The top tweets are based on total engagements (likes and retweets) received on tweets from more than 150 oncology experts tracked by GlobalData’s Pharmaceuticals Influencer platform during the third quarter (Q3) of 2021.

The most popular tweets on oncology in Q3 2021: Top five

1. Dr. Toni K. Choueiri’s tweet on FDA approval of belzutifan for cancers associated with von Hippel-Lindau disease

Dr. Toni K. Choueiri, director of the Lank Center for Genitourinary (GU) Oncology at Dana-Farber Brigham Cancer Center, tweeted on the US Food and Drug Association (FDA) approving belzutifan for treating cancers associated with the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) disease. The oral drug is approved for adult patients who are undergoing treatment for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), pancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (pNET) or central nervous system (CNS) hemangioblastomas, and do not require urgent surgery.

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The safety and effectiveness of the drug was established in an ongoing Phase I study that enrolled 61 patients with VHL-associated RCC. The findings revealed that the drug induced a 49% objective response rate (ORR) in the patients. The study also found that patients with pNETs reported an ORR of 83%, while those with CNS hemangioblastoma reported an ORR of 63%.

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Username: Toni Choueiri, MD

Twitter handle: @DrChoueiri

Likes: 224

Retweets: 82

2. Vincent Rajkumar’s tweet on acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) treatment algorithms

Vincent Rajkumar, oncologist and professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic, shared an article on current treatment algorithms and ways to manage APL, a subtype of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). APL accounts for 10%-15% of the AML diagnosed cases with approximately 800 patients in the US being diagnosed with the disease a year, the article detailed.

The condition is characterised by severe bleeding, abnormal white blood count (WBC) levels, low platelets, and coagulopathy that requires early diagnosis and treatment. Most of the deaths related to APL occurred in the first month of diagnosis, the article highlighted.

The development of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), arsenic trioxide (ATO), and chemotherapy combinations have transformed APL into a highly curable cancer, the article added. Oral arsenic formulations that are currently approved in China and are highly bioavailable should also be considered in patients with APL and need to be developed further in the US and Europe, according to the article.

Username: Vincent Rajkumar

Twitter handle: @VincentRK

Likes: 112

Retweets: 43

3. Anirban Maitra’s tweet on extrinsic oncogenic KRAS signalling in pancreatic cancer

Anirban Maitra, a pancreatic cancer specialist and gastrointestinal pathologist, shared a study on the mechanisms causing the formation of fibroinflammatory stroma in pancreatic cancer. The study was conducted on genetically engineered mouse models where oncogenic KRAS led to cancer in the long term. The reasons behind some KRAS genes staying in an idle pre-neoplastic state and others becoming deadly invasive cancers are yet to be discovered.

The findings revealed that fibroblast reprogramming takes place during the earliest stages of carcinogenesis or cancerous forming cells and drives the tumour-promoting myeloid cells to infiltrate the pancreas. Researchers believe that the reprogramming of fibroblasts during carcinogenesis should be examined to prevent or reverse KRAS-driven carcinogenesis, the article noted.

The study also found that the inactivation of oncogenic KRAS did not impact the number of myeloid cells in the pancreas, but the cells revealed a significant change in polarisation of tumour-promoting macrophages, the article detailed.

Username: Anirban Maitra

Twitter handle: @Aiims1742

Likes: 108

Retweets: 46

4. Stephen V Liu’s tweet on FDA approval of EXKIVITY for treating metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Stephen V Liu, an associate professor of medicine at Georgetown University, shared an article on the US FDA approving the EXKIVITY (mobocertinib) oral therapy for treating locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC in adult patients. The drug was developed by Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda Pharmaceutical and is the first and the only approved oral therapy that targets the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) Exon20 insertion mutations.

The drug can be administered to patients whose disease has progressed either during or after platinum-based chemotherapy, the article detailed. The FDA granted approval based on the findings from a phase I/II trial that recruited 114 NSCLC patients with EGFR Exon20 insertion mutations. The study showed a confirmed duration of response (DoR) of 28% and a median DoR of 17.5 months.

The FDA also approved medical device company Thermo Fisher Scientific’s Oncomine Dx Target Test as the next-generation sequencing (NGS) companion diagnostic for EXKIVITY to identify patients with EGFR Exon20 insertions. NGS testing is regarded as crucial in these patients as it helps in accurate diagnosis compared to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, which detects less than half of EGFR Exon20 insertions, the article detailed.

Username: Stephen V Liu

Twitter handle: @StephenVLiu

Likes: 102

Retweets: 41

5. Jean-Charles Soria’s tweet on the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of tumour infiltrating T cells being predictive for cancer survival

Jean-Charles Soria, professor of medicine and medical oncology at South-Paris University, shared an article on whether the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire of tumour infiltrating T lymphocytes cells (TIL/Tc) can predict and diagnose cancer survival. Tumour infiltration by T cells is important for successful anti-cancer immune responses, the article detailed.

A study evaluated the pre-treatment biopsies of 16 patients suffering from metastatic melanoma and having received anti-programmed death 1(PD1) drugs in Manchester, Padova, and Meldola, to understand how the TCR repertoire of TIL/Tc influenced PD1 check point blockage (CPB) outcome.

The research found better overall survival (OS) of the patients and reduced death risks linked to high TCR clonality in pre-treatment tumour samples. The findings were validated by comparing with published data on 106 patients suffering from metastatic melanoma, who underwent biopsy before PD1 treatment and reported better OS related to higher TIL/Tc TCR clonality, the article noted.

Username: soria

Twitter handle: @jsoriamd

Likes: 78

Retweets: 32