Allison Betof Warner, MD, PhD, on TIL Therapy for Advanced Melanoma: Innovative Clinical Advances in Treatment
Thematic Newsreels
Allison Betof Warner, MD, PhD, reviews important clinical research in the treatment of advanced melanoma, including tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy, the role of this innovative treatment in advanced melanoma, and relevant data, peer-reviewed literature, and FDA approvals in 2024. She also provides a look ahead at what is on the horizon in 2025 with regard to care for patients with advanced melanoma.
Over the past year, several important studies in ovarian cancer have been presented at multiple oncology meetings and published in a number of peer-reviewed publications. In this installment of a two-part discussion for The ASCO Post Newsreels, Ursula A. Matulonis, MD, and Joyce F. Liu, MD, MPH, discuss antibody-drug conjugates and clinical trials including PRIMA and ATHENA. In part two of this feature, Dr. Matulonis and Dr. Liu talk about low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma and an important recently published study.
Filmed November 22, 2024
Benjamin P. Levy, MD, of Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, discusses research into moving KRAS G12C inhibitors from the second to the first line, as well as combining them with immunotherapies and EGFR antibodies. Some potential combinations under investigation include KRAS G12C inhibitors (such as olomorasib, fulzerasib, divarasib, and adagrasib) and single-agent immunotherapy (pembrolizumab) or EGFR-targeting therapies (cetuximab).
The ASCO Post Staff
Circulating tumor DNA has many roles in cancer treatment: early diagnosis, tumor profiling, determining response to therapy, and tracking clinical dynamics. In this video, Arvind N. Dasari, MD, MS, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, focuses on it as a marker for measurable residual disease (MRD), which can help to determine risk of disease recurrence in patients with cancer. Dr. Dasari reviews the development of assays for MRD, both tumor-informed and tumor-agnostic, and provides top-level data from several clinical trials on the topic that have informed the role of MRD testing in both the colorectal cancer and general solid tumor space.
References
- Tie J, Wang Y, Lo SN, et al: Circulating tumor DNA analysis guiding adjuvant therapy in stage II colon cancer: Overall survival and updated 5-year results from the randomized DYNAMIC trial. 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting. Abstract 108.
- Lieu CH, Yu G, Kopetz S, et al: NRG-GI008: Colon adjuvant chemotherapy based on evaluation of residual disease (CIRCULATE-NORTH AMERICA). 2024 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Abstract TPS243.
- Tie J, Wang Y, Loree J, et al: ctDNA-guided adjuvant chemotherapy escalation in stage III colon cancer: Primary analysis of the ctDNA-positive cohort from the randomized AGITG dynamic-III trial (intergroup study of AGITG and CCTG). 2025 ASCO Annual Meeting. Abstract 3505.
- Lumish MA, Jayakumaran G, Fox M, et al: Frequency of minimal residual disease as measured by ctDNA in mismatch repair deficient tumors following curative resection. 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting. Abstract e14520.
- Kotani D, Oki E, Nakamura Y, et al: Molecular residual disease and efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with colorectal cancer. Nature Medicine 29:127-134, 2023.
- Kasi PM, Aushev VN, Ensor J, et al: Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) for informing adjuvant chemotherapy (ACT) in stage II/III colorectal cancer (CRC): Interim analysis of BESPOKE CRC study. 2024 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Abstract 9.
- Maddalena G, Pellatt AJ, Eluri M, et al: INTERCEPT Program of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing for minimal residual disease (MRD) in colorectal cancer (CRC): Results from a prospective clinical cohort. 2024 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Abstract 27.
- Meyerhardt JA, Shi Q, Fuchs CS, et al: Effect of celecoxib vs placebo added to standard adjuvant therapy on disease-free survival among patients with stage III colon cancer. JAMA 13:1277-1286, 2021.
- Nowak JA, Shi Q, Twombly T, et al: Prognostic and predictive role of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in stage III colon cancer treated with celecoxib: Findings from CALGB (Alliance)/SWOG 80702. 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium. Abstract LBA14.
In hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer, co-occurring ESR1 and PIK3CA mutations create therapeutic complexity. Oral SERDs, including elacestrant, retain activity despite PIK3CA co-mutation and may offer an efficacy–toxicity balance compared with PI3K/AKT pathway inhibitors. Treatment selection should incorporate molecular profile, anticipated efficacy, toxicity, and shared decision-making, states Neil M. Iyengar, MD.
ESR1 mutations are a major mechanism of acquired endocrine resistance in hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancer and are associated with poorer outcomes. Serial ctDNA testing enables dynamic detection of emergent ESR1 mutations and clonal evolution, potentially informing treatment selection. As Neil M. Iyengar, MD, outlines via a patient case and deeper data review, ESR1 testing strategies should be individualized based on treatment duration, disease stability, and patient preferences.
