Abstract
A collection of recently published news items.
The FDA approved the PD-1 inhibitor cemiplimab (Libtayo; Regeneron) to treat patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) or patients with locally advanced CSCC who cannot have surgery or radiation. The approval was based on phase I and II trials in which patients treated with the drug had an overall response rate of 47%.
The agency also approved the PARP inhibitor talazoparib (Talzenna; Pfizer) for patients with advanced or metastatic HER2-negative breast cancer who have BRCA1/2 mutations. The approval was based on results of the phase III EMBRACA trial, in which the drug extended progression-free survival (PFS) by 3 months compared with chemotherapy.
Novartis will acquire Endocyte, which develops radiopharmaceuticals, for $2.1 billion. Endocyte's lead candidate is Lu-PSMA-617, a radioligand being studied in a phase III trial of men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.
A liquid biopsy test may indicate whether patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)–related oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma are cancer free after radiation therapy, according to results presented at the 2018 American Society for Radiation Oncology Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX. Researchers administered the test to 89 patients before, during, and after treatments, and found that the 70 patients who tested negative at 3 months remained cancer free for an average of 19.8 months.
Tobacco control is the most important factor for U.S. cancer prevention (CA Cancer J Clin Oct 10 [Epub ahead of print]). Researchers found that a decrease in tobacco smoking was responsible for more than half of the 26% decline in U.S. cancer mortality rates since 1991, although smoking is still the most common cause of cancer.
PFS is not indicative of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with cancer (JAMA Intern Med 2018 Oct 1 [Epub ahead of print]). Researchers analyzed 52 articles reporting on 38 randomized clinical trials across 12 types of cancer and did not find a significant association between PFS and global, physical, or emotional HRQoL.
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