Bile duct cancer is a rare but highly malignant tumour that occurs in the human bile duct system and has long had a poor prognosis. Now, researchers at University College London and University College London Hospitals, in an international multi-centre trial, have identified potentially good treatments that may radically improve the lives of some patients with bile duct cancer.
Many lung cancer patients will be detected by genetic testing to carry an EGFR mutation, and these patients can often control their tumours with EGFR-targeted drugs. Although targeted drugs are effective and have fewer side effects than chemotherapy, resistance to them inevitably occurs, after which they no longer work.
The US FDA has approved pemigatinib, the first targeted drug to date for patients with specific mutated blood tumours, and the results of the study show that the drug made tumours disappear completely in 79% of patients!
Targeted drug Selpercatinib has received accelerated approval from the FDA. It is cancer-independent and may benefit any solid tumour with a positive RET gene fusion. It is up to 84% effective in selected patients with non-small cell lung cancer!
DZD1516 is a reversible, selective HER2-targeting agent with full blood-brain barrier penetration. It has demonstrated good therapeutic response in phase I studies in patients with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, including breast cancer patients with central nervous system metastases.
The US FDA has approved a new leukaemia drug, Olutasidenib, which has been shown to be effective and has a controlled safety profile, resulting in the complete disappearance of cancer cells in 35% of patients enrolled, with efficacy lasting up to 25.9 months.
