January 2021

In this trial, the previous observation of liver toxicity using CD137 agonism was not observed, suggesting a safe neoadjuvant dosing. Indeed, 30% of patients demonstrated pathologic responses. Further research may combine a way of overcoming immune checkpoint pathways with stimulatory agonists.

In early 2020, the treatment paradigm of soft tissue sarcoma had 3 notable advancements with the FDA approving therapies in epithelioid sarcoma, Kaposi sarcoma, and gastrointestinal stromal tumors.

The safety and efficacy of cabozantinib plus nivolumab and ipilimumab versus nivolumab/ipilimumab will be evaluated in 676 treatment-naïve patients with advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the phase 3 COSMIC-313 trial.

Improved antitumor activity of the triplet combination of urelumab, a GVAX vaccine, and nivolumab was observed in patients with resectable pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, according to findings from a 3-arm phase 1/2 trial.

Optimal therapy in the treatment of metastatic urothelial cancer has evolved over time with regulatory changes pulling back frontline indications.

The virtual 38th Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference®, hosted by Physicians’ Education Resource®, LLC will feature presentations from industry thought leaders on innovations in the arena of breast cancer treatment, including topics about systemic therapy and beyond.

This was the fastest vaccine development program in history, and it’s not even close. David Pride, MD, PhD, a microbiologist at the University of California, San Diego, estimates that vaccines typically take 10 to 15 years to develop. Until the COVID-19 pandemic, the fastest development timeline was 4 years, for the mumps vaccine.

An exploratory analysis of the phase 3 IMvigor130 trial demonstrated that the benefit of frontline atezolizumab added to gemcitabine and platinum chemotherapy was maintained in patients with urothelial cancer, regardless of the site of the primary tumor.

Positive response and disease control rates were observed in 2 separate studies when patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma received the combination of eganelisib and nivolumab.

Rate for objective response and stable disease were encouraging, according to findings from a phase 2 trial evaluating the PD-1 inhibitor, cemiplimab-rwlc.

Investigators treating patients with gynecologic malignancies are optimistic that multiple clinical trials exploring new second-line cervical cancer treatments will result in a much-anticipated breakthrough for the field.

Subsequent observations related to the COVID-19 have led to the discovery cardiac manifestations, gastrointestinal complications, and hematological manifestations associated with this virus.