Noted

The chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah; Novartis) elicits lasting responses in certain relapsed/refractory leukemias and lymphomas, according to updated results of phase II trials presented at the 2018 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA, in December. In the ELIANA trial, 79 children and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia had an overall response rate (ORR) of 82% and an 18-month overall survival rate (OS) of 70%. In the JULIET trial, 115 adult patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma had an ORR of 54% and a median OS of 11.1 months (N Engl J Med 2019;380:45–56).

The FDA approved tagraxofusp-erzs (Elzonris; Stemline Therapeutics) for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) in patients age 2 and older. In a phase I trial, the drug elicited responses in seven of 13 patients. Tagraxofusp-erzs is the first drug approved for BPCDN.

Researchers identified molecular features of neuroblastomas associated with prognosis (Science 2018;362:1165–70). They found that patients whose tumors lacked telomere maintenance mechanisms had the highest survival rates, whereas those whose tumors had the maintenance mechanisms plus RAS and/or p53 pathway mutations had the worst outcomes.

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, released an advisory about electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) use among youths (available at: https://e-cigarettes.surgeongeneral.gov/). He declared the uptake of e-cigarettes among children “an epidemic,” and described the potential harms of using them. He also called for more aggressive steps to prevent youth access, outlining actions that can be taken by parents, teachers, health professionals, and state and local governments.

The U.S. cancer death rate has decreased continuously for the past 25 years, according to a report published by the American Cancer Society (CA Cancer J Clin 2019;69:7–34). Overall, the cancer mortality rate dropped 27% between 1991 and 2016, although cancer remains the second leading cause of death after heart disease.

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