Georgina V. Long, MD, PhD, of the Melanoma Institute Australia, University of Sydney, discusses results of the CheckMate 915 trial, which may reinforce nivolumab as an adjuvant standard of care in patients with stage IIIB–D/IV melanoma, with or without complete lymphadenectomy (Abstract CT004).
Richard S. Finn, MD, of UCLA Medical Center, discusses updated efficacy and safety data from the IMbrave150 trial of patients receiving atezolizumab plus bevacizumab vs sorafenib as first-line treatment for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (Abstract CT009).
Jessica C. Hassel, MD, of University Hospital Heidelberg, discusses phase III results of a study that compared tebentafusp, a bispecific fusion protein, with investigator’s choice in patients with metastatic uveal melanoma. Tebentafusp nearly halved the risk of death among patients in the trial with this rare eye cancer (Abstract CT002).
Ralph R. Weichselbaum, MD, of the University of Chicago, discusses oligometastasis as a part of the metastatic spectrum where ablative therapies, such as surgery or stereotactic body radiotherapy, may be curative alone or with systemic agents, as well as some potential biomarkers to guide treatment selection.
Dennis J. Slamon, MD, PhD, of the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, reflects on the ways in which breast cancer research pioneered the targeted treatment approach, as understanding of the basic biology of tumors deepened and new pathways were uncovered. He sees a future ripe with possibilities for new molecular targets to further improve outcomes for patients with breast cancer and other types of tumors.
Charlotte E. Ariyan, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses improved outcomes with metastasectomy in the setting of checkpoint inhibitors, with the removal of residual disease and “escape” lesions. Surgical outcomes may also be better than targeted treatments, although long-term data and biomarkers are needed to confirm these findings.
