The use of liquid biopsies, tests that look for variants in cell-free DNA (cfDNA) shed by tumors into blood plasma, could lead to misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment in many cancers, according to University of Washington researchers. The tests misidentified a noncancer mutation that is particularly common in older people as a mutation used as a biomarker for PARP inhibitors indicated for use in prostate cancer, a study published in JAMA Oncology found, but the problem likely extends to other malignancies.
As with many conferences, the Cleveland Clinic’s 2020 Medical Innovation Summit went virtual this year. Still, the event featured the hotly anticipated top 10 list of innovations for 2021 that saw a range of therapies. Ranked in order of expected importance, the list was led by gene therapy for hemoglobinopathies. The top three innovations, including a novel drug for primary-progressive multiple sclerosis and smartphone-connected pacemaker devices, were highlighted in a special presentation.
Targeted therapy offers an opportunity for personalized medicine that's specific for a patient's tumor, but the hyper-focused treatment creates possibilities for cells to mutate and become resistant to the therapy.
CLEVELAND – The list is out, and a dual-acting osteoporosis drug and a device for expanding the use of minimally invasive mitral valve surgery have come out on top.
At the 2019 Congress of the European Society of Medical Oncology, PARP inhibitors continued their victory march. With the success of the PAOLA-1 trial, reported in Friday's plenary session, as well as the PRIMA and VELIA/GOG-3005 trials, "we've got new front-line data that really introduces a paradigm shift into the way we're going to treat ovarian cancer in the coming years," Jonathan Ledermann, professor of medical oncology at University College London, told the audience at a session on new options on ovarian cancer.
