Past Issues – Page 4 – The Cancer Letter Publications

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Issue 28 - Jul. 13, 2018

TCL44-28 (259 downloads)

Immunologists seek ways to make TIL in solid tumors as effective as CAR T in blood cancers
For more than four decades, Steven Rosenberg’s work on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes has met with equal measures of skepticism and cheer—but now, as more patients across multiple cancer types respond to cell transfer immunotherapy, researchers are eager to join the movement Rosenberg indisputably leads.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
NCI’s Rosenberg: Tumor infiltrating lymphocytes offer a strategy for treating recalcitrant solid cancers
After achieving complete regression in several patients with different solid tumor types, Steven Rosenberg is eyeing the biggest prize imaginable—advancing the therapies he has championed for over four decades into the clinic as treatments for commonly occurring cancers.
House committee proposes $1.25 billion raise for NIH
The fiscal year 2019 spending bill marked up by the House Committee on Appropriations gives NIH a $1.25 billion raise.
“The National Institutes of Health, our nation’s premier biomedical agency, is funded at $1.25 billion above last year’s appropriation,” said Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), Labor-HHS subcommittee chair.
In Brief
- Gerstle named chief of Pediatric Surgery Service at MSK
- Pestell joins CytoDyn as chief medical officer
- Beck named COO at Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
- UCLA’s Ribas named “Great Immigrant” by Carnegie Corp.
- Abbott joins the Fox Chase Department of Diagnostic Imaging
Clinical Roundup
- ACA credited with earlier diagnosis of gynecologic cancers in young women
- Phase III trial of Ninlaro meets PFS primary endpoint in multiple myeloma
- New blood test measures four protein biomarkers, can help identify lung cancer
Drugs & Targets
- FDA grants accelerated approval to Yervoy for MSI-H or dMMR metastatic colorectal cancer
- FDA approves Xtandi sNDA for CRPC
- FDA grants Priority Review to Merck’s sBLA for Keytruda for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma
- Genentech submits sNDA for Venclexta for an AML indication

Issue 27 - Jul. 6, 2018

TCL44-27 (269 downloads)

An Appreciation
Alan Rabson, pioneering scientist and mentor to thousands at NCI, dies at 92
Alan Rabson, one of the premier cancer pathologists of his generation whose most recent title at NCI was scientist emeritus, died on July 4. He was 92.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
How the Rabson “practice” helped more than 14,000 patients in 55 years
In 2010, Otis Brawley and I were in the midst of writing a book about the state of cancer care in America.
BSA approves 10 NCI concepts, including six Moonshot RFAs
The NCI Board of Scientific Advisors approved 10 concepts, including eight new concepts and two re-issued Requests for Applications in a joint meeting with the National Cancer Advisory Board on June 26 and 27.
In Brief
- ASCO, ESMO urge UN members to address cancer burden
- Ghatalia joins faculty at Fox Chase
Funding Opportunities
DOD Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program opportunities
The FY18 Defense Appropriations Act provides $80 million to the Department of Defense Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program to support innovative, high-impact cancer research.
Clinical Roundup
- Tecentriq + Abraxane reduced risk of disease worsening, death in triple negative breast cancer
- NewLink reports updated phase I data for indoximod + chemotherapy to treat DIPG
Drugs & Targets
- FDA limits the use of Tecentriq and Keytruda for some urothelial cancer patients
- Novartis receives positive CHMP opinion for Kymriah for DLBCL, B-cell ALL
- FDA grants Priority Review for Keytruda + chemotherapy as first-line for squamous NSCLC
- Lynparza approved in Japan for BRCA-mutated metastatic breast cancer
CTEP Protocols
NCI Trials for July
The National Cancer Institute Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program approved the following clinical research studies last month.
For further information, contact the principal investigator listed.

Issue 26 - Jun. 29, 2018

TCL44-26 (262 downloads)

Senate committee proposes $2 billion raise for NIH, signaling fourth good year in a row
When the Senate Committee on Appropriations marked up the fiscal 2019 spending bill, NIH came out ahead—$2 billion ahead.
NCI Director’s Report
What NCI did with the money: Sharpless boosts funding for RPGs, centers, SPOREs, NCTN, and NCORP
In addition to a $147 million increase to the Research Grant Project pool, NCI has added $60 million to targeted research opportunities and a $20 million increase for centers and SPOREs, and $10 million for the National Clinical Trials Network and the NCI Community Oncology Research Program.
Retiring BSA & NCAB Members
Turkish oncologist Murat Tuncer jailed
A. Murat Tuncer, a pediatric oncologist and former rector of Hacettepe University, has spent the past two months in a very uncomfortable place—the Sincan Prison in Ankara.
In Brief
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center earns “exceptional” rating, $31.9M in NCI grants
- UPMC to advise cancer treatment center in Beijing
- UPMC and Pitt open genome center for precision medicine, immunotherapy
- MSKCC expands its presence in Northern New Jersey
Clinical Roundup
- Lynparza delays disease progression in phase III trial in first-line ovarian cancer
- Tecentriq + chemo increase OS, PFS in untreated extensive stage small cell lung cancer
- Trifluridine and tipiracil meet OS endpoint in phase III trial
- ONS develops hazardous drugs safe handling toolkit for oncology nurses
Drugs & Targets
- FDA approves Braftovi + Mektovi combination in a melanoma indication
- Kymab, Roche agree to evaluate KY1044, anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy in solid tumors
- FDA grants orphan drug designation for CPI-613 for Burkitt lymphoma
CTEP Protocol
NCI Trials for June
The National Cancer Institute Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program approved the following clinical research studies last month.
For further information, contact the principal investigator listed.

Issue 25 - Jun. 22, 2018

TCL44-25 (1991 downloads)

Vinay Prasad, oncologist and Twitter star, locked in debate over precision medicine
In recent years, Vinay Prasad, a young hematologist–oncologist at Oregon Health and Science University, has emerged as a premier critic of new directions in cancer medicine.
In his view, cancer drugs are aimed at miniscule populations, approved way too easily, and priced too high.
Reviews of Prasad’s “thought experiment”
As a reporter, I have no standing in settling scientific disputes.
So, when Vinay Prasad and I hit the wall in our discussion of the assumptions he and a group of colleagues made in their provocative “thought experiment,” I decided to do what journals do—send the paper to peer reviewers.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
Prasad: FDA has confused merely approving drugs with making the world a better place
I have been following Vinay Prasad’s work for several years, agreeing with some of what he said, but never quite finding time to look carefully at his argumentation.
In Brief
- Norman Coleman, Gay Crawford to receive NCCS Stovall Award for advancing patient-centered care
- Marc Lippman, breast cancer expert, returns to Georgetown Lombardi
- Laura Hutchins named interim director of UAMS Rockefeller Cancer Institute
Funding Opportunity
DOD Prostate Cancer Research Program opportunities
The FY18 Defense Appropriations Act provides $100 million to the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program to support innovative, high-impact prostate cancer research.
Clinical Roundup
- Kymriah shows more than one-year durable responses in relapsed or refractory DLBCL
- Lonsurf improves OS in metastatic gastric cancer
- Greater levels of vitamin D associated with decreasing risk of breast cancer
- Diabetes diagnosis later in life may signal early pancreatic cancer in African-Americans and Latinos
- Study finds emergency colon cancer surgery performed on weekends more likely to lead to complications
Drugs & Targets
- FDA to review BRACAnalysis CDx sPMA as companion diagnostic for Talazoparib
- China’s drug agency approves Opdivo for previously treated NSCLC
- Natera, Institut Jules Bordet to collaborate on neoadjuvant breast cancer assay

Issue 24 - Jun. 15, 2018

TCL44-24 (271 downloads)

Guest Editorial
The Trump administration “American Patients First” plan to reduce drug prices—Are American cancer patients first?
In May 2018, President Trump announced his plan to lower drug prices. “We will have tougher negotiation, more competition, and much lower prices at the pharmacy counter. And it will start to take effect very soon,” he promised. The plan is outlined in a 40-page document by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services titled “American Patients First—The Trump Administration Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Cost.”
Change in culture needed to prevent sexual harassment at academic institutions, NASEM says
To prevent and effectively respond to sexual harassment of women, institutions of higher education need to promote a system-wide change to the culture and climate on campus, says a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
In Brief
- NCI’s Rosenberg receives Jacobson Innovation Award of the American College of Surgeons
- Penn State Health and Highmark Health to create health care network
- NCI renews City of Hope’s support grant with outstanding rating
- AAP recognizes COH’s Forman for physician-led science and scientific leadership
- COH’s Rosen inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
- Prostate cancer expert Dorff joins COH
- COH’s Djulbegovic directs Medicine and Comparative Effectiveness Research Program
Funding Opportunities
NCI Community Oncology Research Program issues three RFAs: Community Sites, Minority/Underserved Community Sites, and Research Bases
This Funding Opportunity Announcement solicits applications from institutions/organizations to participate in the National Cancer Institute’s NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP).
Letter to the Editor
MammaPrint has remained consistent and credible since introduction more than a decade ago
To the Editor:
One of the biggest questions that early-stage breast cancer patients face is whether they will benefit from chemotherapy treatment. Two large scale randomized clinical trials that implement genomic testing have positively addressed this question.
Clinical Roundup
- Study shows low-fat diet significantly reduced risk of death after breast cancer
- Some African-American men with advanced prostate cancer do better than whites
- African-American men show stronger response to hormone therapy for prostate cancer
- Loxo announces positive interim data from dose escalation trial in RET-altered cancers
- Tecentriq, Avastin plus chemo improved OS in non-squamous NSCLC
- Alecensa reduced risk of disease progression or death in Alk-positive metastatic NSCLC
- Checkpoint inhibitor shrinks advanced squamous cell skin cancer
- Kisqali combination therapy improves PFS in HR+/HER2- breast cancer
- PARP inhibitor improves overall response rates in small cell lung cancer patients
- Study links blood vitamin D levels to colorectal cancer risk
Drugs and Targets
- FDA approves Avastin in combination with chemotherapy for ovarian cancer
- FDA approves Keytruda for relapsed or refractory PMBCL
- FDA approves Keytruda for previously treated patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer whose tumors express PD-L1
- TESARO, Genentech to study Zejula with anti-PD-L1 agent, MEK inhibitor in ovarian cancer
- FDA approves Venclexta with rituximab as a fixed duration treatment for CLL or SLL after one prior therapy
- FDA approves first Neulasta biosimilar
- FDA, EMA accept application for talazoparib in metastatic breast cancer with inherited BRCA mutation
The Cancer Letter wins investigative, design awards
The Cancer Letter won four 2018 Dateline Awards from the Washington, D.C. Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Issue 23 - Jun. 8, 2018

TCL44-23 (935 downloads)

Big takeaway from ASCO: 70 percent of women with early breast cancer don’t benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy
An NCI-sponsored trial showed that up to 70 percent of women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative, axillary lymph node-negative breast cancer would not benefit from chemotherapy.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
Abrams: Only about 20-30 percent of the group might benefit from chemotherapy
The practice-changing TAILORx trial was brought to you by publicly funded cancer clinical trials system, pointing to its continuing relevance, said Jeff Abrams, NCI acting director for clinical research and associate director of the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program.
Sharpless: NCI adds $10 million for NCTN and NCORP trials
NCI is providing an additional $10 million to support trials run with the National Clinical Trials Network and the NCI Community Oncology Research Program, Norman “Ned” Sharpless said in his first appearance as NCI director at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago. “NCI’s major efforts with regards to large clinical trials are largely supported through our clinical trials networks like the National Clinical Trials Network,” Sharpless said in his June 2 talk at ASCO. “One of the major challenges for these networks over the past few years, however, has been a rapid increase in the per-patient costs for patients on trials.
In Brief
- J&J Innovation and Boston University form lung cancer research alliance
- Kochevar to retire from Colorado Cancer Center
Funding Opportunities
Addario, Van Auken foundations announce 2018 Young Innovators Team Award
The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation, in collaboration with the Van Auken Private Foundation, announced the 2018 Young Innovators Team Award to fund and support teams of young investigators conducting innovative research with a potential of delivering meaningful and measurable results in the field of lung cancer.
Trials and Tribulations
Searching for Breast Cancer’s “Extreme Survivors”
I remember the day I met Margaret “Peg” Geisler, who has now been living with breast cancer for 40 years, and with metastatic disease for 36 of those years.
Clinical Roundup
- New treatment combination improves outcomes for some patients with colorectal cancer
- Exact Sciences, Mayo Clinic identify blood-based DNA biomarkers to diagnose hepatocellular carcinoma
- Opdivo demonstrates superior RFS vs. Yervoy for patients with resected stage III or IV melanoma
- Opdivo plus Yervoy provide QOL improvements in RCC

Issue 22 - Jun. 1, 2018

TCL44-22 (763 downloads)

St. Jude commits $100 million to improve pediatric cancer care amid war zones, economic crises, and poverty
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is expanding its international outreach program with an initial investment of $100 million to improve childhood cancer survival rates worldwide.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
St. Jude’s Rodriguez-Galindo: Someday, all children will have the same chances for cure
St. Jude Global will spend $100 million to improve care for kids with cancer and catastrophic blood disorders in low to middle-income countries, including those in the midst of conflicts, said Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, executive vice president, chair of the Department of Global Pediatric Medicine, and director of St. Jude Global at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
AU Beirut’s Saab: Kids in the region now have access to treatment similar to Western countries
Patients who come to the American University of Beirut Medical Center and the Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon now have the same chances of cure, thanks to systematic program building over the years, said Raya Saab, acting director of the Children’s Cancer Institute, and director of the Pediatric Cancer Research Program at the American University of Beirut Medical Center.
COA suit claims sequester cut to Medicare Part B is unconstitutional
The Community Oncology Alliance filed a lawsuit against HHS and other federal agencies over continuing to apply a 2 percent cut to all Medicare Part B reimbursements.
Rejoice or despair: Right to Try becomes law
President Donald Trump May 30 signed the “Right to Try” bill into law, making it possible for terminally ill patients to bypass FDA to gain access to experimental drugs.
ASCO News
Awards to be presented at ASCO annual meeting
The American Society of Clinical Oncology and ASCO’s Conquer Cancer Foundation announced the winners of ASCO’s Special Awards, the Society’s highest honors, and Conquer Cancer’s Women Who Conquer Cancer Mentorship Awards.
In Brief
- Berlin named to new leadership post at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
- Sidney Kimmel—Jefferson and Sarah Cannon form drug development collaboration
- Wasik joins Fox Chase Cancer Center as chair of pathology
- George W. Bush headlines $26 million fundraiser for Inova
- Wistar receives grant to further research by Wistar scientists Rauscher and Chen
Trials and Tribulations
Why process matters: Considering the ACS colon cancer screening guideline
In its just-published guideline on screening for colorectal cancer, the American Cancer Society revised its 2008 CRC screening guidelines, recommending that screening begin at age 45 instead of 50.
Clinical Roundup
- Tecentriq plus chemo helped metastatic non-squamous NSCLC live longer vs. chemo alone
- Lung cancer risk drops substantially within five years of quitting smoking
Drugs and Targets
- FDA accepts larotrectinib NDA, grants Priority Review

Issue 21 - May. 25, 2018

TCL44-21 (314 downloads)

Conversation with The Cancer Letter
Six months at MD Anderson: Pisters announces organizational change
After six months of listening and observing the functioning of MD Anderson Cancer Center, Peter Pisters announced changes in the cancer center’s organizational chart.
CDC announces review of pre-op diagnosis of uterine cancers by gynecologists
Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the agency is reviewing the methods gynecologists use to identify women at risk of uterine cancers.
Letter to the Editor
Noorchashm: Uterine cancers are not “occult” if gynecologists don’t bother to look
Dear Editor,
As you know, a team of gynecological researchers from Yale University recently reported that the incidence of “missed” cancers in women undergoing general gynecological operations of the uterus approaches 2%. Even more staggering is the reported 10% incidence in such women, over the age of 55.
In Brief
- Dan Theodorescu named director of Cedars-Sinai cancer center
- St. Jude announces global initiative
- The Pershing Square Sohn Research Alliance announces seven winners
- Miami Cancer Institute adds MR image-guided Linac Radiation Therapy
- Three appointments announced at Carbone Cancer Center
- NYU Rusk Rehabilitation launches program to optimize quality of life in cancer survivors
- Overall cancer mortality continues to decline; prostate cancer mortality has stabilized
Funding Opportunities
DOD Prostate Cancer Research Program opportunities published
The FY18 Defense Appropriations Act provides $100 million to the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program to support innovative, high-impact prostate cancer research.
Finasteride does not increase risk of prostate cancer death, PCPT results show
Finasteride, a common hormone-blocking drug, reduces men’s risk of getting prostate cancer without increasing their risk of dying from the disease, according to long-term follow-up data.
Clinical Roundup
- Breast cancer survivors aren’t getting recommended number of mammograms post-surgery
- Positive interim result reported in study of SurVaxM in glioblastoma
- Surveillance intensity not associated with earlier detection of recurrence or improved survival in colorectal cancer
Drugs and Targets
- FDA approves Doptelet for thrombocytopenia in chronic liver disease
- Foundation Medicine, Merck establish immuno-oncology companion diagnostics collaboration

Issue 20 - May. 18, 2018

TCL44-20 (894 downloads)

Gynecology’s deadly surprise: Cancers are frequently missed prior to routine procedures
As they reach for surgical tools, gynecologists vastly underestimate the probability that their patients have undiagnosed uterine cancers, a study by Yale University researchers found.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
Vanderbilt’s Alvarez: Gynecologists must properly assess all patients for cancer before surgery
I think that it probably represents a failure in our health care system. It just points out an opportunity, from a quality improvement standpoint, to make sure that everybody who is going to have a hysterectomy has the appropriate assessment for the risk of cancer preoperatively.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
OU’s Mannel: Gynecologists must thoroughly evaluate postmenopausal women for hidden cancers
You want to pay attention to everybody, but who are the ones that you really want to pay attention to? And I think what the study’s telling you, older women, women who are obese—you need to really pay attention to.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
Fox Chase’s Rubin: Don’t morcellate and you won’t have to worry about cutting up missed cancers
I think you’d have to overcome all those problems before you could say that women with fibroids ought to have a biopsy before they’re morcellated. Which, as I say, sounds like a good idea. I think the better idea is don’t morcellate the damn thing. That would solve the problem.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
Yale’s Desai: Gynecologists must preoperatively workup and discuss the risks, benefits, alternatives
We hope that our study increases the awareness and discussion of occult cancer risk in the thousands of women undergoing hysterectomy and myomectomy annually. Morcellation of a specimen allows for the dissemination of cancer, having an informed conversation with patients preoperatively is essential to this process.
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
Olive: It’s true, gynecologists don’t biopsy masses as much as other surgeons
There are a lot of gynecologists who are not gynecologic oncologists who live in rural areas, who don’t have access to oncologists, or who just have big egos, who will operate on patients with known premalignant disease or early stage cancer—regardless of the fact that they know that it is cancer.
Facing criticism from academic oncologists, Imbruvica’s makers bring back low-dose pill
Pharmacyclics, a unit of AbbVie, and Janssen, a unit of Johnson & Johnson, backed away from their plan to eliminate the lowest-dose capsules of Imbruvica (ibrutinib), a treatment for several hematologic malignancies.
In Brief
- Wui-Jin Koh named chief medical officer at NCCN
- Park named to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center breast cancer leadership post
- Richard Funnell to join WVU Cancer Institute
- ASCO annual meeting merit awards
- NCCN begins work on guidelines to improve cancer care in the Caribbean
Funding Opportunities
NETRF Announces grant funding for neuroendocrine cancer research
The Neuroendocrine Tumor Research Foundation announced its latest Request for Applications and invites innovative research applications in neuroendocrine tumors that can bring the field closer to more effective therapies.
ASCO publishes 5,800 abstracts
Six studies highlighted at press briefing
The American Society of Clinical Oncology May 16 released the nearly 5,800 abstracts that will be presented and published at its annual meeting next month.
Clinical Roundup
- FDA finds survival deficit in some patients taking Keytruda or Tecentriq as monotherapy in urothelial cancer with low expression of PD-L1
- Tecentriq and Avastin plus carboplatin and paclitaxel show longer remissions vs. Avastin plus carboplatin and paclitaxel in metastatic NSCLC
- Bone scan software calculates prognosis of advanced prostate cancer
Drugs and Targets
- FDA approves first epoetin alfa biosimilar for the treatment of anemia

Issue 19 - May. 11, 2018

CL44-19 (268 downloads)

PSA test gets a better grade from USPSTF—it’s a “C” Uncertainty lingers about high-risk groups
Relying largely on maturing data from the European trials of screening for prostate cancer, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has given a better grade—a “C”—to screening for prostate cancer.
An earlier version of the screening guideline, published in 2012, gave PSA a “D,” as in “don’t.”
Conversation with The Cancer Letter
Do African Americans, others at high risk benefit from starting PSA screening early?
The data available to US Preventive Services Task Force didn’t address an important question: what do you recommend to African American men who are twice as likely to develop prostate cancer and die from it as the general population?
Trump administration vows to address drug pricing
The White House May 11 proposed a series of policy initiatives to reduce the prices of prescription drugs.
Health groups urge Congress to modernize regulation of diagnostics
Health care organizations and companies representing patients, providers, laboratories and diagnostic manufacturers called on Senate and House leaders to advance legislation that would reform and modernize the process for bringing innovative diagnostics and clinical laboratory tests to market.
Generic options provide limited savings for high-priced cancer drugs
Generic drug options did not significantly reduce prices paid for the cancer therapy imatinib (Gleevec), according to a Health Affairs paper published May 10.
Obituary
Jane Reese-Coulbourne, advocate, consultant, industry executive, dies at 63
Jane Reese-Coulbourne, 63, a cancer patient advocate who moved into industry and science policy roles died of cancer on April 23.
In Brief
- ACS and MRA award $2.6 million for research focused on reducing immunotherapy side effects
- Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation partners with Komodo Health
Funding Opportunity
DOD publishes Kidney Cancer Research Program Funding Opportunities for FY18
The FY18 Defense Appropriation provides $15 million to the Department of Defense Kidney Cancer Research Program to support the United States Medical Research Acquisition Activity.
Trials & Tribulations
The imaginary interview
As I read the latest offering from the US Preventive Services Task Force, this time another encyclical on prostate screening, I felt a recurrence of the extreme irritation left over from the last time they wasted my (and their) time.
Clinical Roundup
- Immunotherapy drugs rapidly reach patients after approval
- Phase III trial of Lonsurf in gastric cancer produces positive topline result
- ONS: Nurse navigators play crucial role in patient outcomes
Drugs and Targets
- FDA approves Darzalex for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients who are transplant ineligible
- Lynparza approved by EMA for epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer
- Tecentriq gets FDA priority review
- Lilly to acquire ARMO BioSciences

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