September 2011 Vol 4, No 6

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris; Seattle Genetics) to treat Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL).

With brentuximab, an antibody-drug conjugate, the antibody directs the drug to the target CD30. The agent is to be used in patients with HL whose disease has progressed after autologous stem-cell transplant or, for those who cannot receive a transplant, after 2 lines of chemotherapy. Brentuximab also may be used in patients with ALCL whose disease has progressed after 1 line of chemotherapy.

Lapatinib as adjuvant monotherapy in early HER2-positive breast cancer produced poorer outcomes than trastuzumab in a head-to-head trial, according to the trial’s sponsor. “Consequent to this finding, patients assigned to the lapatinib alone arm of the trial will discontinue lapatinib and discuss treatment options with their study physician,” according to a statement released by GlaxoSmithKline. The 3 other arms of the Adjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Opt - imization (ALTTO) trial will continue uninterrupted. Read More ›

With the high survival rate of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), there is interest in extending pediatric regimens to adult populations with the disease. Choosing the right therapy for the right patient, however, remains challenging, according to Daniel J. DeAngelo, MD, at the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 6th Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies.

For patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), concurrent delivery of once-daily chemotherapy and thoracic radiotherapy produced significantly higher 5-year survival in a phase 3 trial (Curran WJ Jr, et al. J Natl Cancer Inst. September 8, 2011. Epub ahead of print).

After neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy, more BRCA1 carriers achieve a pathologic complete response (pCR) than BRCA2 carriers and than noncarriers, according to a study published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology (ArunB, et al. September 6, 2011). In addition, the association between gene mutation status and pCR remained, regardless of baseline clinical and tumoral predictive factors or choice of chemotherapy. No statistical difference was found in overall survival rates, however. Read More ›

Oncology pharmacists have a new tool for helping them better treat their patients. The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) has released a new publication, “The Practical Cancer Pharmacy,” designed to help hospital cancer pharmacy and financial teams move past the short-term orientation of considering only cost when deciding which drugs to purchase.

Significant progress in the treatment of cancer, coupled with early detection, has led to meaningful im - provement in survival and quality of life. Novel symptom and pain-control interventions have made it possible for more patients with cancer to continue to work while receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy, as well as biologic, hormonal, and targeted agents. In addition, the trend of delivering cancer treatments in the outpatient setting, as opposed to inpatient hospital stays, has reduced time away from work during treatments. Read More ›

Golf balls may be small, but if struck by one, you would know that they have tremendous impact. So it was in the beginning of the Play for P.I.N.K. (PFP) organization when a small group of women proved to make a huge impact on funding for breast cancer research.