Cancer

Tumor mutational burden (TMB) can function as a biomarker for response to immunotherapy. Understanding how to accurately test TMB and understanding the implications of variation in the results can inform treatment. This study, published in Clinical Research (Excluding Clinical Trials), analyzed the genomic profiles of patients with cancer to assess TMB prevalence and variability, and its...

The PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx is an FDA-approved companion diagnostic to pembrolizumab designed for use on Autostainer Link 48. This study, published in Pathology, compared a 22C3 antibody-based laboratory-developed test (LDT) on BenchMark XT with the FDA-approved PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx. Pan-tumor data for this study included samples from a total of 327 patients with esophageal...

Variation seen by single year of age, including lower incidence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Blacks, especially at 1 to 7, 16 to 20 years Incidence rates of pediatric cancers vary according to race and ethnicity, according to a study published online June 21 in Cancer. Erin L. Marcotte, Ph.D., from the University of Minnesota...

Tumor mutational burden (TMB) refers to the total number of non-inherited mutations found in the DNA of cancer cells and can help determine the best course of treatment. This retrospective study, published in Future Oncology, focuses on the use of tumor mutational burden testing in pan-tumor populations. So far, there is limited real-world information regarding...

It is well understood that epigenetic dysregulation can contribute to the formation of tumors and that gene expression variations impact how well tumors respond to treatment and how tumors can progress. However, despite advancements in profiling techniques, it is unclear how epigenetic alterations contribute to cancer cellular properties, such as heterogeneity, stemness, and chemoresistance. To better...

The pathologic response assessment of tumor specimens from patients undergoing systemic treatment provides an early indication of therapeutic efficacy. It predicts long-term survival as well. Grading systems for pathologic response were first developed for chemotherapy in select tumor types. However, the immunotherapeutic agents work differently from chemotherapeutic agents. Hence, a pan-tumor standardized scoring system for immune-related...

Dr Lee Greenberg of the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society discuses health disparities among Black patients as it relates to blood cancers.

In this MD Newsline exclusive interview with cancer researcher Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, Ph.D., we discuss Dr. Green’s research on laser-activated nano-therapy in mice and its implications for cancer treatment in humans. We also discuss how the Ora Lee Smith Cancer Research Foundation is working to fund her future clinical trials in humans. MD Newsline: Can you...

In this MD Newsline exclusive interview with cancer researcher Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, Ph.D., we discuss how to increase recruitment and enrollment of diverse groups in cancer clinical trials. MD Newsline: Dr. Hadiyah-Nicole Green, Ph.D.: “I think in order to improve and increase the recruitment and enrollment of diverse groups in clinical trials, it is important...