Hem/Onc Roundup: This e-Cigarette Flavor Is Linked to Cancer, FDA Approvals/Warnings, and more

Here are the top stories covered by DocWire Newsthis week in the Hematology & Oncology section. This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved multiple drugs and issued several warnings, a study found that certain e-Cigarette flavors contain a cancer-causing compound, and more.

According to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, potentially high levels of a cancer-causing compound have been found in mint and menthol flavored e-cigaretteliquids and smokeless tobacco products.

Between 2010 and 2013, nearly 100 U.S. women’s health clinics closed due to state restrictions placed on reproductive services. Because of this, researchers have observed adverse effects on women’s health, including decreased screening, increased stage at presentation, and higher mortality from cervical cancer, according to data presented at the 2019 ASTRO Annual Meeting and published in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology.

The FDA expanded the approval of Erleada®(apalutamide) to include the treatment of men with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer. The oral androgen receptor inhibitor was previously approved to treat non-metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

The FDA granted accelerated approval to Lenvima®(lenvatinib) plus Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) for the treatment advanced endometrial carcinoma that is not microsatellite instability-high or mismatch repair deficient in patients whose disease has progressed following prior systemic therapy but are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation.

The FDA warned that some heartburn drugs, including Zantac® (ranitidine), contain low levels of N-nitrosodimethylamine, a nitrosamine impurity that is classified as a probable human carcinogen that could cause cancer.

In case you missed it, more hem/onc headlines are featured below:

• FDA Warns That Several Breast Cancer Drugs Lead to Lung Inflammation
• Erleada vs. Xtandi: A Comparison of Prostate Cancer Drugs
• Most Americans Are Unaware that HPV Causes Cancer
• Google’s AI Detects 26 Skin Diseases with Accuracy Comparable to Dermatologists
• Study Supports Use of Psoriasis Drugs in Treating Bone Cancer