Treatment - Cancer Currents Blog
Cancer treatment related news, with context from leading experts. Includes articles on new therapies, treatment side effects, and important trends in treatment-related research.
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Trial Results Support SBRT as a Standard Option for Some Prostate CancersIn a trial, men who received stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) didn’t have a higher risk of cancer recurrence than men treated with other common radiation therapy regimens that are given over longer periods.
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Nivolumab Appears to Boost Cure Rate in Advanced Hodgkin LymphomaIn a nearly 1,000-patient trial, treatment with nivolumab (Opdivo) and the chemotherapy regimen AVD was better at eliminating cancer and keeping it at bay than the current standard initial treatment for the disease, AVD and brentuximab (Adcetris). The nivolumab combination also had fewer side effects.
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Bladder Cancer Trial Finds Extended Lymph Node Surgery Doesn’t Improve SurvivalA randomized clinical trial comparing two types of surgery in people with localized muscle-invasive bladder cancer found that more extensive surgery removing a larger group of lymph nodes did not improve survival, compared with standard lymph node surgery.
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Combination Chemo Helps People with Leiomyosarcoma Live LongerResults from a French clinical trial have identified what experts say should now be the recommended initial treatment of advanced leiomyosarcoma. In the trial, the combination of trabectedin (Yondelis) and doxorubicin improved survival by a median of 9 months.
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Jaw Problems Linked to Bone-Modifying Drugs Not as Rare as Once ThoughtOsteonecrosis of the jaw was thought to be a rare side effect of drugs like denosumab (Xgeva) that lessen bone problems when cancer has spread to the bone. But a new study has found that the painful side effect is more common than once thought.
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Clinical Trial Results Support Uninterrupted Use of Imatinib for Some Gastrointestinal Stromal TumorsTrial participants who stopped imatinib had a more rapid worsening of disease, a shorter time until resistance, and did not live as long as participants who continued the therapy uninterrupted.
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Understanding the Risk of Second Cancers After CAR T-Cell TherapyIn late 2023, FDA announced it was investigating instances of second cancers following treatment with CAR T-cell therapies. In this Q&A, NCI’s Dr. Stephanie Goff explains what’s known about the issue, stressing that second cancers “of any kind are rare.”
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More Immunotherapy Options Approved for Treating Endometrial CancerPeople with advanced endometrial cancer now have new FDA-approved treatment options: pembrolizumab and durvalumab, paired with chemotherapy, for tumors with a genetic change called mismatch repair deficiency. The agency also expanded the approved uses of dostarlimab for the disease.
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Lorlatinib Slows Growth of ALK-Positive Lung Cancers, May Prevent Brain MetastasesLorlatinib (Lorbrena) is superior to crizotinib (Xalkori) as an initial treatment for people with ALK-positive advanced non-small cell lung cancer, according to new clinical trial results. Treatment with lorlatinib also helped prevent new brain metastases.
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Trial Establishes Preferred Treatment for Some People with Esophageal CancerFor people with locally advanced esophageal cancer, a chemotherapy regimen called FLOT is the preferred treatment, according to results from a large clinical trial. People treated with FLOT lived much longer than those treated with the CROSS regimen.
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Durvalumab Extends Lives of People with Early-Stage Small Cell Lung CancerThe immunotherapy drug durvalumab (Imfinzi) can help people with early-stage small cell lung cancer live longer, results from a large clinical trial show. Three years after starting treatment, nearly 60% of people who received the drug were still alive.
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Spurred by Survivors, Researchers Are Revisiting Cancer Drug DosesWhen it comes to cancer drugs, researchers are moving away from a paradigm called the maximum tolerated dose. Instead, they’re focusing more on identifying doses that produce fewer side effects but are still effective against a person’s cancer.
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Tovorafenib Approved for Some Children with Low-Grade GliomaFDA has granted an accelerated approval to tovorafenib (Ojemda) for kids and teens who have low-grade glioma with changes in the BRAF gene. In a small clinical trial, the drug shrank or completely eliminated tumors in nearly 70% of patients.
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Pembrolizumab Is First Adjuvant Therapy to Improve Overall Survival in Kidney CancerIn a large clinical trial, treatment with pembrolizumab after surgery helped people with kidney cancer live longer than those who got a placebo and standard monitoring. The findings mark the first time an adjuvant treatment for kidney cancer has improved survival.
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Alectinib Approved as an Adjuvant Treatment for Lung CancerFDA has approved alectinib (Alecensa) as adjuvant therapy for people with lung cancer who have ALK-positive tumors. In a clinical trial, alectinib helped people live longer after surgery without their cancer returning than chemotherapy.
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FDA Approves Trastuzumab Deruxtecan for Any HER2-Positive Solid CancerTrastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu) can now be used to treat any advanced solid cancer that produces high levels of the protein HER2 (HER2-positive tumors). FDA’s accelerated approval was based on findings from three clinical trials.
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Approval of Elahere Expands Treatment Options for Some Advanced Ovarian CancersFDA approved mirvetuximab soravtansine-gynx (Elahere) to treat people with advanced, platinum-resistant ovarian cancer whose tumors overproduce a protein called FR-α. The full approval was based on the results of a large, randomized trial called MIRASOL, which showed Elahere improved survival for these people.
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Rusfertide Nearly Eliminates Need for Phlebotomies to Treat Polycythemia VeraAdding rusfertide to treatment for polycythemia vera cut phlebotomy rates from nine to less than one per year in a recent clinical trial. The finding may improve the quality of life for those who manage the blood cancer with frequent blood draws.
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Simple Hysterectomy May Expand Treatment Options for Early-Stage Cervical CancerFor some people with early-stage cervical cancer, a surgical procedure called a simple hysterectomy may be a safe and effective alternative to treatment with a radical hysterectomy, results from the SHAPE trial show.
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Nivolumab Injections Could Make Treatment Easier for More People with CancerIn a clinical trial, an injectable form of nivolumab (Opdivo) was as effective against kidney cancer as the intravenous form of the drug. Side effects were also similar and treatment time was shorter. Injectable immunotherapies, several experts said, if found to be comparable to IV forms, can be more convenient to receive and accessible to more people.