‘Redlining’ and Cancer Screening; Talzenna OK’d for mCRPC; Genomic Testing Misused

Banned more than 50 years ago, historical redlining — financial institutions’ practice of not approving loans to individuals who live in areas associated with poor financial risk — still has a negative effect on certain types of cancer screening. (Journal of the American College of Surgeons)

Sales of e-cigarette products and devices and the number of brands available increased by almost 50% from 2020 to 2022, according to a study from the CDC. (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report)

Adding metformin to androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for advanced prostate cancer did not reduce the risk of treatment-related metabolic syndrome or enhance ADT’s effect on prostate-specific antigen response. (Oncotarget)

Merck announced that a phase III trial of neoadjuvant and adjuvant pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus chemotherapy for resectable gastric/gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer did not meet the primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS), despite meeting the endpoint of pathologic complete response.

A phase III trial to support conversion from accelerated to full approval showed that the combination of pembrolizumab, trastuzumab (Herceptin), and chemotherapy significantly improved PFS in HER2-positive gastric/GEJ cancer with PD-L1 expression ≥1%, Merck announced in a separate statement.

The FDA placed a clinical hold on a study of an investigational BCMA-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma to investigate a patient death, Arcellx announced.

The primary analysis of two pivotal trials of lisocabtagene maraleucel (Breyanzi) showed that the CAR T-cell therapy produced complete responses in 94% and 74% of patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma and mantle cell lymphoma, respectively, Bristol Myers Squibb announced.

The PARP inhibitor talazoparib (Talzenna) in combination with enzalutamide (Xtandi) was approved by the FDA for homologous recombination repair (HRR) gene-mutated metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), Pfizer said.

Amgen announced full FDA approval of the CD19-targeted bispecific T-cell engager blinatumomab (Blincyto) for minimal residual disease-positive B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia in adults and children.

HHS issued a cybersecurity notification to hospitals and other health and public health facilities after a hacker group known as #TimisoaraHackerTeam infiltrated a medical facility’s computer network and issued a ransomware demand.

The artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT could prove to be a useful tool for matching patients with cancer to available clinical trials. (Cancer)

Children whose parents have a history of cancer have an increased risk of unmet needs related to housing, food, and other basic necessities of living. (American Cancer Society, JAMA Network Open)

Cancer and pharma groups have joined forces in a lawsuit contesting the constitutionality of drug price setting components of the Inflation Reduction Act. (PhRMA)

Use of genomic sequencing tests to personalize cancer treatment benefits only one in every 20 patients, primarily because the tests are not used as recommended. (eClinicalMedicine)

Adding external beam radiation therapy to local treatment (brachytherapy) did not improve outcomes for men with intermediate-risk prostate cancer. (NRG Oncology)

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