SKIN CANCERS

General Cancer

Alexander D. Guminski, MD, PhD, discusses the 12-month follow-up data from a phase II study investigating the role of cemiplimab as a treatment for patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Shlomo Koyfman, MD, the director of head and neck and skin cancer radiation at Cleveland Clinic, provides details about the current treatments for cSCC and how the new KEYNOTE-630 trial could improve practice for oncologists who treat cSCC.

The FDA has accepted 6 supplemental Biologics License Applications (sBLAs) for review for a potential update to the dosing schedule for pembrolizumab across several indications.

The ability to activate pattern recognition receptors, carry other genetic &ldquo;cargo&rdquo; to modify immunity, and induce lymphocyte infiltration into cancer is an appealing strategy accomplished by intralesional oncolytic viruses. Thus, the concept of combining these novel therapeutics in the preoperative setting to enhance in situ immunization and antitumor activity systemically, as well as to increase R0 complete resection, may be a useful approach to lead to cure, according to Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD.

Nikhil I. Khushalani, MD, discusses the rationale for combining nivolumab with bempegaldesleukin for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed, unresectable or metastatic melanoma in a randomized, open-label phase III trial.

Skin Cancer

Biomarker expansion has enjoyed a boom since 2006, with patient incidence of positive biomarkers reaching up to 50% in non&ndash;small cell lung cancer and melanoma and 25% in acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes, according&nbsp; to the <em>Global Oncology Trends 2018</em> report.

Cemiplimab has been approved by the&nbsp;European Commission for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic or locally advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma who are not candidates for curative surgery or curative radiation.

Significant activity was observed when ibrutinib was administered concurrently with CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy compared with separately in patients with&nbsp;high-risk relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia who had progressed on or were intolerant of ibrutinib.&nbsp;Data presented at the 15th International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma show a high response rate with this concurrent treatment.&nbsp;

The phase III IMspire170 trial failed to meet its primary endpoint according to topline results from the study. The combination of atezolizumab and cobimetinib did not improve progression-free survival compared with pembrolizumab in patients with previously untreated<em> BRAF&nbsp;</em>V600 wild-type melanoma.

The American Cancer Society, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Baptist Cancer Center, and the Mayo Clinic report&nbsp;that treatment patterns varied markedly by cancer type and care facility setting for patients with de novo metastatic disease who died within 1 month after diagnosis, based on an analysis of data from 100,848 patients collected from the National Cancer Database, a hospital-based cancer registry that captures 70% of patients in the United States with a new diagnosis.

The FDA recently released 5 new draft guidance documents that promote broader patient eligibility for cancer clinical trials. The policies encourage inclusion of certain individuals who were previously disqualified due to medical conditions or biological factors, including brain metastases, organ dysfunction, prior or concurrent malignancies, chronic infections, and age.

A cohort of cancer centers was selected to serve as models for identifying key strategies for racial and ethnic minority group engagement in clinical trials. On the basis of several qualifying criteria, such as sustained accrual of minorities into clinical cancer research, an established minority population &ge;10% in the overall catchment, an established clinical trial infrastructure, and a formal community outreach program, the investigators identified 8 cancer centers for participation.

In a case-based-style discussion, Tanios S. Bekaii-Saab, MD, and Wells Messersmith, MD, reviewed the treatment of patients with colorectal cancer whose tumors express rare gene mutations or molecular signatures, such as <em>NTRK</em> fusions.

<em>Targeted Oncology</em>&nbsp;spoke with experts in attendance at the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting to review what they believed were some of the biggest takeaways from this year&#39;s presentation across the fields of lung cancer, breast cancer, GI cancers, genitourinary cancers, melanoma, and multiple myeloma.