Dr. Samira Syed, MD, is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she treats patients and focuses on breast cancer research. In this interview, Dr. Syed discusses recent therapeutic advances and future directions in the treatment of patients with breast cancer. This interview has been conducted in partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF). Recognized as one of the leading breast cancer organizations in the w...

This interview has been conducted in partnership with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF). Recognized as one of the leading breast cancer organizations in the world, NBCF is Helping Women Now® by providing early detection, education, and support services to those affected by breast cancer. A recipient of Charity Navigator's highest 4-star rating for 14 years, NBCF provides support through their National Mammography Program, Patient Navigation, breast health education, and patient suppor...

Follicular lymphoma is a disease that affects 2.7 per 100,000 individuals each year, with a five-year survival rate of 89.7%. It is the most common subtype of indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma; about 22% of newly diagnosed non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases are follicular lymphoma. The development of novel therapies offers new treatment options for patients living with follicular lymphoma. In this interview, Dr. Loretta J. Nastoupil, MD, Section Chief of New Drug Development in the Department of Lymphoma/...

The FDA has approved amivantamab-vmjw (Rybrevant®, Janssen) for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion mutations. "Despite sharing similar tumor biology to other EGFR-mutant NSCLC tumors, no targeted therapies have been approved for NSCLC harboring EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations," wrote Joshua K. Sabari, MD, medical oncologist at NYU Medical Oncology Associates and colleagues, in the abstract presented in January at the W...

Lung cancer is diagnosed in approximately 235,760 individuals in the United States each year, and 131,880 people die of the disease annually. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which accounts for 84% of these cases, has a dismal 5-year survival rate of 18%, and most patients will develop progressive disease within 5 months of their final cycle of first-line classical doublet chemotherapy. The use of tumor histology in determining optimal treatment strategies and relevant molecular biomarkers ha...

The FDA has granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck & Co.) in combination with trastuzumab, fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy for first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2- positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. "The PD-1 (programmed cell death protein 1)/PD-L1 (programmed death-ligand 1) pathway is an important regulatory component of the immune response and plays a critica...

Recently, the results of a phase 3 trial on camrelizumab were published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology and presented at the European Lung Cancer Virtual Congress 2021. Camrelizumab was studied in the randomized, double-blind, multicenter trial as a treatment for advanced squamous non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Patients with stages IIIB-IV squamous NSCLC were treated with carboplatin plus paclitaxel with camrelizumab or placebo in the first-line setting. Compared with those who recei...

Recently, the FDA approved idecabtagene vicleucel (Abecma®, Bristol Myers Squibb) for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have already been treated with four or more lines of therapy, including an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody. The approval was based on KarMMa, a phase 2 trial that confirmed the efficacy and safety of idecabtagene vicleucel in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. In this interview, one of...

Recently, the FDA granted regular approval to sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy®, Immunomedics, Inc.) for patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who have previously been treated with two or more systemic therapies, at least one of them for metastatic disease. The FDA had previously granted accelerated approval to sacituzumab govitecan based on the results of the phase 1/2 IMMU-132-01 study (NCT01631552); the phase 3 ASCENT study (NCT02574455)...

Recently, the FDA approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.) in combination with platinum/fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy for patients with metastatic or locally advanced esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) carcinoma who do not qualify for surgical resection or definitive chemoradiation. The approval was based on the results of KEYNOTE-590, a phase 3 trial that demonstrated significant improvements in progression-free survival and overall survival for patient...

The FDA has granted regular approval to sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy®, Immunomedics Inc.) for patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) who previously have been treated with two or more systemic therapies, at least one of them for metastatic disease. Previously, the FDA had granted accelerated approval to sacituzumab govitecan based on the results of the phase 1/2 IMMU-132-01 study (NCT01631552); the ASCENT study (NCT0257445...

Myeloproliferative neoplasms, including myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera, and essential thrombocytopenia, affect approximately 13,000, 134,000, and 148,000 individuals in the United States, respectively. Due to difficulties in identifying the disease, low disease prevalence, a complicated symptom profile, differences in patient and provider perspectives regarding symptom burden and treatment goals, and a lack of effective and tolerable therapies, there is confusion over the optimal approach to t...

Recently, the results of a phase 3 trial on nivolumab/cabozantinib were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study (CheckMate 9ER) compared the efficacy and safety of nivolumab/cabozantinib with those of sunitinib in adult patients with previously untreated advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The trial results demonstrated that nivolumab/cabozantinib has significant benefits over sunitinib in this patient population. In this interview with Oncology Data Advisor, Dr. ...

The FDA has approved daunorubicin and cytarabine (Vyxeos®, Jazz Pharmaceuticals) for pediatric patients one year and older with newly diagnosed therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML) or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes. "Effective regimens are needed for children with relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML)," wrote Todd Cooper, DO, of Seattle Children's Hospital, and colleagues, in their May publication in the Journal of Clinical Oncology of AAML1421 (NCT02642965), one of the studie...

The FDA has approved idecabtagene vicleucel (Abecma®, Bristol Myers Squibb) for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have already been treated with four or more lines of therapy, including an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody. "Idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel, also called bb2121), a B-cell maturation antigen-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, has shown clinical activity with expected CAR T-cell toxic ef...

The FDA has approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.) in combination with platinum/fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy for patients with metastatic or locally advanced esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) carcinoma who do not qualify for surgical resection or definitive chemoradiation. "Pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy versus chemotherapy was superior for overall survival in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) with a combined positive score (CP...

Recently, the FDA approved axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta®, Kite Pharma, Inc.) for adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including the combination of an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody and an alkylating agent. The approval was based on results from ZUMA-5, a phase 2 trial in which axicabtagene ciloleucel demonstrated a high rate of efficacy. In this interview, one of the study investigators, Julio Chavez, MD, of the Moff...

Of all women diagnosed with cancer in the United States, 30% have breast cancer, which is the second-leading cause of cancer death in this group. Many women have benefitted from regular screening as well as earlier and improved treatment; however, 6% of women present with metastatic disease, and 30% with no initial lymph node involvement will develop metastatic disease. Women with metastatic breast cancer have a poorer prognosis than the overall population of breast cancer patients, and research...

Recently, the results of two phase 3 trials on tirbanibulin were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Tirbanibulin was studied in two identically designed double-blind trials as a treatment for actinic keratosis, a precursor of cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma. Adults with actinic keratosis lesions on their face or scalp received either tirbanibulin 1% ointment or placebo once daily for five consecutive days. Compared with those receiving placebo, patients who received tirbanibulin...

The FDA has granted accelerated approval to axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta®, Kite Pharma, Inc.) for adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including the combination of an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody and an alkylating agent. An indolent form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) that is not generally curable, FL is considered a chronic disease. Therefore, people living with FL often require second-line therapies after their di...