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At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024, the Eyes to the Future Presidential Symposium showcased innovative approaches in personalized medicine, immunotherapy resistance, and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven pathology analysis. These presentations, focusing on the...
Presurgical treatment with the novel drug vidutolimod and the PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab may improve tumor control in patients with stage III cutaneous melanoma, according to a recent study published by Davar et al in Cancer Cell. The findings provided insights that could help advance...
Using computational tools, researchers have developed a novel method to assess which patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer may benefit from immunotherapy, according to a recent study published by Arulraj et al in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)....
A newly described stage of lymph node–like structures, known as tertiary lymphoid structures, identified in hepatic tumors following presurgical immunotherapy may be vital to successfully treating patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Shu et al in Nature...
Researchers have demonstrated that anti–PD-L1 immunotherapy combined with mutation-directed targeted therapy may improve overall survival in patients with anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, according to a recent study published by Cabanillas et al in JAMA Oncology. Background Anaplastic thyroid...
Researchers have found that the combination of nivolumab plus doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (AVD) may reduce the risk of cancer progression and mortality in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma compared with standard treatment, according to a recent study published by Herrera et al in The New ...
Consolidation therapy with the PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab is set to become the new global standard of care for patients with limited-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC), according to groundbreaking data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024.1...
In the final per-protocol analysis of the phase III KEYNOTE-811 trial, an overall survival benefit was shown by adding the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab to trastuzumab and chemotherapy in treatment-naive, unresectable, HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.1...
For women with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer, KEYNOTE-522 changed the treatment paradigm several years ago. Support for neoadjuvant use of the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy, followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab, was bolstered by the positive overall survival analysis...
A novel cell therapy targeting CD7 on leukemia cells may provide an effective treatment option for patients with refractory T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to a recent study published by Oh et al in Nature Medicine. The findings highlighted the effectiveness of a new chimeric...
Deintensified treatment involving a lower radiation dose and immunotherapy in place of chemotherapy may not perform as well as a more rigorous chemoradiation treatment approach in patients with early-stage human papillomavirus (HPV)-associated oropharyngeal cancer, according to new findings...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Ahn et al, the phase III TROPION-Lung01 trial showed significantly improved progression-free survival—but not overall survival—with the TROP2-directed antibody-drug conjugate datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd) vs docetaxel in patients with...
As reported in The Lancet by Lorusso et al, overall survival results from the phase III ENGOT-cx11/GOG-3047/KEYNOTE-A18 trial indicated a significant benefit of pembrolizumab vs placebo with concurrent chemoradiotherapy followed by pembrolizumab vs placebo in patients with newly diagnosed,...
Treatment with the immunotherapy agent pembrolizumab may nearly double the length that patients with high-risk, muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma are cancer free following surgical removal of the bladder, according to a recent study published by Apolo et al in The New England Journal of...
Black patients with triple-negative breast cancer may receive immunotherapy at lower rates than White patients, according to new findings presented by Freeman et al at the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic...
Researchers have found that about 50% of patients with metastatic melanoma treated with a combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab experienced cancer-free survival of 10 years or longer, according to a recent study published by Wolchok et al in The New England Journal of Medicine. Background In...
In a study reported in JAMA Oncology, Ruiz-Esteves et al identified risks for immune checkpoint inhibitor–induced diabetes in patients with cancer. Study Details The retrospective cohort study involved data from 14,328 adult patients with cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors in the Mass ...
On September 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy as first-line treatment of unresectable advanced or metastatic malignant pleural mesothelioma. Efficacy and Safety Efficacy was investigated in KEYNOTE-483...
The results of numerous large international studies reported at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 showed that immunotherapy improves long-term overall survival in patients with a variety of cancer types, including advanced melanoma,1,2 triple-negative breast cancer,3...
Although chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has transformed treatment for patients with relapsed and refractory blood cancers, it can also cause an array of immune-related adverse events, including cytokine-release syndrome, immune effector cell–associated neurotoxicity syndrome, and...
Researchers may have uncovered a metabolic pathway that could lead to the development of predictive biomarkers for immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to new findings presented by Kulasinghe et al at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2024 World Conference on...
Researchers have explored whether an artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool could help to detect immune-related adverse events in patients with cancer, according to a recent study published by Sun et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Background Although immune checkpoint inhibitors can...
In a study reported in JAMA Network Open, Sun et al analyzed survival outcomes with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment used in first- or second-line therapy, with treatment continuation vs discontinuation, and with treatment rechallenge in patients with recurrent or metastatic head and...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Zhao et al, meta-analyses of trials of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in patients with advanced EGFR-mutated non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) progressing on EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment indicate that the optimal treatment strategy is...
Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, FASCO, an internationally recognized pioneer in melanoma and cancer immunotherapy, died on August 19, 2024, according to an announcement from the Melanoma Research Foundation. He most recently served as Deputy Director of the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at...
In an analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Verheijden et al found that higher peak corticosteroid doses for patients with immune-related adverse events were associated with poorer outcomes in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) for solid tumors. Study Details...
Researchers may have uncovered how combination immunotherapies targeting the immune checkpoints PD-1 and LAG-3 may work together to activate immune responses in patients with melanoma, according to two recent studies published by Cillo et al and Andrews et al in Cell. The findings may shed light on ...
An activity pattern in certain genes responsible for building proteins known as spleen tyrosine kinases may predict the occurrence of severe side effects from immunotherapy in patients with melanoma, according to a recent study published by Monson et al in Clinical Cancer Research. Background...
On August 8, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved denileukin diftitox-cxdl (Lymphir), a novel immunotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) who have received at least one prior systemic therapy. Denileukin diftitox is...
The survival rates of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have improved since the introduction of the first immunotherapeutic in this population in the United States in 2015, according to a recent study published by Wang et al in Cancer. NSCLC accounts for up to 90% of all...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Arielle Elkrief, MD, and colleagues found that detection of intratumoral Escherichia was associated with improved overall survival in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving single-agent immune checkpoint inhibitor ...
Researchers may have uncovered why some patients with Merkel cell carcinoma do not respond to immune checkpoint blockade therapy, according to a recent study published by Reinstein et al in Cancer Discovery. Background Merkel cell carcinoma—a rare but highly aggressive type of skin cancer—is known...
Fecal microbiota transplants may improve the effectiveness of immunotherapy in patients with gastrointestinal cancers, according to a recent study published by Kim et al in Cell Host & Microbe. Background Although immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionized cancer treatment, many patients...
A simple blood test that measures lymphocyte counts may predict whether patients with relapsed multiple myeloma are going to respond well to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy, according to research published by Saldarriaga et al in Blood Advances. The study found that patients...
Two hallmark toxicities of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy may be rare after 2 weeks following infusion in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), supporting a shorter, more flexible toxicity monitoring period., according to a recent study published by Ahmed et al in...
In a retrospective study reported in JAMA Oncology, Fulgenzi et al found evidence that immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based treatment may improve survival vs best supportive care as first-line therapy in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma and Child-Pugh class B (CP-B) liver...
In a Chinese phase II trial (TORCH) reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Xia et al found that integration of the PD-1 inhibitor toripalimab into total neoadjuvant therapy was associated with good outcomes in patients with mismatch repair–proficient or microsatellite-stable (pMMR/MSS)...
The results of a retrospective multicohort study, reported in The Lancet Oncology by Wan et al, suggested that the identification of the immune-related adverse event cluster to which a patient belongs may aid in prognosticating response to immunotherapy. “These insights can be leveraged to counsel...
Heather McArthur, MD, MPH, talks about immunotherapy for high-risk, early-stage breast cancer. Dr. McArthur is Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Director of the Breast Cancer Program at Simmons Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Houston. She presented her talk at the Annual International Congress on the Future of Breast Cancer West.
In a single-center phase I trial reported in The Lancet, Frank et al found that CD22-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy (CAR22) showed activity in patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) whose disease progressed on CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy (CAR19). CD22 is a nearly...
Cobimetinib and atezolizumab administered prior to surgery eliminated or shrunk tumors in 70% of patients with melanoma enrolled in the NeoACTIVATE trial. Results were published by Hieken et al in Nature Communications. Background Melanoma of the skin is the fifth most common cancer type in the...
A novel personalized cellular immunotherapy approach may be effective at treating certain patients with metastatic solid tumors, according to early findings from a recent study published by Parkhurst et al in Nature Medicine. Background Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has already...
In a Dutch single-center phase I/II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, van ‘t Land et al found that adjuvant autologous dendritic cell vaccination was associated with promising recurrence-free survival in patients who had undergone resection and standard-of-care treatments for...
On November 16, 2023, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was approved with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy for first-line treatment of locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-negative gastric or gastroesophageal junction (GEJ) adenocarcinoma.1 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval ...
A novel “armored” chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell appears to be feasible for retreatment of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who fail to respond to standard CAR T-cell therapy, according to preliminary results of a phase I trial presented at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting.1 The unique...
In a single-center study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Hamilton et al found that second tumors had occurred in 25 of 724 patients during 15 months of follow-up after receipt of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, including one fatal case of T-cell lymphoma. The study...
The highly anticipated ENGOT-en9/LEAP-001 trial in endometrial cancer has missed both its primary endpoints. At the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO) 2024 Annual Meeting on Women’s Cancer, the study investigators reported no significant benefit in progression-free survival or overall survival...
Results of the phase III NADINA trial support a new standard of care for the treatment of resectable macroscopic stage III melanoma. Treatment with preoperative ipilimumab plus nivolumab followed by total lymph node dissection, with adjuvant therapy guided by depth of response, led to a highly...
The PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab may offer benefit in patients with soft-tissue sarcoma, according to recent findings presented by Mowery et al at the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting (Abstract 11504). Background Soft-tissue sarcoma is a rare type of cancer affecting muscles, fat, and other connective...
Researchers examined whether the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab given neoadjuvantly may improve outcomes in certain patients with stage II or III mismatch repair–deficient/microsatellite instability–high colorectal cancer. Interim findings from the phase II NEOPRISM-CRC clinical trial were presented...