FLASCO News

FDA approves avapritinib for advanced systemic mastocytosis

Posted June 16, 2021

On June 16, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved avapritinib (Ayvakit™, Blueprint Medicines Corp.) for adult patients with advanced systemic mastocytosis (AdvSM), including patients with aggressive systemic mastocytosis (ASM), systemic mastocytosis with an associated hematological neoplasm (SM-AHN), and mast cell leukemia (MCL). Efficacy was evaluated in EXPLORER (NCT02561988) and PATHFINDER (NCT03580655), two multi-center, single-arm,...

FDA warns that vapors from alcohol-based hand sanitizers can have side effects

Posted June 16, 2021

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning that symptoms such as headache, nausea, and dizziness can occur after applying alcohol-based hand sanitizers to the skin. These symptoms are likely to have occurred because of vapors from the hand sanitizer, potentially from exposure in enclosed spaces or places with poor air circulation. We have...

Disparities in Cancer Care and Health Equity Summit 2021

Posted June 7, 2021

FLASCO is bringing together leaders in cancer disparities and health equity to advance the understanding of and promote their elimination. Cancer disparities represent a major public health problem in our state, and across the country. Professionals from academic, industry, and the community are coming together, with the shared mission of closing health equity gaps, and...

FDA grants accelerated approval to infigratinib for metastatic cholangiocarcinoma

Posted May 28, 2021

On May 28, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to infigratinib (Truseltiq, QED Therapeutics, Inc.), a kinase inhibitor for adults with previously treated, unresectable locally advanced or metastatic cholangiocarcinoma with a fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) fusion or other rearrangement as detected by an FDA-approved test. The FDA also approved FoundationOne®...

FDA grants accelerated approval to sotorasib for KRAS G12C mutated NSCLC

Posted May 28, 2021

On May 28, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to sotorasib (Lumakras™, Amgen, Inc.), a RAS GTPase family inhibitor, for adult patients with KRAS G12C ‑mutated locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as determined by an FDA ‑approved test, who have received at least one prior systemic therapy. FDA also...

FDA grants accelerated approval to amivantamab-vmjw for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer

Posted May 21, 2021

On May 21, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to amivantamab-vmjw (Rybrevant, Janssen Biotech, Inc.), a bispecific antibody directed against epidermal growth factor (EGF) and MET receptors, for adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion mutations, as detected...

FDA approves nivolumab for resected esophageal or GEJ cancer

Posted May 20, 2021

On May 20, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved nivolumab (Opdivo, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company) for patients with completely resected esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) cancer with residual pathologic disease who have received neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. Efficacy was evaluated in CHECKMATE-577 (NCT02743494), a randomized, multicenter, double-blind trial in 794 patients with completely resected (negative margins) esophageal...

FDA grants accelerated approval to pembrolizumab for HER2-positive gastric cancer

Posted May 6, 2021

On May 5, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck & Co.) in combination with trastuzumab, fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2 positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma. Approval was based on the prespecified interim analysis of...

FDA grants accelerated approval to dostarlimab-gxly for dMMR endometrial cancer

Posted April 26, 2021

On April 22, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to dostarlimab-gxly (Jemperli, GlaxoSmithKline LLC) for adult patients with mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer, as determined by an FDA-approved test, that has progressed on or following a prior  platinum-containing regimen. Efficacy was evaluated based on cohort (A1) in GARNET...

FDA grants accelerated approval to loncastuximab tesirine-lpyl for large B-cell lymphoma

Posted April 26, 2021

On April 23, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to loncastuximab tesirine-lpyl (Zynlonta, ADC Therapeutics SA), a CD19-directed antibody and alkylating agent conjugate, for adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified, DLBCL arising...

FDA approves nivolumab in combination with chemotherapy for metastatic gastric cancer and esophageal adenocarcinoma

Posted April 16, 2021

On April 16, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved nivolumab (Opdivo, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company) in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy for advanced or metastatic gastric cancer, gastroesophageal junction cancer, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Efficacy was evaluated in CHECKMATE-649 (NCT02872116), a randomized, multicenter, open-label trial that enrolled 1,581 patients with previously untreated advanced or metastatic...

FDA grants accelerated approval to sacituzumab govitecan for advanced urothelial cancer

Posted April 13, 2021

On April 13, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy, Immunomedics Inc.) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer (mUC) who previously received a platinum-containing chemotherapy and either a programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) or a programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor. Efficacy and safety were evaluated in TROPHY...

FDA grants regular approval to sacituzumab govitecan for triple-negative breast cancer

Posted April 7, 2021

On April 7, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration granted regular approval to sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy, Immunomedics Inc.) for patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC) who have received two or more prior systemic therapies, at least one of them for metastatic disease. In April 2020, sacituzumab govitecan received accelerated approval...

FDA approves new dosing regimen for cetuximab

Posted April 7, 2021

On April 6, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new dosage regimen of 500 mg/m2 as a 120-minute intravenous infusion every two weeks (Q2W) for cetuximab (Erbitux, ImClone LLC) for patients with K-Ras wild-type, EGFR-expressing colorectal cancer (mCRC) or squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). This approval provides for a biweekly...

FDA approves isatuximab-irfc for multiple myeloma

Posted April 1, 2021

On March 31, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved isatuximab-irfc (Sarclisa, sanofi-aventis U.S. LLC) in combination with carfilzomib and dexamethasone, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received one to three prior lines of therapy. The efficacy and safety of isatuximab-irfc in combination with carfilzomib and dexamethasone...

FDA approves idecabtagene vicleucel for multiple myeloma

Posted March 29, 2021

From the American Society of Clinical Oncology in cooperation with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and as a service to our members, ASCO will periodically distribute information about newly approved therapies for cancer patients. This helps FDA inform oncologists and professionals in oncology-related fields about recent approvals in a timely manner. Included in the...

FDA approves pembrolizumab for esophageal or GEJ carcinoma

Posted March 23, 2021

On March 22, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.) in combination with platinum and fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy for patients with metastatic or locally advanced esophageal or gastroesophageal (GEJ) (tumors with epicenter 1 to 5 centimeters above the gastroesophageal junction) carcinoma who are not candidates for surgical resection or...

FDA approves tivozanib for relapsed or refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma

Posted March 11, 2021

Food and Drug Administration approved tivozanib (Fotivda, AVEO Pharmaceuticals, Inc.), a kinase inhibitor, for adult patients with relapsed or refractory advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) following two or more prior systemic therapies. . March 10, 2021. More Information: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-approvals-and-databases/fda-approves-tivozanib-relapsed-or-refractory-advanced-renal-cell-carcinoma

FDA grants accelerated approval to axicabtagene ciloleucel for relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma

Posted March 8, 2021

On March 5, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta, Kite Pharma, Inc.) for adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy. Approval in FL was based on a single-arm, open-label, multicenter trial (ZUMA-5; NCT03105336) that evaluated axicabtagene ciloleucel, a...

FDA Issues Emergency Use Authorization for Third COVID-19 Vaccine

Posted March 4, 2021

Action Advances Fight Against COVID-19, Follows Comprehensive Evaluation of Available Safety, Effectiveness and Manufacturing Quality Information by FDA Career Scientists, Input from External Experts Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for the third vaccine for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome...

FDA grants accelerated approval to melphalan flufenamide for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma

Posted March 1, 2021

Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to melphalan flufenamide (Pepaxto, Oncopeptides AB) in combination with dexamethasone for adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior lines of therapy and whose disease is refractory to at least one proteasome inhibitor, one immunomodulatory agent, and one CD-38 directed monoclonal...

FDA approves Regeneron, Sanofi’s Libtayo for first-line advanced NSCLC with high PD-L1 expression

Posted February 25, 2021

(Sanofi) Feb 22, 2021 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the PD-1 inhibitor Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose tumors have high PD-L1 expression (tumor proportion score ≥50%), as determined by an FDA-approved test. Read more >

FDA approves cemiplimab-rwlc for non-small cell lung cancer with high PD-L1 expression

Posted February 22, 2021

On February 22, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (locally advanced who are not candidates for surgical resection or definitive chemoradiation or metastatic) whose tumors have high PD-L1 expression (Tumor Proportion Score [TPS] > 50%) as determined by...

Now Approved as Early as 1st Relapse

Posted February 11, 2021

XPOVIO® (selinexor) is now FDA approved in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone (XVd) to treat adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy.1 The efficacy of XPOVIO in combination with Vd was evaluated in BOSTON, a global, randomized, open‑label, active‑controlled, phase 3 trial in adult patients who had received 1 to 3...

FDA approves Libtayo® (Cemiplimab-rwlc) as first immunotherapy indicated for patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma

Posted February 11, 2021

PARIS and TARRYTOWN, N.Y. – February 9, 2021 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the PD-1 inhibitor Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc) as the first immunotherapy indicated for patients with advanced basal cell carcinoma (BCC) previously treated with an hedgehog pathway inhibitor (HHI) or for whom an HHI is not appropriate. Full approval was granted...

COVID-19 Update: FDA Authorizes Monoclonal Antibodies for Treatment of COVID-19 – Drug Information Update

Posted February 11, 2021

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for bamlanivimab and etesevimab administered together for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age or older weighing at least 40 kilograms [about 88 pounds]) who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 and who are at high risk...

FDA approves cemiplimab-rwlc for locally advanced and metastatic basal cell carcinoma

Posted February 10, 2021

On February 9, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration granted regular approval to cemiplimab-rwlc (Libtayo, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) for patients with locally advanced basal cell carcinoma (laBCC) previously treated with a hedgehog pathway inhibitor (HHI) or for whom a HHI is not appropriate and granted accelerated approval to cemiplimab-rwlc for patients with metastatic BCC (mBCC)...

FDA approves lisocabtagene maraleucel for relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma

Posted February 9, 2021

On February 5, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved lisocabtagene maraleucel (Breyanzi, Juno Therapeutics, Inc.) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) large B-cell lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) not otherwise specified (including DLBCL arising from indolent lymphoma), high-grade B-cell...

FDA Approves New Treatment For Adults With Relapsed Or Refractory Large-B-Cell Lymphoma

Posted February 9, 2021

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Breyanzi (lisocabtagene maraleucel), a cell-based gene therapy to treat adult patients with certain types of large B-cell lymphoma who have not responded to, or who have relapsed after, at least two other types of systemic treatment. Breyanzi, a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy, is the...

FDA Approves Karyopharm Therapeutics’ Selinexor for Refractory or Relapsed Multiple Myeloma

Posted February 5, 2021

On December 18, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration approved selinexor (XPOVIO, Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc.) in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy. Read More HERE>>

FDA grants accelerated approval to tepotinib for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer

Posted February 4, 2021

On February 3, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to tepotinib (Tepmetko, EMD Serono Inc.) for adult patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) exon 14 skipping alterations. Efficacy was demonstrated in the VISION trial (NCT02864992), a multicenter, non-randomized, open-label, multicohort study enrolling 152 patients with advanced...

FDA approves fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki for HER2-positive gastric adenocarcinomas

Posted January 20, 2021

On January 15, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu, Daiichi Sankyo) for adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal (GEJ) adenocarcinoma who have received a prior trastuzumab-based regimen. Efficacy was evaluated in a multicenter, open-label, randomized trial (DESTINY-Gastric01, NCT03329690) in patients with HER2-positive locally advanced or metastatic...

FDA approves crizotinib for children and young adults with relapsed or refractory, systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma

Posted January 20, 2021

On January 14, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration approved crizotinib (Xalkori, Pfizer Inc.) for pediatric patients 1 year of age and older and young adults with relapsed or refractory, systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) that is ALK-positive. The safety and efficacy of crizotinib have not been established in older adults with relapsed or...

Oppose the Most Favored Nation Interim Final Rule

Posted January 8, 2021

The Florida Society of Clinical Oncology has opposed the MFN Model since its release and is pleased it did not go into effect on January 1. However, given the devastating impact the model would have on people with cancer, ASCO will continue to advocate for a full withdrawal of the proposal.    CMS estimates that the...