- Center on Health Equity and Access
- Clinical
- Health Care Cost
- Health Care Delivery
- Insurance
- Policy
- Technology
- Value-Based Care
Updates to Treatment Options During Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is breast cancer awareness month, and as September ended, a new treatment received the FDA’s approval for advanced breast cancer and another was granted priority review for the adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer.
October is breast cancer awareness month, and as September ended, a new treatment received the FDA’s approval for advanced breast cancer and another was granted priority review for the adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer.
On September 28, the FDA approved abemaciclib (Verzenio) for the treatment of adult patients with hormone receptor (HR)—positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer that has progressed on endocrine therapy. A CDK4/6 inhibitor, abemaciclib is currently approved in combination with fulvestrant in patients who have progressed on endocrine therapy. It is also approved to be given alone in combination with endocrine therapy and chemotherapy following metastasis.
Abemaciclib was evaluated in combination with fulvestrant in a randomized trial of 669 patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that had progressed following treatment with endocrine therapy and who had not received chemotherapy following metastasis. Median progression-free survival was 16.4 months in the abemaciclib plus chemotherapy arm, compared with 9.4 months in patients treated with a placebo and chemotherapy.
Abemaciclib as a stand-alone was evaluated in a single-arm study in 132 patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer that had progressed on endocrine therapy and chemotherapy following metastasis. Nearly 20% of patients on abemaciclib presented with partial or complete shrinkage of their tumors for a median period of 8.6 months.
On September 29, Roche announced that the FDA had accepted a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for pertuzumab (Perjeta) in combination with trastuzumab (Herceptin) and chemotherapy for adjuvant treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer. While the FDA has already granted an accelerated approval for the combination, the current submission is aimed at converting it to a full approval.
The decision date for the sBLA is January 28, 2018.
Early Involvement Critical in Treating Immunotherapy-Induced Overlap Syndrome
April 19th 2024A series of case studies reveals the importance of early diagnosis and involvement of special teams of clinicians when dealing with potential cases of overlap syndrome, which encompasses myocarditis, myasthenia gravis, and immune checkpoint inhibitor–related myositis.
Read More
Real-World Study Reveals Key Insights Into DLBCL Treatment Patterns, Outcomes
April 18th 2024A recent study offers valuable insights into the characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in patients across different lines of therapy, providing a look into the landscape of DLBCL management.
Read More
Oncology Onward: A Conversation With Penn Medicine's Dr Justin Bekelman
December 19th 2023Justin Bekelman, MD, director of the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation, sat with our hosts Emeline Aviki, MD, MBA, and Stephen Schleicher, MD, MBA, for our final episode of 2023 to discuss the importance of collaboration between academic medicine and community oncology and testing innovative cancer care delivery in these settings.
Listen
Pegcetacoplan for PNH More Cost-Effective Than Anti-C5 Monoclonal Antibodies
April 18th 2024A cost-utility analysis conducted from the perspective of the Italian health system found that pegcetacoplan was more effective and less costly than 2 complement 5 (C5) inhibitors for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).
Read More
