Is There A Better Place To Decide What’s Right For Patients?
Who should decide when evidence for a drug sufficient to support a patient’s decision to give it a try?
Dr. Robert Califf Shares Ideas About Real-World Evidence And Health Data
“Medicine is rapidly falling behind business in the accrual of high-quality evidence,” Califf said.
A PARP Inhibitor Keeps Some Cancers In Check For Years
Lynparza—a PARP inhibitor taken as an oral tablet, daily— keeps qualified cases of advanced ovarian cancer in check for two years, as compared to placebo.
A New Antibody For Treating Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia?
The new agent, a monoclonal antibody to CD22 with a toxin attached, is manufactured by Pfizer. It’s called inotuzumab ozogamicin.
Encouraging Results For Ribociclib In Advanced Breast Cancer
Ribociclib is one of several CDK inhibitors being tried in breast cancer and other malignancies.
Tragedy In A Clinical Trial: A Reminder That Biotech Is Not A Game
It was a seemingly innocuous change in the protocol that may have caused this experimental tragedy. Which is all the more reason to be careful, and mind the details.
A Novel, Targeted Drug Yields Promising Results In Stomach And Esophageal Cancer
If these data pan out, this first-in-class antibody might be likened to Herceptin, or Rituxan… a precise treatment that works on malignant cells that have tested positive for the relevant molecule.
Report Touts Benefits Of Prolonged Medication After Breast Cancer. Is It Persuasive?
Avoiding recurrence is a legitimate goal, but there’s a trade-off.
The Emerging Value Of Personalized Phase 1 Clinical Trials In Oncology
This paper offers the clearest demonstration, yet, of the value – to patients – of precision medicine in oncology.
The Big News For Sickle Cell Anemia Is Not Gene Therapy
Blood specialists reported on practice-changing studies for sickle cell disease, including a large study of bone marrow transplant from matched sibling donors. A preliminary report looked at effects of GBT440, a novel oral agent that augments hemoglobin’s binding to oxygen.
In A First, Kidney Cancer Drug Extends Survival
Taken together, the findings raise many possibilities – and questions about strategy, and expense – for testing and prescribing new small drugs and immune-targeting antibodies to patients with kidney and, potentially, other advanced cancer forms.
Why Evidence From A Clinical Trial Of Ovarian Cancer Has Limited Value
One problem is that prospective, randomized clinical trials comparing treatments for conditions like “Stage 3 ovarian cancer” fall behind the pace of advances in science and drug development.
In Lumpectomy For Breast Cancer, Taking Out A Bit More Reduces O.R. Revisits
In a prospective randomized trial, adding a “shave” to the lumpectomy site reduced positive margins and halved re-operations.
What’s Intriguing And Concerning About Early Results For Keytruda In Breast Cancer
What’s concerning about the preliminary findings is that the median time to response was 18 weeks. For patients to wait four months or longer to see if there’s a benefit seems like a lot; these are women without much time to spare.
Ambitious ‘Lung-MAP’ Trial Aims to Evaluate Biomarkers and New Drugs in Squamous Cell Lung Cancer
The Lung-MAP trial will identify molecular abnormalities in tumors specimens from thousands of patients with squamous cell lung cancer.
What’s Missing in the Recent Mammography Value Study
It’s precisely because there are effective treatments for early-stage disease that it’s worth finding breast cancer early.