At the Greater Los Angeles Oncology Nursing Society (GLAONS) Oncology Care Summit in Los Angeles, California, Oncology Data Advisor spoke with Tiffany Richards, PhD, ANP-BC, Advanced Practice Nurse at MD Anderson Cancer Center, about strategies for optimizing patient experiences during multiple myeloma treatment. Dr. Richards discusses the challenges of treating patients with multiple myeloma, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, and shares strategies for promoting adherence and optimizing...

An estimated 228,820 new cases of lung cancer are reported in the United States annually, and 135,720 people die of the disease (ACS, 2020). Approximately 84% of cases are classified as non-small cell. Most patients are diagnosed at a locally advanced or metastatic stage, making systemic therapy the cornerstone of management (ACS, 2020). Although 70% of patients receiving first-line classical doublet chemotherapy demonstrate clinical benefit, most develop progressive disease within 5 months of t...

Physician burnout and work-related stress are serious and prevalent issues in oncology, with nearly 45% of oncologists experiencing signs of burnout. Recently, this problem has been further exacerbated by the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode of Oncology Data Advisor, Daniel McFarland, DO, a head and neck medical oncologist and consult-liaison psychiatrist at Northwell Health Lenox Hill Hospital, joins i3 Health for a discussion that covers the varying factors th...

Merkel cell carcinoma is a rare and aggressive neuroendocrine tumor of unknown origin that typically presents in older white and immunocompromised adults. An estimated 2,488 cases are diagnosed in the United States annually (Paulson et al, 2018). The incidence of MCC has risen rapidly during the past few decades, which has been attributed in part to people living longer with increased sun exposure and weakened immune systems, a feature that suggests an infectious origin and warrants further rese...

Kidney cancer accounts for approximately 4% of all cancer diagnoses in the United States (ACS, 2020). An estimated 73,750 new cases are reported annually and 14,830 people die of the disease. Renal cell carcinoma, which comprises nearly 90% of all kidney cancers, is characterized by a lack of early warning signs, diverse clinical manifestations, and resistance to radiation and chemotherapy. Due to its often asymptomatic presentation, many patients have advanced disease at diagnosis, which is ass...

Fifteen-year results of a randomized phase 3 trial show that for patients with stage I–III breast cancer, internal mammary and medial supraclavicular (IM-MS) lymph node chain irradiation reduces breast cancer mortality and breast cancer recurrence but does not produce a significant improvement in overall survival. "Ten-year results from several studies showed improved disease-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival, reduced breast cancer-related mortality, and variable effects on over...

The FDA recently approved nivolumab/ipilimumab for the first-line treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma, marking the second FDA approval for this condition and the first approval in the past 16 years. In this interview, Paul Baas, MD, PhD, principal investigator of the CheckMate 743 trial (NCT02899299), on which the approval was based, speaks with Oncology Data Advisor about the benefits and tolerability of nivolumab/ipilimumab, ongoing research advances in the treatment of malignant pleur...

One of the two major subtypes of lung cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a challenging disease to treat, with most patients being diagnosed at a locally advanced or metastatic stage. Despite the use of tumor histology and relevant molecular biomarkers to determine treatment strategies, outcomes remain poor, with a 5-year survival rate of only 24%. In this episode of Oncology Data Advisor, Mark G. Kris, MD, William and Joy Ruane Chair in Thoracic Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Ca...

With an estimated incidence of 8,000 new cases per year, cholangiocarcinoma is a rare and aggressive tumor type that accounts for only 3% of all gastrointestinal cancers. Outcomes are poor, with 5-year survival rates ranging from 24% to as low as 2%. In this episode of Oncology Data Advisor, Mitesh J. Borad, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Liver and Biliary Cancer Research Program at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Phoenix, Arizona, joins i3 Health for a discussion that ...

The FDA has issued draft guidance documents for drug and biologic development in the adjuvant treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and bladder cancer, with recommendations for clinical trials concerning eligibility criteria, methodology, and use of disease-free survival as an end point. "The FDA has actively encouraged a more uniform approach to developing clinical trials to evaluate adjuvant treatments for renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer, including hosting a public workshop in p...

The FDA has now approved nivolumab (Opdivo®, Bristol Myers Squibb) in combination with ipilimumab (Yervoy®, Bristol-Myers Squibb) as first-line treatment for unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). This therapeutic combination is only the second treatment to be FDA approved for this condition, and it marks the first mesothelioma approval to take place in the past 16 years. The approval was based on efficacy data from the open-label phase 3 CHECKMATE 743 trial (NCT02899299), ...

In advanced gastric cancer and gastroesophageal junction cancer, treatment options remain limited. Results of the phase 3 CheckMate 649 and phase 2/3 ATTRACTION-4 studies, both of which investigated chemotherapy with or without nivolumab in patients with previously untreated unresectable, advanced, or recurrent gastric/gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancer, were recently presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Congress 2020. CheckMate 649 reported significant impr...

Recently, the FDA approved a new treatment for multiple myeloma previously treated with one to three lines of therapy: daratumumab (Darzalex®, Janssen) in combination with carfilzomib and dexamethasone. In this interview, Meletios Dimopoulos, MD, principal investigator of the phase 3 CANDOR trial, which served as the basis for the approval, speaks with i3 Health regarding the benefits and adverse events of this new therapeutic combination, as well as additional advances in the treatment of relap...

Nivolumab/ipilimumab demonstrates efficacy in patients with melanoma and brain metastases, according to results of the primary analysis of the phase 3 NIBIT-M2 trial, presented at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Congress 2020. "Brain metastases represent a high unmet medical need, in which the therapeutic potential of immune-checkpoint(s) is being actively investigated," note the investigators in their presentation abstract, led by Anna Di Giacomo, MD, Associate Director ...

Olaparib prolongs overall survival compared with enzalutamide or abiraterone in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and gene alterations in BRCA1, BRCA2, or ATM, according to the final survival analysis of the phase 3 PROfound trial. These results were presented yesterday at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Congress 2020 and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine. "Metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer r...

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted multiple aspects of oncology, including patient care, research, continuing medical education (CME), and cancer care providers' psychological well-being, according to survey data presented today at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) Virtual Congress 2020. "The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and ensuing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is challenging cancer care and services worldwide," report the investigators, led by Guy Jerusalem, MD, PhD, Head of Medi...

 An aggressive form of B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a challenging disease to treat, with a median overall survival of 6 to 7 years. Even in patients who achieve a complete response, recurrence and relapse are still frequent. In this episode of Oncology Data Advisor, Gilles Salles, MD, PhD, Chief of the Lymphoma Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, joins i3 Health for a discussion that covers the efficacy of newly developed Bruton tyrosine kinase (...

Gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancer constitutes the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and more therapeutic options are needed. In results from the phase 3 KEYNOTE-062 study, published last week in JAMA Oncology, Kohei Shitara, MD, and colleagues reported that in patients with previously untreated G/GEJ cancer with a programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) combined positive score (CPS) of 1 or greater, pembrolizumab, alone or in combination with chemotherapy, was nonin...

The FDA has granted accelerated approval to pralsetinib (GavretoTM, Blueprint Medicines Corporation), an oral selective RET kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of adults with metastatic RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) as detected by the OncomineTM Dx Target (ODxT) Test (Life Technologies Corporation), which has also been approved as a companion diagnostic. RET alterations are implicated in 1% to 2% of NSCLC cases, as well as in a number of other cancer types. The pralsetin...