Ajay K. Nooka, MBBS, of Winship Cancer Center of Emory University, discusses phase II findings showing that, in patients with high-risk myeloma, maintenance therapy with carfilzomib, pomalidomide, and dexamethasone deepened responses. Measurable residual disease negativity was attained in 80% of patients.
Carmen E. Guerra, MD, MSCE, of the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center, discusses three key abstracts presented at ASCO: strategies to increase accrual of underrepresented populations in Alliance NCTN trials, how patient-clinician education can strengthen partnerships and improve diversity in breast and lung cancer trials, and mediators of racial and ethnic inequities in clinical trial participation among U.S. patients with cancer from 2011 to 2022 (Abstracts 6509, 6510, 6511).
Catherine C. Coombs, MD, of the University of California, Irvine, discusses prolonged pirtobrutinib therapy, which continues to demonstrate a safety profile amenable to long-term administration at the recommended dose without evidence of new or worsening toxicity signals. The safety and tolerability observed in patients on therapy for 12 months or more were similar to previously published safety analyses of all patients enrolled, regardless of follow-up (Abstract 7513).
Jason J. Luke, MD, of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, discusses adjuvant pembrolizumab, which, in previous results, improved distant metastasis– and recurrence-free survival in patients with resected stage IIB or IIC melanoma vs placebo. After a median follow-up of 39.4 months, adjuvant pembrolizumab continued to show a benefit over placebo, with no new safety signals (Abstract LBA9505).
Reid Merryman, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses his findings on the regimen of epcoritamab plus rituximab and lenalidomide for patients with high-risk follicular lymphoma. Regardless of whether their disease progressed within 24 months of first-line chemoimmunotherapy, this regimen showed antitumor activity and a manageable safety profile in patients with relapsed or refractory disease. Epcoritamab, a subcutaneous T-cell–engaging bispecific antibody, may abrogate the negative effects of high-risk features (Abstract 7506).
Narjust Florez, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Ferdinandos Skoulidis, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discuss results of a biomarker subgroup analysis, showing that sotorasib demonstrated consistent clinical benefit vs docetaxel in all molecularly defined subgroups of patients with pretreated KRAS G12C–mutated advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although no predictive biomarkers were confirmed, novel hypothesis-generating signals were observed (Abstract 9008).
