Treatment Options

FDA Approves Nivolumab for Certain Patients With Previously Treated Small Cell Lung Cancer Bookmark

Excerpt from The ASCO Post:

“Today, nivolumab (Opdivo) received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) whose cancer has progressed after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one other line of therapy. Approval for this indication has been granted under accelerated approval based on overall response rate and duration of response.

“This approval for nivolumab had been granted Priority Review from the FDA. It was based on data from the SCLC cohort of the ongoing phase I/II CheckMate-032 study evaluating nivolumab monotherapy in patients who experienced disease progression after platinum-based chemotherapy.”

Go to full article published by The ASCO Post on Aug 17, 2018.

If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

FDA Approves Pembrolizumab in Combination With Chemotherapy for First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Nonsquamous NSCLC Bookmark

Excerpt from The ASCO Post:

“Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with pemetrexed (Alimta) and platinum as first-line treatment of patients with metastatic, nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations.

“Pembrolizumab was previously granted accelerated approval for this indication in May 2017 based on improvements in overall response rate and progression-free survival for patients randomized to pembrolizumab administered with pemetrexed and carboplatin as compared with pemetrexed and carboplatin alone in the KEYNOTE-021 study.”

Go to full article published by The ASCO Post on Aug 20, 2018.

If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

Small Benefit Seen in Adding Radiation to DCIS Plan for Breast Cancer Bookmark

Excerpt from AJMC:

“Patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) are often treated with radiation after lumpectomy, although it has remained unclear whether this can reduce the risk of dying from this noninvasive form of breast cancer. A new study published Friday said that the combination of the 2 treatments was associated with a small benefit in reduced risk of breast cancer death compared with lumpectomy or mastectomy alone.”

Go to full article published by AJMC on Aug 10, 2018.

If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

FDA Grants Priority Review to Keytruda Plus Chemotherapy for Lung Cancer Subtype Bookmark

Excerpt from Healio:

“The FDA granted priority review designation to a supplemental biologics license application that seeks approval of pembrolizumab for use in combination with chemotherapy as first-line treatment of metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer regardless of PD-L1 expression.

“The agency set a target action date of Oct. 30.”

Go to full article published by Healio on July 2, 2018.

If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

Deadly Subtype Makes Up 17% of Metastatic Prostate Cancers Bookmark

Excerpt from Healio:

“Treatment-emergent small cell neuroendocrine prostate cancer, a particularly deadly subtype of the disease, occurs in nearly one-fifth of all cases of metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer, study data showed.

“Researchers suggested that the subtype should be treated with novel targeted therapies that are currently in the development or testing phase.”

Go to full article published by Healio on July 9, 2018.

If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

High Marks for HIFU in Early Prostate Cancer Bookmark

Excerpt from MedPage Today:

“Men with newly diagnosed, nonmetastatic prostate cancer had a 5-year failure-free survival (FFS) of 88% when treated with focal high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy, results of a multicenter European clinical experience showed.

“The 625-patient cohort had a 5-year overall survival of 99%, and none of the patients died of prostate cancer during a median follow-up of 56 months. In a subgroup of men who submitted questionnaires on patient-reported outcomes, 98% said they did not require absorbent pads for urinary incontinence.”

Go to full article published by MedPage Today on July 10, 2018.

If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

Steroids Lower Survival Benefits Associated with Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Lung Cancer Bookmark

Excerpt from Healio:

“The use of steroids at baseline was associated with inferior survival outcomes in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who were starting either PD-1 or PD-L1 blockade therapy, according to retrospective data presented at ASCO Annual Meeting.

” ‘Treatment with PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors is now standard therapy for nearly all patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer,’ Kathryn C. Arbour, MD, a fellow at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said during her presentation. ‘The potential impact of steroids in patients with PD-1 or PD-L1 blockade has been an open question. Steroids are frequently used as a supportive medication in cancer care and can provide rapid relief of numerous cancer-related symptoms, including dyspnea, anorexia, pain, fatigue and symptoms associated with brain metastases. However … [physicians] routinely recognize that there can be substantial toxicities associated with long-term steroid use.’ ”

Go to full article published by Healio on July 10, 2018.

If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

FDA Approves Enzalutamide for Nonmetastatic CRPC Bookmark

Excerpt from OncLive:

“The FDA has approved enzalutamide (Xtandi) for the treatment of patients with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), according to Pfizer and Astellas, the codevelopers of the antiandrogen agent.

“The approval is based on the phase III PROSPER trial, in which the combination of enzalutamide (Xtandi) and androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) reduced the risk of metastases or death by 71% compared with ADT alone for patients with nonmetastatic CRPC. In the double-blind study, the median metastasis-free survival (MFS) was 36.6 months with enzalutamide plus ADT versus 14.7 months with ADT alone (HR, 0.29; 95% CI, 0.24-0.35; P <.0001).”

Go to full article published by OncLive on July 13, 2018.

If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

Immune-Based Therapy May Be Tool Against Melanoma in the Brain Bookmark

Excerpt from UPI:

“A type of therapy that harnesses the immune system is giving new hope to people battling a once hopeless cancer — melanoma that’s spread to the brain.

“New research involving more than 2,700 U.S. patients is confirming what specialists in the field have long known — that “checkpoint blockade” treatment can beat back these devastating tumors.”

Go to full article published by UPI on July 12, 2018.

If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.