January 2021 – A Patient Guide to Recent FDA-Approved Oncology Drugs

A drug called Blenrep (belantamab mafodotin-blmf) was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least 4 prior therapies (including an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, a proteasome inhibitor, and an immunomodulatory agent).

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the use of the anticancer drug Imbruvica (ibrutinib) to be used in combination with rituximab for the treatment of the most common type of leukemia in adults, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), or its variant called small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).

Opdivo (nivolumab) given in combination with Yervoy (ipilimumab) is now approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with liver cancer, or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), who have already been treated with the chemotherapy drug sorafenib.

A treatment combination containing the immunotherapy drugs Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab) received 2 approvals in non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in the past year.

Patients with advanced bile duct cancer, or cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), have few treatment options and a generally poor prognosis. But now, a new medication called Pemazyre (pemigatinib) has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of CCA that has spread to other parts of the body or that cannot be removed by surgery, providing a new treatment option for these patients, and perhaps a better outlook for their future.

Last year, the anticancer drug Tazverik (tazemetostat) received approval for use in the treatment of 2 malignancies.

People with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) that has spread to other parts of the body (metastatic) now have a new treatment option called Trodelvy (sacituzumab govitecan-hziy). This drug was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use specifically in adult patients with metastatic TNBC who have already received at least 2 previous treatments for their cancer.

Women with advanced ovarian cancer now have a new once-daily treatment option. In April 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Zejula (niraparib) for the maintenance treatment of all women with advanced ovarian cancer (including epithelial cancer, fallopian tube cancer, and primary peritoneal cancer) who have responded well to first-line chemotherapy. Maintenance therapy is the treatment of cancer with medication, typically following a first round of treatment (in this case, platinum-based chemotherapy).