Unexplained CAR-T Death; Americans Spurn Sunscreen; Improving Diversity in Trials

Promising results with an investigational CAR T-cell therapy in triple-negative breast cancer and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were tempered by an unexplained death in a phase I trial, Lyell Immunopharma reported.

Merck acknowledged receiving a complete response letter from the FDA that described issues with a third-party manufacturing plant that precluded accelerated approval of patritumab deruxtecan for previously treated EGFR-mutated NSCLC.

Merck also discontinued a phase III trial of the small-molecule inhibitor xevinapant plus chemoradiotherapy for unresected locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck after an interim analysis showed the trial was unlikely to meet the primary endpoint.

AstraZeneca announced that neoadjuvant plus adjuvant durvalumab (Imfinzi) significantly improved event-free survival for muscle-invasive bladder cancer in a phase III clinical trial.

But the company also said that a phase III trial of durvalumab in early-stage NSCLC failed to meet the primary endpoint of disease-free survival.

A survey by the Environmental Working Group showed that only 17% of U.S. adults reported daily use of sunscreens.

Ultrasound imaging may fail to detect endometrial cancer in Black women. (JAMA Oncology)

The FDA issued draft guidance for increasing enrollment of underrepresented populations in clinical trials.

The agency also granted accelerated approval to epcoritamab (Epkinly) for relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma.

And Shorla Oncology announced approval of a novel injectable formulation of thiotepa (Tepylute) for breast and ovarian cancer.

Antibody-drug conjugate trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) proved to be highly effective for preventing recurrence of stage I HER2-positive breast cancer. (Journal of Clinical Oncology)

Standard use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy for unresectable NSCLC led to significantly fewer cases of pneumonitis and other side effects as compared with 3D conformal radiotherapy. (JAMA Oncology)

Analysis of melanoma’s genetic signatures improved prediction of whether the cancer would respond to immunotherapy. (Clinical Cancer Research)

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