Emma Shtivelman, PhD Cancer Commons Chief Scientist

  •   Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    “New research by investigators at the University of California, San Francisco and the Children’s National Health System, has provided early evidence that liquid biopsy testing could help doctors monitor how well treatments are working in kids with diffuse midline gliomas.

    “Brain cancers present a challenge for longitudinal monitoring, because obtaining repeat biopsy samples is dangerous and difficult. But liquid biopsy techniques have now opened the possibility of tracking these and other tumors over time based on analysis of tumor genetic material that is shed into the blood or other body fluids.”

    Go to full article published by GenomeWeb on Oct 15, 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.

  •   Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    A new study from Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki and the Finnish Cancer Registry shows that survival after glioblastoma has improved since the millennium. The improvement in survival was, however, modest in elderly patients, raising concerns whether current treatment strategies are optimal for this patient group.

    “Glioblastoma is the most common brain , and one of the deadliest cancers known. Unfortunately, there is no cure for these rapidly progressing tumors.”

    Go to full article published by Medical Xpress on Oct 16, 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.

  •   Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    “Patients who underwent primary radical prostatectomy followed by radiotherapy for locally or regionally advanced prostate cancer had better survival outcomes than patients treated with radiotherapy plus androgen deprivation therapy, according to findings from a population-based, retrospective study published in Cancer.

    ” ‘There is a lot of debate about whether to remove the whole prostate and follow-up with radiation therapy or, as a second option, spare the prostate and treat it using radiation therapy plus hormone-blocking therapy,’ Grace Lu-Yao, PhD, associate director of population science at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health, said in a press release. ‘Our study suggests that removing the prostate followed by adjuvant radiotherapy is associated with greater OS in men with prostate cancer.’ ”

    Go to full article published by Healio on Oct 15, 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.

     

  •   Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    “On October 16, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration approved talazoparib (TALZENNA, Pfizer Inc.), a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor, for patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline BRCA-mutated (gBRCAm), HER2‑negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer. Patients must be selected for therapy based on an FDA-approved companion diagnostic for talazoparib.

    “Approval was based on EMBRACA (NCT01945775), an open‑label trial randomizing 431 patients (2:1) with gBRCAm HER2‑negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer to receive talazoparib (1 mg) or physician’s choice of chemotherapy (capecitabine, eribulin, gemcitabine, or vinorelbine). All patients were required to have a known deleterious or suspected deleterious gBRCA mutation and must have received no more than 3 prior cytotoxic chemotherapy regimens for locally advanced or metastatic disease. Patients were required to have received treatment with an anthracycline and/or a taxane (unless contraindicated) in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and/or metastatic treatment setting.”

    Go to full article published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Oct 16, 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.

  •   Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    “Adding apalutamide to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) does not appear to harm health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in men with nonmetastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), according to new research published in Lancet Oncology.

    “Previous research has showed that men in this patient population who received apalutamide had longer metastasis-free survival and a longer time to symptomatic progression compared with those who received placebo. This new study found that adding apalutamide still preserves HRQOL. Specifically, the group mean patient-reported outcome scores over time demonstrated HRQOL was maintained from baseline (initiation of apalutamide), and it was similar over time among men receiving apalutamide versus placebo.”

    Go to full article published by Cancer Network on Oct 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.

  •   Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    “New data this week has added evidence for the value of blood-based cancer testing in non-small cell lung cancer, demonstrating in a cohort of about 300 that comprehensive liquid biopsy — in this case Guardant Health’s Guardant360 test — can help identify targeted mutations in more patients than tissue sequencing.

    “The study also found that patients treated on the basis of blood-based test results respond to treatment similarly to those treated based on tissue test results.”

    Go to full article published by GenomeWeb on Oct 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.

  •   Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    “Hypofractionated external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) for early prostate cancer represents a reasonable alternative to standard treatment protocols involving lower doses of radiation administered over a longer period of time, according to a new clinical guideline.

    ” ‘Moderately hypofractionated’ EBRT regimens result in similar disease control and side effects as compared with conventional protocols, although the shortened regimens confer a small risk of more short-term gastrointestinal toxicity. Additionally, physicians should counsel patients about the limited data on oncologic outcomes beyond 5 years of follow-up, according to a panel representing the American Society for Radiation Oncology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and American Urological Association.”

    Go to full article published by MedPage Today on Oct 11, 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.

  •   Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    Individuals with an inherited form of skin cancer often have a poor prognosis. The type of immunotherapy that was awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is, however, particularly effective in this patient group, research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows. The study is published in the Journal of Medical Genetics.

    “Congenital mutations of the CDKN2A gene are the strongest known risk factors for inherited . Individuals with  who carry mutations in this gene also have , according to previous research.”

    Go to full article published by Medical Xpress on Oct 8, 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.

  •   Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt from MedPage Today:

    “Combination neoadjuvant immune checkpoint blockade therapy yielded promising outcomes in high-risk resectable melanoma, although toxicity was an issue, according to a phase II trial.

    “The combination of ipilimumab (Yervoy) and nivolumab (Opdivo) led to improved progression-free survival (PFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and overall survival (OS) versus neoadjuvant nivolumab monotherapy in 23 patients with high-risk resectable melanoma, reported Jennifer A. Wargo, MD, of MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues in Nature Medicine.”

    Go to full article published by MedPage Today on Oct 11, 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.

  •   Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt from MedPage Today:

    “A tumor necrosis-based gene expression signature (GS) successfully identified patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) responsive to neoadjuvant therapy with the novel targeted agent LCL161, according to researchers.

    “The international, randomized phase II trial of 207 patients with localized TNBC showed that of the 30.1% with GS-positive disease, a significantly higher pathologic complete response (pCR) was seen in those treated with paclitaxel plus the inhibitor of apoptosis antagonist LCL161 compared with those treated with paclitaxel alone (38.2% versus 17.2%).”

    Go to full article published by MedPage Today on Oct 5, 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.