Oncology

Surgery plus radiotherapy no better than surgery alone in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

Yesterday

Poor outcomes are not significantly different in between patients with high-risk cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas treated with margin-negative resection only and those who underwent surgery with adjuvant radiotherapy, reveals a study.

Prior faecal haemoglobin concentrations can help predict risk of future CRC, advanced neoplasia

3 days ago

Prior faecal haemoglobin (F-Hb) concentrations are prognostic of the risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) or advanced neoplasia (AN), according to a study. When added to age and sex, prior F-Hb concentrations can accurately identify individuals at risk of the said diseases.

Tisagenlecleucel cost-effective for young adults with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Tristan Manalac, 4 days ago

For young adults with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (R/R ALL) who had failed at least two prior lines of therapies, tisagenlecleucel appears to be an inexpensive treatment option, according to a recent Singapore study.

Novel cellular therapy produces impressive responses in heavily pretreated CD30-positive lymphoma

Kanas Chan, 5 days ago

A novel cellular therapy that links the bispecific antibody AFM13 with cord blood–derived natural killer cells (AFM13-NK), when used at recommended phase II dose (RP2D), produces a 100 percent overall response rate (ORR) in patients with refractory or relapsed CD30-positive Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphomas (HL/NHL), according to results of the NCT04074746 trial presented at American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2022.

High BMI might promote MGUS progression to multiple myeloma

17 May 2022

In individuals with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), obesity or high body mass index (BMI) seems to aggravate the risk of disease progression to multiple myeloma (MM), an effect that appears to be stronger in women, a recent study has found.

Polygenic risk scores for hepatic fat, NAFLD pinpoint Asians at risk of HCC

Jairia Dela Cruz, 17 May 2022

Both the polygenic risk score (PRS) for hepatic fat (HFC-PRS) derived from non-Asians and the novel PRS for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) derived from East Asians can predict the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Singaporeans, as shown in a study.

Improving survival outcomes with systemic therapy in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma

02 Apr 2021

At the 3rd Bayer Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Masterclass, three distinguished speakers shared their insights into the management of intermediate and advanced HCC in Malaysia. Topics discussed include current treatment landscape and updates in disease management, as well as two case studies that highlighted the role of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in improving the overall survival (OS) of patients with advanced HCC.

New treatment option now available for patients with HR+/HER2- aBC/MBC, PIK3CA mutations

31 Mar 2021

At the recent webinar entitled Pik Me Up: Mutation Matters, Consultant Medical Oncologist Dr Senthil Rajappa discussed the role of PI3Kα-specific inhibitor alpelisib (TREZILENT^®, Novartis) in managing patients with HR+/HER2- aBC/MBC and PIK3CA mutations while Senior Consultant Pathologist Professor Dr Pathmanathan Rajadurai explained the process of detecting PIK3CA mutations in patients.

Management of MDROs in the ICU and the role of newer antimicrobial agents

Prof. David Paterson, 30 Mar 2021

Intensive care unit (ICU) patients are at risk of developing serious infections with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), which require appropriate and adequate antibiotic coverage. Early empirical coverage is pivotal in saving patients’ lives. At a recent webinar co-organized by the Society of Infectious Disease (Singapore) and Pfizer, renowned Professor David Paterson, Professor of Medicine and Director, The University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, and Consultant Infectious Diseases Physician, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, Brisbane, Australia, discussed the role of newer antimicrobial agents, including ceftazidime-avibactam (Zavicefta) in the management of MDROs in the ICU. Dr Wong Sin Yew, Infectious Disease Physician at Gleneagles Medical Centre and Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre, Singapore, chaired the event.

The changing treatment landscape for premenopausal women with advanced breast cancer: Focus on ribociclib

Dr. Wong Seng Weng, Dr. Lee Guek Eng, 19 Mar 2021

In Singapore, advanced breast cancer (aBC) is the leading cause of cancer death in women 30–49 years of age. For premenopausal women diagnosed with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative BC, cyclin-dependent kinase 4 and 6 (CDK4/6) inhibitors provide new hope. Currently, ribociclib is the only CDK4/6 inhibitor studied in the first-line setting for premenopausal women with HR+/HER2- aBC, in the phase III MONALEESA-7 trial. Two experts, Dr Wong Seng Weng, Medical Director & Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Cancer Centre, Paragon Medical & Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre, and Dr Lee Guek Eng, Senior Consultant & Specialist in Medical Oncology at Icon Cancer Centre and Program Director of the Young Women Cancer Program, weigh in with their views on managing premenopausal women with aBC.

Optimizing metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer treatment in advanced prostate cancer

Assoc Prof. Darren Poon, Assoc Prof. Edmund Chiong, 14 Jan 2021

Metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC) refers to the condition whereby patients have metastatic prostate cancer and no prior hormonal therapy or androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Typically, patients with mHSPC have been treated with ADT alone, following which, the overwhelming majority develop castration resistance over time and head towards eventual mortality. In recent years, the publication of various landmark trials has prompted dramatic changes in the mHSPC treatment landscape, and had favourably impacted overall survival (OS) in these patients. At a recent webinar, A/Prof Darren Poon, Honorary Consultant in Clinical Oncology, Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, and Honorary Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Oncology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, reviewed treatment options in mHSPC, while A/Prof Edmund Chiong, Head and Senior Consultant, Department of Urology, National University Hospital, Singapore, presented a case which was discussed by an esteemed panel of experts. This webinar was jointly organized by the Singapore Society of Oncology and the Singapore Urological Association, and supported by Astellas.

ALL treatment: Current settings, future goals

Roshini Claire Anthony, 08 Jan 2021

Significant advancements in the treatment of acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) in children have improved their outcomes. However, ALL treatment and eradication remain a major challenge in adults. In a recent webinar, two specialists from the US discussed current ALL treatment strategies and goals of future regimens.

Novel cellular therapy produces impressive responses in heavily pretreated CD30-positive lymphoma

Kanas Chan, 19 May 2022

Stem cell–like epigenetic signature predicts resistance to CD19 CAR T-cell therapy in ALL

Sarah Cheung, 17 May 2022

A stem cell–like epigenetic signature is identified in pretreatment samples from young patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) who are resistant to CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, with potential utility for refining patient selection for appropriate treatment.

Sotorasib continues to impress at 2 years in KRAS G12C–mutant NSCLC

Elvira Manzano, 13 May 2022

Long-term findings from the pooled phase I/II CodeBreak 100 trial support the efficacy of sotorasib in certain patients with KRAS G12C–mutant non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Neoadjuvant nivolumab plus chemo: New SoC in resectable NSCLC

Christina Lau, 13 May 2022

In patients with resectable non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), neoadjuvant nivolumab in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy significantly improves event-free survival (EFS) and shows a trend towards better overall survival (OS) vs chemotherapy alone, without impeding the feasibility of surgery or increasing adverse events (AEs), according to results of the phase III CheckMate 816 trial.

SWOG S1616 suggests PFS benefit with ipi-nivo combo in metastatic/unresectable melanoma

Roshini Claire Anthony, 12 May 2022

The combination of ipilimumab and nivolumab may provide a progression-free survival (PFS) benefit in patients with metastatic or unresectable melanoma who did not respond to anti-PD-1/anti-PD-L1 therapy, according to a small study presented at AACR 2022.

Sotorasib demonstrates durable efficacy in KRASG12C-mutated NSCLC

Christina Lau, 11 May 2022

The KRAS^G12C inhibitor sotorasib has demonstrated durable efficacy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic KRAS^G12C-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with 2-year overall survival (OS) reported in one-third of patients in the CodeBreaK 100 trial.

Adding canakinumab to SoC confers no survival benefit in advanced NSCLC

Roshini Claire Anthony, 10 May 2022

The addition of the monoclonal anti-interleukin-1β antibody canakinumab to the standard of care (SoC) regimen of platinum doublet chemotherapy and pembrolizumab in the first-line setting did not improve progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), results of the phase III CANOPY-1 trial showed.