May 19, 2016
June 2014, Vol 3, No 4
Bevacizumab Improves Survival in Patients With Metastatic Colorectal Cancer
In routine patient care, adding bevacizumab to standard FOLFIRI (leucovorin, 5-fluorouracil, and irinotecan) improves progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic coloÂrectal cancer (mCRC), according to data presented at the 2014 Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. “There is consistent benefit in terms of PFS and a more substantial [ Read More ]
Phi Index Can Select Patients With Prostate Cancer for Active Surveillance
A new tool called the Prostate Health Index (phi) can identify which patients with favorable-risk prostate cancer can safely be managed with active surveillance and which patients will probably require treatment. The phi index is relatively low tech and is calculated using 3 serum measurements: prostate-specific antigen (PSA), free/total PSA, [ Read More ]
FGFR Inhibitor Shows Promising Anticancer Activity
Inhibition of fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs) 1, 2, 3, and 4 is showing promise in the treatment of cancers driven by FGFR alterations, especially bladder cancer and lung cancer, according to phase 1 studies presented at the 2014 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting. A phase 1 study, [ Read More ]
Hormonal Therapy for Prostate Cancer: An Oncologist’s Perspective
Over the past few years there has been notable progress in hormonal therapy for prostate cancer. First is the development of drugs that avoid tumor flare, eg, the development of degarelix.1 These drugs decrease the level of testosterone very efficiently in a very short period (3 days). The use of [ Read More ]
Prostate CancerSimple Blood Test Predicts Response to Enzalutamide in Patients With Prostate Cancer
Results from a preliminary study from a highly respected group of researchers suggest that a simple blood test for the androgen receptor splice variant-7 (AR-V7) in the AR gene can identify men with castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) who will not respond to enzalutamide. If these results are confirmed in a [ Read More ]
Potential New Approach to Treatment of Melanoma
Preliminary results suggest that an investigational antibody-drug conjugate called DEDN6526A has activity against melanoma, including cutaneous, mucosal, and ocular melanoma, which is considered difficult to treat. The new drug comes on the heels of trastuzumab emtansine, the first antibody-drug conjugate approved by the FDA for the treatment of breast cancer. [ Read More ]
Immuno-Oncology Takes Center Stage at ASCO 2014
More than 250 abstracts that included the term “immunotherapy” or “immuno-oncology” were presented during the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in May 2014. Presentations at this year’s ASCO meeting featured the latest findings related to immuno-oncology agents, as well as their implications for oncologists and [ Read More ]
Highest Response Rate to Date With a Third-Line VEGF Inhibitor, Pazopanib, in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma
Almost 50% of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) had objective responses to third-line treatment with the angiogenesis inhibitor pazopanib, according to the results from a small clinical trial reported at the 2014 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting. Overall, 12 of 28 patients achieved objective responses (including [ Read More ]
Updated NCCN Guidelines for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Note Controversy Related to B-Cell Disease Management: Cell of Origin May Soon Influence Treatment Decisions
The updated guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) for the management of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) include new strategies in the management of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and new guidelines for T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. The updates were presented by Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, vice chair, medical informatics, [ Read More ]
New Molecular Test to Monitor Breast Cancer Recurrence by Sequencing Circulating Tumor Cells
A genomic test to sequence the circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from whole blood, ClearID Breast Cancer from Cynvenio Biosystems, is now available commercially to molecularly monitor for breast cancer recurrence. The test uses a standard blood draw from which DNA from tumor cells is isolated and interrogated using next-generation sequencing [ Read More ]
Molecular Diversity of CLL
PMO is pleased to offer the department The Biomarker to discuss the identification of biomarkers in patients with cancer and the prognostic/predictive impact and clinical decision-making implications of that marker. Do you have a unique case to share with our reading community? Please submit your biomarker-driven cases to us at [ Read More ]
UncategorizedCDK 4/6 Inhibitor Slows Progression of Metastatic Breast Cancer
Palbociclib, an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) 4/6, demonstrated “striking” activity when combined with conventional hormone therapy for patients with metastatic breast cancer, according to the results from an open-label phase 2 trial. Patients who received palbociclib in addition to letrozole had a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 20.2 months [ Read More ]
PMO and the PMC – A Collaboration to Advance Precision Medicine
Introducing Dr Edward Abrahams, President of PMC, as the Author of The Last Word Since the inception of Personalized Medicine in Oncology (PMO), we have offered the department The Last Word in which we sum up thoughts on various overriding themes in the world of personalized medicine. In this thought-provoking [ Read More ]
The Last WordPARP Inhibitor Active in Recurrent BRCA-Positive Ovarian Cancer
The PARP inhibitor veliparib demonstrated activity in relapsed/refractory BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer, according to results from a phase 2 trial conducted by the Gynecologic Oncology Group. Almost one-fourth of 50 evaluable patients had objective responses, including 2 patients with complete responses. Additionally, about half of the patients had stable disease of [ Read More ]
The Evolution of Personalized Medicine in Oncology
To Our Reading Community, It gives me great pleasure to present this issue of Personalized Medicine in Oncology (PMO). We constantly and thoroughly examine every aspect of our journal – appearance, readability, and, most importantly, editorial content. With input from our expert editorial board and our readership, we are always [ Read More ]
Letter to Our ReadersProspects for Personalization of Medicine Lie in Evidence Thresholds
Although targeted drug development and testing is clearly transforming medicine, resistance to greater uptake of personalized medicine includes a shift in the evidence threshold in personalized testing and drawbacks to the delivery system, including the cost of tests, said Peter Bach, MD, at the Fourth Annual Conference of the Association [ Read More ]
Implementing Global Healthcare: Partners In Health and the Rwandan Cancer Center Initiative
Partners In Health (PIH) was founded in 1987 by Ophelia Dahl; Paul Farmer, MD, PhD; Jim Kim, MD, PhD; Todd McCormack; and Thomas J. White to deliver healthcare to residents of Haiti. In the 27 years since then, PIH has launched healthcare projects around the world. Its mission is to [ Read More ]
Multitargeted Kinase Inhibitor Shows Promising Results for Breast Cancer Subgroup
HER2+/HR– Breast Cancer Subtype Identified as Biomarker Signature for Neratinib Use A multitargeted kinase inhibitor met criteria for a phase 3 clinical trial in breast cancer after statistical modeling of clinical data showed a high probability of success versus standard therapy for patients with HER2-positive/hormone receptor (HR)-negative (HER2+/HR–) disease. Neoadjuvant [ Read More ]
Androgen Suppression in Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
Prostate cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in men other than skin cancer and is the second-leading cause of cancer death in men in the United States.1,2 An estimated 238,590 new cases of prostate cancer will have occurred in the United States during 2013, with an estimated 29,720 deaths.1,2 [ Read More ]
PD-L1 Expression a Potential Biomarker for Response to Immunotherapy With MK-3475
Patients With Melanoma and With NSCLC Investigated in 2 Studies Two studies, one in melanoma and one in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), presented at the 2014 American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting attempted to correlate response to the PD-1 inhibitor MK-3475 with the biomarker PD-1 ligand (PD-L1). The [ Read More ]
Personalizing Value-Based Medicine
The multidimensionality of health for an individual is best captured by the World Health Organization’s definition of health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”1 With respect to oncology, sophisticated advances in molecular biology and technology continue to [ Read More ]
Value-Based Cancer Care