KANTAR HEALTH BLOG

Oncology Conference Insight: ASCO GI 2017 --- It is an exciting time for patients and their doctors fighting advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In mid-2016 the HCC community witnessed the first randomized trial to successfully improve survival outcomes in Nexavar® (sorafenib, Onyx/Amgen/Bayer)-pretreated HCC when the multikinase inhibitor Stivarga® (regorafenib, Bayer) demonstrated a 38% reduction in the risk of death compared with placebo in the Phase III RESOURCE trial.

Oncology Conference Insight: ASCO GI 2017 --- Before Cyramza® (ramucirumab, Eli Lilly and Co) was approved by the FDA in 2014, there were no targeted therapy regimens approved for use in relapsed/refractory gastric cancer. Cyramza’s approval as a monotherapy or in combination with paclitaxel after prior fluoropyrimidine- or platinum-containing systemic therapy was based on the positive results of two Phase III studies in relapsed gastric patients.

Oncology Conference Insight: ASH 2016 --- Immunotherapies such as checkpoint inhibitors have had a dramatic impact on treatment paradigms for many tumor types over the past few years, and their full potential is far from being realized. Hot on the heels of checkpoint inhibitors are engineered, adoptive T-cell therapies that represent another promising advancement.

Oncology Conference Insight: ASH 2016 --- In the management of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), Rituxan-based therapy forms the foundation for therapy in all settings. This holds true for most subtypes of NHL, including follicular lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, and diffuse B-cell lymphoma. While Rituxan-based therapy is highly effective and leads to improvement in survival rates, patients are rarely cured, and relapse is common, occurring in about 20-30% of patients.

Oncology Conference Insight: ASCO 2016 --- The pace of treatment in metastatic melanoma has significantly accelerated in the past couple of years. What was once a disease beset by toxic and largely ineffective treatments now enjoys a number of effective agents that have reduced the mortality of this aggressive disease.