Dr. Trent on Research Efforts in Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcomas

Jonathan C. Trent, MD, PhD, professor and associate director for Clinical Research at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Health System, discusses research efforts in bone and soft tissue sarcomas.

Recently, several advances have been made in the field of research for bone and soft tissue sarcomas, says Trent. Notably, immunotherapy is becoming useful in the management of certain types of patients with certain types of sarcomas. For instance, a recent publication in the Lancet Oncology showed that patients with alveolar soft part sarcoma may benefit from immunotherapy with a checkpoint inhibitor plus a receptor TKI.

In the single-center, single-arm, phase 2 trial, investigators assessed the activity of the VEGF receptor TKI axitinib (Inlyta) plus pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with sarcoma. With a median follow-up of 14.7 months (IQR 10.1-19.1), 3-month progression-free survival (PFS) for all evaluable patients was 65.6% (95% CI 46.6-79.3). For patients with alveolar soft part sarcoma, the 3-month PFS was 72.7% (95% CI 37.1-90.3). Investigators reported a 50% partial response rate, which is remarkable for a disease that is known to be resistant to chemotherapy, concludes Trent.