Ben Leach

Articles

Breakthrough Designation Granted to Daratumumab for Double Refractory Multiple Myeloma

May 1st 2013

An investigational monoclonal antibody called daratumumab has received breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA for the treatment of patients with double refractory multiple myeloma.

Wide Variation Found in EGFR Testing Patterns

April 29th 2013

A study of patients newly initiated to erlotinib therapy for NSCLC found that there is no uniformity in the billing codes used for pharmacogenomic testing prior to starting the drug, making it difficult to analyze treatment patterns and cost impact.

Radiotherapy Increases Risk of Heart Disease in Some Women With Breast Cancer

April 26th 2013

While radiotherapy can be an effective treatment for early-stage breast cancer, incidental irradiation of the heart during treatment may increase the risk of developing ischemic heart disease.

PD-1 Targeted Antibody Lambrolizumab Receives FDA Breakthrough Designation

April 25th 2013

Lambrolizumab, an investigational antibody designed to target the programmed death-1 (PD-1) pathway in patients with melanoma, received a breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA after promising results from a small single-arm study.

Digital Rectal Exam Remains a Critical Component of Prostate Cancer Screening

April 22nd 2013

Digital rectal examination should remain a standard for screening for prostate cancer and may even be able to identify cases of the disease that are not picked up by the PSA test.

US Supreme Court Hears Arguments in BRCA1/2 Patenting Case

April 18th 2013

The question of whether it should be legal to patent genes has reached the US Supreme Court, and the impending decision by the highest federal court in the country could significantly transform the current research landscape.

New Drug Potentially Blocks HPV from Causing Head and Neck Cancer

April 17th 2013

A novel small molecule inhibitor called CH1iB may be able to block a mechanism that enables human papilloma virus to cause head and neck cancer.

New Mechanism of Resistance Identified in Brain Tumors

April 17th 2013

Researchers have identified a mechanism that explains why patients with glioblastoma have not had successful outcomes when treated with inhibitors of mTOR despite the fact that it is overexpressed in approximately 90% of cases.

Microwave Ablation Is Potentially Effective in Treating Bone and Soft-Tissue Tumor Pain

April 15th 2013

A small study found that microwave ablation therapy reduced pain associated with bone and soft tissues by half in the majority of patients treated with the technique.

Palbociclib Receives Breakthrough Designation for Treatment of Breast Cancer

April 10th 2013

The drug palbociclib (formerly known as PD-0332991) has received has received a "breakthrough therapy designation" from the FDA for the treatment of patients with breast cancer.

Ibrutinib Receives Additional Breakthrough Designation for CLL

April 8th 2013

After receiving breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA for the treatment of two B-cell malignancies earlier this year, ibrutinib has received an additional breakthrough designation.

Medicare Reimbursement Cuts Caused by Sequestration Begin to Take Effect

April 4th 2013

As a result of sequestration-related federal budget cuts, Medicare reimbursement has been reduced by 2% across the board, with the reduction affecting a number of services offered to cancer patients.

Selumetinib May Reverse Resistance to Radioiodine in Patients with Advanced Thyroid Cancer

March 27th 2013

Patients with advanced thyroid cancer who develop resistance to treatment with radioiodine may benefit from the experimental drug selumetinib.

Selumetinib Is Active, Well-Tolerated Treatment in Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer

March 20th 2013

A phase II study found that the novel small-molecule inhibitor selumetinib is well tolerated and achieved an objective response in patients with low-grade serous carcinoma of the ovary or peritoneum.

New Endocrine Therapies Expand Options for Advanced Prostate Cancer

March 18th 2013

Hormonal therapies that target androgen are the focus of several ongoing clinical trials for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer, and as more data accrues, clinicians are gaining valuable insight as to how these drugs can best be used to manage the disease.

Novel Compound LDK378 Receives Breakthrough Designation for ALK+ NSCLC

March 15th 2013

The compound LDK378, a highly selective inhibitor of ALK, has been granted "Breakthrough Therapy Designation" by the FDA for the treatment of patients with ALK-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Lymphoseek Approved to Help Detect Lymph Nodes in Breast Cancer and Melanoma

March 13th 2013

The FDA approved the radioactive diagnostic imaging agent technetium Tc 99m tilmanocept (Lymphoseek Injection) to identify lymph nodes for potential removal in patients with breast cancer or melanoma.

Putting the Focus on p53 in Multiple Myeloma

March 7th 2013

Shaji K. Kumar, MD, is working to understand the genomic intricacies of multiple myeloma, particularly the role played by activity associated with the TP53 gene.

Five Genetic Subgroups Revealed in Head and Neck Tumor Analysis

February 27th 2013

New research suggests that there may be five distinct subgroups of head and neck cancer in which specific genetic profiles may be utilized to guide treatment decisions in patients.

Regorafenib Approved to Treat GIST

February 25th 2013

The FDA approved regorafenib for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors that cannot be removed surgically and no longer respond to other FDA-approved treatments for the disease.