John B.A.G. Haanen, MD, PhD, on Solid Tumors: Early Study Results on CAR T Cells and the CARVac Vaccine Strategy
AACR Annual Meeting 2022
John B.A.G. Haanen, MD, PhD, of the Netherlands Cancer Institute, discusses findings from a phase I study designed to test the safety and efficacy of the CARVac (CAR-T cell-amplifying RNA vaccine) strategy to overcome poor CAR T-cell stimulation and responses in patients with CLDN6-positive advanced solid tumors. Men with testicular cancer in particular showed encouraging responses. Overall, some patients showed long-term CAR T-cell persistence more than 150 days post infusion. Partial responses seemed to deepen further over time (Abstract CT002).
The ASCO Post Staff
Klaus Pantel, MD, of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, discusses liquid biopsy technologies and biomarkers, with a focus on circulating tumor cells and circulating tumor DNA; clinical applications such as early detection of cancer, improved staging, and surveillance of measurable residual disease; and how best to detect and monitor response to systemic therapies, as well as ways to identify therapeutic targets and resistance mechanisms (Abstract SY08).
The ASCO Post Staff
Cheryl L. Willman, MD, of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the profound cancer health disparities among Native Americans, exacerbated by low rates of screening and limited access to care. Dr. Willman is heading an effort to promote community engagement in comprehensive genomic sequencing with the hope that researchers will discover novel mutations and genome-wide mutational signatures that can ultimately be translated to improved screening and therapy in this population (Abstract PL03).
The ASCO Post Staff
Christine A. Iacobuzio-Donahue, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses her research on the evolutionary features of advanced stage pancreatic cancers and the insights that may be used to help improve patient outcomes (Abstract PL05).
The ASCO Post Staff
Nicolas Girard, MD, PhD, of the Institut Curie, discusses findings from the phase III CheckMate 816 trial, which is the first study with an immunotherapy-based combination to demonstrate improved event-free survival and pathologic complete response in the neoadjuvant setting for patients with resectable stage IB to IIIA non–small cell lung cancer. The results may benefit the 30% to 55% of patients whose cancer recurs after surgery (Abstract CT012).
The ASCO Post Staff
Meenakshi Anurag, PhD, of Baylor College of Medicine, discusses results from the ALTERNATE trial, which showed the combination of anastrozole plus fulvestrant was superior to either drug alone in inhibiting tumor proliferation in postmenopausal women with early-stage luminal B breast cancer (Abstract CT026).
