Clinical Trial Results - Cancer Currents Blog
Reports on findings from cancer clinical trials, with commentary from leading researchers on how the trial results will affect patient care.
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Remodeled CAR T-Cell Therapy Reduces Side Effects in First Clinical Trial
A remodeled CAR T-cell therapy causes fewer neurologic side effects and is equally effective as the original form of the treatment, according to results from the first clinical trial testing the approach in patients with B-cell lymphomas.
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Maintenance Therapy with CC-486 Extends Survival of Adults with AML
Maintenance therapy with CC-486 extended overall survival of adults with the blood cancer acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in a large clinical trial. CC-486 is a pill form of another cancer therapy called azacitidine (Vidaza).
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For Metastatic HER2-Positive Breast Cancer, New Treatments Emerge
Tucatinib improved survival for women in the HER2CLIMB trial, including some whose cancer had spread to the brain. Trastuzumab deruxtecan improved survival and shrank many tumors in the DESTINY-Breast01 trial, which led to its accelerated approval.
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Osimertinib Improves Survival in Advanced Lung Cancer with EGFR Mutations
Osimertinib (Tagrisso) improves survival in people with non-small cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations, updated clinical trial results show. People treated with osimertinib lived longer than those treated with earlier-generation EGFR-targeted drugs.
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Surgery for Recurrent Ovarian Cancer Does Not Improve Survival
Secondary surgery for women with recurrent ovarian cancer does not improve how long those women live, findings from a large trial show. The results call into question the current standard of practice for these patients.
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Overcoming a Cancer Nemesis? KRAS Inhibitor Shows Promise in Early Trial
An experimental drug, AMG 510, that targets mutated forms of the KRAS protein completely shrank tumors in cancer mouse models and data from a small clinical trial show that it appears to be active against different cancer types with a KRAS mutation.
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Gilteritinib Improves Survival in AML with FLT3 Mutations
People with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with FLT3 gene mutations treated with gilteritinib had improved survival, higher rates of remission, and fewer side effects than those treated with chemotherapy, a recent trial found.
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Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Can Skip Radiation to the Brain
Only 1.5% of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who skipped radiation had a recurrence in the central nervous system, according to a recent trial. The therapy, which is intended to prevent such a recurrence, can have devastating side effects.
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Targeted Drug Trio Improves Survival in Colorectal Cancer with BRAF Mutations
For people with colorectal cancer with a specific mutation in the BRAF gene, a treatment regimen of three targeted drugs can improve how long they live without increasing their risk of serious side effects, results from a new clinical trial show.
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Durvalumab Plus Chemotherapy Improves Survival in Small Cell Lung Cancer
A large clinical trial showed that adding the immunotherapy drug durvalumab (Imfinzi) to standard chemotherapy can prolong survival in some people with previously untreated advanced small cell lung cancer.
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PARP Inhibitors Show Promise as Initial Treatment for Ovarian Cancer
In three large clinical trials of women with newly diagnosed ovarian cancer, treatment with a PARP inhibitor as first-line therapy, maintenance therapy, or both, extended the length of time before participants’ cancers came back or got worse.
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Analysis Shows Women with High Breast Cancer Recurrence Scores Benefit from Chemo
A TAILORx analysis shows women with early-stage breast cancer and high recurrence scores on the Oncotype DX who received chemotherapy with hormone therapy had better long-term outcomes than what would be expected from hormone therapy alone.
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Selpercatinib Shows Promise against Lung Cancers with Alterations in RET Gene
The investigational drug selpercatinib may benefit patients with lung cancer whose tumors have alterations in the RET gene, including fusions with other genes, according to results from a small clinical trial.
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For Children with Neuroblastoma, Trial Results Highlight Continued Evolution of Treatment
For many children with high-risk neuroblastoma, receiving two separate stem cell transplants is more beneficial than receiving one, according to the results of an NCI-supported clinical trial conducted by the Children’s Oncology Group.
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Pediatricians’ Offices Can Help Parents Quit Smoking, Study Shows
Researchers tested a program that trains pediatricians’ offices to provide smoking cessation treatment to parents during visits with their child’s doctor. The approach is intended to reach adults who are motivated to quit to protect their child’s health.
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Study Tests Immunotherapy in People with Cancer and Autoimmune Diseases
An NCI-funded clinical trial is testing the immunotherapy drug nivolumab (Opdivo) in people who have advanced cancer and an autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or multiple sclerosis, who are often excluded from such trials.
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Targeted Drug Erdafitinib Benefits Some Patients with Advanced Bladder Cancer
New clinical trial findings confirm that the targeted therapy erdafitinib (Balversa) can benefit patients with advanced bladder cancer whose tumors have a genetic alteration in one of the four FGFR genes.
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Can Some Women Treated for Endometrial Cancer Forgo Radiation after Surgery?
Some women with endometrial cancer may be able to receive less intensive treatment, chemotherapy and no radiation, without increasing their risk of the disease recurring within 5 years, according to the results of a randomized clinical trial.
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Trial Highlights Complexities of Targeted Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer
Olaparib (Lynparza) may be beneficial for some people with advanced pancreatic cancer who have inherited mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, according to results from the POLO trial.
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More Treatment Options Emerging for Some Men with Metastatic Prostate Cancer
In two large clinical trials, the drugs enzalutamide (Xtandi) and apalutamide (Erleada), respectively, combined with the androgen deprivation therapy, improved the survival of men with metastatic prostate cancer that still responds to hormone-suppressing therapies.