February 2020, Vol 10, No 2

On January 8, 2020, the FDA approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck) for the treatment of patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive, high-risk, non–muscle-invasive bladder cancer with carcinoma in situ with or without papillary tumors who are ineligible for or have elected not to undergo cystectomy. Keytruda has received previous FDA approval as a single agent or in combination with other agents for the treatment of many types of cancers. Read Article ›

According to results from a retrospective analysis of nearly 12,000 patients with cancer, increased social support may function as an analgesic and help to mitigate pain. Read Article ›

Reducing pain without increasing opioids is feasible in patients with advanced cancer, according to results presented at the 2019 ASCO Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium. In a retrospective analysis of 300 patients with advanced cancer receiving inpatient palliative care services, researchers found that nearly half of patients who achieved clinically improved pain did so without an increase in oral morphine equivalent daily dose. Read Article ›

The introduction of BRAF- and MEK-targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors has significantly improved outcomes in patients with metastatic melanoma. However, many patients have drug resistance—acquired or primary—which results in death from underlying disease. Read Article ›

In the phase 2 STORM Part 1 clinical trial, 21% of patients with refractory multiple myeloma had a partial or better response to oral selinexor (Xpovio) plus dexamethasone. Those findings were the basis for the pivotal phase 2 STORM Part 2 study. Read Article ›

The investigational B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy known as JNJ-4528 induced responses in 100% of 29 evaluable patients with heavily pretreated relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, according to the results of the phase 1b/2 CARTITUDE-1 clinical trial reported at ASH 2019. Read Article ›

The investigational dual-targeted BM38 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy achieved an objective response in more than 90% of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who had received ≥3 previous therapies and whose disease had spread outside of the bone marrow. Furthermore, the therapy cleared extramedullary lesions in almost all patients with these lesions, according to results presented at ASH 2019. Read Article ›

A new CD45-targeting antibody radiation-conjugate, iodine-131 (I-131) apamistamab, may be a less toxic alternative to today’s standard practice of chemotherapy-based lymphodepletion regimens before initiation of adoptive cell therapy, according to results presented at ASH 2019. Read Article ›

Mosunetuzumab is an investigational bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) agent dually targeting 2 proteins on the surface of lymphoma cells—CD3 (on the surface of T-cells) and CD20 (on the surface of B-cells). Read Article ›