DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE

Clinical trials of new cancer drugs may unfairly exclude people with Duffy-null phenotype, predominantly found in African and Middle Eastern descent, due to lower blood neutrophil levels. This exclusion could lead to less effective drug doses for these individuals. Researchers recommend testing for Duffy-null phenotype in trial screenings and adjusting dose modifications accordingly.

Cancer patients with Duffy-null phenotype, common in African Americans, face exclusion from clinical trials due to naturally low neutrophil counts, highlighting racial bias in medical norms. A study in JAMA Network Open reveals 76.5% of trials and 53.5% of drug regimens unfairly exclude Duffy-null individuals, impacting treatment and survival.

Closed Loop Medicine Ltd. appoints Luba Greenwood as Chair of its Board of Directors, leveraging her extensive experience in healthcare and tech to support the company's growth and commercial milestones.

Anthony V. D'Amico discusses the debate over labeling Gleason 6 as 'benign', cautioning that it may mask aggressive disease features, and advocates for a comprehensive clinical assessment to tailor treatment for localized prostate cancer.

Ann Partridge, MD, MPH, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, received the 2024 ESMO Award: Addressing the Unintended Consequences of Cancer Care, recognizing her contributions to breast cancer research and care. Partridge is the founder and director of the Program for Young Adults with Breast Cancer and the Adult Survivorship Program at Dana-Farber.

OncoHost's PROphet® platform, initially for NSCLC, demonstrated potential in predicting RCC outcomes, presenting at ESMO 2024. Findings showed PROphet-POSITIVE RCC patients had improved OS and PFS, indicating platform's broad predictive value.

Datopotamab deruxtecan showed a median overall survival of 14.6 months in patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer in the TROPION-Lung01 Phase III trial. The trial, evaluating AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's drug versus chemotherapy, met the dual primary endpoint of progression-free survival. Results were presented at the IASLC 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer.

TROPION-Lung01 Phase III trial showed datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) had a clinically meaningful trend toward improving overall survival (OS) vs. docetaxel in patients with advanced nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), though not statistically significant. The drug demonstrated a 2.3-month OS improvement in the nonsquamous NSCLC subgroup. Safety profile remained consistent with previous analysis.

Advancements in MRD detection, particularly through high-throughput sequencing, have expanded ctDNA assays' utility across all lymphoma subtypes. IgHTS, panel-based assays like CAPP-Seq, and emerging assays such as PhasED-seq and MAESTRO offer varying sensitivities, with newer assays aiming to maximize tumor reporters for improved ctDNA detection. These improvements are driving clinical trials adapting therapy based on ctDNA results.

Hoth Therapeutics receives IRB approval from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Montefiore Medical Center for Phase 2a clinical trial of HT-001 to treat skin toxicities from EGFRi.