Courtney Flaherty

Articles

FDA Approval of Momelotinib May Establish New SOC for Myelofibrosis With Anemia

November 2nd 2023

Andrew T. Kuykendall, MD, discusses the importance of the approval of momelotinib in the treatment of patients with anemic symptomatic myelofibrosis, key efficacy and safety data from the MOMENTUM trial that supported the decision, and unanswered questions regarding the agent’s potential role in other subsets within this population.

Elranatamab Approaches EU Approval for Heavily Pretreated Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma

November 1st 2023

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended the approval of elranatamab-bcmm for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma who were previously treated with 3 or more lines of therapy, including an immunomodulatory agent, a proteasome inhibitor, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, and who experienced disease progression on their last therapy.

Sacituzumab Govitecan Plus Enfortumab Vedotin Shows Early Promise in Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma

October 31st 2023

Combining sacituzumab govitecan-hziy and enfortumab vedotin-ejfv was safe, feasible, and produced high and early response rates in patients with treatment-resistant metastatic urothelial cancer.

Postoperative ctDNA Status May Prognosticate DFS Outcomes in Resected CRC

October 30th 2023

Postoperative circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)–based minimal residual disease status demonstrated prognostic value for patients with stage I to IV resected colorectal cancer, showing that those with positive ctDNA after surgery have significantly lower disease-free survival outcomes at 24 months vs those who were ctDNA negative.

Social Determinants of Health Impact Survival Outcomes in Patients With Hematologic Malignancies

October 29th 2023

Marisol Miranda-Galvis, DDS, MS, PhD, highlights the importance of understanding which social determinants of health have the greatest influence on treatment-related outcomes in patients with hematologic malignancies, expands on key variables identified in a systematic review of these disparities, and emphasizes the importance of continuing to implement new strategies to increase access to quality treatments.

Further Research Is Needed to Maximize Efficacy of Current Treatment Options in Hematologic Malignancies

October 26th 2023

Ricardo D. Parrondo, MD, highlights the current use of covalent BTK inhibitors in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, potential roles for the non-covalent BTK inhibitor pirtobrutinib, and the importance of future research on time-limited treatment options for patients with newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Multidisciplinary Consideration of Frontline Modalities Should Guide Decisions in Melanoma With In-Transit Metastases

October 24th 2023

Danielle K. DePalo, MD, explains the lack of research directly comparing first-line treatment options for patients with unresectable melanoma in-transit metastases, expands on the safety and efficacy of 3 treatment modalities for these patients, and underscores the need for more data to inform the management of these patients.

Luspatercept Approval Shifts Treatment Landscape of Anemia in Lower-Risk MDS

October 24th 2023

Uwe Platzbecker, MD, discusses how to navigate decisions for the first-line treatment of anemia in patients with lower-risk MDS in light of luspatercept’s approval, expands on key data from the COMMANDS trial, and addresses potential concerns from clinicians who are uncertain about when to utilize this agent in the frontline setting in clinical practice.

Evolving Use of PARP Inhibitors Requires Biomarker-Driven Approaches for Treatment Selection in Prostate Cancer

October 18th 2023

Vivek K. Narayan, MD, MS, spotlights 3 case studies of patients with metastatic prostate cancer, delving into the influence of their unique mutational status on treatment decisions, scenarios in which to utilize PARP inhibitor monotherapy vs combination regimens, and key trials that support the use of each approach.

Dendritic Cell Vaccination Fails to Improve OS, Still Bolsters Immune Activation in Mesothelioma

October 16th 2023

Joachim G. J. V. Aerts, MD, PhD, discusses how dendritic cell vaccines could bolster historically poor responses to immunotherapy in patients with mesothelioma, reports and provides potential explanations for negative results from the DENIM trial, and details a potential role for this therapy in earlier lines of mesothelioma treatment.

Acalabrutinib Is Associated With Low Frequency of Cardiac Events Across 3 Randomized Trials in CLL

October 9th 2023

Administration of acalabrutinib to patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia with or without cardiovascular disorders at baseline results in a numerically decreased incidence of overall treatment-related cardiac toxicities and a comparable safety profile vs comparator CLL therapies such as ibrutinib.

Retrospective Analysis Sheds Light on Mutations Linked With BTK Inhibitor Resistance in CLL

October 8th 2023

Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who experience disease progression during treatment with either covalent or noncovalent BTK inhibitors displayed a higher frequency of BTK mutations in L528W as well as RAS/RAF/MAPK pathway alterations, indicating that these alterations may play a role in the development of BTK inhibitor resistance.

Cisplatin/Carboplatin Shortages Persist Across Majority of NCCN Cancer Centers

October 5th 2023

Shortages of cisplatin and carboplatin have continued at the majority of National Cancer Center Network (NCCN) institutions, according to data from a follow-up survey conducted by NCCN.

Cilta-Cel Leads to High PFS Rates in Patients With Multiple Myeloma and Poor Prognostic Features

September 30th 2023

Patients with multiple myeloma exhibiting poor prognostic features, such as high-risk cytogenetics, soft-tissue plasmacytoma, ISS stage III disease, and triple-class exposure, experienced significant progression-free survival benefit with ciltacabtagene autoleucel.

Investigation of Novel Management Strategies Continues to Mitigate Disease-Related Toxicities Across Hematologic Malignancies

September 26th 2023

Amy W. Zhou, MD, highlights the unique mechanism of action of the JAK1/2 and ACVR1 inhibitor momelotinib and the importance of ongoing investigations of JAK inhibitor combination therapies in myelofibrosis.

Zotatifin Triplet May Improve Outcomes Post–CDK4/6 Inhibition in ER+ Breast Cancer

September 24th 2023

Ezra Rosen, MD, PhD, highlights the early-phase investigation of zotatifin in estrogen receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer, explains the agent’s unique mechanism of action as well as its efficacy and safety in a heavily pretreated population, and underscores the need for improved sequencing of the myriad of treatment options in the post–CDK4/6 inhibitor space.

Ifinatamab Deruxtecan Demonstrates Robust Efficacy, Acceptable Safety in SCLC

September 21st 2023

Melissa L. Johnson, MD, spotlights the early-phase investigation of ifinatamab deruxtecan in advanced solid tumors, discusses the efficacy and safety of the agent in patients with small cell lung cancer, and emphasizes how results from a subgroup analysis support its continued investigation.

Luspatercept Provides Frontline Alternative to ESAs For Lower-Risk MDS and Anemia

September 21st 2023

Uwe Platzbecker, MD, discusses the efficacy and safety data from the COMMANDS trial that supported the approval, and the next steps planned for luspatercept’s investigation in patients with lower-risk MDS who are transfusion independent.

First-line Toripalimab Plus Sorafenib Elicits Responses in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma

September 19th 2023

The addition of toripalimab to standard-of-care sorafenib in the frontline setting demonstrated preliminary efficacy and tolerability in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Use of IO-Based Therapy Associated With Real-World OS Benefit in HCC

September 15th 2023

The use of an immuno-oncology regimen as systemic therapy was found to be an independent prognostic factor and was associated with improved long-term survival for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, regardless of IO’s sequencing in the first and later lines of treatment.