Could Cetuximab Maintenance Play a Role in RAS Wild-Type Metastatic CRC?
Maintenance therapy with cetuximab (Erbitux) after FOLFIRI (leucovorin, fluorouracil, and irinotecan) plus cetuximab induction therapy led to better outcomes for patients with RAS wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) in a phase II randomized trial, yet it failed to reach the study’s prespecified threshold for success. At 6 months after randomization, more patients assigned to maintenance […]
IMRT Best for Locally Advanced NSCLC, Study Suggests
SINGAPORE — Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) should be the radiation technique of choice for unresectable locally advanced non-small lung cancer (NSCLC), a secondary analysis of a randomized trial suggested. In the study, IMRT resulted in similar survival outcomes compared with 3D conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), but with less severe lung toxicity and radiation exposure to the […]
Simon Cowell Names The ‘Real Catalyst’ That Led Him To Seek Therapy For Mental Health
LOADINGERROR LOADING Simon Cowell said going to therapy for his mental health for the first time felt like a weight being “lifted off [his] shoulders.” The “America’s Got Talent” creator and judge, in an interview with The Mirror’s “Men in Mind” podcast, said he wished he tried therapy 10 to 20 years ago, noting its […]
Oral Cancer Patients Face Worse Outcomes With Delayed Radiation Therapy
MONTREAL – Most patients in a Canadian cohort had prolonged times to postoperative radiation therapy, and those delays were associated with worse survival outcomes, a multicenter study showed. Among 1,368 postsurgical patients with oral cavity squamous cell carcinoma, 80% waited more than 42 days to start postoperative radiation therapy (S-PORT). Delays in starting RT were […]
Primary Surgery Vs Radiation in Oropharyngeal Cancer: Does One Come Out a Winner?
MONTREAL — A study that looked at surgery versus radiation therapy (RT) for oropharyngeal cancer treatment found pros and cons with both approaches, but ultimately, surgery seemed to be the better bet. Patients with T1-T2 oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) in a database underwent primary transoral robotic surgery (TORS) versus primary RT and/or chemoRT (RT/CRT), […]
FDA Gives Nod to Gene Therapy for Hemophilia A
The FDA approved valoctocogene roxaparvovec (Roctavian) as the first gene therapy for the treatment of adults with severe hemophilia A, drug developer Biomarin announced on Thursday. Patients with severe disease are eligible for the one-time, single-dose treatment if they don’t have antibodies to adeno-associated virus serotype 5 (AAV5), as detected by an FDA-approved test. FDA […]
No Increase in Major Cardiac Events With Testosterone-Replacement Therapy
CHICAGO — Testosterone-replacement therapy was noninferior to placebo in the occurrence of major adverse cardiac events among men with hypogonadism and established or high risk for cardiovascular disease, the randomized TRAVERSE trial showed. At a mean follow-up of 33 months, the primary cardiovascular endpoint — first occurrence of any component of a composite of death […]
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 […]
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 […]
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Treatment Narrowly Captures Support of FDA Advisors
FDA advisors narrowly supported accelerated approval for Sarepta Therapeutics’ investigational gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) on Friday. In a 8-to-6 vote, the agency’s Cellular, Tissue, and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee said the overall benefits and risks supported SRP-9001 (delandistrogene moxeparvovec) for ambulatory Duchenne patients, using expression of Sarepta’s micro-dystrophin as a surrogate endpoint. […]