TOP - January 2021 Vol 14, No 1

The January issue of The Oncology Pharmacist (TOP) contains important news and updates for today’s oncology pharmacist, including highlights from recent national and international virtual conferences, exploring best practices in value-based performance in cancer care, strategies for providing high-quality and affordable care to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing efforts to address social determinants of health and their effect on the delivery of healthcare, and the latest data on the safety and efficacy of novel agents and combination regimens for the treatment of patients with hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. Read More ›

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on cancer care delivery in the United States—for the worse, but also for the better. Although access to high-quality care has certainly been compromised, the pandemic has also driven innovation, according to information presented at the 2020 ASCO Quality Care Symposium by experts who discussed recent healthcare transformations from the perspectives of community oncology and a larger healthcare system. Read More ›

This section provides a brief overview of new cancer drugs approved by the FDA between November 25, 2020, and December 18, 2020. Read More ›

Sotorasib, an investigational small-molecule inhibitor of the KRAS p.G12C mutation, demonstrated promising activity and encouraging safety in patients with advanced solid tumors, in particular those with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), in the preliminary phase 1 CodeBreaK 100 trial. Read More ›

Xevinapant, an investigational antagonist of IAPs (inhibitor of apoptosis proteins), prolonged overall survival (OS) in patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous-cell carcinoma (HNSCC) when added to chemoradiotherapy, according to an updated analysis of a phase 2 clinical trial that was presented at the 2020 European Society for Medical Oncology congress. Read More ›

Targeted therapy has improved survival for patients with cancer across a broad spectrum of disease sites, but until recently, progress has been slow in applying the use of targeted therapies in the treatment of patients with cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Read More ›

First-line treatment with the high-affinity, highly potent PD-1 inhibitor cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo) significantly improved overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) compared with standard platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and PD ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression on at least 50% of tumor cells. Read More ›

Lorlatinib (Lorbrena) significantly improved progression-free survival (PFS) and intracranial response rates compared with the former standard of care, crizotinib (Xalkori), as first-line treatment for patients with advanced ALK-positive non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as reported in a planned interim analysis of the CROWN trial. Read More ›

Protecting patients with cancer from financial hardship could save more than money. According to data presented at the 2020 ASCO Quality Care Symposium, mitigating the financial burden of cancer treatment on patients could save lives as well. Read More ›

Cancer does not discriminate based on social status, race, income, or education, but that does not mean that it is an equal-opportunity killer. Read More ›