Vol. 18/No. 09

Emil J. Freireich, MD, DSc, was the originator of combination chemotherapy, the primary architect of the first cure for a systemic cancer, a major contributor to the cures for half a dozen other systemic cancers and, quite possibly, the man who did the most to transform MD Anderson from a minor facility to one of the world’s leading cancer centers.

The University of Virginia Cancer Center has developed a new method for delivering radiation therapy along with less invasive surgery in a more precise and personalized manner.

After years of regulatory and legal wrangling, the development of biosimilars is starting to advance rapidly in the United States, particularly in the oncology sector where multiple versions of the most widely used cancer drugs are moving forward.

Thus far, only a small portion of known gene fusions have been tested with functional assays in an effort to understand if, and how, they drive cancer. Newly identified and well-established gene fusions alike continue to provide promising therapeutic targets and broaden our understanding of cancer development.

An investigational radiotracer that targets prostate-specific membrane antigen is being tested in patients with high-risk, recurrent, or metastatic prostate cancer to determine whether the novel agent can improve upon the sensitivity and specificity of conventional imaging.

Targeted therapies have improved outcomes for HER2-positive breast cancer, which is characterized by an aggressive tumor phenotype and lower overall survival. However, questions remain on how to predict which patients will benefit from neoadjuvant or extended HER2-targeted therapies and how to treat patients with triple-positive breast cancer.

In general, where surgery is a medically appropriate option, it is the surgeon who takes the leading clinical role in discussions with the patient and her or his family regarding the development of an optimal strategy for that individual.

Although biosimilar versions of branded medicines have been proliferating in other parts of the world for more than a decade, we’re still getting accustomed to the introduction of these new therapeutic options in the United States.