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Gynecologic Cancers
Immunotherapy

Regular Approval for Dostarlimab-gxly in dMMR Recurrent or Advanced Endometrial Cancer

On February 9, 2023, dostarlimab-gxly was granted regular approval for adults with mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) recurrent or advanced endometrial cancer, as determined by a U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved test, whose disease has progressed on or following a prior platinum-containing...

Bladder Cancer
Immunotherapy

Expert Point of View: Xin Gao, MD

Xin Gao, MD, Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School, Genitourinary Cancers Program, Mass General Cancer Center, commented on the results from TROPHY-U-01 cohort 2. “These data add to the overall data on the efficacy of sacituzumab govitecan in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer. This...

Bladder Cancer
Immunotherapy

Sacituzumab Govitecan-hziy Achieves Response After Disease Progression on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor in Metastatic Urothelial Cancer

Treatment with the antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan-hziy achieved an objective response rate of 32% in platinum-ineligible patients with metastatic urothelial cancer who experienced disease progression on an immune checkpoint inhibitor, according to the primary analysis of the...

Lymphoma
Immunotherapy

Pembrolizumab Plus Ifosfamide, Carboplatin, and Etoposide in Relapsed or Refractory Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

In a phase II trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Locke J. Bryan, MD, and colleagues found that the combination of pembrolizumab with ICE chemotherapy (a regimen including ifosfamide, carboplatin, and etoposide) produced a high rate of complete response in patients with relapsed or refractory...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Neoadjuvant Dual Immunotherapy Plus Chemotherapy Improves Patient Outcomes in Operable Lung Cancer

In the phase II NEOSTAR trial, adding ipilimumab to a neoadjuvant combination of nivolumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy resulted in a major pathologic response in half of all treated patients with early-stage, resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). New findings from the NEOSTAR study,...

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Elizabeth Smyth, MD, Offers Insight on KEYNOTE-859 Findings

The invited discussant of KEYNOTE-859,1 Elizabeth Smyth, MD, consultant in gastrointestinal oncology at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom, called the findings “practice-changing” but cautioned that better patient selection is needed to optimally apply them....

Immunotherapy
Gastrointestinal Cancer

KEYNOTE-859 Interim Analysis: Overall Survival Benefit for First-Line Pembrolizumab in Advanced Gastric Cancer

Results of the interim analysis of KEYNOTE-859 are in, and they confirm the overall survival benefit of first-line immunotherapy plus chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer.1 Pembrolizumab plus a fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing doublet provided a statistically significant improvement in...

Bladder Cancer
Immunotherapy

Nivolumab Followed by Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Boosting in Nonresponders Among Previously Treated Patients With Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma

In a German-Austrian phase II study (TITAN-TCC) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Grimm et al found that a strategy of nivolumab monotherapy followed by immunotherapeutic boosting including high-dose ipilimumab in nivolumab nonresponders showed activity in patients with unresectable or metastatic...

Immunotherapy
Geriatric Oncology

Antibiotic Exposure Before Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Treatment and Overall Survival in Older Patients With Cancer

In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Eng et al found that exposure to antibiotics within 1 year of starting immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy was associated with poorer survival among patients with cancer who were aged 65 years and older. Study Details The population-based...

Pancreatic Cancer
Immunotherapy

Chemotherapy May Alter Immune Cell Landscape in Patients With Pancreatic Cancer

Chemotherapy may affect the immune system’s ability to attack tumors in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, according to a new study published by Werba et al in Nature Communications. Background Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is hard to detect and treat, with a 5-year survival rate of ...

Skin Cancer
Immunotherapy

Neoadjuvant Plus Adjuvant vs Adjuvant Pembrolizumab in Advanced Melanoma

In the phase II SWOG Cancer Re­search Network S1801 trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Sapna P. Patel, MD, and colleagues found that neoadjuvant plus adjuvant pembrolizumab significantly improved event-free survival vs adjuvant pembrolizumab alone in patients with stage IIIB to...

Lymphoma
Immunotherapy

Axicabtagene Ciloleucel in Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma: 5-Year Results of the ZUMA-1 Trial

As reported in the journal Blood by Sattva S. Neelapu, MD, and colleagues, 5-year outcomes from the the phase II ZUMA-1 trial showed that axicabtagene ciloleucel was associated with maintained response in one-third of patients with refractory large B-cell lymphoma. The estimated 5-year overall...

Colorectal Cancer
Immunotherapy

First-Line Pembrolizumab in Older Patients With dMMR Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

In a retrospective cohort study reported in JAMA Network Open, Saberzadeh-Ardestani et al found that first-line pembrolizumab was associated with clinically significant prolongation of survival outcomes in mostly older patients with mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) metastatic colorectal cancer....

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Addition of Pembrolizumab to Pemetrexed/Platinum in the First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Nonsquamous NSCLC: 5-Year Outcomes in the KEYNOTE-189 Study

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Marina C. Garassino, MD, and colleagues, 5-year follow-up in the phase III KEYNOTE-189 trial has shown maintained progression-free and overall survival benefits with the addition of pembrolizumab to pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy in the...

Immunotherapy
Cost of Care
Palliative Care

Immunotherapy Costs May Drive Increase in Medicare Spending for Outpatient End-of-Life Cancer Care

Researchers have discovered that recent increases in Medicare spending on outpatient end-of-life cancer care may have been driven almost entirely by costs associated with immunotherapy, which is given to fewer than one in five patients, according to a new study published by Mantz et al in the...

Immunotherapy
Supportive Care

Combination Abatacept, Ruxolitinib, and/or Mechanical Ventilation May Decrease Mortality in Patients With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor–Associated Cardiotoxicity

Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have substantially improved clinical outcomes in many cancer types, they have also been found to induce immune-related adverse events, including myocarditis, in about 1% of patients receiving the agents, which can lead to a mortality rate of up to 50%. Current...

Skin Cancer
Immunotherapy

Mediterranean Diet and Immune Checkpoint Blockade Outcomes in Advanced Melanoma

In the PRIMM study reported in JAMA Oncology, Bolte et al found that consumption of a Mediterranean diet was associated with a high probability of objective response and 12-month progression-free survival among patients receiving immune checkpoint blockade treatment for advanced melanoma. As stated ...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Association of Immune-Related Adverse Events With Overall Survival in Patients Receiving Atezolizumab-Containing Therapy for Metastatic Nonsquamous NSCLC

In a pooled analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Mark A. Socinski, MD, and colleagues found that patients with nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving atezolizumab who had grade 1 or 2 immune-related adverse events in clinical trials had improved overall survival vs those with no...

Immunotherapy

ASCO Endorses CAP Guideline to Better Define Who Benefits From Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy

ASCO has endorsed a new guideline from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) on the use of mismatch repair (MMR) and microsatellite instability (MSI) testing, which could help oncologists more accurately identify patients who may be suitable candidates for immune checkpoint inhibitor ...

Multiple Myeloma
Immunotherapy

KarMMa-3: Idecabtagene Vicleucel vs Standard Regimens in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Rodriguez‑Otero et al, an interim analysis of the phase III KarMMa-3 trial showed superior progression-free survival with the B-cell maturation antigen–directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel) vs...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

KEYNOTE-859 Interim Analysis: Overall Survival Benefit for First-Line Pembrolizumab in Advanced Gastric Cancer

Results of the interim analysis of KEYNOTE-859 are in, and they confirm the overall survival benefit of first-line immunotherapy plus chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer. Pembrolizumab plus a fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing doublet provided a statistically significant improvement in...

Skin Cancer
Immunotherapy

Nivolumab and Relatlimab in Patients With Advanced Melanoma Progressing on Anti–PD-1/PD-L1 Therapy

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Paolo Antonio Ascierto, MD, and colleagues, the phase I/IIa RELATIVITY-020 trial part D has shown evidence of activity of the combination of nivolumab and relatlimab in patients with advanced melanoma progressing on anti–PD-1/PD-L1 therapy. Study...

Bladder Cancer
Immunotherapy

Nivolumab After Surgical Resection Improves Disease-Free Survival for Patients With High-Risk Muscle-Invasive Urothelial Carcinoma

Adjuvant therapy with the immune checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab following surgery improved disease-free survival in patients with high-risk muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma, according to new findings presented by Matthew D. Galsky, MD, FASCO, and colleagues at the 2023 ASCO Genitourinary...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Study Finds Neoadjuvant Nivolumab Led to Improved 5-Year Survival Outcomes in Patients With Resectable NSCLC

Lung cancer remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, causing nearly 2 million deaths a year. Although treatment advances in late-stage non–small lung cancer (NSCLC) are extending survival in some patients, breakthroughs for early-stage...

Lymphoma
Immunotherapy

Brexucabtagene Autoleucel in Relapsed or Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma in Standard-of-Care Practice

In an analysis from the U.S. Lymphoma CAR T Consortium reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Wang et al found that standard-of-care treatment with brexucabtagene autoleucel in relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma since its approval in this setting has been associated with response...

Leukemia
Immunotherapy

Blinatumomab Improves Survival in MRD-Negative, B-Cell ALL

The standard of care could be changing for adults with newly diagnosed BCR-ABL–negative B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who achieve measurable residual disease (MRD) negativity after induction chemotherapy. In the phase III E1910 trial by the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, an...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Addition of Pembrolizumab to Chemotherapy in First-Line Treatment of Metastatic Squamous NSCLC: 5-Year Update of KEYNOTE-407

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Silvia Novello, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the 5-year update of the phase III KEYNOTE-407 trial showed continued overall survival and progression-free survival benefit with the addition of pembrolizumab to chemotherapy in the first-line treatment of...

Head and Neck Cancer
Immunotherapy

ASCO Publishes New Guideline on Immunotherapy, Biomarker Testing in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer

A new ASCO guideline is available on the use of immunotherapy and biomarker testing for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. The guideline provides recommendations related to PD-L1 and tumor mutational burden (TMB) testing, selection of therapy in the...

Hematologic Malignancies
Immunotherapy

Carl H. June, MD, Honored With 2023 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research

The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) will award Carl H. June, MD, with the 2023 AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research during the AACR Annual Meeting 2023, taking place from April 14 to 19 in Orlando, Florida. Dr. June is the Richard W. Vague Professor in...

Breast Cancer
Immunotherapy

FDA Approves Sacituzumab Govitecan-hziy for Pretreated Patients With HR-Positive, HER2-Negative Breast Cancer

On February 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved sacituzumab govitecan-hziy (Trodelvy) for patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic, hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative (immunohistochemistry [IHC] 0, IHC 1+, or IHC 2+ with a negative in situ...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Uptake of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors and Survival Among Younger and Older Patients With Advanced NSCLC

In a U.S. cohort study reported in JAMA Oncology, Voruganti et al found that the uptake of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has been associated with “modest” improvements in overall survival, particularly among older patients. As...

Colorectal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy Combined With Targeted Therapy in Patients With BRAF V600E–Mutated Colorectal Cancer

In one of the first clinical trials combining immunotherapy and targeted therapy for patients with BRAF V600E–mutated colorectal cancer, researchers discovered that a combination regimen of dabrafenib, trametinib, and spartalizumab resulted in long-lasting responses. The study findings published by ...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

FDA Approves Pembrolizumab as Adjuvant Treatment for NSCLC

On January 26, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for adjuvant treatment following resection and platinum-based chemotherapy in patients with stage IB (T2a, ≥ 4 cm), II, or IIIA non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). KEYNOTE-091 Efficacy was evaluated in...

gastroesophageal cancer
gastrointestinal cancer
immunotherapy

Filippo Pietrantonio, MD, on Gastric or Gastroesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma: Recent Data on Treatment With Tremelimumab and Durvalumab

Filippo Pietrantonio, MD, of Italy’s Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, discusses phase II results from the INFINITY trial of tremelimumab and durvalumab as neoadjuvant treatment of patients with microsatellite instability–high (MSI) resectable gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma (GAC/GEJAC). These results open the way to investigate nonoperative management in patients with clinical, pathologic, and molecular complete response after T300/D (300 mg of tremelimumab and 1,500 mg every 4 weeks of durvalumab) (Abstract 358).

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Genomics/Genetics
Immunotherapy

Analysis of Mutations Associated With High Tumor Mutation Burden in Microsatellite-Stable Gastrointestinal Cancers

In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Wang et al identified mutations linked to high tumor mutation burden in microsatellite-stable (MSS) gastrointestinal cancers that may be associated with efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Study Details Molecular alterations in 48,606...

Immunotherapy

Cardiovascular Events Before and After Initiation of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy for Cancer

In a study reported in JACC: CardioOncology, Lavanya Kondapalli, MD, of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, and colleagues found that cardiovascular events common in the general population were observed both prior to and after the initiation of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy ...

Immunotherapy

Risks of Cardiovascular and Immune-Related Adverse Events in Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy

In a single academic hospital network retrospective case-control study reported in JACC:CardioOncology, Charlotte Lee, MD, of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, along with senior author Tomas Neilan, MD, MPH, of Massachusetts General Hospital and colleagues found that patients...

Skin Cancer
Genomics/Genetics
Immunotherapy

Study Explores the Addition of First-Line Atezolizumab in BRAF V600–Mutant Advanced Melanoma

As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Paolo A. Ascierto, MD, of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Fondazione Pascale, Naples, and colleagues, the second interim overall survival analysis of the phase III IMspire150 trial has shown a numeric but...

gastrointestinal cancer
immunotherapy

Manik A. Amin, MD, on Novel Immune Therapies in GI Cancers: What’s on the Horizon?

Manik A. Amin, MD, of Dartmouth Cancer Center, discusses the future of immunotherapy in gastrointestinal cancers, the challenges of creating effective adoptive cell therapies, and the next generation of immune checkpoint inhibitors.

hepatobiliary cancer
immunotherapy

Richard S. Finn, MD, on HCC: Tislelizumab vs Sorafenib, and Their Impact on Quality of Life

Richard S. Finn, MD, of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, discusses findings from the RATIONALE-301 study, which showed that patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with first-line tislelizumab had better health-related quality-of-life outcomes compared with those treated with sorafenib, particularly in terms of fatigue and physical functioning. These results, along with the effects on overall survival, response rate, and a favorable safety profile, support the benefit of tislelizumab as a potential first-line treatment option in this patient population (Abstract 495).

Multiple Myeloma
Immunotherapy

Real-World Use of Idecabtagene Vicleucel for Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

In a retrospective study of the real-world use of idecabtagene vicleucel reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Hansen et al found that response rates and toxicity in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma were comparable to those in the pivotal phase II KarMMa trial; the...

Colorectal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Combination of Botensilimab and Balstilimab Shows Activity in Patients With Metastatic Microsatellite-Stable Colorectal Cancer

A combination of the next-generation immunotherapies botensilimab and balstilimab showed clinical activity in treating patients with refractory metastatic microsatellite-stable (MSS) colorectal cancer, according to new findings presented by El-Khoueiry et al at the 2023 ASCO Gastrointestinal...

Hepatobiliary Cancer
Immunotherapy

Tremelimumab-actl in Combination With Durvalumab for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma

On October 21, 2022, tremelimu-mab-actl was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in combination with durvalumab in the treatment of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on a comparison of overall survival in the...

Solid Tumors
Immunotherapy

Neoadjuvant Pembrolizumab in Localized MSI-H/dMMR Solid Tumors

In a single-center phase II trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Ludford et al found that neoadjuvant pembrolizumab produced a high pathologic complete response rate and radiographic objective response rate in patients with localized microsatellite instability–high/mismatch...

Leukemia
Immunotherapy

Blinatumomab Improves Survival in MRD-Negative, B-Cell ALL

The standard of care could be changing for adults with newly diagnosed BCR-ABL–negative B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who achieve measurable residual disease (MRD) negativity after induction chemotherapy. In the phase III E1910 trial by the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, an...

Colorectal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in Patients With Localized dMMR Colorectal Cancer

Investigators discovered that PD-1 inhibition prior to surgery may be effective for patients with localized mismatch repair–deficient or microsatellite instability–high (dMMR/MSI-H) colorectal cancer, according to a study published by Xiao et al in JNCCN–Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer ...

Solid Tumors
Sarcoma
Immunotherapy

Novel Therapy Afamitresgene Autoleucel Shows Early Potential for Antitumor Activity

The adoptive T-cell receptor therapy afamitresgene autoleucel—which targets the MAGE-A4 cancer antigen—achieved clinically significant results for patients with multiple solid tumor types in a phase I clinical trial, according to a novel study published by Hong et al in Nature Medicine. Initial...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

First-Line Atezolizumab Plus Bevacizumab in Metastatic Nonsquamous NSCLC With High Tumor Mutation Burden

In a Spanish phase II trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Mariano Provencio, MD, PhD, and colleagues found that the combination of atezolizumab and bevacizumab was active in the first-line treatment of patients with metastatic nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with high tumor mutation...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

New AI-Based Biomarker May Help Predict Immunotherapy Response for Patients With NSCLC

Researchers have discovered a new artificial intelligence (AI)-derived biomarker that uses routine imaging scans to help predict which patients with non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) will respond to immunotherapy, according to a novel study published by Alilou et al in Science Advances. The...

Hepatobiliary Cancer
Immunotherapy

KEYNOTE-394: Pembrolizumab as Second-Line Therapy in Asian Patients With Advanced HCC

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Qin et al, the phase III KEYNOTE-394 trial showed overall and progression-free survival benefits with pembrolizumab vs placebo in previously treated Asian patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Study Details The double-blind trial...

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