Second-Line Axi-Cel Bests Standard in Relapsed/Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma
CHICAGO — Patients treated with the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel; Yescarta) in the second line for early relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma had significantly longer overall survival (OS) than those treated with standard care, according to an analysis of the ZUMA-7 trial. At a median follow-up of 47.2 months […]
Novel IDH1/2 Inhibitor Shows ‘Dramatic Effect’ in Low-Grade Glioma
CHICAGO — Oral vorasidenib monotherapy significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS), and delayed the time to next therapy, in patients with mutated, low-grade glioma, according to an interim analysis of the INDIGO trial. Among 331 patients with grade 2 isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-mutant glioma, who received no prior treatment other than surgery, those randomly assigned to receive […]
Nivolumab-AVD Boosts PFS in Untreated Hodgkin Lymphoma
CHICAGO — Adding the immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo), rather than brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris), to a standard chemotherapy backbone reduced the risk of disease progression or death in newly diagnosed adults and adolescents with advanced-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), according to the SWOG S1826 trial. Patients in the phase III study received six cycles of […]
Novel Anti-HER2 Drugs ‘Impressive’ in Advanced Biliary Cancer
CHICAGO — In a pair of mid-stage trials, newer targeted therapies demonstrated meaningful levels of activity against HER2-positive biliary tract cancers in pretreated patients with advanced disease. Cohort 1 of the global HERIZON-BTC-01 study, which included 80 treatment-refractory patients, showed that 41.3% (95% CI 30.4-52.8) responded to zanidatamab, an investigational bispecific monoclonal antibody that targets […]
Chemo-Free Approach Works in Subset of Patients With HER2+ Early Breast Cancer
CHICAGO — An “adaptive response” treatment strategy identified a subset of patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer who benefited from a chemotherapy-free treatment plan, according to the phase II PHERGain trial. The strategy is based on evaluating an early response to a dual HER2 blockade with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab (Perjeta) with 18F-FDG PET imaging […]
CDK4/6 Extends Reach Into Early-Stage Breast Cancer
CHICAGO — Adding ribociclib (Kisqali) to adjuvant endocrine therapy significantly improved invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) in patients with early-stage, high-risk breast cancer and hormone receptor (HR)-positive/HER2-negative disease, an interim analysis of a large phase III study found. In the NATALEE trial, which included patients with node-negative disease, the CKD4/6 inhibitor plus endocrine therapy combination resulted […]
Is Electrical Duodenal Resurfacing the Next Big Thing for T2D and Obesity?
CHICAGO — A novel approach to revitalizing the duodenal mucosa as a means to restore normal insulin sensitivity in people with type 2 diabetes is showing strong promise in early studies, according to results presented here. In two single-arm trials of a system called ReCET, reported at Digestive Disease Week (DDW), patients with either poorly […]
Medicaid Expansion Seen Lifting Colon Cancer Screening for Low-Income People
CHICAGO — Colorectal cancer screening rates at so-called Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in 2021 were higher in states that had accepted funding from the federal government to expand access to Medicaid compared with those that had not, a researcher said here. But the data also suggested that Medicaid expansion didn’t eliminate all financial barriers […]
Snipless Vasectomy Shows Early Promise as Long-Term Male Contraceptive
CHICAGO — A no-scalpel vasectomy passed a preliminary clinical test, achieving near-100% azoospermia within 2 weeks and maintaining the status to day 30 in the first men to undergo the procedure. Following injection of an occlusive nonhormonal hydrogel into the vas, sperm concentration decreased by as much as 99.98% by day 14 in the first […]
Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections Flop for Erectile Dysfunction in U.S. Study
CHICAGO — Intracavernosal platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections were no better than placebo for treating mild-to-moderate erectile dysfunction, a randomized, single-center trial found. At 1 month after the second round of injections, no significant difference was seen between the PRP and placebo groups for the study’s primary endpoint, the percentage of men attaining a minimum clinically […]