IMMUNOTHERAPY

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has approved the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) for patients with metastatic melanoma, which allows the combination to be used within the National Health Service (NHS).

Choosing between immunotherapy and targeted therapy in the frontline setting for patients with BRAF-mutated melanoma does not have to be a guessing game, according to Keith T. Flaherty, MD.

Adding utomilumab (PF-05082566), a 4-1BB agonist, to pembrolizumab (Keytruda), a PD-1 inhibitor, was shown to be a safe and effective combination therapy for patients with different types of advanced solid tumors, according to findings from a phase Ib study presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Findings for the new immunotherapy agent targeting claudin18.2 (CLDN18.2) presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting raised the possibility of a new therapeutic agent in a tumor type with relatively few current options. When added to standard chemotherapy, the treatment reduced the risk of death or disease progression by approximately 50% for patients with CLDN18.2-positive advanced gastric cancers.

A phase Ib expansion cohort of the Keynote-029 trial found that a combined regimen of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) at the standard dose (2 mg/kg) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) at a reduced dose (1 mg/kg) was safe and effective for patients with advanced melanoma.

The combinations of nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) and pembrolizumab (Keytruda) plus bevacizumab (Avastin ), both show promising efficacy in recent trials, possibly paving the way toward a new era of treatment for patients with glioblastoma.

Avelumab showed early positive survival data and lasting responses for patients with pretreated advanced or metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma, according to findings from the phase II JAVELIN Merkel 200 trial presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda), when studied in 2 clinical trials for the treatment of patients with pretreated recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), showed an objective response rate (ORR) of 18%, according to findings presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Nivolumab (Opdivo) treatment provided antitumor responses in patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), whether given as a single agent or in combination with ipilimumab (Yervoy). Interim data from the phase II CheckMate-142 trial was presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Patients with recurrent glioblastoma mutliforme reacted well to nivolumab (Opdivo) monotherapy, according to findings from the CheckMate-143 trial that were presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting. The single agent showed a manageable safety profile and promising efficacy signs during the course of the study.

Discontinuing nivolumab-ipilimumab treatment because of adverse events did not have a detrimental effect on survival among patients with advanced melanoma, follow-up from a randomized trial showed.

In a phase Ib study, combining talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), an oncolytic virus, with pembrolizumab at full doses had an acceptable safety profile, with evidence of clinical benefit in patients with advanced melanoma.

Infusion with 19-28z chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) modified T-cells led to complete response (CR) rates of 77% to 90% and minimal residual disease (MRD)-CR rates of 68% to 70% in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL).

The phase I KEYNOTE-022 study, which tested pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist) for BRAF-mutant advanced melanoma, has shown a manageable toxicity profile in patients with BRAF V600-mutant melanoma.

Nivolumab (Opdivo) monotherapy showed improved overall survival (OS) and objective response rates for patients with recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) compared with the investigator's choice of alternative therapy, according to data presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Neratinib, an experimental TKI being developed for breast cancer, achieved a 36% clinical benefit rate in a phase II trial, according to a poster presented June 5, 2016 at the ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Arjun V. Balar, MD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, co-leader of the Genitourinary Cancers Program, discusses updated results of cohort 1 of the IMvigor 210 study.

A majority of patients (66%) with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) who had progressed after receiving autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) and brentuximab vedotin (adcetris) experienced a response to nivolumab (Opdivo) monotherapy, findings from the phase II CheckMate-205 trial showed when presented at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Combination therapy nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) resulted in reduced disease progression risk of 58% when compared with ipilimumab alone in patients with advanced melanoma. Additionally, nivolumab monotherapy showed greater risk reduction (45%) compared with ipilimumab single-agent treatment.

Updated findings from the phase III CheckMate-057 and -017 trials showed sustained improvements in overall survival (OS) data of nivolumab (Opdivo) treatment in pretreated patients with nonsquamous or squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Three years after the pembrolizumab (Keytruda) clinical trial for advanced melanoma that led to the drug's FDA approval, 40% of the patients are still alive.

A new treatment consisting of genetically engineered CD4 T cells could have potential in all metastatic cancers, according to Yong-Chen William Lu, PhD.

Combination immunotherapy could easily be on the horizon for patients, but cost effectiveness plays a major role in its implementation, according to Samir Khleif, MD.

Immunotherapies have been tested in melanoma, breast, prostate, kidney, and lung cancers, and are now being studied in advanced gastric cancers.

Todd Murphree, PharmD, pharmacist, Clearview Cancer Institute, discusses measuring the quality and value of having oncology pharmacy accreditation.