Darlene Dobkowski, MA

The radioactive diagnostic agent, Gallium 68 PSMA-11, can detect suspected prostate cancer metastasis or recurrence, providing another imaging option for these patients.

Several factors may lead to prolonged treatment duration for breast cancer including socioeconomic status, race, and barriers to care.

The Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Danyelza comes as a result of two trials that assessed the efficacy of the drug in patients with relapsed or refractory high-risk neuroblastoma in the bone or bone marrow who did not have sufficient response to prior therapies.

This survival benefit was particularly observed in patients with node-positive disease, or cancer that spread to the lymph nodes according to pathology.

Despite a modest benefit in these patients, principal investigator Dr. Yuan Yuan said she is looking “forward to the future” with regards to therapies that integrate nonsteroidal selective androgen receptor modulators for this patient population.

This combined treatment, which includes bendamustine, ofatumumab, carboplatin and etoposide, may serve as an effective bridge to stem cell transplantation.

Patients with myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) may benefit from this combination treatment if they are in the accelerated or blast phase of the disease.

Among patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, several groups were found to receive chemotherapy less often compared with White patients. They included Black, older and uninsured patients as well as those with nonprivate health insurance.

This treatment, which included dexamethasone, high-dose cytarabine and cisplatin, was well tolerated in this patient population, although longer-term follow-up is needed to see if the benefit persists.

Findings from this analysis determined that diet may not affect survival, which may lead to a stronger focus on exercise at the start of first-line treatment for metastatic disease.

A randomized, controlled trial comparing olanzapine with a standard antiemetic regimen resulted in more patients achieving no vomiting and no rescue medication during the acute, delayed and overall periods.

These findings, based on a 20-year analysis, may show the benefit with weight loss surgery to reduce the effects of chronic inflammation associated with diabetes and obesity.

The FDA approved this liquid biopsy to check blood for prostate-tumor DNA that indicates the presence of genetic mutations or rearrangements. The test was also recently approved for use in patients with ovarian, non-small cell lung or breast tumors.

Financial hardship, particularly related to debt and psychological distress, can affect young female cancer survivors who may have to reduce hours or stop work completely.

This benefit observed with Venclexta (venetoclax) plus Rituxan (rituximab) for patients with CLL was particularly strong in patients with undetectable minimal residual disease, which may predict clinical outcome after chemoimmunotherapy.

Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs may provide a mortality benefit in women with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer, breast cancer and melanoma, although more research is needed to confirm this potential association.

Results of this trial led to an accelerated FDA approval of Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab) in March to treat this specific patient population.

As colorectal cancer is becoming more prevalent in younger patients, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) introduced a draft recommendation that, if accepted, will lower the screening age from 50 years to 45 years in those with average risk.