Toni K. Choueiri, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the first results from the phase III CheckMate 9ER trial, which suggested the combination of nivolumab and cabozantinib is safe. It showed activity in progression-free and overall survival, as well as in overall response rates and may have a place in treating patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (Abstract 696O_PR).
Stephen R.D. Johnston, MD, PhD, of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, discusses phase III study findings from the global monarchE trial, which showed that when added to standard adjuvant endocrine therapy, abemaciclib is the first CDK4/6 inhibitor to improve invasive disease–free survival in hormone receptor–positive high-risk early breast cancer (Abstract LBA5_PR).
Read more on the monarchE trial in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Lisa A. Carey, MD, of the University of North Carolina, discusses phase III results from two IMpassion trials, 130 and 131, which explored, respectively, atezolizumab plus nab-paclitaxel vs placebo plus nab-paclitaxel in previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer and first-line paclitaxel with or without atezolizumab for unresectable disease (Abstracts LBA15 and LBA16).
Ezra E.W. Cohen, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, discusses primary results of the phase III JAVELIN trial of locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, in which the immune checkpoint inhibitor avelumab was combined with chemoradiotherapy followed by avelumab maintenance. Although the study results were negative, Dr. Cohen suggests other regimens that may prove to be effective (Abstract 910O).
Andreas Schneeweiss, MD, of the Heidelberg University Hospital and German Cancer Research Center, discusses phase III survival data from the GeparOcto trial, which compared the neoadjuvant chemotherapy intense dose-dense EPC (epirubicin, paclitaxel, and cyclophosphamide) with weekly paclitaxel and liposomal doxorubicin (with or without carboplatin in triple-negative breast cancer) for patients with high-risk early breast cancer (Abstract 160O).
