April 2021 Vol 7 No 2

Learning about lung cancer risks is important. An issue that needs more awareness is occupational exposure to harmful chemicals and the negative effects such exposure has on our health.

The immunotherapy Libtayo received FDA approval as first-line treatment for patients with advanced or metastatic non–small-cell lung cancer and high PD-L1 expression.

The immunotherapy Libtayo is a new treatment option for advanced or metastatic basal-cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer. Libtayo was initially approved for a different type of skin cancer.

Sabrina Steinback’s mom died from COVID-19 in 2020, and then Sabrina had a lumpectomy to remove breast cancer at the end of the year.

Pepaxto is a novel therapy that has shown good results in multiple myeloma that does not respond to other therapies, according to myeloma expert Paul G. Richardson, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Abecma is the first gene therapy approved by the FDA for patients with multiple myeloma. It uses the patient’s own genetically modified T-cells to fight the cancer.

Yescarta is the first CAR T-cell therapy approved by the FDA for patients with follicular lymphoma. It uses the patient’s own genetically modified T-cells to fight the cancer.

Ukoniq is the first dual inhibitor of PI3K-delta and CK1-epsilon to be approved by the FDA, and is the first targeted, once-daily oral therapy option for marginal-zone or follicular lymphoma.

“Today’s approval represents another milestone in the rapidly progressing field of gene therapy,” said Peter Marks, MD, PhD, Director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.