The November issue of The Oncology Pharmacist (TOP) contains important information for today’s oncology pharmacist, including highlights from presentations made during the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2021 virtual annual meeting and other key oncology conferences. Topics include recent advances in the treatment of several types of malignancies, strategies to protect patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, and efforts by stakeholders to address social and healthcare policy issues that continue to affect clinical outcomes in the oncology community.
In a noteworthy presentation during ASCO 2021, investigators discussed results from a cohort analysis of the CHRYSALIS trial, which evaluated amivantamab plus lazertinib in osimertinib-resistant EGFR-positive non−small-cell lung cancer (see here).
“Biomarker analysis with next generation sequencing identified a subgroup of patients more likely to respond to this combination, ie, those with EGFR/MET-based resistance,” said lead investigator Byoung Chul Cho, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Medical Oncology, Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
In a separate session at ASCO 2021, researchers presented encouraging data from a study using a clinically validated saliva test to accurately detect HPV-associated head and neck cancer (see here).
“If validated in larger studies, this test could lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment,” noted lead investigator Jose P. Zevallos, MD, MPH, FACS, Chief, Head & Neck Oncologic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO.
In a presentation during the virtual European Society for Medical Oncology Congress 2021, Scott Shepherd, MD, Clinical Research Fellow, The Royal Marsden Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust, Great Britain, discussed findings from CAPTURE, a study that evaluated the impact of cancer and anticancer therapies on patients’ immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection (see here).
“While the majority of patients with cancer have detectable binding antibodies following infection or vaccination, these are reduced in patients with hematological malignancies, and in particular, those receiving anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies,” Dr Shepherd noted.
Additional topics in this issue of TOP include a novel treatment strategy aimed at extending survival in patients with high-risk, early-stage, HER2-negative breast cancer with germline BRCA1/2 mutations and a new genomic classifier being used to more accurately assess risk status in African-American men with prostate cancer (see here).
As always, we hope you will enjoy this issue of TOP, and we invite you to visit www.TheOncologyPharmacist.com to share your feedback about this issue with us or send comments to