January 23rd 2024
Momelotinib was given category 2A and 2B status for patients with high- and low-risk myelofibrosis (MF) and MF with anemia. However, ruxolitinib retains a higher category of recommendation as a treatment for patients with MF.
December 26th 2023
What We're Reading: Herd Immunity; President's Health; Blindness Gene Therapy Is Overpriced
January 15th 2018Why healthy adults should still get the flu vaccine; President Donald Trump undergoes first medical checkup of his presidency; review of Luxturna finds the $850,000 gene therapy needs a price discount.
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Promacta Earns Breakthrough Therapy Designation by FDA for Severe Aplastic Anemia
January 11th 2018Recently, the FDA granted a breakthrough therapy designation to eltrombopag (Promacta, Novartis) for combination use with standard immunosuppressive therapy as a first-line treatment for patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA).
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FDA Approves Denosumab for Prevention of Skeletal-Related Events in Patients with Multiple Myeloma
January 9th 2018The approval will expand the currently approved indication for the prevention of skeletal-related events in patients with bone metastases from solid tumors to also include patients with multiple myeloma.
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What We're Reading: Vision Loss Gene Therapy; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Dementia in the Hospital
January 3rd 2018New vision loss gene therapy gets a price tag below the expected $1 million mark; new evidence finds that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders has plateaued; hospitals are ill-equipped to care for dementia patients, but a new effort could change that.
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Cancer Gene Profiling Test Can Open Doors to New Targeted Therapies
December 27th 2017While FoundationOne CDx, the comprehensive companion diagnostic test for solid tumors, gives patients the ability to be accurately matched with a targeted therapy, it also has potential benefits for patients with a less common types of cancers, said Stuart Goldberg, MD, chief scientific officer, Cota, in an interview with The American Journal of Managed Care®.
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Diagnosing Non-Chemotherapy Drug-Induced Neutropenia
December 16th 2017In a session at the 59th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, Brian Curtis, PhD, of the BloodCenter of Wisconsin Blood Research Institute, highlighted drugs other than chemotherapy that may cause neutropenia in patients.
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New Treatment Paradigm Supersedes ABVD in Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma: The ECHELON-1 Study
December 13th 2017Including the modified brentuximab antibody in the treatment regimen improved modified progression-free survival by 5%, although the rates of neutropenia and infections were higher in patients administered the brentuximab-containing regimen.
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The Case for Eliminating the Neutropenic Diet
October 18th 2017Although there is no scientific evidence that a specific diet reduces risk of infection in patients experiencing neutropenia, it is a common strategy in cancer care. Research presented at the 42nd Annual Congress of the Oncology Nursing Society determined that the popular neutropenic diet can be eliminated from practice.
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Diagnosing and Treating Neutropenia: Q&A With Dr Daniel J. DeAngelo
October 13th 2017Before treating certain patients, Daniel J. DeAngelo, MD, JD, of Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, will council them on the risk of developing neutropenia, which can result in hospitalization or even an intensive care stay.
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Researchers Categorize Incurable Childhood Brain Tumors as Separate Cancer Types
September 28th 2017After examining over 1000 cases of high-grade gliomas in children and young adults, researchers have split these rare brain tumors into at least 10 different subtypes, which could help clinicians choose and deliver more effective treatments.
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FDA Announces Progress, Next Steps in Streamlining Orphan Drug Review Process
September 13th 2017FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, announced the agency’s progress in streamlining the orphan drug review process and outlined plans to close a loophole currently hindering pediatric drug research.
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Following Pembrolizumab, Nivolumab Trials in Multiple Myeloma Paused
September 7th 2017Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that the FDA has placed a clinical hold on 3 combination trials evaluating its programmed death-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.
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Healthy, but Still Hurting: Challenges of Cancer Survivorship
September 4th 2017The assumption in the United States is that once someone with cancer is cured, done with treatment, and healthy, that they are now okay. However, the reality is that survivors contend with lingering challenges that aren’t visible and make it difficult for them to ask for help or admit they need it.
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Abeona Receives Breakthrough Designation for Rare Skin Disease Gene Therapy
August 31st 2017A gene therapy for patients with recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB), a rare skin disease that causes the skin to be very fragile and blister easily, has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation status by the FDA.
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FDA Approves Tisagenlecleucel, the First CAR-T Cell Therapy in the United States
August 30th 2017The FDA has approved the first chimeric antigen receptor-T (CAR-T) treatment, tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah), for the treatment of B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia in certain pediatric and young adult patients. The therapy represents a new frontier in cancer care.
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Understanding Patient Preferences Can Promote Adherence in MS Patients, Study Says
August 18th 2017Patient preferences for multiple sclerosis therapies are important to take into account and are increasingly so as alternatives to traditional injection therapies are developed to address adherence issues.
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ICER Seeks Public Comment on Scoping Document for CAR-T Treatments
August 10th 2017The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has released a draft version of their scoping document that will compare the clinical effectiveness and value of 2 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell treatments being reviewed by the FDA.
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Results of Phase 2 Study Investigating Luspatercept in MDS
August 9th 2017The results of a phase 2 study that explored the effects of luspatercept in patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) were presented at the 22nd Congress of the European Hematology Association by Acceleron Pharma Inc. The company is developing the drug with Celgene.
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NCI Researchers Discuss Prospects and Challenges of Treating Glioblastoma
August 7th 2017Amidst news of Senator John McCain’s glioblastoma diagnosis, a recent discussion between 2 neuro-oncology researchers explored the reasons why this aggressive brain tumor is so difficult to manage, and outlined the ongoing investigations into possible therapies.
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