Darlene Dobkowski, MA

Based on findings from the KEYNOTE-811 trial, the FDA approved Keytruda for the treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma in combination with trastuzumab and chemotherapy.

Factors including progression-free survival, duration of response and overall survival were promising at 15 months in patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma.

CURE Media Group also recognized Jennifer E. Giovanni, Ph.D., MSN, MPH, RN, as winner of the Finest Hour Award, which highlights the dedication and selflessness exhibited in front-line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Treatment with tisotumab vedotin, a novel antibody-drug conjugate, in women with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer, led to an objective response rate of 24% with a manageable safety profile.

Most patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma treated with a combination of Kyprolis, Revlimid, dexamethasone and Darzalex achieved minimal residual disease negativity during a median follow-up of 11 months.

In patients with resected high-risk stage 3 cutaneous melanoma, distant metastasis-free survival at 3.5 years was 65.3% in patients treated with Keytruda compared with 49.4% in those treated with placebo, which was also consistent in patients with PD-L1-positive tumors.

Patients with non-small cell lung cancer and a KRAS G12C genetic mutation may benefit from treatment with an inhibitor targeting that mutation, although more research is needed to learn why more patients are not responding to the drug.

Certain patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma may benefit with active surveillance compared with systemic therapy for their management and may also lead to an improved quality of life.

Median progression-free survival in patients treated with Keytruda was 13.2 months versus 8.3 months with Adcetris, which makes Keytruda an “effective treatment option” for patients in this population who were either ineligible for or relapsed after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Despite on-treatment clinical progression, patients treated with Avastin and standard chemotherapy had a median progression-free survival of 11.8 months compared with 8.8 months in those treated with standard chemotherapy alone.

Several factors were associated with patients undergoing radical nephrectomy compared with radical nephroureterectomy including Black race, large tumors, advanced tumor stage and high-grade tumors.

A 500 mg dose of Tepmetko, a MET inhibitor, in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who were previously treated with Nexavar led to a 12-week progression-free survival rate of 63.3%.

Adjusting the dose of cisplatin, when added to regular doses of Abraxane and gemcitabine, led to similar survival rates when treating patients with advanced/metastatic urothelial carcinoma, which may help to address issues commonly seen with patients who cannot tolerate cisplatin such as renal dysfunction.

A high intensity immunochemotherapy with maintenance therapy led to 93.2% of patients achieving a complete response and 55.6% of patients with progression-free survival at five years.

Researchers found that patients who were never married, had lower educational levels or had comorbidities were less likely to be suggested an autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation, which may underline a need for more informed decision making.

An expert spoke with CURE® about the FDA’s recent approval of Libtayo to treat patients with locally advanced basal cell carcinoma who previously had only one therapy option for locally advanced disease.

Men with breast cancer who were treated with Soltamox plus gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue had a decrease in estradiol levels of 85%, whereas Aromasin plus gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue reduced these levels by 72%.

A once-every-two-week regimen of Erbitux has been approved by the FDA, which provides patients with KRAS wild-type, EGFR-expressing colorectal cancer or squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck another treatment option.

Pirtobrutinib was safe and effective in treating patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, small lymphocytic lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma and Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia, some of whom developed intolerance or resistance to previous covalent BTK inhibitors.

Patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer who underwent surgery then chemotherapy had a progression-free survival of 17.4 months compared with 11.9 months in those who underwent chemotherapy alone.

An expert discusses therapies that are changing the treatment landscape and the research to make this disease more livable.

Abecma is the first cell-based gene therapy approved for the treatment of patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who did not respond to at least four treatments, or whose disease returned after those four lines of therapy.

Although Keytruda did not improve overall survival when compared with chemotherapy, patients with a higher PD-L1 expression may derive a greater benefit with Keytruda, as shown with a longer median overall survival.

The phase 3 ARIEL4 trial evaluated Rubraca (rucaparib) versus chemotherapy in patients with ovarian cancer and a BRCA mutation who did not respond to two or more lines of chemotherapy.

A three-time cancer survivor discusses the importance of genetic testing, listening to your body and teaching family members about your experiences to potentially protect them from future cancers.

Fertility treatments led to a cancer diagnosis but also opened the door to adoption and a new view on life.

FDA approval of immunotherapies and BRAF/MEK inhibitors may have impacted overall survival, with a change from seven months between 2010 and 2014 to 13 months between 2015 and 2019.

The HPV vaccine has been shown to help prevent cervical cancer, but what if you didn’t get the vaccine in time to prevent the disease?

An expert discusses the treatment options that patients with early relapse myeloma have to treat their recurrent disease, which often follows a cyclical pattern.

An expert discusses the potential that several novel therapies hold in treating metastatic breast cancer, including PARP inhibitors, immunotherapy and antibody drug conjugates. Each therapy type has an FDA-approved option to potentially provide patients with better outcomes and quality of life.