therapies.

Top articles of the week from Specialty Pharmacy Times.

A new method of targeted radiation therapy sends alpha-emitting particles directly to stroma cells in pancreatic cancer tissue.

Men with breast cancer had higher mortality than women regardless of cancer type, treatment, and access to care.

Pharmacy Times® will be on site at the 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Psychological factors such as anxiety and depression can directly influence a patient’s experience with cancer-related pain.

Specialty Pharmacy Times will be on-site in San Antonio, TX, for the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, taking place December 10 to 14, 2019.

It is currently uncertain to what extent interleukin inhibitors may increase the risk of serious infections and cancer in patients being treated for rheumatic diseases.

Trastuzumab-dkst (Ogivri, Mylan, Biocon), a biosimilar to trastuzumab (Herceptin, Genentech Inc.), has been launched in the US, according to an announcement from Mylan N.V. and Biocon Ltd. It is the first biosimilar approved by the FDA and recommended by the FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee.

Under a new international collaboration, the FDA has granted supplemental approval to acalabrutinib (Calquence, AstraZeneca) for the treatment of adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic leukemia.

Durvalumab (Imfinzi, AstraZeneca) and tremelimumab plus chemotherapy improved progression-free survival in first-line stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer.

A recent study published in CANCER indicates that for patients with both HIV and cancer, implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) improved insurance coverage, both in states that expanded Medicaid coverage and in states that did not.1

Weight loss surgery found to cut the overall risk of developing cancers linked to obesity by 20%.

FDA breakthrough designation is based on data for nivolumab plus ipilimumab in a study evaluating the immuno-oncology combination in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma previously treated with sorafenib.

Rituximab-abbs (Truxima, Teva and Celltrion), has been launched in the United States with a full oncology label for non-Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Pegfilgrastim-bmez (Ziextenzo, Sandoz), a biosimilar to pegfilgrastim (Neulasta), is indicated to decrease the incidence of febrile neutropenia, a serious adverse effect of chemotherapy.

The largest ever trial of postoperative radiotherapy in prostate cancer shows men may be spared the procedure after surgery.

Top news of the day from across the health care landscape

Men treated with stereotactic ablative radiotherapy found to live significantly longer without any detectable disease progression compared with patients who received no additional treatment.

A study assessing melanoma cell variability indicates that identifying differences in cell states can be leveraged to improve patient outcomes.

Multiple health care organizations, including The American Hospital Association (AHA), the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP), and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), have shown their full support for the MEDS Act.

This weekly video program provides our readers with an in-depth review of the latest news, product approvals, FDA rulings, and more. Our Week in Review is a can't miss for the busy pharmacy professional.

Psoriasis may increase the risk of cancer incidence and cancer-related mortality in affected individuals.

Genentech has announced the results of a Phase III study which showed that atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in combination with bevacizumab (Avastin) increased overall survival and progression-free survival in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).