Expression of AR-V7 and ARv in Circulating Tumor Cells Correlates with Outcomes to Taxane Therapy in Men with Metastatic Prostate Cancer Treated in TAXYNERGY.

Purpose: Biomarkers aiding treatment optimization in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) are scarce. The presence or absence of androgen receptor (AR) splice variants, AR-V7 and AR, in mCRPC patient circulating tumor cells (CTC) may be associated with taxane treatment outcomes. A novel digital droplet PCR (ddPCR) assay assessed AR-splice variant expression in CTCs from patients receiving docetaxel or cabazitaxel in TAXYNERGY (NCT01718353).

Real-world outcomes in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer receiving second-line chemotherapy versus an alternative androgen receptor-targeted agent (ARTA) following early progression on a first-line ARTA in a US community oncology setting.

Objective: This retrospective observational study assessed if second-line chemotherapy vs. androgen receptor-targeted agents (ARTAs; abiraterone/enzalutamide) is associated with improved outcomes in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRCaP) patients who experience early progression on first-line ARTAs in a US community setting.

Methods: Patients with mCRCaP (n = 345) who progressed ≤ 12 months after first-line ARTA and received second-line chemotherapy (docetaxel/cabazitaxel; n = 147) or ARTA (n = 198) between May 2011 and October 2014 were identified.

Treatment of the chronic phase of chronic myeloid leukemia with an intermittent schedule of recombinant interferon alfa-2b and cytarabine: results from CALGB study 9013.

Despite nine studies reporting the results achieved when treating patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) with interferon (rIFNalpha) and cytarabine (araC), the optimal doses and schedule for this combination remain to be determined. Results of imatinib mesylate (STI-571) in chronic phase CML are preliminary, thus, trials of rIFNalpha-2b/araC in CML are of continued interest. We report the results of CALGB study 9013, providing a 10-year follow-up on 88 evaluable previously untreated patients.

Lineage specific treatment of adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first remission with anti-B4-blocked ricin or high-dose cytarabine: Cancer and Leukemia Group B Study 9311.

Background: Anti-B4-blocked ricin is an immunotoxin comprised of an anti-CD19 murine monoclonal antibody (B4) conjugated to blocked ricin, which has cytotoxic activity in patients with lymphoid malignancies.

Methods: Adults with untreated acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were treated with a previously developed and tested chemotherapeutic regimen. Patients with CD19 positive ALL were given anti-B4-blocked ricin as 2 7-day continuous infusions 1 week apart.

Phase II study of oral capecitabine in patients with advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Purpose: To determine the safety and efficacy of capecitabine (Xeloda; Roche Laboratories, Nutley, NJ) in patients with metastatic or unresectable, locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Patients And Methods: Forty-two patients were treated with oral capecitabine 1,250 mg/m(2) administered twice daily (2,500 mg/m(2)/d) as intermittent therapy in 3-week cycles consisting of 2 weeks of treatment followed by 1 week without treatment. Tumor lesions were assessed by computed tomography scan or physical examination at 6-week intervals (after every two cycles).