Immuno-Oncology

Guru Sonpavde, MD, discusses challenges with sequencing in advanced renal cell carcinoma and his vision for the field going forward.

David F. McDermott, MD, Director of Biologic Therapy and Cutaneous Oncology Programs, Hematology and Oncology at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, discusses the combination of VEGF plus PD-1 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Ramona Dadu, MD, assistant professor, Department of Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the use of immunotherapy to treat patients with thyroid cancer.

The ambitious goals of the Cancer Moonshot initiative, now incorporated into the recently enacted 21st Century Cures Act, are generating excitement among oncology leaders.

Tanios Bekaii-Saab, MD, professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, discusses immunotherapeutic options being explored in the treatment landscape of colorectal cancer (CRC) beyond PD-1/PD-L1 agents.

Researchers are hoping the immunotherapy revolution occurring across several cancer types will extend to the field of sarcoma.

Immunotherapy is quickly becoming a mainstay in the frontline setting for the treatment of patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer.

The FDA has granted a priority review to a supplemental biologics license application for pembrolizumab in combination with pemetrexed plus carboplatin as a treatment for patients with metastatic or advanced non-squamous non–small cell lung cancer, regardless of PD-L1 expression and without EGFR or ALK mutations.

Roy Herbst, MD, PhD, discusses the next steps with pembrolizumab in NSCLC, PD-L1 testing, and managing increased toxicities with combination regimens.

Geoffrey Sklar, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Chesapeake Urology Associates, discusses the role of nivolumab in the treatment of patients with bladder cancer.

The FDA has granted a priority review to a supplemental new drug application for the use of the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab in cisplatin-ineligible patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma as a frontline therapy or following progression occurring ≥12 months after neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy.

Farhad Kosari, PhD, assistant professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, discusses anti-tumor immunity as a key determinant for small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) survivorship.

Raffit Hassan, MD, head of Thoracic and Solid Tumor Immunotherapy Section at the National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research discusses immunotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Hans Hammers, MD, PhD, associate professor, Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center, discusses a mature data set regarding nivolumab and ipilimumab in the treatment of patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, professor of Medicine, chief of Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital, discusses the impact that immunotherapy has had on the frontline treatment of patients with lung cancer.

Everett Vokes, MD, John E. Ultmann Professor of Medicine and Radiation Oncology, physician-in-chief, University of Chicago Medical Center, chair, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago Medicine, discusses the possibility of moving immunotherapy agents into the frontline setting for patients with head and neck cancer.

In the treatment paradigm of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, anti-CD20 antibodies such as obinutuzumab, and other targeted agents like ibrutinib, have shown promising efficacy and tolerability when compared with standard chemoimmunotherapy.

Mark G. Kris, MD, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses what the future holds for the development of immunotherapy and targeted therapy in the treatment of patients with lung cancer.

Daniel P. Petrylak, MD, professor of Medicine and Urology, Yale Cancer Center, discusses the recent explosion of immunotherapy research in the treatment landscape of bladder cancer.

According to Nancy Gordon, MD, immunotherapy stands to play a critical role in the treatment of patients with osteosarcoma and lung metastases.

In recent years, advancements in the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma have proceeded in 2 areas: targeted therapies and immunotherapies.

In August 2016, the FDA approved pembrolizumab for patients with platinum-refractory squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Not only was it the first immunotherapy approved for head and neck cancer (HNC), but it marked the first new drug approval for HNC in the United States in 20 years.

Two of the most noteworthy developments in the oncology field during 2016 were the continued expansion of checkpoint blockade immunotherapy agents into more cancer types and the federal government’s plans for funding and remaking the research paradigm.

Don M. Benson Jr, MD, PhD, discusses the clinical development of KIR-targeted therapies.

Igor Puzanov, MD, director, Early Phase Clinical Trials Program, chief of Melanoma, coleader, CCSG Experimental Therapeutics Program, professor of Oncology, Department of Medicine, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, discusses ways to manage patients with melanoma who may experience adverse events in response to treatment with immunotherapy.

Omid A. Hamid, MD, chief, Translational Research and Immunotherapy, director, Melanoma Therapeutics, The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, discusses how to accurately select patients who are likely to have durable and long responses with single-agent immunotherapy versus combination treatment.

Although T cells have commanded most of the attention in the burgeoning immuno-oncology field, there is a growing appreciation that other immune cells have important roles in tumor surveillance and would represent attractive therapeutic targets.

Yvonne Saenger, MD, director of Melanoma Immunotherapy at Columbia University Medical Center, discusses immunotherapy combinations in melanoma.

The landscape of multiple myeloma continues to shift with more drug approvals, but pivotal results out of the 2016 ASH Annual Meeting will likely alter it even further.

Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, chief, Melanoma and Immunotherapeutics Service, Department of Medicine and Ludwig Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 2014 Giant of Cancer Care in Melanoma, discusses an ongoing clinical trial that will explore optimal treatments for patients with melanoma who fail on a PD-1 inhibitor as a single agent.