American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2018 Annual Meeting

Chemotherapy plus bevacizumab prolongs PFS in recurrent ovarian cancer

Elaine Soliven, 20180711102008

Adding bevacizumab to platinum-based chemotherapy significantly improves progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with recurrent ovarian cancer who were previously treated with first-line bevacizumab, according to the MITO16B - MaNGO OV2B - ENGOT OV17* study presented at ASCO 2018.

Nimotuzumab-CRT improves PFS in head, neck cancers

Audrey Abella, 20180706102046

The addition of the EGFR inhibitor nimotuzumab to a chemoradiotherapy (CRT) regimen using cisplatin improved progression-free survival (PFS) and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) compared with CRT alone, according to data from a phase III trial presented at ASCO 2018.

Nephrectomy potentially unnecessary in metastatic kidney cancer

Roshini Claire Anthony, 20180704140700

Patients with metastatic clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) who received sunitinib appeared to have comparable overall survival (OS) with those who received sunitinib after undergoing cytoreductive nephrectomy, according to the phase III CARMENA* trial.

Precision medicine ups long-term survival across cancer types

Precision medicine extends long-term survival across cancer types

Pearl Toh, 20180703180010

Matching targeted therapy to genetic alterations in the tumour improved response rate and long-term survival in patients with advanced cancer who underwent molecular profiling compared with patients who were unmatched to therapy, highlighting the role of molecular testing in precision medicine, the IMPACT* study shows.

Enfortumab vedotin shows potential for urothelial cancer

Audrey Abella, 20180703110000

The antibody-drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin (EV) demonstrated a promising overall response rate (ORR) in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC), including those who had liver metastases and prior treatment with checkpoint inhibitors, according to the phase 1 data of the EV-101* trial presented at ASCO 2018.

Ribociclib-fulvestrant combo improves PFS in HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer

Elaine Soliven, 20180703071357

The combination of ribociclib, a CDK*4/6 inhibitor, and fulvestrant significantly improves progression-free survival (PFS) in post-menopausal women with hormone receptor-positive (HR+)/human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative (HER2-) advanced breast cancer, according to the MONALEESA-3** study presented at ASCO 2018.

Frontline atezolizumab atop bevacizumab + chemo ups survival in NSCLC

Pearl Toh, 20180702180010

Adding atezolizumab to a combination therapy of bevacizumab plus carboplatin and paclitaxel (CP) significantly improves progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in chemotherapy-naïve patients with metastatic nonsquamous non-small–cell lung cancer (NSCLC), irrespective of PD-L1 expression levels and EGFR or ALK alteration status, according to the IMpower150* trial presented at ASCO 2018.

6-month trastuzumab noninferior to 12 in HER2+ BC, with less cardiotoxicity

6-month trastuzumab equals to 12 in HER2+ BC, with less cardiotoxicity

Pearl Toh, 20180629180010

Treatment with adjuvant trastuzumab for 6 months was noninferior to 12 months — the current standard treatment duration for HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer — in terms of disease-free survival (DFS), according to the PERSEPHONE* trial presented in ASCO 2018.

Maintenance chemotherapy could boost survival in paediatric non-metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma

Roshini Claire Anthony, 20180629140600

Patients who received maintenance therapy for 6 months after achieving complete remission on standard therapy for non-metastatic rhabdomyosarcoma may have better disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) than patients who did not receive maintenance therapy, according to a phase III trial.

NGS influences treatment selection in AML

Roshini Claire Anthony, 20180628140300

The use of next generation sequencing (NGS) helps guide choice of treatment in more than 30 percent of patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), according to findings from a single-centre study in the US.