Cancer Plan Has Big Goal; Boosting Advanced-Care Planning; Elephant Genes for Cancer

HHS released a National Cancer Plan comprising eight objectives that can help the nation reach the goal of reducing cancer mortality by 50% over the next 25 years.

Surgery offers a safe and effective alternative to chemoradiation for early metastatic testicular cancer (stage II seminoma). (Keck Medicine of USC, Journal of Clinical Oncology)

Using oncology nurses trained in palliative care to interact with patients with cancer led to a threefold increase in the rate of discussions about advanced-care planning. (Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network)

In laboratory studies, a modified gene from an elephant showed potential for killing human cancer cells. (Huntsman Cancer Institute, Cell Death Discovery)

Merck and Eisai announced they will discontinue phase III trials of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and lenvatinib (Lenvima) in melanoma and colorectal cancer after analyses showed the combination did not improve overall survival versus the control arm.

AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson announced they will voluntarily withdraw accelerated approvals of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and marginal zone lymphoma (MZL) after a phase III trial in MCL showed excess toxicity and a phase III trial in MZL failed to meet the primary endpoint of progression-free survival.

A British court sided with AstraZeneca in a dispute with GSK over sales and royalty rights related to the PARP inhibitor niraparib (Zejula), a decision with potentially hundreds of millions of dollars hanging in the balance. (Fierce Pharma)

Using ultrasound to activate chemotherapy inside a tumor may improve cancer cell-killing efficiency while reducing toxicity. (Ruhr University Bochum)