Articles related to Oncology, Radiation

In patients with R/R MDS/AML, the combination ipilimumab + decitabine (IPI + DEC) therapy shows a favorable safety profile and significant therapeutic activity that doesn’t seem to require T cell-mediated alloreactivity. Potential transplant candidates may find that IPI + DEC therapy acts as a less strenuous transition to transplant. Future research is necessary to determine logical IPI-based treatment plans that can provide persistent responses without causing significant immune damage.

In this video, Dr. Talha Munir, a hematology consultant at St. James’s Hospital in Leeds, UK, discusses the treatment options for a 76-year-old gentleman with Binet stage C and Rai stage 3 CLL with unmutated IGHV status and ATM gene deletion. Chemoimmunotherapy is excluded due to the patient’s condition, and the chosen treatment is venetoclax with obinutuzumab as fixed-duration therapy for 12 months. Continuous BTK-inhibitor therapy may also be an option, but the patient preferred fixed-duration therapy. The patient’s history of ischemic heart disease and need for antiplatelet therapy were also considered, with aspirin use indicating acalabrutinib or ibrutinib may be reasonable. Fixed-duration ibrutinib with venetoclax is also an option, though not yet licensed, and targeted drugs can mitigate the negative impact of ATM gene deletion.

This article analyzes the state of current treatment options and highlights recent advancements in illness diagnosis and staging, developing disease biomarkers, and relapse/refractory disease treatment. Clinical professionals should use testis cancer treatment algorithms carefully in order to maximize long-term survival and quality of life as well as short-term, disease-related results.

A recent guideline update published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology offers updated recommendations for managing noncastrate advanced, recurrent, or metastatic prostate cancer. The authors recommend five separate standards of care, including docetaxel, abiraterone, enzalutamide, apalutamide, or darolutamide, all administered with androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Triplet therapy is superior to doublet therapy, and there are no recommendations for the use of any of these agents in any other combination or series apart from the triplet therapies of docetaxel plus abiraterone plus ADT and docetaxel plus darolutamide plus ADT. Docetaxel plus ADT should be offered to patients with metastatic noncastrate prostate cancer with high-volume disease who are unwilling or unable to receive triplet therapy. Triplet therapy should be offered to patients with de novo metastatic noncastrate prostate cancer with high-volume disease who are being offered ADT plus docetaxel chemotherapy, with significant overall survival and radiographic progression-free survival benefits. Overall, patients should be informed that doublet therapy (docetaxel plus ADT) has been proven inferior to triplet therapy such as abiraterone and prednisone plus docetaxel plus ADT.

The FDA’s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) has voted to support the use of polatuzumab vedotin-piiq (Polivy) in combination with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (Pola+R-CHP) for the first-line treatment of patients with previously untreated large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). The committee voted 11-2 in favour of the drug following the confirmatory POLARIX trial, a double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study, which enrolled 879 patients with LBCL, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBC), not otherwise specified (NOS). Although concerns were raised about modest benefits in progression-free survival (PFS) and similar overall survival (OS) between Pola+R-CHP and the standard treatment R-CHOP, ODAC member Neil Vasan, MD, PhD, said that the benefits outweighed the risks and Pola+R-CHP should be an option for first-time treatment of DLBCL with curative intent, as it could spare patients from more toxic and complicated salvage therapies.

At the 2023 National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Annual Conference, a panel of experts discussed solutions to address staff shortages and retain workers in cancer care. The suggestions ranged from offering work-from-home opportunities to gifting small gestures like cookies and wine, with the aim of improving employee retention. The value of flexible working options and compensation were recurring themes, along with the importance of employee recognition programs and discussing career advancement opportunities. Exacerbated by the pandemic, burnout, and early retirements, the shortage of nurses and doctors in cancer centers has become more pressing as Americans grow older and require more oncology services. The panelists emphasized that having visible management, offering flexible working options, and providing employee recognition programs are important steps to retain staff in cancer care. They also discussed the significance of discussing career advancement opportunities and avoiding the use of temporary travel staff to retain employees.