News

Patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that has an alteration in the BRAFgene called the V600E mutation can be treated with the FDA approved combination of dabrafenib (Tafinlar®) and trametinib (Mekinist®). The approval is the first specifically for patients with this type of lung cancer, known as BRAF V600E mutation-positive metastatic NSCLC. About 1-2% of lung tumors harbor the V600E mutation, which […]

Accurate subclassification of aggressive B cell lymphomas (ABCLs) requires integration of morphologic, immunohistochemical (IHC), and cytogenetic information. Optimal strategies have not been well defined for diagnosis of high grade B cell lymphoma with MYC and BCL2 and/or BCL6 rearrangements (HGBLwR) and double expressor lymphomas with MYC and BCL2 protein overexpression. One hundred and eighty seven

Oncogenic mutations in B-type Raf kinase (BRAF) occur in 7% to 10% of metastatic colorectal cancers (mCRC). Despite recent improvements in survival for the general population of patients with mCRC, patients with BRAF-mutant mCRC continue to have poor response to most systemic therapies, and prognosis remains poor. There is a substantial unmet need for novel

This randomized, open-label, phase III study was designed to evaluate the effect of temozolomide in newly diagnosed 1p/19q non–co-deleted anaplastic gliomas. Patients were randomized to receive radiotherapy alone or with adjuvant temozolomide, or to receive concurrent radiotherapy and temozolomide with or without adjuvant temozolomide. Adjuvant temozolomide was associated with a significant survival benefit. The study

Patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who failed to achieve complete remission or relapsed ≤6 months after chemoimmunotherapy were analyzed to evaluate the response to salvage therapy and subsequent outcomes. The overall response rate to salvage therapy was 51% in an MYC-negative cohort, 50% in an MYC-positive single hit (SH) cohort, and 54% in

The karyotype of bone marrow cells at the time of diagnosis is a strong prognostic parameter for overall survival as well as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) progression in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). However, to the authors’ knowledge, few data exist regarding the prognostic impact of cytogenetic clonal evolution during the course of MDS. The

The role of BRAF V600E mutations in pediatric low-grade glioma (PLGG) is debated. Lassaletta and colleagues evaluated two cohorts of PLGG for BRAF V600E mutations and the association with clinical outcome. Although PLGG, overall, has favorable disease control with surgery and adjuvant therapy, patients with BRAF mutations had significantly worse disease control and progression-free survival.

We analyzed the features of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with multiple abnormalities (MA) detected by FISH. A local database including 2095 CLL cases was used and 323 with MA (15.4%) were selected. MA was defined by the presence of two or more alterations (deletions of 13q14 (13q-), 11q22 (11q-), 17p13 (17p-) or trisomy 12 (+12)).

Rai and Binet staging systems are important to predict the outcome of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) but do not reflect the biologic diversity of the disease nor predict response to therapy, which ultimately shape patients’ outcome. We devised a biomarkers-only CLL prognostic system based on the two most important prognostic parameters in CLL

Recently, pembrolizumab received FDA approval for use as a single agent in patients with solid tumors that exhibit the mismatch repair–deficient (MMR-D)/microsatellite instable (MSI-H) phenotype. It was the first regulatory approval based on a molecular feature independent of the tumor entity. The current study of nivolumab, another PD-1 antibody, in MSI-H colorectal cancer confirms the