Venclexta Approved for Acute Myeloid Leukemia
On October 16, 2020, the FDA granted approval of Venclexta (venetoclax) in combination with azacitidine, decitabine, or low-dose cytarabine for the treatment of newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia in adults aged 75 years or older or who have comorbidities that preclude the use of intensive induction chemotherapy. Venclexta was granted provisional approval under the FDA’s accelerated approval program in November 2018. Read more.

Expanded Pembrolizumab Indication for Hodgkin Lymphoma
On October 14, 2020, the FDA approved an expanded indication for pembrolizumab for adult patients with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) and pediatric patients with refractory cHL or cHL that has relapsed after two or more lines of therapy. The approval was based on KEYNOTE-204, a phase III, randomized, open-label trial in 304 adult patients with relapsed or refractory cHL. Read more.

Longer Breast Cancer Survival Seen With Complete Chemo Response
The Neoadjuvant Lapatinib and/or Trastuzumab Treatment Optimization trial, which assessed lapatinib and trastuzumab given prior to surgery in patients with early human epidermal growth factor receptor 2–positive breast cancer, disclosed that women who had no signs of residual disease after treatment survived longer without the cancer returning than those who did not. Read more.