Keyword: immunotherapy
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Researchers have discovered that a certain type of chemotherapy improves the immune system's ability to fight off bladder cancer, particularly when combined with immunotherapy. These findings may explain why the approach, cisplatin chemotherapy, can lead to a cure in a small subset of patients with metastatic, or advanced, bladder cancer. Researchers also believe that their findings could explain why clinical trials combining another type of chemotherapy, carboplatin-based chemo, with immunotherapy have not been successful but others that use cisplatin with immunotherapy are successful. "We have known for decades that cisplatin works better than carboplatin in bladder cancer, however, the mechanisms...
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Recent advances in treating multiple myeloma and other blood malignancies are providing improved outcomes—and hope—to patients worldwide. But treatment breakthroughs such as the immunotherapy drug teclistamab can lead to potentially lethal side effects, including cytokine release syndrome (CRS). These potential side effects have necessitated giving immunotherapy drugs in the hospital setting. Now, new research indicates that providing prophylactic treatment before immunotherapy can significantly reduce the rate of CRS in multiple myeloma patients. The study could eliminate the need to administer teclistamab and other immunotherapies in hospitals. In a key clinical study, teclistamab produced an overall response rate of 63% in...
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Over the past decade, the approval of immune checkpoint inhibitors has revolutionized treatment for patients with advanced lung cancer, helping many live longer lives and improving overall survival for the disease. However, an important question has remained unanswered: How long should a patient with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), who receives immunotherapy as part of their initial treatment, continue with treatment? A new retrospective cohort study suggests that it's reasonable to stop immunotherapy treatment at two years as long as their cancer hasn't progressed. The researchers found no statistically significant difference in overall survival between patients who stopped treatment...
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In a phase 2 clinical trial of the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab, investigators found that 42 percent of patients with metastatic brain cancer benefited from the therapy, with seven patients in the trial surviving longer than two years. "There are very few effective treatments for patients with brain metastases. Our overarching objective is to find improved therapies for this patient population," said Priscilla K. Brastianos, MD. "With this trial, we investigated pembrolizumab, which is an immunotherapy for patients with brain metastases. We showed that pembrolizumab was tolerated and showed clinical benefit in the brain in 42 percent of patients, which...
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One of the newest types of cancer drugs, immunotherapies called immune checkpoint inhibitors, has transformed the treatment of lung cancer over the last decade—dramatically improving the survival of some patients with the most common form of this disease, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, only about 20% of patients experience a benefit. A new study reveals key molecular features of lung tumors that could explain why some patients respond to these treatments while others do not. The team has pinpointed factors that may influence the response of NSCLC patients to immunotherapies that inhibit the PD-1 or PD-L1 proteins. The PD-1/PD-L1...
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A regimen of pre-surgical immunotherapy and chemotherapy followed by post-surgical immunotherapy significantly improved event-free survival (EFS) and pathologic complete response (pCR) rates compared to chemotherapy alone for patients with operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to Phase III trial results presented by researchers. The AEGEAN trial evaluated durvalumab given perioperatively, meaning therapy is given both before and after surgery. Participants on the trial received either pre-surgical (neoadjuvant) durvalumab and platinum-based chemotherapy followed by post-surgical (adjuvant) durvalumab or neoadjuvant placebo and chemotherapy followed by adjuvant placebo. "Throughout decades of research with adjuvant and neoadjuvant chemotherapy, we only succeeded in increasing...
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Data from a national clinical trial shows that a striking 89% of patients with desmoplastic melanoma responded to immunotherapy (pembrolizumab) alone, suggesting that many patients could avoid the risk for toxicity from combination therapies and achieve cancer control with this approach to treatment. Desmoplastic melanoma is a subset of melanoma skin cancer that is caused by high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation damage and, therefore, a high number of tumor mutations that all contribute to aggressive disease development and growth. "Not all melanomas are the same, and they don't respond to treatments in the same degree," said Kari Kendra, MD,...
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In mice with melanoma, probiotic bacteria travel from the gut and establish in tumors, where they directly stimulate immune cells to make cancer immunotherapy more effective, according to a study. The study showed Lactobacillus reuteri stimulates cancer-killing T cells by secreting a compound called indole-3-aldehyde, or I3A. When the researchers gave mice a diet rich in the amino acid tryptophan—which the bacteria convert to I3A—immunotherapy drugs had a stronger effect on restraining tumor size and prolonging survival. Several recent studies have found a link between probiotic supplements and immunotherapy response in melanoma patients. Compared to control mice, those given L....
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Cancer treatment routinely involves taking out lymph nodes near the tumor in case they contain metastatic cancer cells. But new findings from a clinical trial show that immunotherapy can activate tumor-fighting T cells in nearby lymph nodes. "Immunotherapy is designed to jump start the immune response, but when we take out nearby lymph nodes before treatment, we're essentially removing the key locations where T cells live and can be activated," Spitzer said. Rather than the immunotherapy pumping up the T cells in the tumor, he said, T cells in the lymph nodes are likely the source for T cells circulating...
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Immunotherapy has been shown to greatly improve survival rates for certain types of cancer. However, in some cases, it can lead to an over-activation of the immune system, which can be dangerous. In a recent review by researchers, potential therapies have been identified, which might make it possible to continue with immunotherapy even when facing severe side effects. For certain types of cancer, immunotherapy has greatly improved survival rates. However, in some patients, it can lead to a dangerous over-activation of the immune system. This rare side effect was only clinically recognized during regular clinical use rather than in clinical...
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Patients with high-risk melanoma who received the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab both before and after surgery to remove cancerous tissue had a significantly lower risk of their cancer recurring than similar patients who received the drug only after surgery. "It's not just what you give, it's when you give it. The S1801 study demonstrates the same treatment for resectable melanoma given before surgery can generate better outcomes," Patel said. "In this case, we used the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab." The mechanism of action of immune checkpoint inhibitors such as pembrolizumab is often described as "taking the brakes off" the immune system's...
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Helicobacter pylori is a bacterium that colonizes the stomach lining and is found in more than half of the global population. Most people with an H. pylori infection have no symptoms, but it can result in gastric ulcers and even stomach cancer. A study has found that seropositivity for the bacteria—meaning a blood test has confirmed the presence of antibodies against a previous H. pylori infection—may decrease the response to immunotherapy in people with metastatic melanoma, an advanced skin cancer. Dr. Marion Tonneau led the study as part of a team under Dr. Bertrand Routy. They found that patients who...
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New research finds that immune checkpoint (PD-1) inhibitors prior to surgery was strikingly effective for patients with localized mismatch repair-deficient or microsatellite instability-high (dMMR/MSI-H) colorectal cancer (CRC). Nearly all of the patients studied benefitted from neoadjuvant PD-1 inhibitors, with 1-of-4 experiencing complete response on clinical assessment. In addition to the short-term effectiveness, the findings showed substantial longer survival benefits from neodjuvant PD-1 inhibitors, including a low recurrence rate when compared with historic rates. The study included a retrospective review of 73 patients between ages 18 and 75 with confirmed dMMR/MSI-H CRC who received any type of PD-1 inhibitor prior to...
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A customized Moderna Inc. vaccine combined with a Merck & Co. cancer drug helped ward off the recurrence of the skin cancer melanoma after surgery in patients in a mid-stage clinical trial, the companies said. The companies said Tuesday the combination of Moderna’s personalized cancer vaccine and Merck’s Keytruda cancer immunotherapy reduced patients’ risk of relapse or death by about 44%, versus Keytruda alone, in the 150-volunteer study. The results, which the companies said were statistically significant but haven’t been reviewed by independent scientists, suggest promise for an emerging but unproven class of vaccines that aim to treat diseases rather...
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Continued treatment for patients with cancer near end-of-life escalates costs and may adversely affect the quality of care patients receive. Accordingly, over the last decade, major professional societies have recommended that clinicians decrease the use of systemic anti-cancer therapies at the end-of-life stage. Researchers revealed that despite these recommendations, aggressive cancer care at the end-of-life persists and there has been a substantial transition from the use of chemotherapy to immunotherapy. "Systemic anti-cancer therapy has changed dramatically following the approvals of multiple new targeted therapies," said Kerin Adelson, MD. Researchers used the nationwide Flatiron Health electronic health record (EHR)-derived database to...
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In an international, multicenter Phase II clinical trial led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 63.3% of patients with stage II–IV cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) saw their tumors nearly or completely disappear when treated with immunotherapy before surgery. The anti-PD1 therapy cemiplimab was well-tolerated, and the study met its primary endpoint with a pathologic complete response (pCR) rate of 50.6%, meaning no tumor cells were found at surgery. Another 12.7% of patients had a major pathological response (MPR), with less than 10% viable tumor found at surgery. The responses were confirmed by independent central pathologic review....
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A combination of chemotherapy with an immunotherapy meant to unleash the anticancer capacity of the immune system was effective against one of the hardest targets in cancer care, pancreatic cancer, in a national, randomized clinical trial. The researchers found that in 34 patients with advanced pancreatic cancer randomized to receive the immunotherapy nivolumab with two chemotherapy drugs, nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine, had a one-year survival rate of 57.7 percent, significantly greater than the historical average of 35 percent with chemotherapy alone. The findings also included the identification of immune system biomarkers associated with better outcomes. A ray of hope has come...
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For years, surgery for patients with stage III melanoma—melanoma that has spread to the lymph nodes—involved removing those lymph nodes along with the primary tumor. Known as completion lymph node dissection (CLND), the surgery was meant to ensure that no cancer remained after surgery. More recently, however, cancer surgeons have discovered that CLND has the potential to cause more problems than it solves. In most cases, patients do better on immunotherapy alone than they do when their surgery involves removal of the lymph nodes, due to potential complications from lymph node surgery. Torphy, working with McCarter and the other researchers,...
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Quebec scientists have discovered that the Brazilian camu-camu berry, already recognized for its protective effects against obesity and diabetes, can also help to treat cancers. Bertrand Routy, an Université de Montréal's medical professor, shows one compound from the fruit can have a positive role to play in immunotherapy. "With this research, we have proved that castalagin, a polyphenol acting as a prebiotic, modifies the gut microbiome and improves immunotherapy response, even for cancers resistant to this type of treatment," said Routy. "Our results pave the way for clinical trials that will use castalagin as a complement to medications called immune...
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Woman with breast cancer had metastatic lesions in chest wall (top, left) and liver (bottom, left). After receiving the immunotherapy, tumors shrank completely. Recent scans (R) show she is cancer free more than 5 years later. Credit: The National Cancer Institute (NCI) ========================================================================================== An experimental form of immunotherapy that uses an individual’s own tumor-fighting immune cells could potentially be used to treat people with metastatic breast cancer, according to results from an ongoing clinical trial led by researchers at the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Center for Cancer Research, part of the National Institutes of Health. Many people with metastatic breast...
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