A new study reports that a lack of adequate health insurance is responsible for nearly half of racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer stage at diagnosis.Earlier detection and treatment of breast cancer can significantly improve outcomes for patients diagnosed with this disease. However, studies have shown that a higher proportion of women of racial and ethnic minorities present with breast cancer at more advanced stages, negatively impacting their treatment and prognosis. In a study now ...
The FDA recently approved enfortumab vedotin (Padcev®, Astellas Pharma US, Inc.) for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma whose disease progressed after treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy and anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (anti–PD-1) or anti–programmed death ligand 1 (anti–PD-L1) therapy. The approval was based on EV-201, a phase 2 trial in which enfortumab vedotin produced a high rate of response in patients with locally advanced or m...
The FDA has approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda®, Merck) for the treatment of patients with high-risk non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) carcinoma in situ, with or without papillary tumors. Pembrolizumab, a programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitor, is indicated for patients who are ineligible for or have elected not to receive radical cystectomy and who do not respond to bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) therapy.The approval was based on Keynote 057 (NCT02625961), a multicenter, single...
A phase 3 trial reports that olaparib as maintenance therapy in combination with bevacizumab increases progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with newly diagnosed, advanced high-grade ovarian cancer both with and without BRCA mutations.While previous studies have found that maintenance olaparib is associated with improved outcomes in patients with ovarian cancer with BRCA mutations, its efficacy in patients without BRCA mutations had not been confirmed. In the phase 3 PAOLA-1 trial, a team ...
An analysis of a phase 3 trial found that taking antioxidants and other dietary supplements during chemotherapy can decrease survival and increase the risk of recurrence in patients with breast cancer.Antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E, carotenoids, and coenzyme Q10 occur naturally in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, but many patients with cancer take additional vitamins and minerals to supplement their diets while undergoing treatment. However, recent research has shown that antioxi...