Immuno-Oncology | Specialty

Enfortumab Vedotin/Pembrolizumab Combo, Maintenance Avelumab Continue as Gold Standards in Metastatic Urothelial Cancer

December 13th 2023

Lance C. Pagliaro, MD, highlights updated data from the JAVELIN Bladder 100 and EV-103 trials in metastatic urothelial carcinoma, discusses their relevance for navigating the expanding treatment armamentarium for this disease, and outlines several future avenues for research.

EFS Benefit With Neoadjuvant Pembrolizumab/Chemo Combo, Adjuvant Pembrolizumab Upheld in High-Risk Early TNBC

December 8th 2023

Neoadjuvant pembrolizumab combined with chemotherapy followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab compared with placebo plus chemotherapy continued to show a clinically meaningful improvement in event-free survival in patients with high-risk, early-stage triple-negative breast cancer.

Phase 3 KEYLYNK-008 Trial of Pembrolizumab Plus Olaparib in Metastatic Squamous NSCLC to Stop for Futility

December 8th 2023

The phase 3 KEYLYNK-008 trial evaluating pembrolizumab plus olaparib in patients with metastatic squamous non–small cell lung cancer will be discontinued for futility, according to an announcement from Merck.

Nivolumab Plus Ipilimumab Improves PFS in Newly Diagnosed Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

December 7th 2023

The combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab led to a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival per blinded independent central review compared with investigator’s choice of chemotherapy as frontline therapy in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Maintenance Pembrolizumab/Olaparib Misses Survival End Points in Locally Advanced or Metastatic TNBC

December 6th 2023

Pembrolizumab plus olaparib did not improve progression-free or overall survival vs pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy in patients with locally recurrent inoperable or metastatic triple-negative breast cancer who received induction pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy.

Neoadjuvant Pembrolizumab Plus Chemo Improves pCR Across Key ER+ Breast Cancer Subgroups

December 6th 2023

The addition of pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by adjuvant pembrolizumab plus endocrine therapy improved pathologic complete responses in key subsets of patients with early-stage, high-risk, estrogen receptor–positive/HER2-negative breast cancer enrolled in the phase 3 KEYNOTE-756 trial.

Frontline Serplulimab Plus Chemo Provides Consistent Survival Benefit in Squamous NSCLC

December 5th 2023

The addition of serplulimab to carboplatin and nab-paclitaxel significantly prolonged survival vs chemotherapy alone when used in the first-line treatment of patients with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic squamous non–small cell lung cancer.

Long-Term Survival Benefit With PD-1 Monotherapy Correlated With High PD-L1 Expression in Advanced NSCLC

November 29th 2023

Biagio Ricciuti, MD, discusses the need to improve the identification of patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer that benefit most from immune checkpoint inhibition.

EO2401 Plus Nivolumab and Bevacizumab Shows Activity in Progressive/Recurrent Glioblastoma

November 20th 2023

The use of the first-in-class, microbiome-derived therapeutic vaccine EO2401 in combination with nivolumab with or without bevacizumab produced clinical activity and was well tolerated in patients with progressive/recurrent glioblastoma.

Durvalumab Plus Chemo Wins Approval in China For Advanced/Metastatic Biliary Tract Cancer

November 14th 2023

China’s National Medical Products Administration has approved durvalumab plus gemcitabine and cisplatin for frontline use in adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic biliary tract cancer.

CHMP Supports Approval of Subcutaneous Atezolizumab for All Current IV Indications

November 14th 2023

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended the approval of subcutaneous atezolizumab for all indications in which the intravenous formulation is approved, including certain types of lung, liver, bladder, and breast cancer

Durvalumab With Concurrent Chemoradiation Misses PFS End Point in Unresectable Stage III NSCLC

November 14th 2023

Concurrent administration of durvalumab and platinum-based chemoradiation failed to significantly improve progression-free survival over chemoradiation alone in patients with unresectable stage III non–small cell lung cancer, missing the primary end point of the phase 3 PACIFIC-2 trial.

Frontline Pembrolizumab Plus Chemo Approaches EU Approval for Biliary Tract Cancer

November 10th 2023

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has recommended the approval of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) combined with gemcitabine and cisplatin in the frontline treatment of adult patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic biliary tract cancer

PDS0101-Based Triplet Provides Survival Benefit in HPV16+ Cancers

November 9th 2023

The combination of PDS0101, PDS0301 (formerly M-9241), and bintrafusp alfa, an investigational immune checkpoint inhibitor extended survival in patients with advanced human papillomavirus 16–positive cancers, according to final data from a phase 2 trial (NCT04287868) led by the National Cancer Institute.

Durvalumab Plus TACE and Bevacizumab Significantly Improves PFS in Select HCC

November 9th 2023

Durvalumab plus concurrent transarterial chemoembolization followed by durvalumab with bevacizumab resulted in a significant improvement in PFS over TACE alone in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who are eligible for embolization, meeting the primary end point of the phase 3 EMERALD-1 trial.

Domvanalimab Plus Zimberelimab and Chemotherapy Elicits Responses in Advanced Gastric/GEJ Adenocarcinoma

November 7th 2023

The combination of domvanalimab, zimberelimab, and FOLFOX elicited responses in patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic gastric, gastroesophageal junction, or esophageal adenocarcinoma, irrespective of PD-L1 status.

Atezolizumab Plus Bevacizumab and Chemo Improves Survival in Metastatic or Recurrent Cervical Cancer

November 3rd 2023

The addition of atezolizumab to bevacizumab and chemotherapy resulted in a significant improvement in progression-free survival and overall survival vs standard treatment with bevacizumab and chemotherapy in patients with metastatic, persistent, or recurrent cervical cancer.

Adjuvant Pembrolizumab Improves OS in Select Patients With RCC After Nephrectomy

November 1st 2023

Adjuvant treatment with pembrolizumab significantly improved overall survival vs placebo in patients with renal cell carcinoma at intermediate-high or high risk of recurrence after nephrectomy, or after nephrectomy and resection of metastatic lesions, meeting a key secondary end point of the phase 3 KEYNOTE-564 trial.

EMA Validates Application for Frontline Nivolumab Plus Chemo in Advanced Urothelial Cancer

October 30th 2023

The European Medicines Agency has validated a type II variation application for the first-line combination of nivolumab and cisplatin-based chemotherapy for adult patients with unresectable or metastatic urothelial carcinoma.

Expanding Immunotherapy Armamentarium Propels Personalized HCC Treatment Approaches

October 28th 2023

Richard Kim, MD, discusses the range of systemic treatment options available for patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma and the importance of assessing patients for high-risk disease criteria before beginning any systemic treatment.