News

Patients on active therapy during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, as well as oncology care providers, have increased levels of perceived and posttraumatic stress, according to preliminary data from the COVIPACT study. These data highlight a gap in psychosocial support resources that help promote emotional resilience and reduce the risk of posttraumatic stress in patients on active therapy.

The FDA granted an accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with locally recurrent, unresectable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) with PD-L1 expression is CPS ≥10, according to the agency.

Durvalumab showed a promising survival boost in stage III non-small cell lung cancer, and the immunotherapy agent was not as toxic as some thought it would be.

In an effort to further improve outcomes without sacrificing tolerability, the combination of cabozantinib (Cabometyx) with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) is being evaluated in patients with advanced melanoma in a phase 1b/2 study (NCT03957551), according to a virtual presentation during the 2020 SITC Annual Meeting.

A clinical trial nurse discussed the different roles of health care providers when conducting a clinical trial.

An immunologist and oncologist, Merad has spent her career studying inflammation in patients with cancer and was at the right place at the right time to translate her expertise to examine inflammation in patients with COVID-19.

A pharmacist provides an overview of new intravenous cancer therapies that were approved in 2020.

Subgroup analyses from the phase III CheckMate-067 trial identified potential biomarkers in patients who achieved a complete response (CR) with the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) but later progressed, according to Georgina V. Long, BSc, PhD, MBBS, FRACP.1 Now, investigators are working to answer more questions about this group of patients.

A nurse practitioner discusses mutations, cancer sidedness, and treatment duration for patients with colorectal cancer.

The FDA has approved the FoundationOne Liquid CDx for use as a companion diagnostic with olaparib (Lynparza), which is indicated for select patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline or somatic homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene–mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC).

Chemoimmunotherapy regimens are showing promise in the treatment of SCLC.

Alex Trebek, host of the popular game show Jeopardy! died today, Nov. 8, 2020, according to a tweet from Jeopardy!. He was 80 years old.

There is still a great deal to learn about the optimal use of BRAF-targeted therapy, as well as immunotherapy, in the adjuvant setting for patients with melanoma.

Ursula Matulonis, MD, highlights immunotherapy agents have demonstrated moderate clinical activity for patients with gynecologic cancers, however they fail to yield significant response rates in both the newly-diagnosed and recurrent settings.

There has been exciting progress for the treatment of melanoma in recent years, but there is still more work to be done.

Despite the recent advancements with BRAF-targeted therapies and PD-1 checkpoint inhibitors, there is still much to learn in the field of melanoma, especially with regard to disease biology, according to Jason J. Luke, MD, FACP, who added that this understanding is needed to inform development and sequencing strategies, as emphasized during the 2020 SMR Virtual Congress.

Standard guidelines that determine who should undergo genetic testing may result in some cases falling through the cracks, according to recent research.

Beyond single-agent chemotherapy, few effective treatment options are available for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), according to Candace Mainor, MD, but several approaches comprised of immunotherapy, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), and PARP inhibitors are shifting standards of care and eliciting impressive response rates in heavily pretreated patients.

LGBTQ patients face disparities, but oncology clinicians reported wanting to learn more and create a more welcoming environment.

The FDA has lifted the clinical hold placed on the phase 1 PSMA-101-001 study (NCT04249947) of the CAR T-cell therapy P-PSMA-101 in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

While PARP inhibitors have played a large part in improving progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with ovarian cancer, long-term use of these agents often leads to resistance that are often quite challenging to overcome, according to Gottfried E. Konecny, MD.

The addition of anti–PD-1/PD-L1 to combination BRAF and MEK inhibition has been shown to improve progression-free survival and duration of response in patients with BRAF-mutated melanoma.

Each month, we take a look back at the most popular Oncology Nursing News® stories. Here are the top 5 stories from October 2020.

CAR T-cell therapy may change the treatment paradigm for relapsed/refractory myeloma.

The FDA has granted a priority review designation to a supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo) for the frontline treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a PD-L1 expression of 50% or greater.

The FDA has accepted and granted a priority review designation to a supplemental biologics license application for the antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) for use in patients with HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma.

Oncology nurses reported not feeling heard in the political arena. However, they are advocating for themselves and patients in other ways.

The USPSTF recommends that colorectal cancer screening start at age 45.