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Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Toripalimab Plus Chemotherapy May Improve Event-Free Survival in Resectable Stage III NSCLC

An interim analysis of the Neotorch study highlighted the potential of immunotherapy for the treatment of early-stage non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to data presented by Lu et al during the ASCO Plenary Series: April 2023 Session (Abstract 425126). The findings showed a significant...

Lymphoma
Immunotherapy

Sugemalimab in Relapsed or Refractory Extranodal Natural Killer/T-Cell Lymphoma

In a Chinese phase II study (GEMSTONE-201) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Huang et al found that the PD-L1 inhibitor sugemalimab produced durable responses in patients with relapsed or refractory extranodal natural killer/T-cell lymphoma. Study Details In the multicenter trial, 78...

Kidney Cancer
Immunotherapy

Novel CAR T-Cell Therapy Under Study in Metastatic Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

Treatment with the allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy ALLO-316 resulted in encouraging response rates and disease control rates for patients with metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma who did not respond to prior therapy, according to new findings presented by Srour et...

Lymphoma
Immunotherapy

FDA Approves Polatuzumab Vedotin-piiq Plus R-CHP for Previously Untreated DLBCL–Not Otherwise Specified and High-Grade B-Cell Lymphoma

On April 19, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the antibody-drug conjugate polatuzumab vedotin-piiq (Polivy) with a rituximab product, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (R-CHP) for previously untreated adult patients who have diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)–not...

Bladder Cancer
Immunotherapy

Immune Checkpoint Inhibition and Long-Term Survival in Patients With Metastatic Urothelial Cancer

In an analysis reported in JAMA Network Open, Zhu et al found that immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment did not appear to be associated with long-term survival in patients with metastatic urothelial cancer. Study Details The analysis included data from six trials of pembrolizumab, avelumab, and...

Multiple Myeloma
Immunotherapy

Bispecific Antibody REGN5459 Shows Activity in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

Although the 5-year relative survival rate for multiple myeloma is improving—up from 34.6% in 1998 to 53.9% in 2016—due to the approval of more effective therapies, multiple myeloma remains incurable, and new treatment options are needed, especially in the relapsed/refractory setting. A small phase ...

Hepatobiliary Cancer
Immunotherapy

IMbrave050: Recurrence-Free Survival With Adjuvant Atezolizumab Plus Bevacizumab for HCC

Adjuvant therapy with atezolizumab and bevacizumab improved recurrence-free survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following surgical resection or ablation, according to results from the phase III IMbrave050 clinical trial, which were presented by Chow et al at the American...

Skin Cancer
Immunotherapy

Single-Agent Pembrolizumab May Benefit Patients With Advanced Desmoplastic Melanoma

Monotherapy with pembrolizumab led to clinical responses in 89% of patients with unresectable metastatic desmoplastic melanoma, according to results from the phase II S1512 clinical trial presented by Kendra et al at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2023 (Abstract...

Skin Cancer
Immunotherapy

Personalized mRNA-Based Cancer Vaccine Plus Pembrolizumab for High-Risk Melanoma

mRNA-4157/V940, a personalized mRNA-based cancer vaccine, in combination with the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab improved recurrence-free survival compared with pembrolizumab alone in patients with high-risk melanoma, and clinical benefit was observed regardless of tumor mutational...

Hepatobiliary Cancer
Immunotherapy

First-Line Pembrolizumab Plus Gemcitabine/Cisplatin May Improve Overall Survival in Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer

The addition of pembrolizumab to gemcitabine and cisplatin improved overall survival in patients with untreated metastatic or unresectable biliary tract cancer, according to results from the phase III KEYNOTE-966 clinical trial, which were presented by Robin Katie Kelley, MD, and colleagues at the...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Neoadjuvant Durvalumab Plus Chemotherapy Followed by Adjuvant Durvalumab in Patients With Resectable NSCLC: AEGEAN Trial

Treatment-naive patients with resectable non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received neoadjuvant durvalumab plus chemotherapy and adjuvant durvalumab monotherapy had improved event-free survival and pathologic complete response compared with those who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy alone,...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Pragmatica-Lung Trial Begins Enrolling Patients With NSCLC Who Did Not Respond to Previous Therapy

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) announced that it has helped launch the randomized phase III Pragmatica-Lung trial examining the efficacy of ramucirumab plus pembrolizumab in treating patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The new study is one of the first NCI-supported...

Head and Neck Cancer
Immunotherapy

Addition of Ipilimumab to Nivolumab in Recurrent or Metastatic Head and Neck Cancer

As reported in JAMA Oncology by Kevin J. Harrington, MBBS, PhD, and colleagues, the phase II CheckMate 714 trial has shown that the addition of ipilimumab to nivolumab did not improve objective response rate as first-line treatment in patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of ...

Solid Tumors
Immunotherapy

GD2-CAR T Cells for Relapsed or Refractory High-Risk Neuroblastoma

In a single-institution Italian phase I/II trial reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Del Bufalo et al found that treatment with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting the disialoganglioside GD2 expressed on tumor cells (GD2-CART01) produced responses in pediatric patients...

Skin Cancer
Immunotherapy

Prior CTLA-4 Inhibition May Influence Response to PD-1 Inhibitors in Patients With Advanced Melanoma

Researchers have found that responses to PD-1 inhibitor treatment in patients with advanced melanoma may depend on whether they had received previous treatment with CTLA-4 inhibitors, according to a new study published by Campbell et al in Cancer Cell. “In our large set of data, features that have...

Gynecologic Cancers
Immunotherapy

T-DXd in HER2-Expressing Advanced or Recurrent Uterine Carcinosarcoma

In a Japanese phase II trial (STATICE) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Nishikawa et al found that fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) showed activity in patients with HER2-expressing advanced or recurrent uterine carcinosarcoma. Study Details In the multicenter trial, 32 evaluable ...

Breast Cancer
Immunotherapy

Summing It Up: Neoadjuvant Therapy in Triple-Negative Disease

Here is how Dr. Sharma summed up the current state of neoadjuvant therapy in triple-negative breast cancer: The addition of an immune checkpoint inhibitor to neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves long-term outcomes. This strategy can produce a modest improvement in pathologic complete response and a...

Breast Cancer
Immunotherapy

Early-Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Optimizing Therapy

The management of early-stage triple-negative breast cancer has been evolving at a fast pace, thanks largely to the discovery that immune checkpoint blockade can be effective in this subtype. At the 2023 Miami Breast Cancer Conference, Priyanka Sharma, MD, Professor of Medicine, University of...

Hematologic Malignancies
Immunotherapy

Interferon Alfa-2b May Substantially Increase Survival in Patients With Lymphomatoid Granulomatosis

Researchers have demonstrated that patients with low-grade lymphomatoid granulomatosis who were treated with the immunotherapy interferon alfa-2b may survive for a median of 20 years after diagnosis, according to a novel study published by Melani et al in The Lancet Haematology. The findings...

immunotherapy

Jordan McPherson, PharmD, MS, BCOP, on Managing Immunotherapy-Related Toxicities

Jordan McPherson, PharmD, MS, BCOP, of the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, summarizes a case-based panel discussion on best practices in caring for patients with immune-related adverse events. He focuses on pneumonitis, which can occur with immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy, detailing factors such as comorbidities, infectious etiology, and disease progression; the need to consider myositis and myasthenia gravis in patients who develop immune-related myocarditis; and oral toxicities including mucositis and sicca syndrome.

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Addition of Toripalimab to Definitive Chemoradiotherapy in Locally Advanced Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

In a Chinese single-center phase II trial (EC-CRT-001) reported in The Lancet Oncology, Zhu et al found that the addition of the PD-1 inhibitor toripalimab to definitive chemoradiotherapy resulted in “encouraging activity and acceptable toxicity” in patients with locally advanced esophageal...

Bladder Cancer
Immunotherapy

FDA Grants Accelerated Approval to Enfortumab Vedotin-ejfv/Pembrolizumab for Locally Advanced or Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma

On April 3, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to the antibody-drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin-ejfv (Padcev) in combination with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who are...

Immunotherapy

Initiative for Managing Adverse Events of Immunotherapy Leads to Clinical Practice Changes at MD Anderson

The inaugural MD Anderson Clinical Education Symposium on Immunotherapy Toxicity Management (IOTOX) welcomed more than 250 international attendees, both virtually and in person at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston on December 3, 2022. The symposium focused on bringing the ...

gastroesophageal cancer
immunotherapy

Michael K. Gibson, MD, PhD, on Metastatic Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: New First-Line Systemic Treatment Options

Michael K. Gibson, MD, PhD, of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, discusses the importance of developing additional treatment strategies for patients with advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and describes the role of immune checkpoint inhibitors. Dr. Gibson also reviews the available evidence on the use of nivolumab in this patient population.

Lung Cancer
Genomics/Genetics
Immunotherapy

ELCC 2023: New Data on Amivantamab-vmjw in Patients With Advanced NSCLC and EGFR Exon 20 Insertion Mutations

New long-term data from the CHRYSALIS study evaluating amivantamab-vmjw in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and EGFR exon 20 insertion mutations whose disease progressed on prior platinum-based chemotherapy were presented by Lopez et al at the 2023 European Lung Cancer...

Symptom Management
Hematologic Malignancies
Immunotherapy

CAR T-Cell Therapy May Improve Quality of Life of Patients With Hematologic Malignancies

Patients with hematologic malignancies may experience a significant improvement in their reported quality of life 6 months after receiving chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, according to a new study published by Johnson et al in Blood Advances. Background Although CAR T-cell therapy...

Skin Cancer
Immunotherapy

Nivolumab Injected Directly Into Spinal Fluid May Be Safe and Effective for Some Patients With Melanoma Who Have Leptomeningeal Disease

Researchers have found that a novel approach to administer intrathecal and intravenous nivolumab has proven safe and improved survival in a subset of patients who developed leptomeningeal disease from metastatic melanoma, according to a new study published by Glitza Olivia et al in Nature ...

Bladder Cancer
Immunotherapy
Genomics/Genetics

How Do Novel Genetic Subtypes of Urothelial Carcinoma Respond to Immune Checkpoint Blockade?

In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Sarfaty et al identified novel genetic subtypes of urothelial carcinoma exhibiting different responses to immune checkpoint blockade. Study Details In the multicenter study, whole-exome sequencing was performed on tumor specimens from 88...

Solid Tumors
Immunotherapy

FDA Grants Full Approval to Pembrolizumab for Certain Adult and Pediatric Patients With Advanced MSI-H or dMMR Solid Tumors

On March 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval to the anti–PD-1 therapy pembrolizumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic microsatellite instability–high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR) solid tumors, as...

Gynecologic Cancers
Immunotherapy

RUBY Trial: Dostarlimab Plus Carboplatin and Paclitaxel in Advanced Endometrial Cancer

Adding immunotherapy to standard chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of advanced or the first recurrence of endometrial cancer significantly improved progression-free survival compared to chemotherapy alone, according to data presented by Mansoor Raza Mirza, MD, and colleagues at the March...

Breast Cancer
Immunotherapy

ASCO Updates Guideline on Sacituzumab Govitecan-hziy in Hormone Receptor–Positive, HER2-Negative Metastatic Breast Cancer

ASCO has released a rapid recommendation update to the guideline on chemotherapy and targeted therapy for endocrine-pretreated or hormone receptor–negative metastatic breast cancer, addressing the use of sacituzumab govitecan-hziy in patients with endocrine-resistant, hormone receptor–positive,...

Breast Cancer
Immunotherapy

DESTINY-Breast03: T-DXd Improves Overall Survival vs T-DM1 in Previously Treated HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer

As reported in The Lancet by Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, of the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, and colleagues, updated results of the phase III DESTINY-Breast03 trial showed significantly improved overall survival with...

Multiple Myeloma
Immunotherapy

Idecabtagene Vicleucel vs Standard Regimens in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Paula Rodriguez-Otero, MD, PhD, of Clínica Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain, and colleagues, an interim analysis of the phase III KarMMa-3 trial has shown superior progression-free survival with the B-cell maturation antigen–directed...

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 ...

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