ADC-Pertuzumab Promising as New Standard in HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer
CHICAGO — First-line trastuzumab deruxtecan (T-DXd) combined with pertuzumab (Perjeta) improved progression-free survival (PFS) in HER2-positive locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer, according to the DESTINY-Breast09 trial. In the phase III study after a median of follow-up of 29 months, patients randomized to T-DXd plus pertuzumab had a median PFS by blinded independent central review […]
Two Pembrolizumab Trials in Head and Neck Cancer Yield Divergent Results
Two first-line trials involving pembrolizumab (Keytruda)-based combinations for the treatment of recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) delivered mixed results. While first-line pembrolizumab plus lenvatinib (Lenvima) significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall response rate (ORR) compared with pembrolizumab alone in patients with recurrent or metastatic HNSCC with PD-L1 combined positive […]
More Data Support Olaparib-Abiraterone in BRCA-Mutant Prostate Cancer
Combining olaparib (Lynparza) with abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) as first-line therapy for biomarker-selected patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) versus either agent alone, according to findings from a small phase II trial presented at this year’s Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. In this exclusive MedPage Today video, Daniel Geynisman, MD, of Fox Chase […]
Use These Antibiotics for Close Contacts of Invasive Meningococcal Disease, CDC Says
Rifampin, ceftriaxone, or azithromycin are recommended as first-line alternatives to ciprofloxacin prophylaxis for close contacts of people with meningococcal disease in areas where the disease is highly resistant to ciprofloxacin, according to new guidance from the CDC. Health departments should consider using other antibiotics for prophylaxis when, over the course of the past 12 months, […]
Effective Treatments Identified for Pediatric Complication of COVID
PHOENIX — First-line treatment with methylprednisolone and second-line treatment with tocilizumab (Actemra) shortened hospital stays for children with pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS; also referred to as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children [MIS-C]), according to results of a two-stage clinical trial from the RECOVERY collaborative group. In 214 children randomly assigned […]
FDA Approves New First-Line Standard of Care in Bladder Cancer
Patients with locally advanced or metastatic bladder cancer have a permanent new first-line standard of care after the FDA granted full approval to the combination of enfortumab vedotin (Padcev) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) regardless of cisplatin eligibility. The action finalized the approval process for the combination, which received accelerated approval earlier this year, at the time […]
Adding Atezolizumab Improves Survival in Advanced Cervical Cancer
First-line treatment with the anti-PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab (Tecentriq) combined with bevacizumab (Avastin) and platinum-based chemotherapy significantly improved survival in patients with metastatic or recurrent cervical cancer, according to results of the phase III BEATcc trial. The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 13.7 months with added atezolizumab compared with 10.4 months with the standard bevacizumab plus […]
RET Inhibitor Posts Frontline Wins in Medullary Thyroid Cancer, NSCLC
MADRID — First-line treatment with the RET inhibitor selpercatinib (Retevmo) achieved superior outcomes in both medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) and advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to results from two phase III trials presented here. In the LIBRETTO-531 trial, selpercatinib resulted in superior progression-free survival (PFS) and treatment failure-free survival (TFFS) compared with the […]
Landmark Trial Produces New First-Line Standard for Advanced Bladder Cancer
MADRID — Chemotherapy’s generation-long dominance in first-line advanced urothelial cancer ended with a resounding victory for the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) enfortumab vedotin (Padcev) plus pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in an international randomized trial. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) doubled with enfortumab-pembrolizumab (EV-P) at 12.5 and 31.5 months versus 6.3 and 16.1 months with platinum-containing chemotherapy. […]
Pembrolizumab in First-Line Boosts PFS in HER2-Positive Stomach Cancer
MADRID — Including pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in the first-line treatment of metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal cancer improved progression-free survival (PFS), but potential harm was seen in PD-L1-negative patients, the randomized KEYNOTE-811 trial showed. In patients receiving standard chemotherapy plus trastuzumab, median PFS improved from 8.1 months with placebo to 10.0 months with pembrolizumab (HR 0.73, […]