[U: 08.23.2024 PM -- Kamala!] A Small Disappointment, In Certain Head And Neck Cancers -- But The Lenvima® + Keytruda® Combo Has Worked Well In Others...

Well. . . given the complexities of human biological science, it is to be expected, I guess, that there would be some cancers that won't respond well to the above combo. And that is the case, it seems, this morning. Overall survival improvement is the gold standard, here. But as our graphic at right indicates, the combo is already FDA approved in certain uterine and kidney cancers.

The form of head and neck cancer that this trial "missed" on is a variant most common in Southeast Asia, though it is expected that there will be 60,000 new cases of this type in the US, by year end 2023. So it is a high burden cancer, and one well worth chasing for a cure, or at least remission. Here is the news, out of Easai this morning:

. . .Eisai's Lenvima^® [in combination with Merck's Keytruda^®] failed to show statistical significance in extending overall survival, one of the three main goals of the study, the companies said.

The companies were testing the combination for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma — a cancer that develops in the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and throat — in patients with recurrent or metastatic form of the disease and whose tumors contain a protein called PD-L1.

This type of cancer is especially common in parts of Southeast Asia, and the companies estimate it to lead to more than 66,000 new diagnoses in the United States this year. . . .

Now you know. Onward, with about 25 degree cooler temps here today, as a Canadian front falls on us (35, if one considers heat index figures -- far less humid now!). A welcome relief, indeed. Smile. . . as ever, be excellent to one another.

नमस्ते