Eric Jonasch, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses phase II study findings on the oral HIF-2α inhibitor known as MK-6482, which showed efficacy and tolerability in patients with Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL)–associated clear cell renal cell carcinoma as well as responses in other VHL-related lesions (Abstract 5003).
Farhad Ravandi-Kashani, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses updates from a phase I dose-escalation study of AMG 330, a bispecific T-cell engager molecule. It showed early evidence of an acceptable safety profile, drug tolerability, and antileukemic activity, supporting further dose escalation in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (Abstract 7508).
Ursula A. Matulonis, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses three important studies focusing on newer therapies for patients with recurrent platinum-sensitive, platinum-agnostic, and advanced recurrent ovarian cancers (Abstracts 6003, 6004, and 6005).
David C. Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, of the University of Pennsylvania, who trained as an oncologist, summarizes his opening lecture, a dramatic story of his battle against Castleman, a disease of the lymph nodes, his multiple near-death experiences, and the path that led him to develop a cooperative research effort making a difference for him and other patients with this idiopathic orphan illness.
Rana R. McKay, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, discusses the results of a phase II trial of intense neoadjuvant hormone therapy followed by radical prostatectomy in men with high-risk prostate cancer. The data show that 21% of patients had a favorable pathologic response (Abstract 5503).
Christopher Nutting, MD, PhD, of the Royal Marsden Hospital and Institute of Cancer Research, discusses phase III results from the first study to demonstrate the functional benefit of swallow-sparing intensity-modulated radiotherapy in oro- and hypopharyngeal cancers (Abstract 6508).
