Author: Editor

Julio Chavez, MD from Moffitts Cancer Center & Research Institute speaks about U.S. FDA Approves Yescarta® for Relapsed or Refractory Follicular Lymphoma After Two or More Lines of Systemic Therapy.Link to Press Release:https://www.gilead.com/news-and-press/press-room/press-releases/2021/3/us-fda-approves-yescarta-for-relapsed-or-refractory-follicular-lymphoma-after-two-or-more-lines-of-systemic-therapyYescarta® (axicabtagene ciloleucel) has been given accelerated clearance by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) following two or more lines of systemic therapy, according to Kite, a Gilead Company. Yescarta is the first chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy to be accepted for indolent follicular lymphoma patients after FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation and a…

Linghua Wang, MD, PhD of MD Anderson speaks about Single-cell Analysis Of Metastatic Gastric Cancer Finds Diverse Tumor Cell Populations Associated With Patient Outcomes.Link to Article:https://www.mdanderson.org/newsroom/gastric-cancer-study-finds-diverse-tumor-cell-populations-linked-with-outcomes.h00-159457689.htmlResearchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center profiled over 45,000 individual cells from patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC), a form of metastatic gastric cancer, and discovered two distinct subtypes that were linked to patient survival.The researchers created and validated a gene expression signature capable of forecasting patient survival better than other clinical features based on their results, which were published today in Nature Medicine. This tool may be helpful in stratifying patients…

GRACE is excited to bring you a new series on current updates in Melanoma Treatment. Meredith McKean MD, MPH with Tennessee Oncology, Michael Postow, MD Chief of Melanoma Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and Sanjiv Agarwala, MD, Professor of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Temple University School of Medicine in Easton, PA joined GRACE to discuss current updates in treatment for Melanoma. In this video, Dr. McKean discusses if there is a role for molecular testing in early melanoma management. A huge thank you to Merck for sponsoring this program. For more, please visit http://cancerGRACE.org/. To join the conversation, visit…

GRACE is excited to bring you a new series on current updates in Melanoma Treatment. Meredith McKean MD, MPH with Tennessee Oncology, Michael Postow, MD Chief of Melanoma service at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Sanjiv Agarwala, MD, Professor of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Temple University School of Medicine in Easton, PA joined GRACE to discuss current updates in treatment for Melanoma. In this video, Dr. McKean discusses the current status of sentinel lymph node mapping and completion lymphadenectomy. A huge thank you to our sponsor, Merck! For more, please visit http://cancerGRACE.org/. To join the conversation, visit https://cancergrace.org/forum.

GRACE is excited to bring you a new series on current updates in Melanoma Treatment. Meredith McKean MD, MPH with Tennessee Oncology, Michael Postow, MD Chiefof Melanoma service at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Sanjiv Agarwala, MD, Professor of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Temple University School of Medicine in Easton, PA joined GRACE to discuss current updates in treatment for Melanoma. In this video, Dr. Agarwala discusses adjuvant therapy for melanoma. A huge thank you to our sponsor, Merck! For more, please visit http://cancerGRACE.org/. To join the conversation, visit https://cancergrace.org/forum.

GRACE is excited to bring you a new series on current updates in Melanoma Treatment. Meredith McKean MD, MPH with Tennessee Oncology, Michael Postow, MD Chiefof Melanoma service at Memorial Sloan Kettering and Sanjiv Agarwala, MD, Professor of Medical Oncology and Hematology at Temple University School of Medicine in Easton, PA joined GRACE to discuss current updates in treatment for Melanoma. In this video, Dr. McKean discusses combination immunotherapy vs. monotherapy for Metastatic Melanoma. A huge thank you to our sponsor, Merck! For more, please visit http://cancerGRACE.org/. To join the conversation, visit https://cancergrace.org/forum.

We are excited to be able to present final videos from this highly anticipated annual event, the 2020 Targeted Therapies Patient Forum. This year’s live-online presentations and discussions were launched by our Event Chair, Luis E. Raez, MD FACP FCCP, Member of the GRACE Board of Directors, President of the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO), and Chief Scientific Officer & Medical Director at Memorial Cancer Institute. This day-long event featured top oncologists in their field, presenting the most current and emerging information in targeted therapies for patients and caregivers living with lung cancer. Access to the full agenda can…

We are pleased to present this newest video series of updates from ASCO and ESMO 2020, with discussions on updates to head and neck cancer treatments and trials. Dr. Joshua Bauml, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Jared Weiss, Associate Professor of Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill and Vice President of the Board of GRACE chaired this program. Drs. Bauml and Weiss spoke with Dr. Kathryn Gold, Medical Oncologist and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego and Dr. Ranee Mehra, Professor of Medical Oncology at the University…

We are pleased to present this newest video series of updates from ASCO and ESMO 2020, with discussions on updates to head and neck cancer treatments and trials. Dr. Joshua Bauml, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Jared Weiss, Associate Professor of Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill and Vice President of the Board of GRACE chaired this program. Drs. Bauml and Weiss spoke with Dr. Kathryn Gold, Medical Oncologist and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego and Dr. Ranee Mehra, Professor of Medical Oncology at the University…

We are pleased to present this newest video series of updates from ASCO and ESMO 2020, with discussions on updates to head and neck cancer treatments and trials. Dr. Joshua Bauml, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Jared Weiss, Associate Professor of Medicine at UNC Chapel Hill and Vice President of the Board of GRACE chaired this program. Drs. Bauml and Weiss spoke with Dr. Kathryn Gold, Medical Oncologist and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Diego and Dr. Ranee Mehra, Professor of Medical Oncology at the University…

We are excited to be able to present final videos from this highly anticipated annual event, the 2020 Targeted Therapies Patient Forum. This year’s live-online presentations and discussions were launched by our Event Chair, Luis E. Raez, MD FACP FCCP, Member of the GRACE Board of Directors, President of the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO), and Chief Scientific Officer & Medical Director at Memorial Cancer Institute. This day-long event featured top oncologists in their field, presenting the most current and emerging information in targeted therapies for patients and caregivers living with lung cancer. Access to the full agenda can…

We are excited to be able to present final videos from this highly anticipated annual event, the 2020 Targeted Therapies Patient Forum. This year’s live-online presentations and discussions were launched by our Event Chair, Luis E. Raez, MD FACP FCCP, Member of the GRACE Board of Directors, President of the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO), and Chief Scientific Officer & Medical Director at Memorial Cancer Institute. This day-long event featured top oncologists in their field, presenting the most current and emerging information in targeted therapies for patients and caregivers living with lung cancer. Access to the full agenda can…

We are excited to be able to present final videos from this highly anticipated annual event, the 2020 Targeted Therapies Patient Forum. This year’s live-online presentations and discussions were launched by our Event Chair, Luis E. Raez, MD FACP FCCP, Member of the GRACE Board of Directors, President of the Florida Society of Clinical Oncology (FLASCO), and Chief Scientific Officer & Medical Director at Memorial Cancer Institute. This day-long event featured top oncologists in their field, presenting the most current and emerging information in targeted therapies for patients and caregivers living with lung cancer. Access to the full agenda can…

Petros Grivas, MD, Ph.D. Department Of Medicine, Division Of Medical Oncology, University of Washington; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and Ali Raza Khaki, MD Stanford (Clinical Assistant Professor, Medicine – Oncology) speaks about A New Prognostic Model in Patients with Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma Treated with First-line Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors.Link to Article:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2588931120302145?dgcid=authorSummaryBackground information -Although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are approved in the first-line (1L) setting for cisplatin-intolerant patients with PD-L1-positive tumors or for platinum (cisplatin/carboplatin)-intolerant patients, reaction rates are modest and results are variable, with no clinically useful biomarkers (except for PD-L1).The goal is to -In a multicenter cohort study, we…

Zhen Han, assistant research professor at City of Hope, and Christiane Querfeld, MD, Ph.D., director of the Cutaneous Lymphoma Program at City of Hope speaks about AACR 2021 – Abstract: 2759 – Reprogramming of PD1+ M2-like tumor-associated macrophages with anti-PD-L1 and Lenalidomide in cutaneous T cell lymphoma.   Link to Abstract: https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/9325/presentation/4036   Synopsis:   TAMs, or M2-like tumor-associated macrophages, are abundant and affect the progression of cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) by causing immunosuppression. While it is well-founded that M2-like TAMs depletion inhibits CTCL growth, little is known about the underlying mechanisms that form the PD1+ M2-like TAMs phenotype…

Xiuning Le, MD, Ph.D., Department of Thoracic-Head and Neck Med Onc, Division of Cancer Medicine MD Anderson speaks about Tepotinib Phase II in NSCLC Harboring MET Alterations (VISION). Link to the Trial:https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02864992 Brief Synopsis: The VISION Study is a phase two, single-arm, multi-center, global trial that evaluated the efficacy of tepotinib, a small molecule inhibitor targeting MET, in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) exhibiting MET exon 14 skipping alterations. This trial allowed enrollment of patients identified with MET exon 14 alterations in their lung cancer, detected either through tissue biopsy or circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) via liquid biopsy,…

Li Du, Ph.D. City of Hope speaks about AACR 2021 Abstract – 1329 – SUMOylation Inhibition Overcomes Dexamethasone Resistance In Multiple Myeloma.Link to Abstract:https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/9325/presentation/2180Synopsis:Multiple myeloma (MM), the second most prevalent hematopoietic cancer, is also incurable when patients relapse after reacting to treatment. Dexamethasone (Dex) is a corticosteroid that has been commonly used to treat multiple sclerosis (MM) as a single agent or in conjunction with other medications. In MM, however, both inherent and acquired Dex tolerance is linked to a weak prognosis. As a result, there is a constant need for the discovery of Dex resistance mechanisms and the development…

Dawn Marie Stull Medical Science Liaison at Takeda Pharmaceuticals speaks about Ixazomib-lenalidomide-dexamethasone in routine clinical practice: effectiveness in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.Link to Study:https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/10.2217/FON-2020-1225Goal:The aim of this study was to see whether ixazomib-lenalidomide-dexamethasone (IRd) was successful and healthy in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma patients in routine clinical practice. Patients and procedures: Data from the INSIGHT MM global retrospective study and the Czech Registry of Monoclonal Gammopathies were combined and analyzed at the patient level. At the time of the data cut-off, 263 patients from 13 countries were included in the study. The median time from diagnosis to the start of IRd was…

Brigitte Widemann, MD, Deputy Director, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute speaks about Selumetinib in Children with Inoperable Plexiform Neurofibromas.Link to the Study:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32187457/ Link to The Clinical Research Foundation is proud to announce the 2021 finalists for the Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards : https://www.clinicalresearchforum.org/page/2021Top10Finalists SummaryBackground information:In patients with neurofibromatosis type 1, there are no accepted treatments for inoperable plexiform neurofibromas.Methodologies:We performed an open-label, phase 2 trial of selumetinib to evaluate the objective reaction rate and assess clinical advantage in patients with plexiform neurofibromas. On a constant dosing regimen, children with neurofibromatosis type 1 and symptomatic inoperable plexiform…

Robert Seitz, Head of Immune Oncology at Oncocyte speaks about AACR 2021 Abstract: 23 – Validation of a 27-gene immuno-oncology algorithm in metastatic urothelial carcinoma treated with an immune checkpoint inhibitor.Link to Abstract:https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/9325/presentation/1088Synopsis:ForegroundPatients of metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) have a poor prognosis, with just around 10% of patients remaining two years after diagnosis. The IMvigor210 study included patients with mUC who were treated with the immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) atezolizumab in a multicenter, single-arm, phase 2 trial. This trial’s RNA expression, total survival, tumor mutation burden (TMB), and PD-L1 IHC results are all open to the public. Using three related…

Valeria Arango Velez, MD, Founder, Healing Presents speaks about being This Years Astellas Oncology C3 Prize – Innovation Prize Winner.Astellas C3 Prize:https://astellasoncology.com/c3prize?fbclid=IwAR1ce6L5ElZOgBG9_SoIc3XCNQgeX0Qmv3DGX7S2mZORjUB3tH1y_933qzoHealing Presents:https://healingpresents.co/Download On Google Play:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=iglab.mobile.baobabapp&hl=es_DODownload On App Store:https://apps.apple.com/co/app/healing-presents/id1484400672Idea: A mind-body therapy app that will help cancer patients overcome obstacles and boost their diagnosis and overall experience.Healing Presents is a mobile cancer app that combines mind-body therapy to promote understanding, quality of life, and psycho-physiological well-being during the cancer journey.It’s been carefully crafted to assist with emotional difficulties and is intended to enhance cancer patients’ diagnosis and overall experience.Dr. Valeria Arango Velez knows firsthand the emotional demands that people face…

John Baird, MD, Fellow in Hematology/Medical Oncology at Stanford Cancer Center speaks about the Retrospective Study: Immune Reconstitution And Infectious Complications Following Axicabtagene Ciloleucel Therapy For Large B-cell Lymphoma.Link to Article:https://ashpublications.org/bloodadvances/article/5/1/143/474814/Immune-reconstitution-and-infectious-complicationsPoints to Remember* Delayed CD4+ T-cell recovery after CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy increases the risk of opportunistic infections by up to a year.* Antimicrobial prophylaxis, immunoglobulin replacement, and growth factor use after axi-cel can help to reduce nonrelapse morbidity and mortality.SummaryIn the treatment of refractory or relapsed large B-cell lymphoma, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy targeting CD19 has greatly improved outcomes (LBCL). In 41 patients with LBCL treated with…

Brian Rini, MD Professor of Medicine from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center speaks about AVEO Oncology Announces U.S. FDA Approval of FOTIVDA® (tivozanib) for the Treatment of Adult Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma.Link to Press Release:https://investor.aveooncology.com/news-releases/news-release-details/aveo-oncology-announces-us-fda-approval-fotivdar-tivozanibFOTIVDA was approved based on the results of AVEO’s pivotal Phase 3 trial, TIVO-3, which compared FOTIVDA to sorafenib in patients with relapsed or refractory advanced RCC who had received two or more prior systemic therapies. Three additional RCC trials back up the submission, which contains safety evidence from over 1,000 clinical trial participants.Patients in the TIVO-3 study (n=350)…

Christine Brown, Ph.D. Deputy Director, T Cell Therapeutics Research Laboratory; Professor, Departments of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation and Immuno-Oncology and Darya Alizadeh, Ph.D. assistant research professor in the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at speaks about AACR 2021 Abstract – CAR T Cell Therapy Reshapes Tumor Microenvironment In Glioblastoma.Link to Abstract:https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/9325/presentation/1124SummaryCAR T cell therapy is gaining traction as a promising cancer treatment choice, with the potential to open up new therapeutic possibilities for people with glioblastoma (GBM) and other solid tumors. Although early clinical trials of CAR T cell therapy in GBM have shown that it is…

Jacob J. Adashek, DO University of South Florida, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute discusses the AARC 2021 Abstract – The Landscape Of 2,706 RET Alterations From 89,754 Adult Patients With Cancer: Clinical Implications.Abstract• Mutations and fusions in the activating receptor-tyrosine kinase rearranged during transfection (RET) have been identified as active drivers of oncogenesis in a variety of cancers.• The FDA has approved selpercatinib and pralsetinib as highly potent and selective RET inhibitors for RE110111 fusion+ NSCLC and selpercatinib for RET+ thyroid cancers.• A systematic review of RET alterations in pan-cancer adult malignancies is presented here.Patients and Procedures•…

Jacob J. Adashek, DO University of South Florida, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute discusses AARC 2021 Abstract – Pan-cancer Efficacy Of BRAF and/or MEK Inhibitors In BRAF V600-mutant Multiple Non-melanoma Cancers: A Clinico-genomic Study.Abstract• BRAF and MEK inhibitors have been approved by the FDA for melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer, and anaplastic thyroid cancer. • The lack of clinical value issue-agnostic BRAF inhibition in RAF V600+ colorectal cancer (CRC) has stopped its success as an issue-agnostic treatment.•The BRAF pathway inhibition is involved in over 20 different cancer forms, according to the Vemurafenib-Basket report and the NCI-match trial.Patients…

Loretta Erhunmwunsee, MD Assistant Professor, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery; Assistant Professor, Division of Health Equities, Department of Population Sciences from the City of Hope speaks about Neighborhood Disadvantage Linked To Aggressive Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.Link to Abstract:https://www.abstractsonline.com/pp8/#!/9325/presentation/1832SummaryThe first paragraph is an introduction.In the United States, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death. Though smoking is still the leading cause of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), there is less research on the role of negative social circumstances and neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES) in the production of particular NSCLC somatic mutations. Economic, housing, education, transportation, and environmental…

Dr med Florian Moik from the Medical University of Vienna, Department of Medicine I, Division of Haematology and Haemostaseology, Comprehensive Cancer Center Vienna, Vienna, Austria speaks about the Incidence, Risk Factors, And Outcomes Of Venous And Arterial Thromboembolism In Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy.Link to Article:https://ashpublications.org/blood/article/137/12/1669/469619/Incidence-risk-factors-and-outcomes-of-venous-andPoints to Remember:* Patients taking immune checkpoint inhibitors for cancer are at a higher risk of developing VTE/ATE.* VTE caused by immune checkpoint inhibitors has a poor prognosis and is difficult to predict.Synopsis:Immune checkpoint inhibitors are currently associated with a risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) and arterial thromboembolism (ATE). The aim of this study was to…

Alessandra Larocca, MD, Ph.D. from the University of Torino, AOU S.Giovanni Battista, TORINO, Italy speaks about Dose/Schedule-Adjusted Rd-R vs Continuous Rd for elderly, intermediate-fit, newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients.Link to Article:https://ashpublications.org/blood/article-abstract/doi/10.1182/blood.2020009507/475576/Dose-Schedule-Adjusted-Rd-R-vs-Continuous-Rd-for?redirectedFrom=fulltextPoints to RememberIn intermediate-fit elderly NDMM, dose/schedule-adjusted Rd-R prolonged EFS while causing similar PFS and OS to normal continuous Rd.For elderly multiple myeloma (MM) patients, lenalidomide-dexamethasone (Rd) is a common therapy. We compared the effectiveness and feasibility of a dose/schedule-adjusted Rd followed by maintenance 10 mg/day without dexamethasone (Rd-R) vs continuous Rd in elderly, intermediate-fit newly diagnosed MM patients in this randomized, phase III trial. The primary endpoint was event-free…

Iván Márquez Rodas MD, Ph.D. of the Medical Oncology Department, Hospital Gregorio Marañon, Madrid, Spain Speaks about Highlight & Pivotal start Phase IIa Melanoma Trial.Link to Article:https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/03/02/2185058/0/en/Highlight-Pivotal-start-Phase-IIa-melanoma-trial.htmlHighlight Therapeutics and Pivotal collaborate on melanoma therapy, launching a Phase IIa study to assess the effectiveness and safety of BO-112.* In unresectable or metastatic melanoma patients, the trial would look at using Highlight’s BO-112 in conjunction with an anti-PD1 drug.* In Spain and France, recruitment has already started in 19 top-level centers.* Despite the ongoing difficulties faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were no gaps in recruitment.Highlight Therapeutics, Inc. (“Highlight”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical…

Mandana Emamzadeh, Ph.D., Pharma Analyst at GlobalData speaks about New Standard Of Care In Hepatocellular Carcinoma Shifts The Treatment Paradigm To A Grey Area, Says GlobalData.Link to Article:https://www.globaldata.com/new-standard-care-hepatocellular-carcinoma-shifts-treatment-paradigm-grey-area-says-globaldata/According to GlobalData, a leading data, and analytics firm, the approval of Roche’s Avastin (bevacizumab) plus Tecentriq (atezolizumab), in addition to the long list of pipeline drugs, opens up holes in the care model about the sequence of treatments.Mandana Emamzadeh, Ph.D., Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments, “The hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) market is evolving swiftly after the May 2020 FDA approval of Roche’s Avastin (bevacizumab) + Tecentriq (atezolizumab). The combination replaced the prior standard…

Rimas V. Lukas, MD from Northwestern Medicine speaks about Nonmalignant Brain Tumors.Link to Abstract:https://journals.lww.com/continuum/Fulltext/2020/12000/Nonmalignant_Brain_Tumors.6.aspxSUMMARY:REVIEW’S OBJECTIVEMeningioma, pituitary adenoma, craniopharyngioma, and glioneuronal tumors are all discussed in this article, as well as their diagnosis and treatment.RECENT RESULTSMeningiomas and pituitary adenomas are two types of brain tumors that are widespread. These lesions are often discovered by chance on imaging as patients are being examined for a variety of symptoms and signs. Despite being non-cancerous, these tumors may cause substantial morbidity due to their location and the resulting secondary symptoms. These tumors may sometimes develop into malignant variants. Surgical techniques allow more complete resections…

Matteo Lambertini, MD, Ph.D. from San Martino Hospital Genoa and the University of Genoa speaks about the Exploratory Analysis: Unexpected findings on weight loss and breast cancer from international study in JNCCN.Link to Press Release:https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-02/nccn-ufo021621.phpIn a report published in the February 2021 issue of JNCCN—Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, researchers looked at BMI data for people with HER2-positive early breast cancer and discovered that a 5% weight loss in patients over two years was related to worse outcomes. Over the same time span, weight gain had little effect on survival rates.”The finding that weight loss, and not weight…

Hosts Jack West and Charu Aggarwal speak with radiation oncology experts David Palma of the London Health Sciences Centre and Puneeth Iyengar of University of Texas-Southwestern about the functional definition and treatment of oligometastatic cancer.

Paul G. Richardson, MD from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute speaks about FDA Approves Oncopeptides´ PEPAXTO® (melphalan flufenamide) for Patients with Triple-Class Refractory Multiple Myeloma.Link to Article:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fda-approves-oncopeptides-pepaxto-melphalan-flufenamide-for-patients-with-triple-class-refractory-multiple-myeloma-301237310.htmlThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved PEPAXTO® (melphalan flufenamide), also known as melflufen during clinical development, in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have rectal bleeding. Based on the HORIZON trial, this indication has been given accelerated approval. PEPAXTO is the first anticancer peptide-drug conjugate that has been approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma.”While the treatment landscape for multiple myeloma has dramatically…

Satish Shah, MD, Medical Director, Gettysburg Cancer Center speaks about Theratechnologies Announces First Patient Dosed in Phase 1 Clinical Trial of TH1902 for Sortilin Positive Solid Tumors.Link to Article:http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/03/24/2198364/0/en/Theratechnologies-Announces-First-Patient-Dosed-in-Phase-1-Clinical-Trial-of-TH1902-for-Sortilin-Positive-Solid-Tumors.htmlTheratechnologies Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the discovery and commercialization of novel therapies, is pleased to report that the first patient was given a dose of TH1902, the company’s lead peptide-drug conjugate (PDC) for the treatment of sortilin positive (SORT1+) solid tumors.TH1902 is a fictional character.Theratechnologies’ patented peptide is combined with docetaxel in TH1902. TH1902 was recently granted fast track approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a…

Omolola Salako, MBBS, FWACS, Founder and CEO, Oncopadi Technologies speaks about the Astellas Oncology C3 Prize – This Years Grand Prize Winner.The Astellas Oncology C3 Prize, launched in 2016, is a global challenge that aims to address the complexities of the cancer journey by funding the best ideas in cancer care beyond medicine. The C3 Prize sparks innovative developments in cancer care, tackling cancer challenges by awarding the winners with grants and connecting them with resources and support.Link to Astellas C3 Prize:http://www.c3prize.com/Link To Oncopadi:https://oncopadi.com/Link to the Apple App Store:https://apps.apple.com/kw/app/oncopadi/id1534418355Link to Google Play:https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oncopadi.orgIdea: An app that connects cancer patients with the…

Tito R. Mendoza, Ph.D., MS, MEd from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center speaks about Associations between the gut microbiome and fatigue in cancer patients.Links Mentioned in Question 1:https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0923753419357151Andhttps://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1003466Link to Article:https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84783-9/metricsAccess and Citations: Web of Science and CrossRef have citation counts. The counts may differ by service and are dependent on the data’s availability. Counts will be updated on a regular basis once they become accessible. Online Attention: Altmetric assigns a score to an article based on the amount of online attention it gets. Each particular type of online attention is represented by a different colored thread in…

Santhosh Upadhyaya, MD, Pediatric Hematologist from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital speaks about ATRT molecular groups: looking at the biology from the clinic.Link to Article:https://www.stjude.org/media-resources/news-releases/2021-medicine-science-news/atrt-molecular-groups-looking-at-the-biology-from-the-clinic.htmlAtypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (ATRT) is a rare form of brain tumor that often affects children. Scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital studied the molecular groups of ATRT and correlated them with clinical results using evidence from two clinical trials. Clinical Cancer Research, a publication of the American Association for Cancer Research, published a paper outlining the findings today.“If you look at the biology of ATRT, we have learned in the last few years that…

Lisa McKenzie, Founder, and Executive Producer, You Night Empowering Events speaks about being This Years Astellas Oncology C3 Prize – Innovation Prize Winner. The Astellas Oncology C3 Prize, launched in 2016, is a global challenge that aims to address the complexities of the cancer journey by funding the best ideas in cancer care beyond medicine. The C3 Prize sparks innovative developments in cancer care, tackling cancer challenges by awarding the winners with grants and connecting them with resources and support.Link to Astellas C3 Prize:http://www.c3prize.com/Link to You Night:https://www.younightevents.com/Idea: A narrative therapy storytelling course that helps cancer patients express their life journeys, find inner…

Douglas Johnson, MD, MSCI, associate professor of Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and clinical director of Melanoma at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center speaks about Forty-three Percent Of Melanoma Patients Have Chronic Complications From Immunotherapies.Link to Article:https://news.vumc.org/2021/03/25/forty-three-percent-of-melanoma-patients-have-chronic-complications-from-immunotherapies/According to a report published March 25 in JAMA Oncology, chronic side effects among melanoma survivors treated with anti-PD-1 immunotherapies are more frequent than previously thought.Chronic complications, which affected 43% of patients, mainly affected the joints and endocrine system, with salivary glands, lungs, peripheral nerves, and other organs coming in second and third. Just 14% of cases were resolved at the last follow-up, indicating that…

Jennifer C. King, Ph.D. CFO of the GO2 Foundation speaks about GO2 Foundation Leads Study to Improve Participation of Black Communities in Lung Cancer Clinical Trials.Link to Article:https://www.interventionaloncology360.com/content/go2-foundation-leads-study-improve-participation-black-communities-lung-cancer-clinicalThe GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer (GO2 Foundation) has announced its participation in the launch of a major multi-institutional study to see how to increase Black community participation in lung cancer clinical trials.Although total cancer patient participation in clinical trials in the United States is extremely low, at around 8%1, it is even lower among racial and ethnic minority groups. Just about 6% of patients who participate in clinical trials are Black, 3%…

Allison W. Kurian, MD, MSc from Stanford University California speaks about Genetic Testing for Breast and Ovarian Cancer: What Has Changed and What Still Needs To Change?Link to Article:https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/947040A major retrospective review illustrates how germline genetic testing in women with breast or ovarian cancer has progressed over time, as well as a way forward for testing these patients.Researchers discovered racial and ethnic differences in genetic testing, as well as “persistent underuse” of testing in ovarian cancer patients.The researchers also discovered that the majority of pathogenic variant (PV) findings came from 20 genes linked to breast and/or ovarian cancer, while testing…

Russell Langan, M.D., Chief of Surgical Oncology and Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, an RWJBarnabas Health facility, and Surgical Oncologist at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey speaks about RWJBarnabas Health Pioneers Innovative Pancreatic Cyst Surveillance Program.Link to Article:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rwjbarnabas-health-pioneers-innovative-pancreatic-cyst-surveillance-program-301245061.htmlIn order to classify, track, follow, and monitor patients with pancreatic cysts, Saint Barnabas Medical Center (SBMC), an RWJBarnabas Health facility, developed one of the first cloud-based data management systems in the world. SBMC’s Pancreatic Cyst Surveillance Program, which has a specific collaboration with Eon, a healthcare technology company, detects patients when incidental scans, such as an MRI, CT scan,…

Veerle Groen, MD from the University Medical Center Utrecht, Radiation Oncology, Utrecht, the Netherlands speaks about Focal Boost to the Intraprostatic Tumor in External Beam Radiotherapy for Patients With Localized Prostate Cancer: Results From the FLAME Randomized Phase III Trial.Link to Study:https://ascopubs.org/doi/abs/10.1200/JCO.20.02873BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE OBJECTIVEThe aim of this study is to see whether using external beam radiotherapy to improve the macroscopic visible tumor improves biochemical disease-free survival (bDFS) in patients with localized prostate cancer.PATIENTS AND TECHNIQUESBetween 2009 and 2015, 571 patients with low- and high-risk prostate cancer were enrolled in phase III, multicenter, randomized managed Focal Lesion Ablative Microboost…

An international team of researchers led by scientists from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center explain how pancreatic cancer cells use an alternative method to find essential nutrients, defying current therapies, to help them develop and spread in new findings published online March 18, 2021 in the journal Cancer Cell. Pancreatic cancer makes up about 3% of all cancers in the United States, but it is one of the most aggressive and lethal, accounting for 7% of all cancer deaths per year. Pancreatic cancer is particularly deadly after it has spread, with survival…

What is the C3 Prizeâ„¢?   Cancer is a difficult disease to understand. Astellas Oncology acknowledges the complexity of the cancer journey – people with cancer need intensive treatment in addition to medication.   That’s why we’ve committed to supporting big ideas that go beyond medicine to address daily problems in cancer care. By awarding $200,000 in grants and funding to advance innovations that have a significant impact in the cancer world, the C3 (Changing Cancer Treatment) Prize fosters the growth of inventions to transform cancer care for people with cancer, families, and their loved ones. The C3 Prize explicitly…

Prof. Giorgio Scagliotti Professor of Medical Oncology from the Università di Torino speaks about IASLC Statement on the Updated United States Preventive Task Force Guidelines on Lung Cancer Screening.Link to Article:https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/recommendation/lung-cancer-screeningRecommendation Summary:* Adults aged 50 to 80 who have smoked for at least 20 years and are either smoking or have quit during the last 15 years.*The USPSTF recommends annual lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) in adults aged 50 to 80 who have smoked for 20 years and are either smoking or have quit during the last 15 years. Once a person has not smoked for 15…

Sherif Badawy, MD from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago speaks about A systematic review of quality of life in sickle cell disease and thalassemia after stem cell transplant or gene therapy.Link to Article:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33496753/SummaryPatients with sickle cell disease (SCD) and thalassemia face a variety of complications during their lives, which result in impairment in various aspects of health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Curative therapies for patients with SCD and thalassemia, such as hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) and gene therapy, are gaining popularity; however, the impact of these treatments on different HRQOL domains is unknown. Our aim…