Cancer Drug Shortages for Kids; Pharma Agrees to Price Talks; Catch-Up on Screening

— News, features, and commentary about cancer-related issues

by Charles Bankhead, Senior Editor, �ڴ�Ů�� September 28, 2023

Onco Break over a computer rendering of a cancer cell.

Despite ongoing efforts to overcome shortages of cancer drugs, many hospitals report critically low supplies of . (NBC News)

Reluctantly, AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Merck have agreed to meet with CMS to . (Fierce Pharma)

Merck and Eisai announced that two phase III trials of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and lenvatinib (Lenvima) for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS).

Meanwhile, Merck, Seagen, and Astellas said that the combination of pembrolizumab and enfortumab vedotin (Padcev) versus chemotherapy in a phase III trial of previously untreated advanced/metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

The antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) datopotamab deruxtecan achieved in a phase III trial of advanced/metastatic hormone receptor-positive, HER2-low or negative breast cancer, AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo announced.

Finally, Bristol Myers Squibb said that a phase III trial of perioperative nivolumab (Opdivo) of event-free survival in resectable NSCLC.

The FDA approved bosutinib (Bosulif) for pediatric patients with chronic-phase, Philadelphia chromosome-positive .

A meta-analysis found that combination therapy with nivolumab and ipilimumab (Yervoy) versus nivolumab alone for lung cancers, urothelial and esophagogastric carcinoma, sarcoma, and glioblastoma. (Northwestern Medicine, JAMA Oncology)

The combination of adoptive T-cell therapy and a personalized cancer vaccine led to in two-thirds of patients with advanced drug-resistant ovarian cancer enrolled in a preliminary clinical study. (Ludwig Cancer Research, Nature Cancer)

Adding a dendritic cell vaccine to autologous stem-cell transplantation led to long-term disease control in . (American Association for Cancer Research)

The ADC mirvetuximab soravtansine (Elahere) improved OS and PFS in advanced folate receptor alpha-positive , regardless of the number of prior lines of therapy or exposure to PARP inhibitors, Immunogen announced.

While trying to "make up for lost ground," cancer specialists warn that cancer services, especially screening, will take some time to . (CNN)

Charles Bankhead is senior editor for oncology and also covers urology, dermatology, and ophthalmology. He joined �ڴ�Ů�� in 2007.