Immunotherapy in Advanced Lung Cancer
July 15th 2020ABSTRACT Historically, platinum-based chemotherapy was the standard of care for metastatic lung cancer. However, since the success of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in melanoma, PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 immune checkpoint pathways have been established as effective therapies to manage advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and extensive-stage (ES) small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Multiple large-scale randomized clinical trials have analyzed the effects of ICIs in NSCLC, and results of these trials have since translated to the approval of single-agent PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors, and the combination of PD-1 inhibitors with platinum-based chemotherapy has become the new standard of care for patients with advanced NSCLC. Furthermore, in ES SCLC, in which chemotherapy or chemoradiation has been the standard of care for decades, 2 anti–PD-1/PD-L1 agents have been approved for use in the frontline setting for ES SCLC, in combination with chemotherapy. Despite progressive integration of immunotherapy into treatment regimens, there remains a need for reliable biomarkers to precisely determine therapy candidates.
Phase 2 CITYSCAPE Trial Shows Promise for Tiragolumab in NSCLC
July 4th 2020Patients with chemotherapy-naïve, locally advanced, or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer who were treated with tiragolumab plus an anti-PD-L1 agent showed better efficacy versus single-agent checkpoint inhibitor therapy alone.
NCCN Patient Guidelines Highlight Side Effects of Immunotherapy, CAR T-Cell Therapy
July 3rd 2020Immunotherapy and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy are new and important treatments revolutionizing care of some cancers; however, their side effects can be very different than what is seen in traditional approaches, such as chemotherapy.
CAR T-Cell Therapies Show Promise for Multiple Myeloma, but Hurdles Remain
July 2nd 2020There are promising signs that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies might lead to meaningful advances in the therapy of multiple myeloma. However, investigators will first need to clear a number of key hurdles.
Expert Shares Efforts to Expand Use of CAR T-Cell Therapy to Solid Tumors
June 30th 2020Natalie Sophia Grover, MD, discusses ongoing research with CAR T-cell therapy in hematologic malignancies, efforts examining the potential for this approach in solid tumors, and future directions and challenges with this modality.
COVID-19 Raises Difficult Challenges for CAR T-Cell Therapy Administration
June 27th 2020Patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia can benefit greatly from chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, but providing that therapy has become much more difficult in the age of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Axi-Cel Retreatment Demonstrates Clinical Efficacy in Large B-Cell Lymphoma
June 24th 2020Findings from an exploratory analysis of the phase 1/2 ZUMA-1 trial demonstrated clinical efficacy in patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma who were retreated with the CAR T-cell therapy axicabtagene ciloleucel.
Selinexor Approved Under Accelerated Pathway to Treat DLBCL
June 24th 2020The FDA granted accelerated approval to selinexor (Xpovio, Karyopharm Therapeutics) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The oral treatment is to be used after at least 2 lines of systemic therapy.
FDA Approves Selinexor for Relapsed/Refractory DLBCL
June 22nd 2020The FDA has approved selinexor for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), not otherwise specified, including DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma, after at least two lines of systemic therapy.
Pembrolizumab Approved in China for Second-Line PD-L1+ Esophageal Cancer
June 22nd 2020The National Medical Products Administration in China has approved pembrolizumab for the treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma whose tumors express PD-L1 as determined by an approved test, following disease progression on 1 prior line of systemic therapy.
Humility and Hope: Evolution of the HIV Pandemic, From ART to Today's Cancer Cures
June 19th 2020The connections between cancer and HIV/AIDS became clear relatively early in the HIV/AIDS pandemic and continue to this day. Not only were opportunistic infections present in a majority of HIV-infected patients who met the initial diagnostic criteria for AIDS, but several cancer types were far more prevalent as well. While there is still much to understand before HIV is fully conquered, we have already learned a great deal about the pathobiology of this virus that has helped advanced immune-oncological technologies and led to the development of increasingly effective gene therapy delivery systems.
Researchers Use Stem Cells to Create Retinal Models, Study Eye Disease
June 19th 2020Scientists at the Trinity College Dublin and University College London developed a new gene therapy approach that has the potential to treat a group of eye diseases known as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), according to research published in Stem Cell Reports.
Axi-Cel Induces Durable Remissions in Relapsed CLL, B-Cell Lymphoma
June 18th 2020Patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia and B-cell lymphoma who received the anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy FMC63-28Z experienced highly durable rates of remission, according to long-term data from a phase 1/2 study.
Zaia Draws on Decades of Innovation in Infectious Disease for Breakthroughs in Gene Therapy
June 17th 2020Known as a gene therapy pioneer, Zaia has spent almost 40 years at City of Hope, in Duarte, California. He was first drawn by the promise of studying cytomegalovirus. Over the decades, his groundbreaking research has encompassed HIV/AIDS, cellular gene transfer therapy, immunotherapy, bispecific antibodies, and now hyperimmune globulin for workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Starting Insulin, GLP-1 at Same Time Brings Better Glycemic Control, Real-World Data Show
June 15th 2020Selected abstracts from the American Diabetes Association's 80th Scientific Sessions discuss when to add injectable therapy, how patients who switched to semaglutide lost more weight and gained glycemic control, and offered results from an early-phase study on a monoclonal antibody that may preserve B-cell function.
CAG Regimen Shows Strong Results as Salvage Therapy in T-ALL
June 13th 2020Patients with relapsed/refractory T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia face poor outcomes, and are generally treated by salvage therapy followed by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. A new study suggests an optimal option for salvage therapy.
CARTITUDE-1 Study Results Show Promise for Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma
June 13th 2020Jesus G. Berdeja, MD, of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute discussed the CARTITUDE-1 study that examined CAR-T cell therapy to treat patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma presented at the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program.
Liso-Cel Induces High Response Rates in High-Risk Relapsed/Refractory B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
June 12th 2020Treatment with the CAR T-cell product lisocabtagene maraleucel led to high response rates, with durable complete responses, in transplant-ineligible patients with relapsed/refractory aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma who had poor prognostic features.
Research Reflections: Hamid Homes in on Key Efforts Made in Melanoma
June 8th 2020Omid Hamid, MD, highlights key abstracts in melanoma as they relate to the optimal duration and sequencing of checkpoint inhibitors, adoptive cell therapy, and subgroups of patients with mucosal melanoma and brain metastases.