ASCO 2015 Highlights

On March 4, 2022, the FDA accelerated the approval of the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo; Bristol Myers Squibb) in combination with platinum-doublet chemotherapy for the neoadjuvant treatment of adults with resectable non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This represents the first FDA approval for neoadjuvant therapy for early-stage NSCLC.

Two years of abiraterone acetate (Zytiga) plus prednisone added to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) improved metastasis-free survival and overall survival compared with ADT alone in men with nonmetastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer, whereas the addition of enzalutamide (Xtandi) to ADT had no benefit, and much greater toxicity.

Adagrasib (MRTX849), an inhibitor of the KRAS^G12C mutation, showed promising activity as monotherapy and in combination with cetuximab (Erbitux) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (CRC) in the phase 1/2 KRYSTAL-1 trial.

Vaccination with the mRNA-1273 vaccine (Moderna) appears safe in patients with solid tumors receiving immunotherapy, chemotherapy, or chemoimmunotherapy.

Second-line therapy with trastuzumab deruxtecan (Enhertu; T-DXd) extended progression-free survival (PFS) and improved objective response rate (ORR) versus trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla; T-DM1) in women with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer, including those with stable brain metastasis at baseline, according to a subgroup analysis of a phase 3 clinical trial.

Final results from the pivotal phase 3 KEYNOTE-355 trial showed that the addition of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to chemotherapy resulted in a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival (OS) compared with chemotherapy alone in patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) whose tumors expressed PD-L1 with a combined positive score (CPS) ≥10.

Treatment with the investigational agent mosunetuzumab (RG7828) as monotherapy induced deep remissions in patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma, according to results of a recent trial presented at the ASH 2021 Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Results from 2 single-center studies presented at the ASH 2021 Annual Meeting and Exposition showed that nearly 1 in 6 patients with hematologic diseases had no or low antibody response after a second COVID-19 vaccination, but that the mRNA 1273 COVID-19 vaccine induced a strong antibody response in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

The results from 2 phase 3 clinical trials highlighted the superiority of CAR T-cell therapies over current standard of care (SOC) when used earlier in the course of treatment for patients with large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL).