Ramaswamy Govindan, MD, of Washington University School of Medicine, discusses sex differences in lung cancer, including variations in treatment response, and the state of research in the field (Session ED20).
Stacey A. Fedewa, PhD, of the American Cancer Society, discusses the increasing incidence rates of colorectal, breast, kidney, thyroid, uterine corpus, and cervical disease in younger patients. Data show that colorectal cancer is increasing most rapidly, while breast cancer—the most common cancer among young women—is rising at a slower pace (Session ED35).
Ralph R. Weichselbaum, MD, of the University of Chicago Cancer Research Center, explores the question of whether radiotherapy is the principal curative treatment with immunotherapy or activates immunotherapy. He also discussed how to improve the interaction of these treatments, perhaps with vaccination, transfer of genetically engineered T cells, or checkpoint inhibitors (Session ED37).
Adam C. Palmer, PhD, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discusses combining immune checkpoint inhibitors with other cancer therapies to provide patients with more chances of a response. In principle, similar benefits may result from sequential or biomarker-stratified treatments, which could be valuable in cases where toxicities may prevent full-dose combinations (Abstract 1047).
Nasser K. Altorki, MD, of Weill Cornell Medical College, discusses study findings that suggest neoadjuvant low-dose focal stereotactic body radiation plus immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) is safe and causes no surgical delays in early-stage lung cancer, and that major pathologic response rates are likely to be comparable to those with chemotherapy/ICB combinations (Session ED37).
Robert A. Winn, MD, of Virginia Commonwealth University and the Massey Cancer Center, discusses the COVID-19 pandemic and how it is exacerbating disparities in cancer care among racial and ethnic minorities and the medically underserved who are disproportionately affected by the coronavirus (Session VSS06).
