Here are the most important stories that Medscape Oncology's editors picked for you to read today:
Nivolumab for a Rare, Aggressive Tumor
Neoadjuvant nivolumab (Opdivo, Bristol-Myers Squibb) could improve outcomes for patients with high-risk resectable Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), say researchers reporting the first trial of anti-PD-1 therapy in this patient population.
About half of a 30-patient cohort achieved a pathologic complete response (pCR) and/or a radiographic response, with a median follow-up of 19 months.
More clinical trial experience with more patients and longer follow-up are needed to assess whether this treatment approach should become standard in this setting, said investigator Suzanne Topalian, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
"Futile Treatment" Not Understood by Many Lay People
End-of-life discussions between patients and families and their physicians can be hampered by language difficulties, including "most" lay people's lack of understanding of the common phrases "futile" or "potentially inappropriate" treatment, according to the results of a focus-group study with 39 people from the Los Angeles area.
"Although it is difficult to recommend the discontinuation of life-sustaining treatment, it is crucial that physicians communicate to families when treatments are non-beneficial, will not change patient outcomes, and potentially prolong suffering," said Thanh H. Neville, MD, University of California, Los Angeles.
The study set out to gain insight into the public's understanding about the concept and implications of treatments that will not be effective.
