Blood Cancer Drug Denials; Body Fat and Pancreas Cancer; Studies With Fake Citations

Up to 84% of prescriptions for specialty oral cancer drugs for blood cancers were initially denied, according to a nationwide study of claims submitted to Medicare and private insurance companies. (Journal of Clinical Oncology)

A Trump administration proposal would make the biotech industry a national security issue, adding more scrutiny to foreign business deals, particularly investment in Chinese biotech. (Axios)

A rapid-access cancer care program led to earlier cancer treatment for patients with high socioeconomic risk for poor outcomes as compared with traditional treatment pathways. (American Association for Cancer Research)

Detectable changes in body composition, particularly declines in visceral and subcutaneous fat, may precede a pancreatic cancer diagnosis by as much as 3 years. (Mayo Clinic)

Meanwhile, laboratory studies suggest statins might be able to disrupt the biochemical processes that lead to chemotherapy resistance in pancreatic cancer. (UC Irvine Charlie Dunlop School of Biological Sciences)

Ron Duguay, 69, former National Hockey League star and boyfriend of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, died earlier this week of colon cancer. (People)

A dozen proteins linked to the immune system appeared in blood samples of men who developed prostate cancer 10 to 15 years later, suggesting potential for an early-diagnosis test. (University of Oxford)

Tumor “avatars” created from biopsies showed potential for predicting patients’ response to cancer immunotherapy. (Fierce Biotech)

The FDA fully approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and pembrolizumab with berahyaluronidase alfa-pmph (Keytruda Qlex) for previously treated unresectable/metastatic solid tumors with high tumor mutational burden (≥13 mutations/megabase).

An artificial intelligence tool showed potential for improving skin cancer diagnosis and distinguishing benign lesions from malignant ones. (Mayo Clinic)

The first-in-class, bispecific T-cell therapy invikafusp alfa showed activity in solid tumors that were resistant to immunotherapy, phase I/II data showed. (Nature Medicine)

A review of 33,000 articles published in cancer journals turned up fake citations in 4,000 articles produced by so-called “paper mills.” (Queensland University of Technology)

Half of the world’s 10 best cancer centers — including the top two — are in the U.S., according to Newsweek‘s annual ratings.

ImmunityBio reported that 84% of patients with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer avoided cystectomy for 3 years when treated with nogapendekin alfa inbakicept (Anktiva) plus BCG.

Arcus Biosciences announced that progression-free and overall survival in advanced clear cell renal cell carcinoma exceeded historical benchmark values when treated with the HIF-2 alpha inhibitor casdatifan alone or in combination with a PD-1 inhibitor.

Demand for radiopharmaceuticals is outpacing capability to expand manufacturing infrastructure. (GlobalData)