A mainstay of cancer treatment, doxorubicin is used as a standalone agent or in combination therapies, on-label and off, in at least 14 cancer types, including breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, and Wilms tumor.
The initial foray into genomic sequencing two decades ago has led to the discovery of key driver mutations and spurred drug development, thereby transforming the management of imminently lethal diseases.
Circulating tumor DNA has the potential to not only change the way medical oncologists assess and treat cancer patients, but also how cancer drugs are reviewed, oncology experts at FDA and pharmaceutical companies said in response to research findings published July 11 by a collaboration led by Friends of Cancer Research.
As researchers consider using circulating tumor DNA as an endpoint in clinical trials to evaluate drug efficacy, a collaboration led by Friends of Cancer Research is creating the evidentiary roadmap for the use of ctDNA in regulatory decisions.
Setting cancer drug dosage used to be easy: find the delicate balance between killing the disease and subjecting the patient to intolerable harm, and you are done.
While overall cancer death rates have been dropping, the number of individuals being diagnosed with cancer has been going up, with younger patients increasingly affected.
A survey conducted by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network found that 93% of its 27 member institutions are experiencing shortages of carboplatin, and 70% lack cisplatin.
For over 30 years, radiation therapy has been a part of the standard of care for locally advanced rectal cancer patients.
NCI and all five cooperative groups that make up the National Clinical Trials Network have launched a large-scale precision medicine initiative that will match cancer patients with early-phase clinical trials testing novel drug combinations that target specific tumor alterations.
Proven curative regimens containing platinum-based drugs—cisplatin and carboplatin—have become largely unavailable because of a nationwide drug shortage. The institutions that have some supplies of cisplatin and carboplatin are setting up algorithms for rationing their dwindling stocks, which usually means giving top priority to patients treated with curative intent and denying standard-of-care treatment to patients who cannot be cured but who can still benefit from these drugs.
