Drug Shortages Hit Oncology; Telemedicine Tops In-Person; Sniffing Out Lung Cancer

With about two dozen chemotherapy drugs in short supply, oncology ranks in the top five clinical areas most affected by shortages. (CNN)

Telemedicine consistently outperformed in-person visits for cancer patients at one center with respect to access to care and provider response. (Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network)

Citing deficiencies at a third-party manufacturing plan, the FDA declined to approve ImmunityBio's application for the IL-15 superagonist N-803 for bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. (Endpoints News)

Innovent announced updated results from the phase III ORIENT-31 trial confirming the superiority of adding sintilimab to chemotherapy with or without bevacizumab (Avastin) for longer progression-free survival in non-small cell lung cancer, and noted that the three-drug combination demonstrated a trend toward improved survival.

Too many older men continue to be screened for prostate cancer. (New York Times)

More evidence that early smoking cessation can help improve survival in lung cancer. (JAMA Network Open)

A federal district court sided with the FDA in a lawsuit filed by Ipsen, maintaining that the agency erred in classifying the somatostatin agonist lanreotide (Somatuline Depot) as a drug rather than a biologic agent, a decision that has implications for development of generics. (Endpoints News)

A laser-based "digital nose" developed for COVID diagnosis may also sniff out lung cancer. (University of Colorado Boulder, Journal of Breath Research)

Elevated levels of biomarkers of bone metabolism may identify patients with hormone-sensitive prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy who have poor odds of survival. (University of California Davis, European Urology)

A review of 14 studies involving a total of 105,000 patients showed that daily intake of vitamin D supplements may help reduce the risk of cancer death. (Ageing Research Reviews)

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