October 2021, Vol 11, No 10

According to results from a clinical trial presented during the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2021 virtual annual meeting, aspacytarabine (BST-236), a prodrug of cytarabine, appears safe and effective as first-line therapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are unfit for intensive chemotherapy. Read More ›

The novel BCL-2 inhibitor, lisaftoclax (APG-2575), elicited encouraging responses and acceptable tolerability in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and other hematologic malignancies, according to results of a phase 1 study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2021 virtual annual meeting. Read More ›

The use of the PARP inhibitor olaparib (Lynparza) for 1 year after receiving standard chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant or the adjuvant setting significantly improved invasive disease-free survival in patients with high-risk, early-stage, HER2 negative breast cancer and BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations, according to results presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2021 virtual annual meeting. Read More ›

On August 31, 2021, proposed revisions to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) General Chapter 797 Pharmaceutical Compounding – Sterile Compounding (USP) were published. For several years, different versions of USP have fostered concern and confusion about whether these pharmacy standards apply to (and will impact) the drug preparation and handling that is an integral part of oncology medical practices, as well as other specialties. Read More ›

Key topics related to intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) were presented at the 2021 Society of Interventional Oncology (SIO) and the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) meetings and were discussed at the CCA Summit. Bruno C. Odisio, MD, FSIR, Interventional Radiologist and Co-Director of Research, Interventional Radiology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, reviewed the findings. Read More ›

During the virtual European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2021, 5-year follow-­up data from a clinial trial showed comparable results related to cardiac safety and long-term efficacy between trastuzumab (Herceptin) and the biosimilar trastuzumab-dttb (SB3; Ontruzant) in patients with HER2-positive, early or locally advanced breast cancer. These findings were reported in a poster presentation by Xavier Pivot, MD, PhD, General Director, Centre Paul Strauss, Institut de Cancérologie Strasbourg Europe, France, and colleagues. Read More ›

Clinical documentation refers to the recording of pertinent facts, findings, and observations related to an individual’s health history, including past and present illnesses, examinations, tests, treatments, and outcomes. It plays a critical role in helping physicians and other medical professionals plan treatments, monitor a patient’s health status over time, and ensure continuity of care. It also facilitates accurate and timely claims review and payment, appropriate utilization review and quality-of-care evaluations, and collection of data that may be useful in research and education. As discussed in this article, quality documentation is essential for ensuring the well-being of your patients as well as your practice. Read More ›

The following clinical trials represent a selection of key studies currently recruiting patients with multiple myeloma for inclusion in investigations of new therapies and new regimens of existing treatments for the disease. Each clinical trial description includes the NLM Identifier to be used as a reference with ClinicalTrials.gov. This information can help oncology practice managers and providers direct eligible patients to one of these clinical trials. Read More ›

Nivolumab (Opdivo) has been shown to have antitumor activity in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma who received platinum treatment. However, the role of this agent as adjuvant therapy in high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma following surgery has been unclear. In a recent study, researchers evaluated the efficacy and safety of adjuvant nivolumab compared with placebo in patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma following radical surgery (Bajorin DF, et al. N Engl J Med. 2021;384:2102-2104). Read More ›

On September 15, 2021, the FDA accelerated the approval of mobocertinib (Exkivity; Takeda), an oral kinase inhibitor, for adults with locally advanced or metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations, as detected by an FDA-approved test, whose disease progressed during or after platinum-based chemotherapy. Mobocertinib received breakthrough therapy and orphan drug designations for this indication. Read More ›