by Luca Dezzani

1. CancerLinQ®, FDA, NCI Collaborations Offer Opportunities to Advance Oncology Care

June 3, 2017

CancerLinQ LLC, a wholly owned nonprofit of ASCO, announced key partnerships with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI). The partnership with FDA will use real-world data from CancerLinQ® to help answer questions about the best use of emerging cancer treatments and inform future regulatory decision-making, and the NCI collaboration will facilitate the exchange of information between CancerLinQ® practices and NCI’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program.

2. MONALEESA-2 Secondary Analyses: Ribociclib/Letrozole Safe, Effective for Breast Cancer

June 3, 2017

Two studies presented during the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting provided additional evidence of the efficacy and safety of the CDK4/6 inhibitor ribociclib plus letrozole as a first-line treatment for ER-positive/HER2-negative advanced breast cancer. Progression-free survival (PFS) rates were greater at 24 months for the combination compared with placebo plus letrozole.

3. Larotrectinib Highly Active in Cancers with TRK Fusions 

June 3, 2017

The novel TRK inhibitor larotrectinib showed consistent and durable antitumor activity in advanced cancers with TRK fusions, according to results from early trials.

4. Significant Increase in PFS With Abemaciclib Plus Fulvestrant in Metastatic Breast Cancer

June 3, 2017

The CDK4/6 inhibitor abemaciclib combined with the estrogen inhibitor fulvestrant may significantly reduce the risk of disease progression and increase the objective response rate in women with metastatic breast cancer, according to the results of the MONARCH 2 study presented during the Breast Cancer—Metastatic Oral Abstract Session on June 3.

5. No Increase in Recurrence-Free Survival With Combined Regimen for Stage III/IVA Endometrial Cancer

June 3, 2017

A combined modality regimen did not increase recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with optimally debulked stage III/IVA endometrial carcinoma. The open-label randomized phase III trial compared treatment with cisplatin and tumor volume-directed radiation followed by carboplatin and paclitaxel for four cycles (C-RT) versus carboplatin and paclitaxel treatment for six cycles (CT). Even though C-RT reduced the rate of local recurrence compared to CT, C-RT did not increase RFS.

6. Aldoxorubicin Prolongs PFS in Some Types of Sarcoma Compared With Standard Treatments

June 3, 2017

Aldoxorubicin prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma (L-sarcoma) compared with standard treatments in a phase III study. The drug was also found to be a good alternative to standard therapies for treatment of relapsed or refractory soft tissue sarcomas (STS). Furthermore, with the regimen given in this trial, aldoxorubicin had minimal cardiac toxicity compared with doxorubicin.

7. Pembrolizumab Promising in Subset of Sarcomas

June 3, 2017

Pembrolizumab is a potentially viable treatment for a subset of sarcomas, with promising activity in undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma (UPS) and liposarcoma in a phase II clinical trial.

8. ADT Plus Abiraterone Improves Survival in Hormone-Sensitive Advanced Prostate Cancer

June 4, 2017

Adding abiraterone to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) increased overall survival (OS) among men with locally advanced or hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer, and the therapy was well tolerated, according to results presented from the LATITUDE and STAMPEDE trials.

9. The Role of Front-Line Bendamustine Plus Rituximab in Indolent NHL and MCL

June 4, 2017

The combination of bendamustine plus rituximab (BR) showed no statistical difference in overall survival (OS) compared with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone plus rituximab (R-CHOP), or rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CVP) in patients with certain types of lymphoma, according to 5- and 10-year follow-up data from two separate studies presented during the Hematologic Malignancies—Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Oral Abstract Session on June 3.

10. Genomics May Provide New Insight into Bladder Cancer Treatments

June 4, 2017

In patients with upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UC) or who have early onset bladder cancer, screening for Lynch syndrome and germline testing is highly recommended, according to panelists at the Clinical Science Symposium “Expanding the Actionable Landscape: Bladder Cancer Genomics,” on June 2.

11. Olaparib Improves Outcomes in BRCA-Mutated Metastatic Breast Cancer

June 4, 2017

Olaparib tablet monotherapy yielded improved progression-free survival compared with standard-of-care chemotherapy among women with HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer and a germline BRCA mutation, according to results of a phase III trial.

12. Risk-Based Approach to Chemotherapy Duration Recommended for Stage III Colon Cancer

June 4, 2017

In patients with stage III colon cancer, a 3-month course of chemotherapy was almost as effective as a standard 6-month course—with a difference in disease-free survival (DFS) of less than 1%—while reducing the risk of neurotoxicity and other adverse events. A subgroup analysis further showed that the 3-month course was most appropriate for low-risk patients.

13. Combined Checkpoint Inhibition Ushers in a New Era of CNS Therapy in Melanoma

June 4, 2017

Data from two phase II studies, the CheckMate 204 trial and the Anti-PD1 Brain Collaboration (ABC) trial, lend support to combined use of nivolumab and ipilimumab to yield responses in melanoma that has metastasized to the brain.

14. Chemotherapy Added to RT Prolongs FFS in Stage III Endometrial Cancer

June 4, 2017

A combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy prolonged 5-year failure-free survival (FFS) among patients with high-risk, stage III endometrial cancer compared with radiotherapy alone, but no improvement was observed for high-risk stage I or II tumors, according to results presented during the Gynecologic Cancer Oral Abstract Session held June 2.

15. Biosimilars Reported Safe, Effective for Breast Cancer Therapy

June 5, 2017

The safety and efficacy of trastuzumab (TRZ) biosimilars for neoadjuvant breast cancer therapy demonstrated comparable safety and efficacy, according to two studies presented on June 4.

16. Pembrolizumab Maintains Overall Survival Benefit in Urothelial Cancer

June 5, 2017

The PD-L1 inhibitor pembrolizumab continued to demonstrate an overall survival (OS) benefit compared with chemotherapy among patients with advanced urothelial cancer with no new safety signals, according to the third planned survival analysis of KEYNOTE-045 presented on June 5.

17. The Role of Lenalidomide in Patients with Multiple Myeloma

June 5, 2017

Results from two separate trials presented during the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting suggest that lenalidomide can induce deeper and longer remission in patients with multiple myeloma when used as part of induction and maintenance therapy.

18. Adjuvant Gefitinib May Extend DFS in NSCLC With EGFR-Activating Mutations

June 5, 2017

The EGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (TKI) gefitinib appears to offer a disease-free survival (DFS) benefit over vinorelbine/cisplatin as adjuvant therapy in patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR-activating mutations, according to results of the randomized, phase III ADJUVANT trial.

19. Immune Checkpoint Inhibition Shows Promise in Relapsing Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

June 5, 2017

Both nivolumab alone and in combination with ipilimumab resulted in a promising disease control rate in patients with relapsing malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), according to the results of LBA8507.

20. Pertuzumab Reduced Risk of Invasive Disease–Free Survival Compared With Placebo in APHINITY

June 5, 2017

Pertuzumab improved invasive disease–free survival (IDFS) in patients with HER2-positive, early-stage breast cancer when added to chemotherapy and trastuzumab, as confirmed during the Breast Cancer—Local/Regional/Adjuvant Oral Abstract Session held June 5.

21. TOSCA Supports Shorter Adjuvant CT Duration for Resected Colon Cancer

June 13, 2017

Results of the large Italian TOSCA trial narrowly failed to meet the primary endpoint but still offer great value to patients with high-risk stage II or stage III colon cancer slated to receive oxaliplatin-based treatment after surgery. The findings, presented on June 5, showed that the relapse-free survival (RFS) rate for a 3-month course of FOLFOX (fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin) or CAPOX (capecitabine and oxaliplatin), compared with 6 months, differed by less than 2% at 3 years and elicited far fewer adverse events.

22. ALEX Phase III Trial Suggests Alectinib Should Be First-Line Treatment for Patients With ALK-Positive Lung Cancer

June 13, 2017

The results of ALEX, a global phase III trial, suggest that alectinib, an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (TKI), leads to greater progression-free survival (PFS) and longer duration until central nervous system (CNS) progression in patients with untreated, advanced ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with crizotinib, which is currently the first-line treatment for this disease.

23. Follow-Up of RESONATE Trial Supports Survival Benefits of Ibrutinib for Previously Treated CLL

June 13, 2017

A follow-up study of the RESONATE phase III trial provides further support that ibrutinib, an inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase, achieves greater progression-free survival (PFS) than ofatumumab, a high overall survival (OS) rate, and high tolerability among patients with chronic lymphoid leukemia (CLL) who have had at least one prior treatment. The most recent results of the RESONATE (PCYC-1112) trial, which were based on a median follow-up time of 44 months, were presented in a Poster Session on June 5.

24. SIRT Offers No Benefit When Added to Chemotherapy for mCRC With Liver Metastases

June 13, 2017

A meta-analysis of three randomized clinical trials fails to support use of selective internal radiotherapy (SIRT) in combination with first-line oxaliplatin and fluorouracil chemotherapy in patients with liver-only and liver-dominant metastatic colorectal cancer. Despite increasing the likelihood of radiologic response and prolonging liver-specific progression-free survival (PFS), SIRT added to first-line chemotherapy yielded no improvement in overall survival (OS) or PFS.

Source: Igeahub