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Confirmatory Trials of Accelerated Approval DrugsIn order to ensure timely testing of drugs that have been granted accelerated approval, the FDA can impose civil monetary penalties on dilatory manufacturers — but has never done so.

Background Subgroup analyses in clinical trials assess intervention effects on specific patient subgroups, ensuring generalizability. However, they are usually only able to generate hypotheses rather than definitive conclusions. This study examined the prevalence and characteristics of post hoc subgroup analysis in oncology. Methods We systematically reviewed published subgroup analyses from 2000 to 2022. We included articles presenting secondary, post hoc, or subgroup analyses of interventional clinical trials in oncology, cancer survivorship, or cancer screening, published separately from the original clinical trial publication. We collected cancer type, year of publication, where and how subgroup analyses were reported, and funding. Results Out of 16 487 screened publications, 1612 studies were included, primarily subgroup analyses of treatment trials for solid tumors (82%). Medical writers contributed to 31% of articles, and 58% of articles reported conflicts of interest. Subgroup analyses increased significantly over time, with 695 published between 2019 and 2022, compared to 384 from 2000 to 2014. Gastrointestinal tumors (25%) and lymphoid lineage tumors (39%) were the most frequently studied solid and hematological malignancies, respectively. Industry funding and reporting of conflicts of interest increased over time. Subgroup analyses often neglected to indicate their secondary nature in the title. Most authors were from high-income countries, most commonly North America (45%). Conclusions This study demonstrates the rapidly growing use of post hoc subgroup analysis of oncology clinical trials, revealing that the majority are supported by pharmaceutical companies, and they frequently fail to indicate their secondary nature in the title. Given the known methodological limitations of subgroup analyses, caution is recommended among authors, readers, and reviewers when conducting and interpreting these studies.

Smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM), an asymptomatic precursor of multiple myeloma (MM), carries a variable risk of progression to MM. There is little consensus on the efficacy or optimal timing of treatment in SMM. We systematically reviewed the landscape of all clinical trials in SMM. We compared the efficacy of treatment regimens studied in SMM to results from these regimens when used in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM), to determine whether the data suggest deeper responses in SMM versus NDMM. All prospective interventional clinical trials for SMM, including published studies, meeting abstracts, and unpublished trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov up to April 1, 2023, were identified. Trial-related variables were captured, including treatment strategy and efficacy results. Relevant clinical endpoints were defined as overall survival (OS) and quality of life. Among 45 SMM trials identified, 38 (84.4%) assessed active myeloma drugs, while 7 (15.6%) studied bone-modifying agents alone. Of 18 randomized trials in SMM, only one (5.6%) had a primary endpoint of OS; the most common primary endpoint was progression-free survival (n = 7, 38.9%). Among 32 SMM trials with available results, 9 (28.1%) met their prespecified primary endpoint, of which 5 were single-arm studies. Six treatment regimens were tested in both SMM and NDMM; 5 regimens yielded a lower rate of very good partial response rate or better (≥VGPR) in SMM compared to the corresponding NDMM trial (32% vs 63%, 43% vs 53%, 40% vs 63%, 86% vs 89%, 92% vs 95%, and 94% vs 87%, respectively). In this systematic review of all prospective interventional clinical trials in SMM, we found significant variability in trial design, including randomization status, primary endpoints, and types of intervention used. Despite the statistical limitations, comparison of treatment regimens revealed no compelling evidence that the treatment is more effective when introduced early in SMM compared to NDMM.

In the POLARIX trial, pola‐R‐CHP demonstrated improved progression‐free survival (PFS) compared to R‐CHOP in untreated intermediate‐ to high‐risk DLBCL. We surveyed practicing clinicians regarding their interpretation of POLARIX, including impressions of efficacy, safety, and cost. Of 174 respondents, most from academic centers (82%) in the United States (57%), 70% stated they would not replace R‐CHOP with pola‐R‐CHP due to insufficient PFS difference, lack of overall survival benefit, and excessive cost. Respondents not recommending pola‐R‐CHP expressed concerns about financial implications for both society and patients. We observed considerable heterogeneity in both study interpretation and plans for real‐world implementation of pola‐R‐CHP.

Although chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy represents a transformative immunotherapy, it is also associated with distinct toxicities that contribute to morbidity and mortality. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase and CINAHL (Cochrane) for reports of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) after CAR T cell therapy in lymphoma and multiple myeloma up to March 2024. After extraction of causes and numbers of death, we analyzed NRM point estimates using random-effect models. We identified 7,604 patients across 18 clinical trials and 28 real-world studies. NRM point estimates varied across disease entities and were highest in patients with mantle-cell lymphoma (10.6%), followed by multiple myeloma (8.0%), large B cell lymphoma (6.1%) and indolent lymphoma (5.7%). Entity-specific meta-regression models for large B cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma revealed that axicabtagene ciloleucel and ciltacabtagene autoleucel were independently associated with increased NRM point estimates, respectively. Of 574 reported nonrelapse deaths, over half were attributed to infections (50.9%), followed by other malignancies (7.8%) and cardiovascular/respiratory events (7.3%). Conversely, the CAR T cell-specific side effects, immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome/neurotoxicity, cytokine release syndrome and hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, represented only a minority of nonrelapse deaths (cumulatively 11.5%). Our findings underline the critical importance of infectious complications after CAR T cell therapy and support the comprehensive reporting of NRM, including specific causes and long-term outcomes. In a systematic review and meta-analysis of nonrelapse mortality (NRM) following CAR T cell treatment in 7,604 patients with lymphoma and myeloma, almost half of cases were atrributable to infections and NRM estimates varied across both tumor types and CAR T cell products

[...]advanced imaging techniques, such as whole-body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (WB DW-MRI), have allowed physicians to identify bone disease earlier. [...]we conducted a retrospective cohort study in order to (1) define the baseline characteristics; (2) estimate the risk of progression and closely characterize progression events; and (3) compare the predicted progression risk with different models, for a contemporary cohort of patients with SMM. [...]101 patients were included in the analysis. Isolated anemia was the most common MDE during progression to MM (50%), followed by bone disease (36%). Since WB DW-MRI can detect focal lesions in advance of lytic lesions or fractures in myeloma, baseline, and longitudinal WB DW-MRI can be employed for active surveillance of patients with SMM who are at a high risk of progression.

In 2023, a decade after granting Accelerated Approval to the first-in-class BTK inhibitor ibrutinib for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma, the FDA requested this indication be withdrawn. Herein, we discuss the seemingly inconsistent results from the SHINE and TRIANGLE trials, which relate to the distinct patient populations of these trials, and posit that regulatory approaches should take these nuances into account.