For medical oncologists, the clinical quandary in treating patients is whether a newly marketed agent or drug cocktail will work as well as it did for the average cancer patient in a landmark clinical trial. “To be completely honest, I am usually just referring to the results of the trial to make my decision and…
Representatives from leading pharmaceutical firms said at a conference last week that they see minimal, or molecular, residual disease testing as the “next big game changer” in precision medicine development, and hopefully in the clinic, though they continue to grapple with how to build that bridge. Discussing MRD with technology developers and clinicians at Cambridge…
The 2025 APCCC Diagnostics annual meeting featured a session on how to monitor metastatic prostate cancer and a presentation by Dr. Alexander Wyatt discussing when we should assess biology with ctDNA. Cell free DNA (cfDNA) is from apoptosing cells shedding cfDNA into the blood, with most normal cfDNA being from the blood lineage. The average…
Harnessing Absolute ctDNA Measurements for Early Detection of Cancer Progression Recent studies indicate that measuring the absolute concentration of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients with metastatic cancer can serve as a crucial predictive biomarker for imminent disease progression, paving the way for more timely clinical interventions. A breakthrough in metastatic cancer management has emerged…
Harnessing Absolute ctDNA Measurements for Early Detection of Cancer Progression Recent studies indicate that measuring the absolute concentration of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in patients with metastatic cancer can serve as a crucial predictive biomarker for imminent disease progression, paving the way for more timely clinical interventions. A breakthrough in metastatic cancer management has emerged…
The Lung Cancer Master Protocol (Lung-MAP) is an innovative clinical trial designed to efficiently address the unmet needs of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following front-line therapy. This pioneering effort was the first biomarker-driven umbrella master protocol initiated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network led by SWOG…
On Feb. 19, crowds of former and current staffers at the Department of Health and Human Services protested outside the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. As ABC News’s Hannah Demissie and Selina Wang reported on Wednesday, “Bracing the frigid temperatures, crowds of former and current federal workers protested the deep cuts to the Department of…
The nation’s health agencies were upended over the weekend by a confusing, slow-motion rollout of terminations that left staff worried about the future of various projects, including those to improve maternal health, discover new cancer treatments and provide help for 9/11 responders. Several thousand probationary employees across the Department of Health and Human Services were…
The Department of Government Efficiency has reportedly eliminated the jobs of those overseeing Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink within the Food and Drug Administration, as part of President Donald Trump’s mass culling of government jobs. The firings over the weekend included about 20 employees who were part of the FDA’s office of neurological and…
A broad coalition of patient organizations today issued the following statement in response to cuts in staff, and research funding at federal agencies vital for American health. “Nearly every American family is affected by one or more of the diseases represented by our groups, and the stakes could not be higher. The United States is…
