Immuno-Oncology – ASCO 2017

Patients with advanced lung cancer, head-and-neck-cancer and melanoma benefit from treatments with immune checkpoint inhibitors nivolumab, pembrolizumab, atezolizumab and ipilimumab.

In monday´s Health Services Research, Clinical Informatics, and Quality of Care Session, Prof. Alok Khorana presented an abstract evaluating trends in time to initiating treatment (TTI) in common solid tumors in the US.

According to findings from the LATITUDE and STAMPEDE trials presented at this year´s ASCO, adding abiraterone to androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) increased overall survival (OS) among men with locally advanced or hormone-sensitive metastatic prostate cancer and has the potential to become the new standard of care for men starting long-term ADT.

In Monday´s oral abstract session on lung cancer - Non-Small Cell Local-Regional/Small Cell/Other Thoracic Cancers, a randomized non comparative phase 2 trial was presented, which evaluated the efficacy of anti-PD1 mAb Nivolumab (Nivo)-monotherapy and anti-PD-1 + anti-CTLA-4 (Ipilimumab, Ipi)-combination therapy in MPM.

In Sunday morning´s oral abstract session on melanoma, Caroline Robert from the Institut Gustave Roussy in Paris presented an update on the KEYNOTE-006 trial including impressive long-term survival data.

Although immunotherapy drugs are currently not approved for the use in GI cancers, we are facing the rapid emergence of new and promising data in upper gastrointestinal malignancies, specifically in hepatocellular carcinoma, gastro-esophageal cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Findings from a multicenter, retrospective study provide reassurance to breast cancer survivors who are contemplating pregnancy. In the study, women who became pregnant after an early breast cancer diagnosis, including those with estrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumors, did not have a higher chance of cancer recurrence and death than those who did not become pregnant.

The results of a prospective, wait-list controlled intervention study for STREAM showed that a web-based stress management for newly diagnosed cancer patients can relieve distress and markedly improve quality of life.