Immunotherapeutic advances have dramatically changed the treatment landscape for a host of different cancer types. Notably, immune checkpoint inhibitors – drugs that target the CTLA-4 or the PD-1/PD-L1 axis – have been approved for the treatment of more than a dozen cancers, and numerous clinical trials evaluating such agents in combination with other drugs are currently underway.
Read MoreEditor’s note: When the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) kicks off next week, researchers will present the results of dozens of clinical trials. Among several eagerly anticipated studies is a phase II trial of the TKI inhibitor tucatinib, given in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and capecitabine.
A version of this article on the tucatinib trial is freely available on the Cancer Discovery website, where you can find further coverage of SABCS throughout the meeting.
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As 2019 draws to a close, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is grateful for our growing ranks of cancer patients and survivors who join us in advocating for strong federal funding for medical research. This year, Tomma Hargraves and Nicole Robinson joined us on Capitol Hill for the Rally for Medical Research, an annual gathering in which more than 300 national organizations ask lawmakers to make continued funding for the National Institutes of Health a priority.
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Each month, the editors from the portfolio of scientific journals published by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) highlight one “must read” article from every journal issue, which we summarize here. This month’s edition is stuffed with studies relating to recent clinical trials, a preclinical investigation of NSAIDs for the inhibition of colon tumor progression, and many more. As always, articles featured here are freely available for a limited time.
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Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products (OHOP), which is responsible for reviewing cancer therapies, has been reorganized into the Office of Oncologic Diseases (OOD) as part of a broader effort within the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research to modernize its New Drugs Regulatory Program.
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November is National Family Caregivers Month—a time to raise awareness for the approximately 3 million people in the U.S. who act as caregivers to their relatives, friends, or partners—all while juggling other demanding roles in life.
An article appearing in the fall issue of Cancer Today, a resource for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers, highlights efforts to understand the nature of distress in caregiving and better ways to provide support for those who need it.
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Lung cancer – one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States – is an area of intense research and clinical development. While there has been extraordinary progress …
Read MoreEarlier this year, the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR) partnered with Novocure, a global oncology company, to launch several new funding initiatives to support innovative research focused on Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields). TTFields is a novel noninvasive cancer therapy approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of adults with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). Patients wear a portable electric field generator that delivers TTFields to tumors via electrodes attached to the skin over the tumor site.
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services offers value-based programs that “reward health care providers with incentive payments for the quality of care they give to people.” Many private insurers offer similar payment approaches or are considering how to do so. The hope is that financial rewards will go to physicians, hospitals and health systems that deliver the best patient outcomes, not simply generate the largest number of procedures, laboratory tests, radiographic images, and drugs.
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There has been an explosion in the number of cancer therapeutics and clinical trials in the recent past, owing to our ability to better define the molecular targets of different cancers using cutting-edge technologies. Unlike in the past, data from early-stage clinical trials are getting more attention lately because the efficacy of a therapeutic, traditionally evaluated in later-phase trials, is often becoming evident earlier in the course of clinical testing.
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After three decades of failed efforts to target the elusive KRAS and its family members NRAS and HRAS, proto-oncogenes altered in about a third of cancers, encouraging data emerging from clinical trials and preclinical studies suggest KRAS could finally be dethroned from the “undruggable” category.
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