[Articles] ALT-803, an IL-15 superagonist, in combination with nivolumab in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer: a non-randomised, open-label, phase 1b trial
ALT-803 in combination with nivolumab can be safely administered in an outpatient setting. The promising clinical activity observed with the addition of ALT-803 to the regimen of patients with PD-1 monoclonal antibody relapsed and refractory disease shows evidence of anti-tumour activity for a new class of agents in NSCLC. (Source: The Lancet Oncology)
Source: The Lancet Oncology - April 5, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: John M Wrangle, Vamsidhar Velcheti, Manish R Patel, Elizabeth Garrett-Mayer, Elizabeth G Hill, James G Ravenel, Jeffrey S Miller, Mohammad Farhad, Kate Anderton, Kathryn Lindsey, Michele Taffaro-Neskey, Carol Sherman, Samantha Suriano, Marzena Swiderska-S Tags: Articles Source Type: research
[Comment] Combining top-ranked immunotherapeutics in lung cancer
Immunotherapy is becoming widely used in the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in light of its impressive results in both first-line and second-line settings.1 However, doctors need to accept that not all patients can be treated with this approach and much still remains to be done to improve outcomes for patients with this lethal disease. Combining new immunotherapeutic agents with existing treatments such as chemotherapy or tyrosine kinases inhibitors can have both good and bad consequences. (Source: The Lancet Oncology)
Source: The Lancet Oncology - April 5, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Christian Rolfo, Evelien L J Smits Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Articles] Tivantinib for second-line treatment of MET-high, advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (METIV-HCC): a final analysis of a phase 3, randomised, placebo-controlled study
Tivantinib did not improve overall survival compared with placebo in patients with MET-high advanced hepatocellular carcinoma previously treated with sorafenib. Although this METIV-HCC trial was negative, the study shows the feasibility of doing integral tissue biomarker studies in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. Additional randomised studies are needed to establish whether MET inhibition could be a potential therapy for some subsets of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. (Source: The Lancet Oncology)
Source: The Lancet Oncology - April 3, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Lorenza Rimassa, Eric Assenat, Markus Peck-Radosavljevic, Marc Pracht, Vittorina Zagonel, Philippe Mathurin, Elena Rota Caremoli, Camillo Porta, Bruno Daniele, Luigi Bolondi, Vincenzo Mazzaferro, William Harris, Nevena Damjanov, Davide Pastorelli, Mar ía Tags: Articles Source Type: research
[Comment] Tivantinib for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: is MET still a viable target?
The HGF-MET receptor pathway represents an attractive therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma because of its crucial role in hepatocellular carcinoma development. Tivantinib, a putative MET inhibitor, did not improve overall survival compared with placebo in the METIV-HCC study, as reported in the Lancet Oncology by Lorenza Rimassa and colleagues,1 potentially casting doubt on the role of MET inhibition as a viable therapeutic strategy for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. METIV-HCC was a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial of oral tivantinib (120 mg twice daily) compared with placebo ...
Source: The Lancet Oncology - April 3, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Colin D Weekes, Jeffrey W Clark, Andrew X Zhu Tags: Comment Source Type: research
[Clinical Picture] Periosteal aneurysmal bone cyst
A 29-year-old woman with known type 2 diabetes presented to the musculoskeletal oncology clinic at the McGill University Health Centre (Montreal, QC, Canada) in February, 2015, with complaints of pain and swelling of her left leg for a few months. According to the patient, her swelling had increased in size over a few months before presentation. The pain was confined to the medial aspect of the proximal leg. On examination, she did not have any skin changes, but had a tender palpable mass measuring approximately 8 ·0 cm. (Source: The Lancet Oncology)
Source: The Lancet Oncology - March 29, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Thamer M Alraiyes, Nikolaos A Stavropoulos, Abdulrahman Alaseem, Sungmi Jung, Robert E Turcotte Tags: Clinical Picture Source Type: research
[Series] Oncology drugs in the crosshairs of pharmaceutical crime
Oncology drugs clearly have become a target for pharmaceutical crime. In 2016, falsified oncology drugs ranked fifth in the most commonly falsified drug category among the reports received by the Pharmaceutical Security Institute. Although the prevalence of illicit oncology drugs in the legal supply chains appears to be small, these drugs are difficult to detect, particularly in clinical practice. Forthcoming countermeasures to detect illicit drugs in high-income countries include compulsory antitampering devices and product verification technology for a risk-based selection of medicines. (Source: The Lancet Oncology)
Source: The Lancet Oncology - March 29, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Bastiaan J Venhuis, Angela E Oostlander, Domenico Di Giorgio, Ruth Mosimann, Ines du Plessis Tags: Series Source Type: research
[Series] Medication overuse in oncology: current trends and future implications for patients and society
The high cost of cancer care worldwide is largely attributable to rising drugs prices. Despite their high costs and potential toxic effects, anticancer treatments could be subject to overuse, which is defined as the provision of medical services that are more likely to harm than to benefit a patient. We found 30 studies documenting medication overuse in cancer, which included 16 examples of supportive medication overuse and 17 examples of antineoplastic medication overuse in oncology. Few specific agents have been assessed, and no studies investigated overuse of the most toxic or expensive medications currently used in can...
Source: The Lancet Oncology - March 29, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Stephen M Schleicher, Peter B Bach, Konstantina Matsoukas, Deborah Korenstein Tags: Series Source Type: research
[Series] Chemotherapy medication errors
Although chemotherapy is a well established treatment modality, chemotherapy errors represent a potentially serious risk of patient harm. We reviewed published research from 1980 to 2017 to understand the extent and nature of medication errors in cancer chemotherapy, and to identify effective interventions to help prevent mistakes. Chemotherapy errors occur at a rate of about one to four per 1000 orders, affect at least 1 –3% of adult and paediatric oncology patients, and occur at all stages of the medication use process. (Source: The Lancet Oncology)
Source: The Lancet Oncology - March 29, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Saul N Weingart, Lulu Zhang, Megan Sweeney, Michael Hassett Tags: Series Source Type: research
[Articles] 3 versus 6 months of adjuvant oxaliplatin-fluoropyrimidine combination therapy for colorectal cancer (SCOT): an international, randomised, phase 3, non-inferiority trial
In the whole study population, 3 months of oxaliplatin-containing adjuvant chemotherapy was non-inferior to 6 months of the same therapy for patients with high-risk stage II and stage III colorectal cancer and was associated with reduced toxicity and improved quality of life. Despite the fact the study was underpowered, these data suggest that a shorter duration leads to similar survival outcomes with better quality of life and thus might represent a new standard of care. (Source: The Lancet Oncology)
Source: The Lancet Oncology - March 29, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Timothy J Iveson, Rachel S Kerr, Mark P Saunders, Jim Cassidy, Niels Henrik Hollander, Josep Tabernero, Andrew Haydon, Bengt Glimelius, Andrea Harkin, Karen Allan, John McQueen, Claire Scudder, Kathleen Anne Boyd, Andrew Briggs, Ashita Waterston, Louise M Tags: Articles Source Type: research
[Perspectives] The rise and fall of the wellness warriors
In 2009, Belle Gibson was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. She only had 4 months left to live. But rather than follow her doctor's advice, Belle bravely rejected the medical establishment and beat her cancer through a rigorous wellness regime of superfoods, natural medicine, and Gerson therapy (coffee enemas, hourly raw juice, and an organic, vegetarian diet). After a few years, she remained healthy and beautiful and had amassed over 200 000 followers on Instagram. She learnt to code and created a wellness app to promote the diet that saved her life, which became one of the flagship apps for Apple's new smart-watch...
Source: The Lancet Oncology - March 29, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Robert Stirrups Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
[Perspectives] Opportunities for improving oncology care
Do you want to see my Fitbit dashboard with my heart rate and number of steps the past week? Can I talk to you on Skype or FaceTime so you can see my rash? Is there a mobile app I can use for exercise or meditation? When Charlotte, aged 56 years, came back for her long-term follow-up visit 2 years after her haematopoietic stem cell transplant for acute myeloid leukaemia, she was delighted that she had passed this major hurdle without a recurrence. She had prepared for her appointment by looking at transplant websites for different problems survivors can have, reading papers on graft versus host disease rash, and making a l...
Source: The Lancet Oncology - March 29, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Karen L Syrjala Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
[Perspectives] Slogans and donor pages of cancer centres: do they convey discordant messages?
Slogans are essential to the identity of a brand and help the brand communicate with its audience. Although associated with commercial products, slogans are often used by hospitals and cancer centres as part of a marketing strategy. Cancer centre expenditure on advertising has increased in recent years. Within the small body of scientific literature examining cancer centre advertising, data are scarce on the use of cancer centre slogans. (Source: The Lancet Oncology)
Source: The Lancet Oncology - March 29, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Ezra Hahn, Dan Ariely, Ian Tannock, Anthony Fyles, Benjamin W Corn Tags: Perspectives Source Type: research
[Corrections] Correction to Lancet Oncol 2018; 19: 510 –20
Maio M, Lewis K, Demidov L, et al. Adjuvant vemurafenib in resected, BRAFV600 mutation-positive melanoma (BRIM8): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol 2018; 19: 510 –20—In the Summary, Findings, in the second sentence, the p value should have read p=0·26. The appendix file has also been updated. These corrections have been made to the online version as of March 28, 2018, and the printed version is correct. (Source: The Lancet Oncology)
Source: The Lancet Oncology - March 29, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Corrections Source Type: research
[Corrections] Correction to Lancet Oncol 2018; 19: 474 –85
De Placido S, Gallo C, De Laurentiis M, et al. Adjuvant anastrozole versus exemestane versus letrozole, upfront or after 2 years of tamoxifen, in endocrine-sensitive breast cancer (FATA-GIM3): a randomised, phase 3 trial. Lancet Oncol 2018; 19: 474 –85—In the authors' list, Carmen Mocerino should have been Carmela Mocerino. This correction has been made to the online version as of March 28, 2018, and the printed version is correct. Additionally, the supplementary appendix of this Article has been corrected as of March 28, 2018. (Source: The Lancet Oncology)
Source: The Lancet Oncology - March 29, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Corrections Source Type: research
[Corrections] Correction to Lancet Oncol 2018; 19: 434 –36
Curigliano G. Addition of platinum salts to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in triple-negative breast cancer: a new standard of care? Lancet Oncol 2018; 19: 434 –36—In this Comment, the bracketed text in the third sentence of the first paragraph should have read, “(168 [53%] of 316 patients vs 49 [31%] of 158 patients, p (Source: The Lancet Oncology)
Source: The Lancet Oncology - March 29, 2018 Category: Cancer & Oncology Tags: Corrections Source Type: research
