PUBLIC HEALTH

A comprehensive analysis of the treatment patterns and treatment-related adverse eventsin non-Hispanic women with breast cancer was published in Nature's Sci-Rep Journal. Thestudy, which followed 17,454 patients for 17 years, found that non-Hispanic black womenwere less likely than non-Hispanic white women to undergo curative surgery or receiveendocrine therapy, and had a higher risk of cognitive decline/dementia after  treatment.

BREAST CANCER

The FDA has approved sacituzumab govitecan-hziy(Trodelvy) for the treatment of advanced breast cancerin patients who have received endocrine-based therapyand at least two other systemic therapies. The approvalwas based on data from the Phase 3 TROPiCS-02 study,which demonstrated significant improvements in overalland progression-free survival compared to standardchemotherapy.

MELANOMA

The Dermlyser device is a decision support system forassessing potential melanoma. It outperformed primarycare physicians and dermatologists in diagnosingmelanoma in a prospective study conducted in primarycare settings. The device demonstrated 95% sensitivityand 86% specificity in detecting melanoma in patientswith cutaneous lesions. The device is expected to belaunched in Europe by the end of 2023.

ENDOMETRIAL CANCER

The FDA has approved dostarlimab (Jemperli) for thetreatment of patients with mismatch repair deficient(dMMR) recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer whohave previously progressed on platinum-containingregimens and are not candidates for curative surgery orradiation. The approval was based on findings from thePhase 1 GARNET trial, interim results of which werepublished  published in the Journal of Clinical Oncologyin 2022.

MELANOMA

Moderna has reported that the FDA has granted a breakthrough therapy designation to its mRNA vaccine(mRNA-4157/V940) based on data from the Phase 2b KEYNOTE-942 trial. The trial showed that the addition ofan mRNA vaccine to adjuvant pembrolizumab improved recurrence-free survival following resection of high-risk melanoma.

According to a recent analyst report from SVB Securities, Pfizer is favored over Merck as a potential buyer for Seagen due to its strong oncology portfolio and the potential for significant cost synergies, although there has been no official confirmation of any acquisition talks.  The deal could potentially value Seagen at $30+ billion.

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