CAR-T Therapy
3, 33
| ALK in Lung Cancer
24
| Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
53
| Remembering Ellen Stovall
VOLUME 7, ISSUE 1
152
JANUARY 25, 2016
Editor-in-Chief, James O. Armitage, MD | ASCOPost.com
The 340B Drug Pricing Program: Background, Concerns, and Solutions
ASH Annual Meeting
Multiple Myeloma in 2015: A Year for the Record Books By Caroline Helwick
By Hagop Kantarjian, MD, and Robert Chapman, MD
F
ew malignancies have received as much attention, in the way of newly approved drugs, as multiple myeloma did in 2015. In November alone, 3 new agents were approved, bringing the total to 4 for the year as part of a record 7 approvals and to 16 regulatory approvals over the past 12 years. Speakers at myeloma sessions at the 2015 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting played to packed audiences. At a special session that was called “unprecedented” at the ASH meeting, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviewers described the rationale for the approvals while myeloma experts discussed how they will likely use the new drugs in clinical practice.1
Changing the Treatment Landscape “This is a revolutionary time in multiple myeloma. The three drugs approved in November—daratumumab (Darzalex), elotuzumab (Empliciti), and ixa-
zomib (Ninlaro)—promise to change the landscape of treatment and improve overall survival,” said S. Vincent Rajkumar, MD, Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. Because of “the plethora of new drugs,” he said, more S. Vincent Rajkumar, MD than 80% of newly diagnosed patients are living more than 4 years. “Elotuzumab and daratumumab are the first available monoclonal antibodies [in this setting]. It’s been a long wait…. Ixazomib is the first oral proteasome inhibitor, and it promises to make our treatments more convenient,” Dr. Rajkumar said. The fourth drug approved in 2015 was panobinostat (Farydak), the first histone deacetylase inhibitor for myeloma. continued on page 4
News
Bevacizumab Plus Chemotherapy Fails to Prolong Survival in Early-Stage Lung Cancer By Caroline Helwick
O
verall survival in patients with surgically resected early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) did not improve with the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to chemotherapy, according to the findings of a study researchers have called a “top abstract” from
the 16th World Conference on Lung Cancer. Heather Wakelee, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine (Oncology) at Stanford University Medical Center, California, presented the phase III E1505 study results on behalf of the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group.1 She noted that bevacizuimab has been shown to improve With the development of other outcomes when added to platinum-based chemoactive agents in metastatic lung therapy in advanced-stage cancer, it will be important to nonsquamous NSCLC. This study evaluated the drug in investigate them fully in earlier stages early-stage patients.
and not assume the benefit seen in advanced stage will also be proven in earlier stages, though we can remain hopeful.
—Heather Wakelee, MD
Send your comments to editor@ASCOPost.com
T
he 340B Drug Pricing Program was created by Congress through the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 to allow some healthcare entities—including safety-net providers with large shares of uninsured and low-income patients and other “covered entities”—to obtain drugs at discounted prices.1,2 Congress gave these providers access to drug discounts in response to escalating drug prices that made it difficult for them to handle the needs of vulnerable patients. The Health Resources continued on page 156
Dr. Kantarjian is Chairman of the Leukemia Department at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and a Baker Institute Scholar for Health Policies at Rice University, Houston. Dr. Chapman is Medical Director of Josephine Ford Cancer Institute at the Henry Ford Health System, Detroit. Disclaimer: This commentary represents the views of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of ASCO.
MORE IN THIS ISSUE Oncology Meetings Coverage World Lung Cancer Conference ����� 1, 18, 24 ASH Annual Meeting ������������3–5, 26–36 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium ����� 14–17 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium �������������� 38, 45–46, 50–54 Geriatrics for the Oncologist ���������� 66–67 Direct From ASCO �������������������������� 81–84 Breast Cancer Roundtable ������������������� 98, 99, 106, 107 Mantle Cell Lymphoma ����������������� 111, 112, 117, 118 Acupuncture for Cancer Symptoms ��������120 In Memoriam ������������������������������� 152, 154
Study Details and Results The study involved 1,501 patients with earlystage NSCLC (stage IB to continued on page 18
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