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Several lung cancer trials have shown prolonged progression-free survival with checkpoint inhibitor therapy. For the first time, the phase III PACIFIC trial has found an overall survival benefit for the selective programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) checkpoint inhibitor durvalumab (Imfinzi) vs...
An emerging treatment known as adoptive T-cell therapy has proven effective in a phase II clinical trial for treating progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a rare and often fatal brain infection sometimes observed in patients with cancer and other diseases in which the immune...
Neoadjuvant combination checkpoint blockade showed activity among patients with high-risk stage III melanoma in a small study. However, a high incidence of side effects caused the trial to be closed early. These results were published by Amaria et al in Nature Medicine. The phase II...
As reported at the recent International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 19th World Conference on Lung Cancer and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Paz-Ares et al, the phase III KEYNOTE-407 trial has shown that the addition of pembrolizumab to platinum-based chemotherapy...
As reported by Mitchell et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, the combination of the oral indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) enzyme inhibitor epacadostat and the anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) therapy pembrolizumab (Keytruda) showed activity in advanced solid tumors in the ...
JAMES ALLISON, PHD, Chair of Immunology and Executive Director of the Immunotherapy Platform at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and Tasuku Honjo, MD, PhD, Distinguished Professor at the Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study and Professor of Immunology and Genomic Medicine ...
In a single-center phase II study reported in JAMA Oncology, Massarelli et al found combining tumor-specific vaccine and nivolumab (Opdivo) showed evidence of activity in incurable human papillomavirus (HPV) 16–related cancer. The therapeutic vaccine, ISA 101, induces HPV-specific T cells....
A therapeutic vaccine may boost antibodies and T cells, helping them infiltrate human papillomavirus (HPV)-related head and neck cancer tumors. Researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania tested the immunotherapy approach in two groups of patients with...
In a long-term follow-up of a phase I trial reported in JAMA Oncology, Emens et al found that single-agent atezolizumab (Tecentriq) produced enduring benefit in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer after stable or responding disease and in first-line treatment. Study Details In...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Barlesi et al, the phase III JAVELIN Lung 200 trial has shown no overall survival benefit with avelumab (Bavencio) vs docetaxel in patients with platinum pretreated programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1)–positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer...
An analysis of the NRG Oncology clinical trial NRG-GY003 suggests that adding ipilimumab (Yervoy), a monoclonal antibody that targets the protein receptor cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated protein 4 (CTLA-4), to a regimen with the checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo) could improve response ...
A phase I clinical trial investigating the use of bacterial Clostridium novyi-NT spores as an injectable monotherapy had manageable toxicities and showed early clinical efficacy in patients with treatment-refractory solid tumor malignancies, according to data presented at the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR...
Angiosarcoma of the head, face, neck, or scalp is a rare cancer associated with high rates of local recurrence, distant metastasis, and poor prognosis. Because angiosarcoma is so rare, it is difficult to conduct large-scale research in the cancer. To address this issue, the Broad Institute of MIT...
A preclinical study showing that a vaccination with a recombinant adenovirus expressing a truncated ErbB-2 antigen can cure advanced established murine breast cancer as well as extensive established metastatic lung cancer led to the launch of a small phase I study investigating a therapeutic cancer ...
Frederick L. Locke, MD, of Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the key studies behind the development of CAR T cells, major adverse events and management strategies, and the potential of this revolutionary treatment.
Reem Karmali, MD, of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, discusses CAR T-cell therapy for relapsed/refractory DLBCL and other subtypes of lymphomas, ways to manage toxicities, and how to integrate this treatment into care plans.
As reported at the current International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer 19th World Conference on Lung Cancer (Abstract PL02.01) and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Antonia et al, the phase III PACIFIC trial has shown significantly improved overall survival—a...
Although the basic concept of using the body’s immune defense mechanisms to fight cancer has been around for centuries, the idea of using immunotherapy in cancer, in general, returned to prominence when Dr. Thomas Burnet first proposed the theory of cancer immunosurveillance in 1957. Despite...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to a new supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) seeking approval for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as monotherapy for first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic nonsquamous or squamous non–small cell lung...
In a French study reported in JAMA Oncology, Ferrara et al found that hyperprogressive disease appeared to be more common with programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor treatment than single-agent chemotherapy among previously treated patients with...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Buzdar et al, the phase III ACOSOG Z1041 (Alliance) trial showed no difference in disease-free or overall survival with sequential vs concurrent neoadjuvant anthracycline and trastuzumab in patients with operable HER2-positive breast cancer. An earlier report from...
The results of the pivotal phase III JAVELIN Renal 101 study—which evaluated avelumab (Bavencio) in combination with axitinib (Inlyta) compared with sunitinib (Sutent) as initial therapy for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma—were recently announced. As part of a planned...
A pair of new studies from researchers at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania are shedding light on why patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) respond or do not respond to chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Although CAR T-cell therapy is...
In June 2018, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was approved for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer with disease progression on or after chemotherapy whose tumors express programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1; combined positive score [CPS] ≥ 1), as determined by a U.S....
In an analysis from the GeparQuinto trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Peter A. Fasching, MD, of Erlangen University Hospital, Comprehensive Cancer Center Erlangen-EMN, and colleagues found that the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to neoadjuvant chemotherapy increased the...
In the Clinic provides overviews of novel oncology agents, addressing indications, mechanisms of action, administration recommendations, safety profiles, and other essential information needed for the appropriate clinical use of these drugs. On June 13, 2018, pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was granted...
Long-term follow-up data on axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta) in lymphoma, potential partners for nivolumab (Opdivo) in solid tumors, and a targeted agent for RET-altered cancers were featured during the developmental therapeutics program at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. At the Best of ASCO...
In a systematic review and meta-analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, Wang et al identified frequency and types of fatal toxic effects in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. Study Details The study involved analysis of fatal immune checkpoint inhibitor–associated toxic...
As reported in The Lancet Oncology by Tabernero et al, the phase III JACOB trial showed no significant overall survival benefit of adding pertuzumab (Perjeta) to trastuzumab (Herceptin) plus chemotherapy in first-line treatment of HER2-positive metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction...
A group of men with especially aggressive prostate cancer may respond unusually well to immunotherapy, according to a study published by Rodrigues et al in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. The research offers the possibility of effective treatment, with clinical trials already underway. An...
As reported in JAMA Oncology by Gridelli et al, the phase IIIB AvaALL trial did not show improved overall survival with continued bevacizumab (Avastin) treatment beyond disease progression in patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), although some improvements in subsequent...
COMMENTING ON the importance of this topic at a press conference during the 2018 Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC)/International Society of Oral Oncology (ISOO) Annual Meeting, Ian Olver, MD, PhD, Immediate Past President of MASCC and Director of the University of...
IMMUNE CHECKPOINT inhibitors represent a giant step forward in the treatment of many cancers, and as these agents have “come of age” in the past few years, so has the collective understanding of their potential for causing adverse events. Although checkpoint inhibitors are known to be associated...
Widespread use of antiretroviral therapy in the treatment of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has led to a decline in the incidence of HIV-related Kaposi sarcoma, an incurable malignancy associated with HIV. Nevertheless, about 15% of these patients will go on to...
In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Sun et al developed a radiomic signature of infiltrating CD8 cells that could identify tumor immune phenotype and help predict outcome of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)/programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor treatment. Study Details...
In the phase II PERTAIN trial reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Rimawi et al found that adding pertuzumab to trastuzumab plus an aromatase inhibitor improved progression-free survival in patients with advanced HER2-positive, hormone receptor–positive breast cancer. Study Details ...
In the phase II CheckMate 204 study reported in The New England Journal of Medicine, Tawbi et al found that combined nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) produced a high rate of intracranial clinical benefit in patients with melanoma brain metastases. Study Details The study included 94...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Janjigian et al, the phase I/II CheckMate-032 study has shown activity of nivolumab (Opdivo) and nivolumab plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) in advanced esophagogastric cancer. In the esophagogastric cohort of the multicohort study, 160 patients (who...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently accepted a supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for elotuzumab (Empliciti) in combination with pomalidomide (Pomalyst) and low-dose dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who...
In a study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Arbour et al found that baseline treatment with corticosteroids was associated with poorer efficacy of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) or programmed death cell ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors in patients with non–small cell lung...
The European Commission (EC) recently approved the chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) in the European Union (EU) for the treatment of pediatric and young adult patients up to 25 years of age with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that is...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ibrutinib (Imbruvica) plus rituximab (Rituxan) for the treatment of adult patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM). With this approval, the ibrutinib prescribing information now includes combination use with rituximab,...
EARLY IN 2018, blinatumomab (Blincyto) was granted accelerated approval for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in first or second complete remission with minimal residual disease ≥ 0.1%.1,2 Supporting Efficacy Data APPROVAL WAS...
In a new study, researchers developed a gene expression predictor that can indicate whether melanoma in a specific patient is likely to respond to treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. Their research was published by Auslander et al in Nature Medicine. “There is a critical need to be...
As reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by Geoffrois et al, the European phase III GORTEC (Groupe Oncologie Radiothèrapie Tête et Cou) 2007-02 trial has shown no improvement in progression-free survival with induction chemotherapy followed by cetuximab and radiotherapy (RT) vs...
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with pemetrexed (Alimta) and platinum as first-line treatment of patients with metastatic, nonsquamous non–small cell lung cancer with no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations. Pembrolizumab...
On August 16, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated the prescribing information for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and atezolizumab (Tecentriq) to require the use of an FDA-approved companion diagnostic test to determine programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) levels in tumor tissue...
An interim analysis of data from a randomized clinical trial of patients with human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal cancer found that treatment with radiation therapy and cetuximab (Erbitux) is associated with worse overall and progression-free survival compared to the current standard...
In a phase II trial funded by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer and reported in The Lancet Oncology, van den Bent et al found no evidence of a survival benefit with the addition of bevacizumab (Avastin) to temozolomide in patients with a first recurrence of World Health ...
Today, nivolumab (Opdivo) received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for patients with metastatic small cell lung cancer (SCLC) whose cancer has progressed after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least one other line of therapy. Approval for this indication has been...