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The Review in Oncology covers new treatment strategies in urothelial cancer. The combination of Enfortumab Vedotin plus Pembrolizumab doubles (!) the median overall survival (compared to systemic chemotherapy) of metastatic or locally advanced urothelial cancer and is, therefore, a new standard-of-care for these patients. This is because the ADC action potentiates the efficacy of the immune checkpoint blockade. By extension, this will also become an option for bladder-sparing surgery.
We are also happy to read an article from the BeSTRO in the Practice Guidelines section, concerning the option of breast-conservative therapy in patients who have an ipsilateral relapse or second breast cancer.
The Oncocase acquaints us with a rare (1/40,000) presacral myelolipoma, a benign tumour that is more often found in the adrenal glands and which should only be removed if creating symptoms or if the diagnosis (radiological!) is uncertain, as the authors did. Several other locations are possible, but are even rarer.
The Oncothesis explores using phosphoproteomics to design strategies to enhance cetuximab efficacy in head and neck cancer.
Phosphoproteomics is an emerging field that studies phosphorylated proteins within cells, providing crucial insights into the level of activity of cellular signalling pathways. This technique could have significant future implications for targeted therapies. Dissecting pathway activation could help to identify patient sub-groups that could benefit more (or less) from established targeted therapies, but can also give indications for add-on drugs based on activated sub-pathways or other pathways.
New reimbursements include Dostarlimab in combination with chemotherapy for endometrial cancer, Ivosidenib for IDH-mutant intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, and Trastuzumab-Deruxtecan for HER2-mutant NSCLC.
Will the new governments improve cancer prevention through budgetary increases and better policy sharing between federal and regional levels? Let us hope so.
Thank you to all contributing authors for the ample practice and insight-enhancing information,
Jacques De Greve, MD, PhD
Editor-in-Chief