NCCN 2019 Annual Conference Includes Focus on Patient Experience with Innovative Therapies, Plus Updates on Biomarkers, Biosimilars, and the Latest Research on Cancer Care Bookmark

Excerpt:

“More than 1,500 cancer care professionals are meeting in Orlando, Florida, March 21-23, for the NCCN 2019 Annual Conference, presented by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network^® (NCCN^®)—an alliance of 28 leading cancer centers. The conference offers more than 25 sessions presenting the latest treatment recommendations for lung, breast, prostate, colon, and other cancers, including new and emerging therapies. Other key topics include coordination of care, pain management during an opioid crisis, biosimilars, cancer-associated distress, biomarkers, genetic testing, and appropriate transition to end-of-life care. The keynote session highlights the benefits and challenges of treatment with new and innovative therapies (e.g. CAR T-cell) from the perspective of the patient and the clinicians caring for them.”

Go to full article published by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network on Mar 4, 2019.

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Structural and Clinical Barriers Keep 3 of 4 Cancer Patients from Participating in Trials Bookmark

Excerpt:

“A new meta-analysis led by Dr. Joseph Unger of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has revealed that structural and clinical barriers prevent more than 3 out of 4 cancer patients from participating in clinical trials.

“The study is part of an ongoing effort to understand why patient participation is so low in cancer clinical trials. Unger, a health services researcher and biostatistician who focuses on disparities in cancer research, published his findings today in JNCI, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.”

Go to full article published by Fred Hutch News Service on Feb 19, 2019.

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Experimental Drug Helps Women With Deadly Type of Breast Cancer Bookmark

Excerpt:

“An experimental drug has shown promise in extending the lives of women suffering from a particularly aggressive and deadly type of breast cancer, according to the results of a phase 2 trial.

“Right now, the standard treatment of chemotherapy for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer has not been very effective. That might change with the new drug, called sacituzumab govitecan, which combines an antibody with a chemotherapy drug to better target cancer cells.”

Go to full article published by U.S. News on Feb 20, 2019.

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Targeted Radiation Therapy Yields High Response Rates in Metastatic Prostate Cancer Bookmark

Excerpt:

“The targeted radiation therapy Lutetium-177 PSMA-617 produced high response rates among men with prostate-specific membrane antigen-positive metastatic, castration-resistant prostate cancer, according to results of a single-arm, phase 2 trial scheduled for presentation at Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

“The treatment also appeared well-tolerated among these men, whose disease had progressed after multiple standard therapies.”

Go to full article published by Healio on Feb 14, 2019.

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Researchers Tap Genomic Technology to Develop Personalized Treatments for Pediatric Glioma Bookmark

Excerpt:

“Researchers at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals are using next-generation genomic technology to develop targeted therapies for high-grade pediatric glioma.

“Sabine Mueller, MD, PhD, adjunct associate professor of neurology, pediatrics and neurosurgery at University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues aim to treat as many as 44 children and young adults with this disease.”

Go to full article published by Healio on Feb 3, 2019.

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Lung-MAP Precision Medicine Trial Expands Bookmark

Excerpt:

“The Lung Cancer Master Protocol (Lung-MAP), the first precision medicine trial in lung cancer supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is undergoing a major expansion to include patients with all non–small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs).

“The trial previously tested treatments for people with advanced-stage squamous cell lung cancer. Opening the trial to all types of advanced-stage NSCLCs means that thousands of new patients will be eligible to enroll.”

Go to full article published by The ASCO Post on Feb 1, 2019.

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Immune Cells Track Hard-To-Target Brain Tumours Bookmark

Excerpt:

“Instructing the immune system to recognize and kill tumours, an approach termed cancer immunotherapy, has transformed the clinical treatment of certain types of malignancy. Prominent among these therapies are immune-checkpoint inhibitors, which block the action of proteins that dampen immune-cell responses against tumours. For example, antibodies can be used to interfere with the inhibitory protein PD-1, which is present on T cells, a type of immune cell that attacks tumours. Immune-checkpoint inhibitors have been most successfully used to treat cancers, such as melanomas, that are well infiltrated by T cells and have a large number of genetic mutations. A subset of these mutations might generate neoantigens — altered protein sequences that are uniquely produced in cancer cells and are recognized as foreign by the immune system.”

Go to full article published by Nature on Dec 19, 2018.

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Yale Cancer Center Scientists Advise Caution in Immunotherapy Research Bookmark

Excerpt:

“In a new study by Yale Cancer Center, scientists suggest that as the number of clinical trials in cancer immunotherapy grows exponentially, some caution should be exercised as we continue to better understand the biology of these new therapeutic targets.  The findings are published today in the journal Cell.

“Researchers around the world have been racing to create therapies that unleash the power of our immune systems against cancer. The most successful of these immunotherapies, which target a molecular pathway known as PD-1/PD-L1, have brightened the landscape for many people suffering with lung cancer and other types of tumors.”

Go to full article published by Yale Cancer Center on Dec 20, 2018.

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ASCO and Friends of Cancer Research Applaud NCI’s Expansion of Clinical Trial Eligibility Criteria Bookmark

Excerpt:

“ASCO and Friends of Cancer Research (Friends) applaud the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) recent revision of its clinical trial protocol template to broaden eligibility criteria for cancer clinical trials. The protocol template was expanded to help increase the opportunity for participation in NCI-funded clinical trials for patients with certain health-care conditions, as well as to provide an opportunity for patients younger than age 18 to participate in adult clinical trials in certain circumstances.”

Go to full article published by The ASCO Post on Dec 11, 2018.

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