News

Immunotherapy pioneers James P. Allison, PhD, and Tasuku Honjo, MD, PhD, have won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research that eventually led to the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors to treat cancer.

Experts call for liver disease patients to get screened for cancer every 6 months.

In a recent survey, lung cancer survivors reported long-term symptoms, including shortness of breath, fatigue, short-term memory, and anxiety.

Here are the top 5 Oncology Nursing News stories for September 2018.

The FDA has granted the PARP inhibitor rucaparib (Rubraca) a breakthrough therapy designation for single-agent use in adult patients with BRCA1/2-positive metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) following at least 1 androgen receptor–directed therapy and taxane-based chemotherapy.

Brigatinib (Alunbrig) reduced the risk of disease progression or death by more than 50% compared to crizotinib (Xalkori) in adult patients with ALK-positive, locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had not received a prior ALK inhibitor.

The FDA has approved a once-weekly dosing option of carfilzomib (Kyprolis) to use in combination with dexamethasone for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Combining alpelisib (BYL719) with fulvestrant (Faslodex) improved progression-free survival versus fulvestrant alone in postmenopausal women and men with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative, PIK3CA-mutant advanced or metastatic breast cancer that progressed after aromatase inhibitor treatment with or without a CDK4/6 inhibitor.

A new test that identifies which bladder cancer tumors will become invasive could help reduce health care costs and over-treatment in patients.

To determine what Americans know—and think they know—about prostate cancer, the PCF surveyed more than 2000 adults in the United States and uncovered some misperceptions that might prevent men who are at risk from accessing screening.

The FDA has approved the pan-human EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) dacomitinib (Vizimpro) for treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with EGFR exon 19 deletion or exon 21 L858R substitution mutations in the frontline setting.

In combination with the standard front-line chemotherapy regimen of carboplatin and etoposide, the addition of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) significantly prolonged survival in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC).

The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) announced a new partnership to raise awareness of and participation in the Lung Cancer Registry, an initiative led by research and patient advocacy organizations, the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF), American Lung Association’s LUNG FORCE and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer.

The FDA has approved duvelisib (Copiktra) for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) or relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma.

Regorafenib (Stivarga) maintained a prolonged overall survival (OS) benefit as second-line therapy for patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a 2-year updated analysis of key findings from the pivotal RESORCE trial.

Safety and efficacy findings for regorafenib (Stivarga) in patients with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) were consistent with previous phase III results, according to findings from the phase IIIb CONSIGN trial.

Frontline therapy may be able to be avoided in asymptomatic, young, fit patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), explained Simon Rule, MD, PhD, in a presentation during the 2018 SOHO Annual Meeting. Active treatment in this patient population could potentially lead to unnecessary toxicities, he added.

Findings from the MONALEESA-3 trial dispelled the theory that a CDK4/6 inhibitor had to be reserved following recurrence on hormone therapy in postmenopausal patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer, explained Dennis J. Slamon, MD, PhD.

Children with pediatric posterior fossa tumors like medulloblastoma who are treated with radiotherapy may be less likely to recall specific details of events that occurred after treatmen.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s recent crackdown on retailers and manufacturers who are marketing and selling e-cigarettes and e-cig products to youths was a step forward in the fight to prevent smoking in young people, says Linda Sarna, PhD, RN, FAAN.

Two trials have shown that carfilzomib (Kyprolis)-based regimens appeared to be a safe and effective treatments for all patients with multiple myeloma, according to updated data from the ASPIRE and ENDEAVOR trials presented at the 2018 SOHO Annual Meeting.

The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) is partnering with ALK Positive, an online community of over 1,200 members worldwide dealing with ALK-positive lung cancer, to encourage Lung Cancer Registry membership.

Combining the PD-L1 inhibitor avelumab (Bavencio) with the VEGF inhibitor axitinib (Inlyta) significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) compared with sunitinib (Sutent) in treatment-naïve patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), according to findings from the phase III JAVELIN Renal 101 study.

2018 Hurricane preparedness fund to aid Southeastern residents living with cancer

A study published in Blood demonstrated the significant disparities found between insurance status and survival outcomes in patients of all ages with follicular lymphoma.

An expert discusses tips on how patients with cancer can manage their "scanxiety."

Women aged 65 and older undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer have a higher risk of experiencing a decline in their ability to function physically, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

While revisions to guidelines have given clinicians a better handle on how to manage immune-related adverse events (AEs), they have not eliminated the need for individualized treatment of patients with genitourinary (GU) cancers, says Xiao X. Wei, MD, MAS.