Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Efficacy And Safety Of Pembrolizumab In Patients Enrolled In Keynote-030 In The United States: An Expanded Access Program., Tara C Gangadhar, Wen-Jen Hwu, Michael A Postow, Omid Hamid, Adil Daud, Roxana Dronca, Richard Joseph, Steven J O'Day, F S Hodi, Anna C Pavlick, Harriet Kluger, Romina P Oxborough, Aiming Yang, Mihaela Gazdoiu, Debra A Kush, Scot Ebbinghaus, April K S Salama

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

KEYNOTE-030 (ClinicalTrials.gov ID, NCT02083484) was a global expanded access program that allowed access to pembrolizumab, an antiprogrammed death 1 antibody, for patients with advanced melanoma before its regulatory approval. Patients with unresectable stage III/IV melanoma that progressed after standard-of-care therapy, including ipilimumab and, if BRAF mutant, a BRAF inhibitor, were eligible to receive pembrolizumab 2 mg/kg every 3 weeks. Response was assessed by immune-related response criteria by investigator review. Adverse events (AEs) were graded according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.0. In the United States, 979 patients enrolled between April and September 2014. …

Updating The Psoriatic Arthritis (Psa) Core Domain Set: A Report From The Psa Workshop At Omeract 2016., Ana-Maria Orbai, Maarten De Wit, Philip Mease, Kristina Callis Duffin, Musaab Elmamoun, William Tillett, Willemina Campbell, Oliver Fitzgerald, Dafna D Gladman, Niti Goel, Laure Gossec, Pil Hoejgaard, Ying Ying Leung, Chris Lindsay, Vibeke Strand, Désirée M Van Der Heijde, Bev Shea, Robin Christensen, Laura Coates, Lihi Eder, Neil Mchugh, Umut Kalyoncu, Ingrid Steinkoenig, Alexis Ogdie

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

OBJECTIVE: To include the patient perspective in accordance with the Outcome Measures in Rheumatology (OMERACT) Filter 2.0 in the updated Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) Core Domain Set for randomized controlled trials (RCT) and longitudinal observational studies (LOS).

METHODS: At OMERACT 2016, research conducted to update the PsA Core Domain Set was presented and discussed in breakout groups. The updated PsA Core Domain Set was voted on and endorsed by OMERACT participants.

RESULTS: We conducted a systematic literature review of domains measured in PsA RCT and LOS, and identified 24 domains. We conducted 24 focus groups with 130 patients from 7 countries …

Oncolog, Volume 62, Number 09, September 2017, Joe Munch, Bryan Tutt

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues)

• Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy for Spinal Metastases: Laser technique may be alternative to open surgery prior to stereotactic radiation therapy for metastases adjacent to the spinal cord.
• Immunotherapy Plus Targeted Therapy for Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer: Trial combines atezolizumab with targeted or cytotoxic agents for patients with anaplastic or poorly differentiated thyroid cancer.
• A New era in Follicular Lymphoma: Newly approved drugs, clinical trials represent shift from cytotoxic to targeted and immunotherapeutic agents.
• HOUSE CALL: Understanding Clinical Trials- Trials provide access to new cancer treatments
• INBRIEF: Repeat Surgery for Close Margins May Be Unnecessary for DCIS Patients Receiving Radiation Therapy

Oncolog, Volume 62, Number 08, August 2017, Bryan Tutt, Sarah Bronson

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues)

• Immunotherapy for Smoldering Myeloma: Clinical trials test PD-1, DC38 inhibitors to delay progression from premalignant disease to multiple myeloma.
• Malignant Pheochromocytoma and Sympathetic Paraganglioma Research: Studies may expand treatment options for patients with rare neuroendocrine tumors.
• Hypofractionated Partial-Breast Irradiation: Clinical trial tests 10-day external-beam radiation therapy regimen after lumpectomy for patients with early-stage breast cancer.
• HOUSE CALL: Support for Cancer Patients: Patients, caregivers find many types of support from various organizations

Oncolog, Volume 62, Number 07, July 2017, Joe Munch, Bryan Tutt

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues)

• RAS Mutations and Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastases: Gene mutations may have implications for local therapy for liver metastases from colorectal cancer.
• Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer: Clinical trial may clarify which patients with prostate cancer will benefit from active surveillance rather than immediate treatment.
• Gut Microbiome May Affect Immunotherapy Response in Melanoma: Metastatic melanoma patients who experience responses to checkpoint inhibitors have a distinct gut bacterial genetic signature.
• HOUSE CALL: Cancer-Related fatigue-Tips for fighting fatigue

Treatment Pathway Of Bone Sarcoma In Children, Adolescents, And Young Adults, Damon R. Reed, Masanori Hayashi, Lars M. Wagner, Odion Binitie, Diana A. Steppan, Andrew S. Brohl, Eric T. Shinohara, Julia A. Bridge, David M. Loeb, Scott C. Borinstein, Michael S. Isakoff

Pediatrics Faculty Publications

When pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients present with a bone sarcoma, treatment decisions, especially after relapse, are complex and require a multidisciplinary approach. This review presents scenarios commonly encountered in the therapy of bone sarcomas with the goal of objectively presenting a consensus, multidisciplinary management approach. Little variation was found in the authors' group with respect to local control or systemic therapy. Clinical trials were universally prioritized in all settings. Decisions regarding relapse therapies in the absence of a clinical trial had very minor variations initially, but a consensus was reached after a literature review and discussion. This review …

Oncolog, Volume 62, Number 05-06, May - June 2017, Joe Munch, Bryan Tutt, Kathryn Hale

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues)

• Chimeric Antigen Receptor-Directed Natural Killer Cells for B Cell Malignancies: New take on an experimental therapy holds promise for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, other lymphoid cancers.
• Preoperative Exercise Program for Pancreatic Cancer Patients: Prehabilitation regimen to improve functional status during chemotherapy evaluated in clinical trials.
• Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Clinical Trial will evaluate immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with operable early-stage disease.
• HOUSE CALL: Genetic Screening for Hereditary Cancer Syndromes: Genetic counseling, testing help people assess, manage cancer risk

Dysregulated Gpcr Signaling And Therapeutic Options In Uveal Melanoma., Vivian Chua, Dominic Lapadula, Clinita Randolph, Jeffrey L. Benovic, Philip B. Wedegaertner, Andrew E. Aplin

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

Uveal melanoma is the most common primary intraocular malignant tumor in adults and arises from the transformation of melanocytes in the uveal tract. Even after treatment of the primary tumor, up to 50% of patients succumb to metastatic disease. The liver is the predominant organ of metastasis. There is an important need to provide effective treatment options for advanced stage uveal melanoma. To provide the preclinical basis for new treatments, it is important to understand the molecular underpinnings of the disease. Recent genomic studies have shown that mutations within components of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling are early events associated …

Oncolog, Volume 62, Number 04, April 2017, Bryan Tutt, Sarah Bronson

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues)

• Advances in Surgical Management of Lymphedema: New options reduce edema in limbs, improve quality of life for cancer patients with lymphedema.
• Noncytotoxic First-Line Therapy for Mantle Cell Lymphoma: First-line therapy with targeted and immunotherapy agents produces high response rates in mantle cell lymphoma.
• Reports from the Survivorship Research Symposium: Research on BK virus, heart failure, and aspiration in cancer survivors.
• HOUSE CALL: Types of Immunotherapy for Cancer: Understanding different approaches to immunotherapy

Immunotherapy Of Head And Neck Cancer: Emerging Clinical Trials From A National Cancer Institute Head And Neck Cancer Steering Committee Planning Meeting., Julie E Bauman, Ezra Cohen, Robert L Ferris, David J Adelstein, David M Brizel, John A Ridge, Brian O'Sullivan, Barbara A Burtness, Lisa H Butterfield, William E Carson, Mary L Disis, Bernard A Fox, Thomas F Gajewski, Maura L Gillison, James W Hodge, Quynh-Thu Le, David Raben, Scott E Strome, Jean Lynn, Shakun Malik

Articles, Abstracts, and Reports

Recent advances have permitted successful therapeutic targeting of the immune system in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). These new immunotherapeutic targets and agents are being rapidly adopted by the oncologic community and hold considerable promise. The National Cancer Institute sponsored a Clinical Trials Planning Meeting to address the issue of how to further investigate the use of immunotherapy in patients with HNSCC. The goals of the meeting were to consider phase 2 or 3 trial designs primarily in 3 different patient populations: those with previously untreated, human papillomavirus-initiated oropharyngeal cancers; those with previously untreated, human papillomavirus-negative HNSCC; and …

Implementation Of Clinical Research Trials Using Web-Based And Mobile Devices: Challenges And Solutions., Roy Eagleson, Luis Altamirano-Diaz, Alex Mcinnis, Eva Welisch, Stefanie De Jesus, Harry Prapavessis, Meghan Rombeek, Jamie A Seabrook, Teresa Park, Kambiz Norozi

Paediatrics Publications

BACKGROUND: With the increasing implementation of web-based, mobile health interventions in clinical trials, it is crucial for researchers to address the security and privacy concerns of patient information according to high ethical standards. The full process of meeting these standards is often made more complicated due to the use of internet-based technology and smartphones for treatment, telecommunication, and data collection; however, this process is not well-documented in the literature.

RESULTS: The Smart Heart Trial is a single-arm feasibility study that is currently assessing the effects of a web-based, mobile lifestyle intervention for overweight and obese children and youth with congenital …

Oncolog, Volume 62, Number 03, March 2017, Bryan Tutt, Joe Munch, Brandon C. Strubberg

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues)

• Immunotherapy for Glioblastoma: Clinical trials test innovative immunotherapy approaches against brain tumors.
• Virus-Specific T Cells Treat Posttransplant Infections: Banked T cells offer "off-the-shelf" therapy for patients with BK virus, JC virus, Cytomegalovirus infections after stem cell transplant.
• Intensity-Modulated Proton Therapy for Oropharyngeal Cancer: Clinical trial compares outcomes of intensity-modulated proton therapy, standard radiation therapy.
• HOUSE CALL: Lung Cancer Screening-Low-dose computed tomography can detect lung cancer early

Oncolog, Volume 62, Number 01, January 2017, Bryan Tutt, Joe Munch, Z Ahmed

OncoLog MD Anderson's Report to Physicians (All issues)

• Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy for Melanoma: Trial investigates immune checkpoint blockade in patients with respectable stage III or oligometastatic stage IV disease.
• Radiation May Enhance Immunotherapy for Solid Tumors: Clinical Trials combine immune checkpoint inhibitors with radiation therapy against lung cancers, other solid tumors.
• INBRIEF: Nivolumab Plus Azacitidine Shows Promise in Relapsed Acute Myelogenous Leukemia/ Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, Myelodysplastic Syndrome Study Questions Standard Exclusion Criteria for Conventional Trials
• HOUSE CALL: Social Media Groups for Cancer Patients-Twitter chats, online groups for patients, caregivers
• USEFUL RESOURCES: Resources to Aid Referring Physicians