Does Sequential vs Concurrent Treatment Change Outcomes in HER2+ Breast Cancer? Bookmark

Excerpt from Cancer Network:

“Outcomes for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer did not differ when treated with sequential chemotherapy plus trastuzumab compared with a concurrent approach, according to a new phase III trial.

” ‘The effectiveness of trastuzumab with chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant setting is evident; however, the cardiac safety of trastuzumab combined with anthracyclines has been questioned,’ wrote study authors led by Kelly K. Hunt, MD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.”

Go to full article published by Cancer Network on Sep 7, 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.

Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy Shows Promise for Glioblastomas Bookmark

Excerpt from Cancer Network:

“Magnetic resonance imaging-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) appears to be safe and effective for glioblastomas in select patients and may add an average of 2 months to life expectancy compared with the current standard of care, according to a new report published in the journal Neurosurgery.

” ‘We showed that the procedure is well tolerated and that recurrent patients had a meaningful clinical benefit that seems to be better when compared with previously published data on the current standard of care,’ said Eric Leuthardt, MD, senior study author and a professor of neurosurgery, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, and mechanical engineering & applied science at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri.”

Go to full article published by Cancer Network on Sep 7, 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.

Could Adding a TLR9 Agonist Improve Responses in Metastatic Melanoma? Bookmark

Excerpt from Cancer Network:

“A phase I trial found promising activity and good tolerability with the combination of pembrolizumab and a stimulant of Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) known as SD-101 in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma, particularly in those who had not received prior anti–programmed death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) therapy.

“PD-1/PD-L1 inhibition has improved outcomes in metastatic melanoma, and studies have indicated that combination therapy can increase immune responses further. “Despite the improvement in response rates with combination immunotherapy, a large unmet need remains,” wrote study authors led by Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, of the University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.”

Go to full article published by Cancer Network on Sep 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.

Overall Survival Improved With Encorafenib/Binimetinib Combination in BRAF-Mutant Melanoma Bookmark

Excerpt from The ASCO Post:

“In patients with advanced BRAF V600–mutant melanoma, combining the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib (Braftovi) with the MEK inhibitor binimetinib (Mektovi) improved overall survival compared to vemurafenib (Zelboraf) or encorafenib as monotherapy, with a favorable toxicity profile, according to updated results from the phase III COLUMBUS trial.

“Combined BRAF/MEK inhibitor therapy is standard of care in advanced BRAF V600–mutant melanoma, but approved combinations have unique toxicities that may impact the ability to deliver optimal treatment (ie, vemurafenib/cobimetinib [Cotellic] is associated with photosensitivity).”

Go to full article published by The ASCO Post on Sep 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.

Studies Confirm Osimertinib Activity in Brain Mets Bookmark

Excerpt from MedPage Today:

“The resistance mutation-targeting EGFR inhibitor osimertinib (Tagrisso) demonstrated superior activity against central nervous system (CNS) metastases as compared with chemotherapy or nonselective EGFR inhibitors, two randomized trials of patients with lung cancer showed.

“In a comparison involving patients with untreated EGFR-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the median CNS progression-free survival (PFS) was not reached in patients who received osimertinib or a first-generation EGFR inhibitor. However, the available data favored the osimertinib arm (95% CI 16.5 months to not reached versus 13.9 months to not reached, HR 0.48, 95% CI 0.26-0.86, P=0.014). Osimertinib also led to a higher response rate.”

Go to full article published by MedPage Today on Aug 31, 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.

Biomarkers, PARP Inhibitors Vital for Personalized Treatment in Breast Cancer Subtypes Bookmark

Excerpt from OncLive:

“Developing predictive biomarkers will be key to treating patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), especially when choosing a targeted therapy, said Banu K. Arun, MD.

“In a presentation during the 2018 OncLive^® State of the Science Summit™ on Breast Cancer, Arun said there is evidence that PARP inhibitors as well as immunotherapy in combination with various agents may be effective in women with TNBC and BRCA1-related breast cancers, but the science isn’t there yet.”

Go to full article published by OncLive on Aug 29, 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.

Alpelisib Improves PFS for Advanced PIK3CA-Mutated Breast Cancer Bookmark

Excerpt from Healio:

“A trial assessing the alpha-specific PI3K inhibitor alpelisib with fulvestrant met its primary endpoint of PFS among patients with hormone receptor-positive, HER-2-negative advanced breast cancer with a PIK3CA mutation, according to the agent’s manufacturer.

“Alpelisib (BYL719, Novartis) is an inhibitor of the PI3K pathway. About 40% of patients with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer harbor PIK3CA mutations.

“The phase 3 global, double-blind SOLAR-1 study included 572 women and men with PIK3CA-mutated hormone receptor-positive, HER-2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer that progressed on or following prior aromatase inhibitor treatment with or without a CDK4/6 inhibitor.”

Go to full article published by Healio on Aug 24, 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.

Dual Immunotherapy a Winner for Melanoma Brain Mets Bookmark

Excerpt from Medscape:

“Combined immunotherapy with two checkpoint inhibitors — nivolumab (Opdivo, Bristol-Myers Squibb) and ipilimumab (Yervoy, Bristol-Myers Squibb) — has shown ‘clinically meaningful’ efficacy in patients with asymptomatic, untreated melanoma metastases to the brain, according to a report regarding new data from the CheckMate 204 open-label phase 2 study.

” ‘Although current practice is to start with surgery, stereotactic radiotherapy, or both followed by immunotherapy or targeted agents, our results support the initiation of immunotherapy to achieve prompt control of both extracranial and brain metastases,’ write the authors.”

Go to full article published by Medscape on Aug 22, 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.

PARP Inhibitor Talazoparib Benefit in BCRA+ Breast Cancer Bookmark

Excerpt from Medscape:

“The now-published results from the EMBRACA study confirm that  talazoparib (Pfizer), a poly-adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor,  prolongs progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced BCRA-positive breast cancer compared with single-agent chemotherapy alone, and that it also significantly improves quality of life.

” ‘This is the largest randomized trial in BRCA mutation carriers [ever undertaken] and demonstrates PARP efficacy,’ Jennifer Litton, MD, associate professor in the Department of Breast Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, told Medscape Medical News in an email.”

Go to full article published by Medscape on Aug 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.

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.