May 2019

Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, co-physician editor-in-chief, discusses the excitement of immunotherapy at the 2019 AACR Annual Meeting and how this research can inform resarch efforts moving forward.

Updated NCCN guidelines in prostate cancer recommend integration of tumor genetic testing into clinical practice for patients with advanced prostate cancer. For patients with regional or metastatic disease, the guidelines recommend testing for homologous recombination gene mutations and for microsatellite instability or mismatch repair deficiency, according to Emmanuel S. Antonarakis, MBBCh.

Investigators across the globe have expended considerable effort attempting to identify mechanisms of response and resistance to ICIs. The general conclusion is that each patient’s response to immunotherapy is likely complex and highly individualized.

Oncology practices that adopt the OCM developed by the CMS face a tough road. The transformation requires changes in infrastructure encompassing administrative and care management service lines, as well as a change in philosophical outlook for clinicians and physician leadership; translational services for clinical interpretation; and internal reporting that is both costly and complex.

Findings from ongoing immunotherapy studies are expected to change the treatment paradigm in breast cancer as these agents become available to larger subsets of patients, according to Hope S. Rugo, MD, and Elizabeth A. Mittendorf, MD, PhD, who presented data at the 36th Annual Miami Breast Cancer Conference® hosted by Physicians’ Education Resource®, LLC.

Radioembolization is an effective treatment option for patients with neuroendocrine neoplasms and liver metastases, demonstrating a disease control rate of >90% in an international, retrospective study.