IMMUNOTHERAPY

Yvonne Saenger, MD, director, melanoma immunotherapy, Columbia University Medical Center, discusses the impacts of chemotherapy and immunotherapy in melanoma.

Researchers are further exploring the possibility of using an immunotherapeutic vaccinia virus to treat advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), according to Ghassan K. Abou-Alfa, MD.

Merck, the manufacturer of pembrolizumab (Keytruda), has announced the FDA has granted priority review to a supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for the PD-1 inhibitor as a first-line treatment for patients with PD-L1-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Blinatumomab (Blincyto) has received accelerated approval from the FDA for the treatment of pediatric and adolescent patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph-) relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

<div>Though Nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) have demonstrated considerable success in the field of metastatic melanoma as both single agents and in combination, questions remain regarding sequencing the agents and the high toxicities that often occur when the 2 immunotherapies are used together.<br /> &nbsp;</div>

Melanoma research is rapidly advancing, explains Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, particularly with immunotherapy.<br /> <br /> &nbsp;

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) demonstrated promising antitumor activity with durable responses in patients with advanced thyroid cancer, according to results from the KEYNOTE-028 trial presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting. The overall response rate (ORR) with the PD-1 inhibitor was 9.1%, which included 2 partial responses (PR).

The field of metastatic bladder cancer&mdash;an area that had long been stagnant&mdash;has quickly evolved with the recent FDA approval of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) coupled with the breakthrough therapy designation of nivolumab (Opdivo).

Not all gastroesophageal junction cancers should be treated the same, according to Richard J. Bold, MD.

While the utilization of immunotherapy in gastric cancer may not be as clear cut as it is in melanoma or lung cancer, Zev Wainberg, MD, illustrates some trials where the therapy type is breaking through.

The FDA approval of pembrolizumab as a treatment for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma in August 2016 was extremely significant for this patient population, which previously had limited options following progression on a platinum-based chemotherapy.

A therapy that provides an impressive and durable benefit has been mostly out of reach in the primary brain cancer space, particularly for glioblastoma.

The search for effective biomarkers is still one of the biggest challenges in cancer, said Janice M. Mehnert, MD.

Today, the field of melanoma is virtually unrecognizable from what it was not that long ago.

Immunotherapy may not phase out surgery and chemotherapy as standards of care in cancer, but oncolytic viruses may usher in a new age of treatment.

The management of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain cancer in children, has not changed in decades but breakthroughs are on the horizon.

Madhav Dhodapkar, MBBS, clinical research program leader, Hematology Program, Yale Cancer Center, discusses the evolving field of immuno-oncology and the significant benefits it stands to have for patients.

Across the fields of renal cell carcinoma, bladder cancer, and prostate cancer, immunotherapy agents are moving through the pipeline and impacting patient outcomes&mdash;some quicker than others.

The treatment paradigm of metastatic urothelial carcinoma was shaken up in May 2016 when the FDA approved the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease.

Atezolizumab proves to be non-toxic and shows major survival advantage in patients with metastatic urothelial bladder cancer.

Scientific breakthroughs can be difficult in a rare disease such as sarcoma, which makes up less than 1% of all adult cancers and comprises more than 50 subtypes.

Treatment with pembrolizumab led to a reduction of tumor size in 33% of patients with undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma and dedifferentiated liposarcoma.

Data from the phase I HD7 through HD11 trials proves promising enough to move on to phase II.

The FDA has placed a partial clinical hold on a planned pivotal trial examining NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy in patients with myxoid round cell liposarcoma.