JAK Inhibitor Improves Symptoms, Anemia in Myelofibrosis
Myelofibrosis treatment with the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor momelotinib resulted in clinically significant improvements in symptoms and spleen response compared with danazol for symptomatic, JAK inhibitor-exposed patients with anemia and intermediate- or high-risk disease, the phase III MOMENTUM trial showed. A significantly greater proportion of patients in the momelotinib group reported a ≥50% reduction in […]
Adding Targeted Drug to Chemo Boosts Survival in Esophageal/GEJ Cancer
SAN FRANCISCO — Adding a Claudin (CLDN) inhibitor to chemotherapy significantly increased progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in locally advanced gastric/gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer and CLDN 18.2 expression, a randomized trial showed. Median PFS increased from 8.67 months with modified FOLFOX chemotherapy to 10.61 months with the addition of investigational zolbetuximab. Median OS improved […]
Can Biomarkers Give Early Heads-Up on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Myocarditis?
In the quest to catch myocarditis earlier during immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy for cancer, researchers have found a potential role for routinely measured biomarkers. Of 2,606 consecutive ICI recipients at Michigan Medicine, the 1% who developed myocarditis often or always had elevated high-sensitivity troponin T (hsTnT; 100%), alanine aminotransferase (ALT; 88.9%), aspartate aminotransferase (AST; […]
Novel BTK Inhibitor Looks Good for Sjogren’s Syndrome
PHILADELPHIA — Remibrutinib, an investigational Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, appeared effective in reducing signs of Sjogren’s syndrome in a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Scores on the EULAR Sjogren’s Syndrome Activity Index (ESSDAI), a comprehensive measure of Sjogren’s severity, fell by 2.86 points with the oral drug relative to placebo during the 24-week trial, according to […]
Triplet in First-Line Kidney Cancer Thwarts Disease Progression
PARIS — Adding the tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) cabozantinib (Cabometyx) to dual immune checkpoint inhibition improved progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the phase III COSMIC-313 trial found. Among 550 patients with untreated intermediate- or poor-risk disease, those treated with the triplet therapy had a median PFS that was not […]
First TYK2 Inhibitor for Psoriasis Wins FDA Approval
The FDA approved the first-in-class oral tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2) inhibitor deucravacitinib (Sotyktu) for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, Bristol Myers Squibb announced. The indication limits use to adults who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy. Deucravacitinib is not recommended for use with other immunosuppressant drugs. “Sotyktu has the potential to become the new standard-of-care oral […]
Rezvilutamide Bests Bicalutamide in Metastatic Prostate Cancer
In combination with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), the novel androgen-receptor inhibitor rezvilutamide significantly improved radiographic progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared with bicalutamide (Casodex) in patients with high-volume, metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, the phase III CHART trial showed. Among 654 mostly Asian patients, median radiographic PFS was not reached in the rezvilutamide group […]
Dual Therapy Holds Its Own in Treatment-Naive HIV
MONTREAL — A two-drug combination using a generic formulation of the protease inhibitor darunavir/ritonavir plus lamivudine appeared to control HIV as well as the same combination with added tenofovir, according to results of the phase IV ANDES trial reported here. In the intention-to-treat analysis, 91% patients on the dual therapy achieved undetectable viral loads using […]
Durable Responses, Safety in Atopic Dermatitis Treated With IL-13 Inhibitor
The interleukin (IL)-13 inhibitor tralokinumab (Adbry) for atopic dermatitis provided long-term disease control with a favorable safety profile and improved quality of life (QoL), data from two studies showed. Interim results from a long-term extension study showed that 82.5% of patients had at least 75% improvement in the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI-75) after […]
Chemo-Free Maintenance Combo Promising in Pancreatic Cancer
Pairing a PARP inhibitor and immune checkpoint inhibitor together may be a viable non-cytotoxic maintenance therapy option for patients with platinum-sensitive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), according to findings of a single-center phase Ib/II study. At a median follow-up of 23.0 months, combining the PARP inhibitor niraparib (Zejula) with the anti CTLA-4 antibody ipilimumab (Yervoy) achieved […]