Immunotherapy

Chicago, IL—Lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel), an investigational CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, has induced durable responses in high-risk patients with ag­gressive relapsed or refractory non-Hodg­kin lymphoma (NHL), according to data presented at ASCO 2018.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has had excellent results in late-stage leukemia and varying degrees of success in some other hematologic cancers, but thus far, solid tumors have not responded to this therapy.

PD-1 and PD-L1 expression on tumor cells is decidedly unique compared with other biomarkers currently used in oncology, and its use has been demonstrated in numerous clinical scenarios. But although the benefits associated with PD-1/PD-L1 targeted therapies have been unprecedented, the risks should not be underestimated.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have changed the treatment landscape for many cancer types. These immunomodulatory antibodies target the PD-1, PD-L1, and CTLA-4 pathways to help restore immune responses against tumors.

San Francisco, CA—The immunotherapy combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) provides durable clinical benefit in patients with previously treated DNA mismatch repair–deficient (dMMR)/microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC).

Atlanta, GA—As single-agent immunotherapies continue to show promising results, the challenge is now to determine which combination regimens with immunotherapies can improve outcomes. According to data presented at ASH 2017, 3 approaches are currently being explored.

Atlanta, GA—A novel, third-generation, oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), PF-114 mesylate, has antileukemic activity in heavily pretreated patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), including those with T315I mutation, said Jorge E. Cortes, MD, Deputy Chair, Department of Leukemia, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, at ASH 2017.

Atlanta, GA—Although chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies directed against the CD19 protein garnered much attention at ASH 2017, CAR T-cells targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA), a protein expressed nearly universally on multiple myeloma cells, were found to be remarkably effective in patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma.