Immuno-Oncology | Specialty

Perioperative Nivolumab Plus Chemotherapy Improves EFS in Resectable NSCLC

September 22nd 2023

Neoadjuvant treatment with nivolumab plus platinum-based chemotherapy, followed by surgery and adjuvant nivolumab monotherapy, generated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in event-free survival vs neoadjuvant chemotherapy plus placebo, followed by surgery and adjuvant placebo, in patients with resectable stage IIA to IIIB non–small cell lung cancer.

Tislelizumab Approved in Europe for Advanced ESCC After Platinum-Based Chemotherapy

September 19th 2023

The European Commission has approved tislelizumab monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after prior platinum-based chemotherapy.

Adjuvant Pembrolizumab Receives Positive CHMP Opinion for High-Risk NSCLC After Resection and Chemo

September 15th 2023

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended the approval of pembrolizumab as adjuvant treatment for adult patients with non–small cell lung cancer who are at high risk of recurrence following complete resection and platinum-based chemotherapy.

Neoadjuvant Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Combo Elicits Responses, Safety in Resectable HCC

September 13th 2023

Neoadjuvant treatment with the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab led to responses and was well tolerated in patients with resectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Preoperative APL-1202 Plus Tislelizumab Meets pCR Criteria, Moves to Next Stage of Trial in MIBC

September 13th 2023

The Safety Monitoring Committee determined that prespecified criteria for pathologic complete response were met with the use of the PD-1 inhibitor tislelizumab alone or in combination with APL-1202 as neoadjuvant therapy in patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer.

Dr Myall on Immunotherapy Doublets and Chemoimmunotherapy in NSCLC

September 8th 2023

Nathaniel Myall, MD, clinical assistant professor, medicine - oncology, Stanford Medicine, discusses efficacy findings from 3 clinical trials investigating combination immunotherapy and chemoimmunotherapy treatment approaches in patients with non–small cell lung cancer.

Subgroup Observations From Missed KEYNOTE-789 Data in NSCLC Provide Insight for the Future

September 4th 2023

James Chih-Hsin Yang, MD, PhD, discusses the implications of the phase 3 KEYNOTE-789 trial and what directions investigators can examine in the future to help fill the unmet need for patients with TKI-resistant, EGFR-mutated metastatic non–small cell lung cancer.

PRGN-2009 Plus Bintrafusp Alfa Shows Early Activity in HPV-Associated Malignancies

September 3rd 2023

James L. Gulley, MD, PhD, reviews the safety and efficacy of PRGN-2009 alone and in combination with bintrafusp alfa in HPV-associated cancers and explains how this kind of approach may address an unmet clinical need.

TACTI-002 Data Show Antitumor Activity With Second-Line Eftilagimod Alpha and PD-1 Inhibition in HNSCC

September 1st 2023

Bernard Doger de Spéville, MD, PhD, discusses the investigation of eftilagimod alpha plus pembrolizumab in the TACTI-002 trial, including prior evidence supporting this approach, the trial’s design and primary objective, and the combination’s efficacy and safety in both the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and non–small cell lung cancer cohorts.

Cracking the Immunotherapy Code Remains a Challenge in Ovarian Cancer

August 31st 2023

Martin Cannon, PhD, details the history of investigating immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients with ovarian cancer and expands on the questions that need to be answered to potentially improve the activity of these agents in this patient population.

Dr Cannon on Improving Responses With Immunotherapy in Ovarian Cancer

August 30th 2023

Martin Cannon, PhD, discusses explanations for the lack of success with immune checkpoint inhibitors in ovarian cancer, and how to potentially improve responses to immunotherapy approaches in this tumor type.

Subcutaneous Atezolizumab Approved in Great Britain for All Intravenous Indications

August 29th 2023

Great Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency has approved subcutaneous atezolizumab for all indications in which the intravenous formulation of the drug has been approved, including select types of lung, bladder, breast, and liver cancers.

Pembrolizumab Plus Trastuzumab and Chemotherapy Receives European Approval in HER2+ Gastric/GEJ Cancer

August 29th 2023

The European Commission has approved pembrolizumab for use in combination with trastuzumab, fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of adult patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic, HER2-positive gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma whose tumors express PD-L1 with a combined positive score of at least 1.

Pembrolizumab With COPDAC-28 Consolidation Increases PET Negativity in Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma

August 29th 2023

The addition of pembrolizumab to COPDAC-28 consolidation may augment responses to treatment in pediatric and young adult patients with high-risk classical Hodgkin lymphoma who experience a slow early response to frontline chemotherapy.

Dr Barata on Immunotherapy Treatment and the Gut Microbiome in Kidney Cancer

August 25th 2023

Pedro Barata, MD, MSc, discusses important considerations regarding the relationship between immunotherapy treatment and the gut microbiome when treating patients with kidney cancer.

LEAP-010 Trial Discontinued After OS Projection With Pembrolizumab/Lenvatinib in Metastatic HNSCC

August 25th 2023

The combination of pembrolizumab and lenvatinib demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival and objective response rate but failed to improve overall survival compared with pembrolizumab plus placebo as frontline therapy for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Atezolizumab Plus Cabozantinib Improves PFS in Hormone Therapy–Pretreated mCRPC

August 21st 2023

The combination of cabozantinib and atezolizumab led to a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival compared with a second novel hormonal therapy in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer and measurable soft tissue disease following 1 prior novel hormonal therapy, meeting one of the primary end points in the primary analysis of the phase 3 CONTACT-02 trial.

Avelumab Increases PFS Rates in dMMR/MSI Metastatic CRC

August 18th 2023

Patients with mismatch repair–deficient and/or microsatellite instability metastatic colorectal cancer experienced a progression-free survival benefit with longer disease control following treatment with avelumab compared with standard second-line chemotherapy.

GVAX Cancer Vaccine Plus Nivolumab and Urelumab Elicits Early Efficacy in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

August 14th 2023

Treatment with the GVAX pancreatic cancer vaccine plus nivolumab and urelumab increased the presence of intratumoral activated cytotoxic T cells and showed early signs of efficacy in patients with resectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma.

MDNA11 Generates Activity, Safety in Advanced Solid Tumors

August 9th 2023

Treatment with the long-acting interleukin-2 superkine led to durable tumor control and no dose-limiting toxicities in patients with advanced solid tumors, according to data from the dose-escalation portion of the phase 1/2 ABILITY-1 trial.