The AJMC® Precision Medicine in Oncology compendium is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and expert insights for molecular profiling of tumors.
Osimertinib Granted Breakthrough Status for Early-Stage, EGFR-Mutated NSCLC Patients After Surgery
July 31st 2020The ADAURA trial was stopped in April 2020 after an independent monitoring committee called for the trial to be unblinded 2 years early based on a determination of overwhelming efficacy.
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Four studies were highlighted that amplified the 3 components of using genetic testing in cancer treatment and prevention: (1) understanding the germline component of a tumor test, (2) broadening access to genetic counselors with video sessions, and (3) making sure risk assessment of each patient is accurate, so that patients do not have unnecessary surgeries.
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Roche Invests in Blueprint Medicines, Maker of RET Inhibitor Pralsetinib
July 15th 2020Pralsetinib, an investigational precision therapy in late-stage development for individuals with alterations in the RET gene, would be jointly sold in the United States by the 2 companies if it is approved.
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Large Survival Edge in Lung Cancer With Companion Diagnostics, but Some Still Miss Out, Study Finds
July 10th 2020Companion diagnostic testing identifies patients most likely to benefit from biomarker-driven treatments. Much of the promise in lung cancer treatment comes from use of testing to match patients with targeted therapies, checkpoint inhibitors, or combinations.
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Can Artificial Intelligence Detect Early-Stage Pancreatic Cancer?
July 2nd 2020Using artificial intelligence to comb through electronic health records to look for the subtle signs that individuals often present with to their doctor in the years before a more advanced diagnosis of pancreatic cancer is made showed promise in a early trial to see if earlier detection is possible.
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Young Adults With Cancer More Likely to Have Germline Mutations, Study Finds
June 27th 2020Patients between the ages of 18 and 39 who are diagnosed with solid-tumor cancers are more likely than the general population to have germline mutations that could make them more susceptible to secondary primary cancers, according to new research.
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Addressing the Gap in Precision Medicine
June 17th 2020We need the development of new, complex biomarkers to address the increasing complexity in treatment modalities that, in and of themselves, have characteristics of a continuous variable; they require innovation and outcomes data, which perhaps will be partly addressed by some of the emerging real-world evidence databases amassed by pairing sequence information and clinical outcomes. Tumor mutational burden is a great example of this innovation in practice.
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FDA Approves Second Biomarker-Based Indication for Pembrolizumab
June 17th 2020The FDA today granted accelerated approval to the second biomarker-based indication for Merck’s pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an anti-PD-1 therapy, regardless of tumor type. A companion diagnostic to pembrolizumab, FoundationOne CDx was also today approved by the FDA as only approved companion diagnostic to measure tumor mutational burden.
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Study Probes Genomic Factors Affecting Outcomes in Advanced Renal Cancer
June 6th 2020Features typically linked to immunotherapy response or resistance in other types of cancer don’t work the same way in advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma when treated with programmed death 1 inhibitors.
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Study Shows How NGS, Precision Medicine Benefitted Patients at Community Cancer Clinic
May 30th 2020Physicians at a community oncology clinic center have an increased understanding of the clinical utility of molecular testing after implementing next generation sequencing and precision medicine, said researchers.
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FDA Approves Olaparib for HRR Gene–Mutated Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer
May 20th 2020The therapy is for patients with deleterious or suspected deleterious germline somatic homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene–mutated cancer or for those whose cancer has progressed after prior treatment with enzalutamide or abiraterone.
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FDA Approves Qinlock (Ripretinib) For Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors
May 18th 2020The FDA approved Deciphera Pharmaceuticals’ ripretinib (Qinlock), the first drug for fourth-line treatment of advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). The medication is only indicated for adults who have previously received treatment with 3 or more kinase inhibitor therapies, including imatinib.
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Study Describes Use of Liquid Biopsy in Patients With Solid Tumors
May 16th 2020A recent study describes the use of a liquid assay to uncover any links between response to treatment and tumor load score in patients with stage 2 or stage 3 cancer with solid tumors. Circulating tumor DNA is linked with more advanced cancer.
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FDA Approves Selpercatinib for Certain Non–Small Cell Lung, Thyroid Cancers
May 11th 2020The FDA approved Eli Lilly’s selpercatinib (Retevmo) capsules to treat non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), medullary thyroid cancer (MTC) and other thyroid cancer tumors. The treatment is indicated for patients whose tumors have an alternation, such as a mutation or fusion, in a specific gene (RET or 'rearranged during transfection'), marking the first approval of a therapy for cancer patients with the RET gene alterations.
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