Oncology

New potential medications may continue to expand the role of targeted agents.

Patients with microsatellite stable (MSS) colorectal cancer, which represents 95% of all metastatic colorectal cancer cases, are more responsive to checkpoint blockade immunotherapy if the patient’s tumors have not spread to the liver.

If approved, pembrolizumab would be the first adjuvant immunotherapy option for this patient population with renal cell carcinoma.

The safety of atezolizumab in the Impower010 trial was consistent with its known safety profile and no new safety signals were identified.

Current guideline recommendations include various combinations of targeted therapy with immunotherapy.

The Independent Data Monitoring Committee concluded that DESTINY-Breast03 met the primary endpoint of progression-free survival and showed a highly statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement for patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive, unresectable and/or metastatic breast cancer previously treated with trastuzumab and a taxane.

A number of prescription medications are indicated for the treatment of this aggressive disease.

Polatuzumab vedotin regimen is the first in 2 decades to show such significant improvements.

The investigators found that the combination of cemiplimab-rwlc and chemotherapy resulted in a substantial improvement in OS compared to chemotherapy alone for patients with metastatic or locally advanced disease and tumors with either squamous or non-squamous histology and across all programmed death-ligand 1 expression levels.

Asparaginase erwinia chrysanthemi (recombinant)-rywn) (Rylaze) is approved for use as a component of a chemotherapy regimen for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma

BCC is the most common form of skin cancer and is typically treated with surgical excision. However, excision can be a costly and burdensome treatment, especially for patients with multiple BCC lesions, according to the study.

Plinabulin is a selective immunomodulating microtubule-binding agent (SIMBA), which is an antigen presenting cell (APC) inducer.

According to the investigators, the findings demonstrate that a 5-day regimen of stereotactic body radiotherapy, a form of external beam radiation therapy that uses a higher dose of radiation, had a 4-year cure rate of 82%.

The FDA has previously granted Orphan Drug designation to nemvaleukin for the treatment of mucosal melanoma.

According to a press release from Roche, the FDA is reviewing the company’s Biologics License Application under the Real-Time Oncology Review pilot program, which aims to explore a more efficient review process to ensure safe and effective treatments are available to patients as early as possible.

This month, I thought it would be beneficial to share a handful of examples from among the many Next Generation Pharmacist-nominated candidates.

MDM2 inhibitors and BET inhibitors, which show limited efficacy against acute myeloid leukemia (AML) as monotherapies, are potent against AML when used in combination, according to a study published in Nature Communications.

The OVATION 2 study combines GEN-1 with standard-of-care neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) in patients newly diagnosed with stage 3 and 4 ovarian cancer.

In a study, median OS times for patients reporting such fatigue were approximately 26% to 45% shorter than those for patients without baseline fatigue.

Pharmacy Times interviewed Craig Freyer, PharmD, BCOP, and Andrew Lin, PharmD, BCOP, to discuss how to manage the logistical challenges that arise during the administration of CAR T therapy in inpatient and outpatient settings for patients with multiple myeloma.

The American Cancer Society estimates that oncologists will diagnose about 34,920 new cases of multiple myeloma in 2021 with about 12,410 deaths expected to occur.

As treatments for lung cancer move forward and patient care services continue to expand, the role of the pharmacist in oncology is critical.

Sarah Cannon and Pontchartrain Cancer Center will join the esteemed program.

Investigators estimated that globally, 4.1% of all new cancer diagnoses in 2020 were attributable to alcohol consumption.

A decrease in cancer-associated macrophage-like cells was associated with an approximately 300% increase in mean progression-free survival.

Chad Hatfield, PharmD, MHA, BCPS, chief pharmacy officer at UC Davis Medical Center, discusses how data points used in oncology pharmacy practice and how it is collected.

The open label trial was available to patients 18 years of age and older with relapsed or refractory DLBCL after 2 or more lines of treatment.

AQP-modulating agent discovery has proved challenging, but many powerful AQP3 permeating molecules have been identified.

Pembrolizumab demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in OS for patients whose tumors expressed PD-L1 with a combined positive score ≥10 compared to chemotherapy alone, according to the study.

The combination of pembrolizumab and chemotherapy marks the first immunotherapy regimen approved for patients with high-risk early-stage triple-negative breast cancer.