Immuno-Oncology | Specialty

Nivolumab Alone or With Ipilimumab Controls Disease, Extends Survival, in Mesothelioma

June 5th 2017

Nivolumab as monotherapy or in combination with ipilimumab may present a new second- or third-line treatment option for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, based on preliminary findings from a phase II trial where nivolumab alone or in the combination improved disease control and prolonged survival in patients with this rare but aggressive cancer.

Pembrolizumab Again Demonstrates Durable Activity in TNBC

June 5th 2017

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) showed durable antitumor activity in patients with heavily pretreated metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), according to findings from cohort A of the phase II KEYNOTE-086 trial presented at the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Pembrolizumab Gastric Cancer Data Updated, as FDA Considers Approval

June 5th 2017

Pembrolizumab continued to show promising signs of clinical activity as a treatment for patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer in updated findings from the KEYNOTE-059 study.

Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Highly Active in Patients With Melanoma Brain Metastases

June 5th 2017

Nivolumab plus ipilimumab demonstrated an intracranial response rate of 42% in asymptomatic patients with melanoma brain metastases who had not received prior local therapy to the brain.

Dr. Apolo on Updated JAVELIN Results of Avelumab in Urothelial Carcinoma

June 4th 2017

Andrea B. Apolo, MD, principal investigator and the head of the Bladder Cancer Section in the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch at the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Cancer Research, discusses the updated findings of the phase Ib JAVELIN trial exploring avelumab (Bavencio) for the treatment of patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

Pembrolizumab/Chemo PFS Benefit in NSCLC Sustained With Longer Follow-Up

June 3rd 2017

The frontline combination of pembrolizumab, pemetrexed, and carboplatin reduced the risk of progression or death by 50% and nearly doubled objective response rates compared with chemotherapy alone for patients with advanced non-squamous NSCLC.

Dr. Balar on Mature Clinical Results of KEYNOTE-052 in Urothelial Cancer

June 3rd 2017

Arjun V. Balar, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology, New York University Cancer Institute, NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses the mature clinical trial results and biomarker findings of KEYNOTE-052, first-line pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with cisplatin-ineligible advanced urothelial cancer, during the 2017 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Dr. Heymach on the Significance of Nivolumab for Lung Cancer

June 2nd 2017

John V. Heymach, MD, PhD, chairman, Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the significance of nivolumab (Opdivo) for patients with lung cancer.

QuintilesIMS Report: US Cancer Costs Are up $20 Billion Since 2011

June 1st 2017

Driven by newer agents, the cost of US oncology medicines has increased 88% over the past 5 years, according to the QuintilesIMS Institute Global Oncology Trends 2017 report.

Dr. Curigliano Discusses Immunotherapy Trials in Breast Cancer

May 31st 2017

Giuseppe Curigliano, MD, PhD, head of the Division of Early Drug Development at European Institute of Oncology, in Milan, Italy, discusses immunotherapy trials in triple-negative breast cancer.

Expert Discusses Choice Between Immunotherapy and TKIs for HCC

May 31st 2017

Physicians treating hepatocellular carcinoma often have to choose between a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and immunotherapy but oncologists need better tools to make an informed choice.

Pembrolizumab Demonstrates Durable Response in PD-L1+ Endometrial Cancer

May 30th 2017

Results from the KEYNOTE-028 study showed that pembrolizumab (Keytruda) was associated with a median duration of response of 6 months and a 6-month progression-free survival rate of 40.4% in women with advanced PD-L1–positive endometrial cancer.

Immunotherapy Gains Frontline Foothold in NSCLC

May 29th 2017

Less than 2 years after checkpoint blockade immunotherapy first became available for patients with non-small cell lung cancer, the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab is poised to reshape the treatment paradigm for previously untreated individuals without molecular mutations.

Dr. Johnson on the Future of Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer

May 27th 2017

Melissa L. Johnson, MD, medical oncologist, Sarah Cannon Research Institute, discusses potential immunotherapy regimens for patients with lung cancer.

FDA Grants Nivolumab Priority Review for Liver Cancer

May 26th 2017

The FDA has granted a priority review designation to nivolumab (Opdivo) for use as a treatment for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma following prior sorafenib (Nexavar).

Dr. Lallas on Challenges With Immunotherapy in Genitourinary Malignancies

May 25th 2017

Costas Lallas, MD, professor at Sidney Kimmel Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, discusses challenges with immunotherapy in genitourinary (GU) malignancies.

FDA Grants Pembrolizumab Priority Review for Advanced Gastric Cancer

May 24th 2017

The FDA has granted a priority review to a supplemental Biologics License Application for pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of patients who have undergone at least 2 courses of chemotherapy for recurrent or advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

Dr. Grothey on FDA Approval of Pembrolizumab in MSI-High CRC

May 24th 2017

Axel Grothey, MD, medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic, discusses the FDA approval of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of patients with microsatellite instability-high colorectal cancer (CRC).

Dr. Sartor on Sipuleucel-T in mCRPC

May 24th 2017

Oliver Sartor, MD, a medical oncologist at the Tulane University School of Medicine, discusses the analysis of African-American patients receiving sipuleucel-T (Provenge) compared with Caucasians with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer.

FDA Approves Pembrolizumab for Microsatellite Instability-High and Mismatch Repair Deficient Cancers

May 23rd 2017

The FDA has granted an accelerated approval to pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic, microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or mismatch repair deficient (dMMR) solid tumors that have progressed after prior treatment and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options, as well as for patients with MSI-H or dMMR colorectal cancer following progression on a fluoropyrimidine, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan.