Noted

The American Cancer Society announced a 33% reduction in cancer deaths overall since 1991, which was helped by a 1.5% decline between 2019 and 2020, translating into about 3.8 million lives saved (CA Cancer J Clin 2023;73:17–48). Improved treatment of leukemia, melanoma, kidney cancer, and lung cancer drove the decrease in mortality.

The FDA granted accelerated approval to tucatinib (Tukysa; Seagen) in combination with trastuzumab for certain cases of inoperable RAS wild-type, HER2-positive metastatic colorectal cancer. In a phase II trial, involving 84 patients who had previously received chemotherapy and a VEGF mAb, the HER2 inhibitor duo yielded an overall response rate (ORR) of 38% and a median duration of response of 12.4 months.

Afamitresgene autoleucel (afami-cel) demonstrated significant effectiveness in a phase I trial that included 38 patients with several types of solid tumors (Nat Med 2023;29:104–14). An adoptive T-cell receptor therapy targeting the MAGE-A4 cancer antigen, afami-cel proved particularly effective in 16 patients with synovial sarcoma—their ORR was 44%, whereas the ORR across all tumor types was 24%.

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) filed a lawsuit against AstraZeneca claiming that that company's CTLA4 inhibitor, tremeli­mumab (Imjudo), infringes on two patents that cover BMS's CTLA4 inhibitor ipilimumab (Yervoy). Tremeli­mumab received FDA approval in October and November to treat hepatocellular carcinoma and non–small cell lung cancer, respectively.

Guardant Health laid off about 7% of its staff. The decision was made, the company said, to “better support both our near- and long-term growth as well as our path to profitability. This decision puts us in an even better position to deliver on the promise we made ten years ago to transform cancer care.” The company makes assays to help inform treatment decisions, monitor treatment response, and detect recurrent/residual disease.

For more news on cancer research, visit Cancer Discovery online at http://cancerdiscovery.aacrjournals.org/CDNews.