Evan J. Lipson, MD, on Melanoma: Relatlimab and Nivolumab in First-Line Treatment of Advanced Disease
2021 ASCO Annual Meeting
Evan J. Lipson, MD, of Johns Hopkins University, discusses primary phase III results from the RELATIVITY-047 study, which showed that relatlimab plus nivolumab as a fixed-dose combination may improve progression-free survival compared with nivolumab monotherapy in patients with advanced melanoma. This is the first study to demonstrate a benefit from dual inhibition of the LAG-3 and PD-1 pathways.
The ASCO Post Staff
Ian Chau, MD, of Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, discusses first results of the CheckMate 648 study, which showed that nivolumab plus chemotherapy and nivolumab plus ipilimumab both demonstrated superior overall survival vs chemotherapy alone in patients with advanced esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. These regimens may represent potential new first-line treatment options (Abstract 4001).
The ASCO Post Staff
Debora S. Bruno, MD, of Seidman Cancer Center at Cleveland Medical Center, discusses study findings that show Black patients with advanced or metastatic non–small cell lung cancer tend to be less likely to undergo biomarker testing or to be treated in clinical trials than White patients. Recommended broad-based testing, says Dr. Bruno, may help ensure equal access to quality care and clinical trials (Abstract 9005).
The ASCO Post Staff
Andrew Tutt, PhD, MBChB, of the Institute of Cancer Research, London, discusses findings from the phase III OlympiA trial, which showed that adjuvant olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, following adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy, may improve invasive disease–free survival in patients with germline BRCA-mutated and high-risk HER2-negative early breast cancer, which might lead to a new indication in this setting (Abstract LBA1).
The ASCO Post Staff
Brian I. Rini, MD, of Vanderbilt University, discusses findings from KEYNOTE-426, the longest follow-up of a checkpoint inhibitor (pembrolizumab) combined with a VEGF/VEGFR inhibitor (axitinib) for first-line clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The trial results continue to support this combination as a standard of care for patients with previously untreated disease (Abstract 4500).
The ASCO Post Staff
Nadia Harbeck, MD, PhD, of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, discusses first phase III results from a prospective high-risk cohort of patients with luminal breast cancer, which showed a good prognosis in some women with more than four positive lymph nodes and low recurrence scores. The study also showed that a lower postendocrine Ki67 index and limited tumor burden may be promising criteria for chemotherapy de-escalation strategies, even in patients with high recurrence scores (Abstract 504).
