A new technology that measures the levels of proteins in individual cells could help to identify therapy combinations that might more effectively treat people with multiple myeloma, a study suggests. Its researchers also report that lowering levels of a particular protein on myeloma cells, MCL-1, may make them more responsive to treatments for this cancer. The…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has extended by three months its review of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s investigational CAR T-cell therapy, lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel), as a treatment for adults with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after at least two prior therapies, the company announced. Liso-cel’s new Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date is now Nov. 16, 2020, instead of August…

Men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) showing evidence of active immune responses in their tumors live longer without disease progression after being treated with Yervoy (ipilimumab), a Phase 2 trial shows. These findings demonstrate that a subset of men with this form of advanced prostate cancer may benefit from treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors —…

Seattle Genetics’ Tukysa (tucatinib) can now be used in combination with trastuzumab and Xeloda (capecitabine) to treat people with metastatic or inoperable HER2-positive breast cancer following its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  This will help patients with or without brain metastases who have received one or more prior treatments with HER2-targeted…

STRO-002, an investigational antibody-drug conjugate, continues to show promising safety and anti-tumor activity in women with advanced ovarian cancer, according to preliminary data from a Phase 1 clinical trial. The findings were presented by Wendel Naumann, MD, principal investigator of the trial, in a recent virtual presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Janssen‘s new formulation of daratumumab — a subcutaneous or under-the-skin injection treatment called Darzalex Faspro (daratumumab and hyaluronidase) — as a faster and easier alternative for people with multiple myeloma. The original formulation, Darzalex, requires an intravenous (into-the-vein) infusion given over several hours. Darzalex Faspro is seen to be an equally…

A subset of women with recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer, whose disease progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy, achieved clinically meaningful responses after treatment with dostarlimab, results of a Phase 1 clinical trial show. The findings, “Safety and efficacy of the anti–PD-1 monoclonal antibody dostarlimab in patients with recurrent or advanced dMMR endometrial cancer,” were…

Actemra (tocilizumab), a medicine approved for certain types of arthritis, may be effective in treating severe infections with the new coronavirus in people with multiple myeloma or other blood disorders, findings from a patient in China suggest. The case report also indicates that those with blood cancers may have atypical COVID-19 symptoms, like an absence…

Combination therapy with the investigational treatment cirmtuzumab plus Imbruvica (ibrutinib) led to “highly encouraging” response rates among patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a type of B-cell cancer, according to the latest clinical results announced by Oncternal Therapeutics. Cirmtuzumab, developed by Oncternal, is an investigational antibody that blocks ROR1, or receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1.…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Zejula (niraparib) as a first-line maintenance therapy for women with advanced ovarian cancer who responded to platinum-based chemotherapy, regardless of their BRCA mutation status. This indication also includes patients with advanced fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer. The decision comes two months after FDA’s acceptance of a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA), which…

Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) has been approved in Japan to treat adults with HER2-positive inoperable or metastatic breast cancer that is resistant to chemotherapy, or those who cannot tolerate it.  Enhertu is an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) made up of the anti-HER2 antibody trastuzumab bound to the cancer-killing compound deruxtecan (a derivative of exatecan). HER2 is a protein found…

Women living in rural areas in the U.S. are significantly more likely to have metastatic disease at the time of their ovarian cancer diagnosis than those living in metropolitan areas, a study of patients in three Midwest states found. This finding is likely not a consequence of travel time to reach a primary care provider.…