Advertisement

Advertisement

gynecologic cancers
immunotherapy

Amir A. Jazaeri, MD, on Metastatic Cervical Cancer: The Role of Immunotherapy

Amir A. Jazaeri, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses data on the safety and efficacy of adoptive cell transfer using autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (LN-145) to treat patients with recurrent, metastatic, or persistent cervical carcinoma whose tumors have progressed on prior systemic therapy (ID # 10224).

gynecologic cancers
immunotherapy

Dana M. Roque, MD, on Ovarian, Fallopian Tube, and Peritoneal Cancers: Possible New Therapeutic Option for Heavily Pretreated Disease

Dana M. Roque, MD, of the University of Maryland Medical Center, discusses phase II results showing that weekly ixabepilone plus biweekly bevacizumab may improve overall response rate as well as progression-free and overall survival for women with platinum-resistant or -refractory ovarian, fallopian tube, and primary peritoneal cancers, a population in need of treatment choices.

Lymphoma
Immunotherapy

Challenges in Managing Hodgkin Lymphoma: Focus on Use of Brentuximab Vedotin

“I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy.” —Marie Curie To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are two abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Next Up in NSCLC: Antibody-Drug Conjugates

Antibody-drug conjugates directed against HER2, HER3, and trophoblast cell-surface antigen 2 (TROP2) are showing encouraging antitumor activity in advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to research presented during the virtual edition of the International Association for the Study...

Kidney Cancer
Immunotherapy

Nivolumab Plus Cabozantinib as First-Line Treatment of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma

On January 22, 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the combination of nivolumab and cabozantinib as first-line treatment for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma.1-3 Supporting Efficacy Data Approval was based on the findings of the phase III, open-label CheckMate 9ER trial...

Immunotherapy
Issues in Oncology

Cardiovascular Risks Associated With Checkpoint Inhibitors and CAR T-Cell Therapy

In just a few years, immunotherapy has risen to become a pillar of cancer care, leading to significantly improved response rates and even cures in previously intractable diseases. Leveraging the immune system to treat cancer, however, also increases the potential for serious off-target effects....

Bladder Cancer
Immunotherapy

Adjuvant Atezolizumab in Muscle-Invasive Urothelial Carcinoma: IMvigor010

As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Joaquim Bellmunt, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III IMvigor010 trial showed no improvement in disease-free survival with adjuvant atezolizumab vs observation in patients with muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma. Study Details In the open-label trial, 809...

multiple myeloma
immunotherapy

Shaji K. Kumar, MD, on Multiple Myeloma: NCCN Guidelines Update

Shaji K. Kumar, MD, of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, discusses the latest data on treating patients with multiple myeloma, including standard-of-care induction before stem cell transplant; the role of quadruplet induction; long-term results with the combination of daratumumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone in those who are ineligible for stem cell transplant; CAR T-cell engagers; and the need for more research on how immunotherapy fits in the sequence of treatments.

Myelodysplastic Syndromes
Immunotherapy

Identification of Genomic Subgroups of Patients With Myelodysplastic Syndromes: New Prognostic Modeling

In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Bersanelli et al reported that researchers in the EuroMDS Project found that patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) could be classified into eight distinct subtypes based on genomic characteristics. They also developed a new prognostic ...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Immunotherapy

FDA Approves Pembrolizumab Combination for Advanced Esophageal or Gastroesophageal Junction Carcinoma

On March 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with platinum and fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy for patients with metastatic or locally advanced esophageal or gastroesophageal junction (tumors with epicenter 1–5 cm above the...

gynecologic cancers
immunotherapy

Emily Hinchcliff, MD, MPH, on Treating Non–Clear Cell Ovarian Cancer With Durvalumab and Tremelimumab

Emily Hinchcliff, MD, MPH, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses phase II results of durvalumab (anti–PD-L1) and tremelimumab (anti–CTLA-4) administered in combination vs sequentially for the treatment of recurrent platinum-resistant non–clear cell ovarian cancer (ID #10240).

Gynecologic Cancers
Immunotherapy

Niraparib Plus Bevacizumab Shows Clinical Benefit in Patients With Advanced Ovarian Cancer

The addition of niraparib maintenance to first-line platinum-based chemotherapy with bevacizumab demonstrated clinical benefit in patients with advanced ovarian cancer, according to data from the OVARIO study presented by Melissa M. Hardesty, MD, MPH, during the Society of Gynecologic Oncology...

gynecologic cancers
genomics/genetics
immunotherapy

Charles N. Landen, MD, on Newly Diagnosed Ovarian Cancer: BRCA Mutations, PD-L1 Expression, and Combination Chemoimmunotherapy

Charles N. Landen, MD, of the University of Virginia, discusses results from the first clinical trial in ovarian cancer to demonstrate that neither a BRCA1/2 mutation nor a homologous recombination deficiency improves sensitivity to a therapeutic PD-L1 blockade in patients receiving atezolizumab vs placebo combined with carboplatin, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab for newly diagnosed disease (ID #10240).

gynecologic cancers
immunotherapy

Hyun C. Chung, MD, on Pembrolizumab for Advanced Cervical Cancer: Update From KEYNOTE-158

Hyun C. Chung, MD, of Yonsei Cancer Center and Yonsei University College of Medicine, discusses phase II findings from the KEYNOTE-158 study, which support the use of pembrolizumab for patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer that has progressed on or after chemotherapy and whose tumors express PD-L1.

Gynecologic Cancers
COVID-19
Immunotherapy

Recent Chemotherapy or Immunotherapy for Gynecologic Cancer Does Not Raise Risk of Death Due to COVID-19

Although some studies show that patients with cancer have a greater risk of health complications from COVID-19, a new study has found that recent chemotherapy or immunotherapy for gynecologic cancer does not raise the risk of hospitalization or death due to COVID-19. The study results were...

Gynecologic Cancers
Immunotherapy

Pembrolizumab/Lenvatinib May Improve Survival in Advanced Endometrial Cancer

In the first report from the pivotal phase III KEYNOTE-775/Study 309 trial, the combination of lenvatinib and pembrolizumab significantly improved multiple outcomes compared to standard single-agent chemotherapy in patients with advanced, metastatic, or recurrent endometrial cancer that had...

bladder cancer
immunotherapy

Arlene O. Siefker-Radtke, MD, on Urothelial Bladder Cancer: New Settings for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Arlene O. Siefker-Radtke, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the changing therapeutic landscape in which atezolizumab, avelumab, and pembrolizumab have either been approved or are under review for treating urothelial bladder cancer in the metastatic, superficial, and adjuvant settings.

gynecologic cancers
immunotherapy

Vicky Makker, MD, on Endometrial Cancer: Lenvatinib Plus Pembrolizumab

Vicky Makker, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses phase III findings showing that lenvatinib plus pembrolizumab may improve overall and progression-free survival, as well as overall response rate, compared with treatment of physician’s choice for advanced endometrial cancer. These results were achieved regardless of mismatch repair status following platinum-based chemotherapy (ID #10191).

breast cancer
immunotherapy

William J. Gradishar, MD, on Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: NCCN Guidelines Update

William J. Gradishar, MD, of Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, discusses the latest recommendations from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network for treating patients with triple-negative breast cancer; data on early-stage and advanced disease; and the role of checkpoint inhibitors, antibody-drug conjugates, and PARP inhibitors.

Skin Cancer
Immunotherapy

Utilization and Survival Benefit of Adjuvant Immunotherapy for Resected High-Risk Stage II Melanoma

An observational study of 10,592 patients from the National Cancer Database with stage IIB/IIC melanoma who had undergone surgical resection demonstrated a significant survival advantage with immunotherapy. The research was presented by Wong et al at the Society of Surgical Oncology 2021...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy Doublet as Maintenance Therapy for Extensive-Disease SCLC

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Taofeek K. Owonikoko, MD, PhD, and colleagues, the phase III CheckMate 451 trial showed no improvement in overall survival with combined nivolumab and ipilimumab vs placebo as maintenance therapy for extensive-disease small cell lung cancer. Study ...

Breast Cancer
Immunotherapy

Pembrolizumab vs Chemotherapy in Previously Treated Patients With Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: KEYNOTE-119

As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Eric P. Winer, MD, FASCO, and colleagues, the phase III KEYNOTE-119 trial showed no significant improvement in overall survival with pembrolizumab vs investigator’s choice of chemotherapy in the second- or third-line treatment of metastatic triple-negative...

Immunotherapy
Genomics/Genetics

High Tumor Mutational Burden Predicts Immunotherapy Response in Some—but Not All—Cancers

High tumor mutational burden (TMB) was useful for predicting clinical responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors only in a subset of cancer types, according to a study published by McGrail et al in Annals of Oncology. The findings suggest that TMB status may not be reliably used as a universal...

Breast Cancer
Immunotherapy

Novel HER2-Targeted Therapies Pose Sequencing Challenges

With three new HER2-targeted therapies approved in the past 15 months alone, the treatment landscape for patients with metastatic breast cancer has become increasingly crowded. In the third-line setting and beyond, there are now at least eight HER2-targeted agents approved by the U.S. Food and Drug ...

Pancreatic Cancer
Genomics/Genetics
Immunotherapy

Lowering KRAS Activity May Lead to Improved Therapy Response in Pancreatic Cancer

If clinicians could stop mutations of the KRAS gene—which are present in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases and drastically reduce the response to immunotherapy—the chances of improving treatment for the disease would be increased. A collaborative study published by Ischenko et al in Nature...

Kidney Cancer
Immunotherapy

CheckMate 9ER: First-Line Nivolumab Plus Cabozantinib vs Sunitinib for Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma

As reported in The New England Journal of Medicine by Toni K. Choueiri, MD, and colleagues, the phase III CheckMate 9ER trial has shown that the combination of nivolumab and cabozantinib improved progression-free survival and overall survival vs sunitinib in first-line treatment of patients with...

Breast Cancer
Bladder Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Hepatobiliary Cancer
Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

FDA Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee to Review Status of Six Indications Granted Accelerated Approval

Recently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that the agency will hold a public meeting of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee on April 27 to 29 to discuss six indications granted accelerated approval that have since reported results from confirmatory trials that have not...

Kidney Cancer
Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy for Advanced Kidney Cancer: Effect of Body Mass Index

In a study reported in a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Lalani et al found that higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with better overall survival among patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma receiving anti­–PD-1/PD-L1–based immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment. No association of...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Expert Point of View: Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, FACP, FASCO, and Shinichi Toyooka, MD

The ASCO Post reached out to Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, FACP, FASCO, Chief of Medical Oncology and Associate Cancer Center Director for Translational Research at Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital, New Haven, for his thoughts on the LCMC3 trial of neoadjuvant atezolizumab.1 Dr. Herbst led...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Neoadjuvant Atezolizumab in Lung Cancer: LCMC3 Trial Meets Primary Endpoint

Neoadjuvant treatment with single-agent atezolizumab in patients with stage IB to IIIB lung cancer resulted in a major pathologic response rate of 21% and a pathologic complete response rate of 7%, in the primary analysis of the Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium 3 (LCMC3) study.1 The findings were...

Multiple Myeloma
Immunotherapy

Belantamab Mafodotin-blmf Plus Pomalidomide and Dexamethasone Elicits Responses in Myeloma

Belantamab mafodotin-blmf combined with pomalidomide and dexamethasone led to a very good partial response or better in approximately three-quarters of patients with multiple myeloma that was double-class or triple-class refractory, according to Suzanne Trudel, MSc, MD, FRCPC, of Princess Margaret...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

Expert Point of View: Rina Hui, MBBS, PhD, and Melina Marmarelis, MD

“It has been a long time coming to see a positive randomized phase III study with a checkpoint inhibitor in relapsed mesothelioma,” said the study’s invited discussant, Rina Hui, MBBS, PhD, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre, Westmead Hospital, University of Sydney,...

Lung Cancer
Immunotherapy

CONFIRM Trial Reports Improvement in Survival With Nivolumab in Relapsed Malignant Mesothelioma

For the first time, a treatment has been shown to improve overall survival in heavily pretreated patients with relapsed malignant mesothelioma. In the phase III CONFIRM trial, single-agent nivolumab led to a significant improvement in both overall and progression-free survival, according to...

Breast Cancer
Immunotherapy

Miami Breast Cancer Conference: Updated DESTINY-Breast01 Results Show Trastuzumab Deruxtecan-nxki Delivers Durable Responses

In updated results from the pivotal DESTINY-Breast01 trial, trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) demonstrated high rates of durable responses consistent with prior results, with encouraging progression-free survival and overall survival in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. These...

lung cancer
immunotherapy

Hossein Borghaei, DO, on Bispecific T-Cell–Engager Immune Therapy for Small Cell Lung Cancer

Hossein Borghaei, DO, of Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses phase I results from a study of AMG 757, an experimental bispecific T-cell–engager (BiTE) immune therapy aimed at the DLL3 molecular target in patients with small cell lung cancer. At this early stage, results show clinical efficacy and safety, with 37% of 51 evaluable patients exhibiting disease control (Abstract OA11.03).

Bladder Cancer
Immunotherapy

Atezolizumab’s Indication in Previously Treated Metastatic Bladder Cancer Is Withdrawn

Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced on March 8 that the company is voluntarily withdrawing the U.S. indication for atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in patients with prior platinum-treated metastatic urothelial carcinoma. This decision was made in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug...

Lymphoma
Immunotherapy

FDA Grants Accelerated Approval to Axicabtagene Ciloleucel for Relapsed or Refractory Follicular Lymphoma

On March 5, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval to axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta) for adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after two or more lines of systemic therapy. ZUMA-5 Approval in follicular lymphoma was based on a...

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Study Reports Little Benefit to Adding Pembrolizumab to Neoadjuvant Therapy for Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

The addition of pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy (ie, total neoadjuvant therapy) failed to improve a rectal cancer–specific surrogate for survival in patients with locally advanced disease in the phase II NRG-GI002 trial.1 As reported at the 2021 Gastrointestinal Cancers...

Multiple Myeloma
Immunotherapy

Idecabtagene Vicleucel for Heavily Pretreated Patients With Relapsed or Refractory Multiple Myeloma

In the pivotal phase II KarMMa study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Nikhil C. Munshi, MD, and colleagues found that the B-cell maturation antigen–directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy idecabtagene vicleucel produced high response rates in patients with...

Skin Cancer
Immunotherapy

Study Identifies Mechanisms Tied to Immunotherapy Resistance Among Patients With Melanoma

Researchers have created a new technique that may help to uncover mechanisms cancer cells use to evade immunotherapies, which could lead to the development of more effective treatments. Investigators tested their new technique with cancer cells and matching immune cells from patients with melanoma...

Lymphoma
Immunotherapy

Five-Year Outcomes With Tisagenlecleucel in Patients With Relapsed or Refractory B-Cell Lymphomas

As reported in a letter to the editor in The New England Journal of Medicine by Elise A. Chong, MD, and colleagues, long-term follow-up of a single-center trial of tisagenlecleucel showed maintained responses in a high proportion of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma ...

bladder cancer
immunotherapy

Tracy L. Rose, MD, on Bladder Cancer: Gemcitabine, Cisplatin, and Pembrolizumab as Neoadjuvant Therapy

Tracy L. Rose, MD, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discusses phase II results of gemcitabine and split-dose cisplatin plus pembrolizumab as neoadjuvant therapy prior to radical cystectomy for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer. The trial showed this combination treatment is generally safe and may improve pathologic downstaging, but further study is warranted (Abstract 396).

Kidney Cancer
Immunotherapy

KEYNOTE-427: First-Line Pembrolizumab in Advanced Non–Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by McDermott et al, findings in a cohort of the phase II KEYNOTE-427 study showed that pembrolizumab monotherapy produced durable responses as first-line treatment for advanced non–clear cell renal cell carcinoma. In a separate cohort of the study,...

Breast Cancer
Immunotherapy

I Let Science, Not Emotion, Dictate My Treatment

I had my first experience with cancer when I was just 3 or 4 years old and complained to my mother that my “tummy hurt.” I was diagnosed with Wilms tumor, the same cancer my 18-month-old brother died of before I was born. I remember being in the hospital for weeks at a time and being known by...

Leukemia
Immunotherapy

Genome-Edited Donor-Derived Anti-CD19 CAR T-Cell Therapy Is Active in B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Pooled results of two phase I studies, reported in The Lancet by Reuben Benjamin, MBBS, of the Department of Haematological Medicine, King’s College Hospital, London, and colleagues, indicate that the genome-edited donor-derived allogeneic anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell product...

Lymphoma
Immunotherapy

B-Cell and T-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas

To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting proceedings focusing on the assessment and treatment of patients with B-cell and T-cell non-Hodgkin...

Solid Tumors
Immunotherapy
Genomics/Genetics

Responses to Anti–PD-1/PD-L1 Immunotherapy in Patients With MSS Solid Tumors and High Tumor Mutational Burden

In a single-institution study reported in JAMA Oncology, Valero et al found that response rates to anti–PD-1 or anti–PD-L1 treatments in patients with microsatellite-stable (MSS) solid tumors were generally higher among those with high tumor mutational burden (TMB) defined as ≥ 10...

kidney cancer
immunotherapy

Elizabeth R. Plimack, MD, on RCC: Outcomes With Pembrolizumab Plus Axitinib

Elizabeth R. Plimack, MD, of Fox Chase Cancer Center, discusses phase III results from the KEYNOTE-426 study—specifically, an exploratory subgroup analysis of patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma who were randomly assigned to receive pembrolizumab plus axitinib and completed 2 years of treatment (Abstract 327).

Gynecologic Cancers
Immunotherapy

Bevacizumab Beyond Disease Progression Plus Carboplatin-Based Doublet in Platinum-Sensitive Ovarian Cancer

In the phase III MITO16b/MANGO–OV2/ENGOT–ov17 trial, investigators found that treatment with a carboplatin-based doublet plus bevacizumab beyond disease progression significantly improved progression-free survival vs a carboplatin-based doublet alone in women with platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer...

Gastroesophageal Cancer
Gastrointestinal Cancer
Immunotherapy

Addition of Andecaliximab to mFOLFOX6 in First-Line Treatment of HER2-Negative Advanced Gastric Cancer

As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Manish A. Shah, MD, and colleagues, the phase III GAMMA-1 trial showed no improvement in overall survival with the addition of andecaliximab to modified oxaliplatin, leucovorin, and fluorouracil (mFOLFOX6) in the first-line treatment of...

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement