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A patient-derived tumor fragment platform has allowed close examination of the early immunologic responses to PD-1 blockade, revealing a relationship between immune cell reactivation and clinical response.

Chinese researchers have used a combination of long noncoding RNA signatures and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte tumor infiltration to identify four distinct immune classes that may predict response to cancer immunotherapy.

Phase 1b/2 study data show that combining the multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor lenvatinib with pembrolizumab could be a promising treatment option for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma and selected other advanced solid tumor types.

HLA class I evolutionary divergence is associated with response to immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment in people with cancer, show data published in Nature Medicine.

Immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced inflammatory arthritis among patients with cancer may need long-term management by rheumatologists after cessation of treatment, but does not appear to affect cancer outcomes, say researchers.

A French database analysis lends further support for the use immune checkpoint inhibitors for cancer in patients with pre-existing autoimmune disease.

Five-year data from the phase I CA209-003 trial indicate that the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab is associated with long-term survival benefits among heavily pretreated patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma or non-small-cell lung cancer.

Two studies point to the feasibility of resuming immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients who discontinue treatment due to immune-related adverse events.

Researchers have comprehensively analyzed the incidence of adverse events in trials of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors, while another team has provided insight into the potential pathophysiologic process underlying these effects.

A US chart review has found no increase in the incidence of severe immune-related adverse events among advanced cancer patients who receive an influenza vaccination during the 2 months before or after initiating immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.

An updated analysis of the CheckMate 067 trial shows continued survival benefits at 4 years with nivolumab plus ipilimumab or nivolumab monotherapy versus ipilimumab alone in patients with previously untreated advanced melanoma.

In patients with high-risk resectable melanoma, neoadjuvant treatment with the combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab is associated with high response rates but also considerable toxicity, while single-agent nivolumab has better tolerability but is less efficacious, trial results show.

Read more here

Using ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose–positron emission tomography to measure treatment response at 1 year in patients with metastatic melanoma may better predict long-term outcomes than standard computed tomography, research shows.

The ESMO Translational Research and Precision Medicine Working Group has proposed a classification system that orders the value of molecular aberrations as oncologic clinical targets based on the supporting evidence available.

The AVAST-M and E5103 trial results rule out the use of bevacizumab in the adjuvant setting in high-risk patients with cutaneous melanoma and HER2-negative breast cancer, respectively.

Melanoma patients with brain metastases can expect to live longer following the incorporation of checkpoint inhibitors and BRAF-targeted therapies into standard care than their counterparts treated prior to the approval of these agents, suggests an analysis of the US National Cancer Database.

Researchers recommend against the routine use of high-dose glucocorticoids for the treatment of ipilimumab-induced hypophysitis inpatients with melanoma after observing poorer oncologic outcomes with high versus low doses.

Find out more about this US FDA decision here

An updated analysis of the phase III COLUMBUS trial adds to the evidence supporting a combination of the BRAF inhibitor encorafenib and the MEK inhibitor binimetinib in patients with advanced BRAF V600-mutant melanoma.