News

The FDA recently stated that it is taking steps to mitigate the personal protective equipment and device shortage for healthcare professionals amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

“Your wellbeing and emotional resilience is essential to our patients as we work to help our community through the COVID-19 pandemic,” the organization said.

The FDA has approved the initiation of a double-blind, randomized phase III clinical trial of the oncology supportive care drug tocilizumab (Actemra) for use in combination with standard of care for the treatment of hospitalized adult patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia, according to Genentech (Roche), the manufacturer of the interleukin-6 receptor antagonist.

The FDA has approved a 420-mg multidose vial of trastuzumab-dttb (SB3; Ontruzant), according to Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd., the manufacturer of the trastuzumab (Herceptin) biosimilar.

The needs of the oncology population remains a “top priority,” according to the FDA.

The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) recently published interim guidelines – though they’re admittedly not ideal – on PPE usage in the midst of the epidemic.

The optimal sequencing of therapies for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) has proven to be a significant clinical challenge following the approvals of additional agents, said William K. Oh, MD.

Treatment options for patients with localized bladder cancer, beyond Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), are evolving as immunotherapies and novel agents are gaining traction in the management of this population, according to John P. Sfakianos, MD.

“We must protect them” one nurse said about oncology patients in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FDA has granted 2 Orphan Drug Designations to ALPN-101 for the prevention and treatment of acute graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD), according to Alpine Immune Sciences, Inc., the company developing the first-in-class selective dual T cell costimulation inhibitor.

Certain patients with myelofibrosis may be at higher risk for pulmonary hypertension, according to recent research.

Healthcare providers and citizens alike are navigating uncharted territories when it comes to the novel coronavirus/COVID-19.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network discussed problems – and potential solutions – for healthcare providers regarding the COVD-19 pandemic.

In the midst of the current opioid epidemic, pain management is taking center stage in many healthcare settings, and oncology is no different. It is crucial that patients have their pain – both acute and chronic – managed, while avoiding the potential of drug misuse. Add in barriers to care and other roadblocks, and things become even trickier.

After nearly 4 decades of stagnation, the advent of immunotherapy has transformed the frontline treatment paradigm for patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). However, biomarkers are needed to better inform which patients are most likely to respond to checkpoint inhibitors, said Jason Niu, MD, PhD.

Currently, we are facing unprecedented challenges in nursing and with our collective experiences and expertise.

A flood of targeted therapy and immunotherapy options to both the first- and second-line settings of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has had significant implications on the treatment of patients in this space and will likely create challenges regarding sequencing, said Richard S. Finn, MD.

The FDA has granted a Fast Track designation to the combination of the PD-1 inhibitor balstilimab and the CTLA-inhibitor zalifrelimab for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory metastatic cervical cancer.

Biomarker-driven treatments continue to expand in prostate cancer, as research efforts explore responses across different subgroups, explained Petros Grivas MD, PhD.

The FDA has approved the CINtec® PLUS Cytology test as the first biomarker-based triage test for women whose primary cervical cancer screening results are positive for the human papillomavirus (HPV) using the cobas® 4800 HPV Test, according to Roche (Genentech), the manufacturer of the test.

The landscape of metastatic hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer continues to evolve, highlighting the necessity of genetic and genomic testing, explained Elisa Krill-Jackson, MD.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) for the treatment of previously treated patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma.

We want to hear from nurses what your institutions are doing to safeguard employees and patients against the coronavirus, as well as common patient questions you’ve been receiving.

At this point, the number of new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection seems to change every day, with more than 100,000 infections reported worldwide.

The FDA has granted an orphan drug designation to umbralisib for the treatment of patients with follicular lymphoma, according to TG Therapeutics, Inc, the developer of the dual inhibitor of PI3K-delta and CK1-epsilon.

Enhanced navigation led some high-risk patients to an earlier breast cancer diagnosis, according to recent research.

The FDA has accepted a biologics license application for a proposed biosimilar for bevacizumab (Avastin), according to an announcement by Mylan during its fourth quarter 2019 earnings call.