Investigational Immunotherapy Combo Shows Promise for Advanced Solid Tumors
An investigational combination of CTLA-4 and PD‐1 checkpoint inhibitors demonstrated “encouraging” tumor activity, as well as a manageable safety profile, in patients with advanced/metastatic solid tumors, according to results from a small phase I study. Among 61 patients with different solid tumors who were evaluated for efficacy, 37.7% achieved an objective response to treatment with […]
A Win for Trabectedin in High-Grade Myxoid Liposarcoma?
Neoadjuvant trabectedin (Yondelis) for high-grade myxoid liposarcoma (HG-MLPS) demonstrated noninferiority to the long-time standard of anthracycline-ifosfamide (AI), according to new data from a previously completed trial. Standard therapy was associated with twice as many recurrences as compared with trabectedin, translating into a 40% reduction in the hazard for disease-free survival (DFS) in favor of trabectedin. […]
Novel Combination Active in Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Even After CAR-T
A phase Ib/II study demonstrated that mosunetuzumab (Lunsumio) plus polatuzumab vedotin (Polivy) induced durable responses in patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL), including patients who relapsed after CAR T-cell therapy. The findings were presented at the recent American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting and simultaneously published in Nature Medicine. In this […]
EphrinB2 Expression in Urothelial Cancer Tied to Checkpoint Inhibitor Activity
A prior analysis of data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) demonstrated that high EphrinB2 gene expression was associated with poor survival in patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. At the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, researchers reported new findings showing that EphrinB2 expression in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma was linked with […]
Non-Covalent BTK Inhibitor Yields High Response Rate in Pretreated CLL
The non-covalent or reversible Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor pirtobrutinib (Jaypirca) demonstrated promising efficacy in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) previously exposed to BTK inhibition, the phase I/II BRUIN study showed. Among 247 patients who had previously received a covalent BTK inhibitor, 73.3% (95% CI 67.3-78.7) achieved an overall […]
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 […]
A special omega-3 fatty acid lipid will change how we look at the developing and aging brain
Scientists from Singapore have demonstrated the critical role played by a special transporter protein in regulating the brain cells that ensure nerves are protected by coverings called myelin sheaths. The findings, reported by researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School and the National University of Singapore in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, could help to reduce the […]
CDC: Bivalent COVID Vaccines Stop Illness From XBB.1.5
Currently authorized bivalent COVID-19 boosters demonstrated similar protection against symptomatic illness from the XBB/XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariants as from BA.5-related subvariants, according to a CDC study. From December 2022 to January 2023, the bivalent boosters’ vaccine effectiveness (VE) against symptomatic infection was a similar 48% versus XBB/XBB.1.5-related strains and 52% versus BA.5-related sublineages, reported Ruth Link-Gelles, […]
Probiotic Proves Its Might for Staph Decolonization
A Bacillus subtilis probiotic demonstrated the ability to wipe out most Staphylococcus aureus colonization without altering the gut microbiome, a placebo-controlled phase II study conducted in Thailand showed. Of 115 healthy individuals with natural S. aureus colonization, 30 days of the probiotic led to a 96.8% reduction in S. aureus in stool (P<0.0001) and a […]
Adagrasib Shows Anti-Tumor Activity in Heavily Pretreated KRAS-Mutant CRC
Adagrasib (Krazati) demonstrated antitumor activity in heavily pretreated patients with KRAS G12C-mutated, metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC), according to phase I/II study results. Monotherapy with the oral KRAS inhibitor led to responses in 19% (95% CI 8-33) of 43 evaluable patients with CRC, with a median duration of response of 4.3 months (95% CI 2.3-8.3) and […]