Latest Conference Articles

Triplet Therapy on Horizon for BRAF+ Melanoma

The combination of anti–PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy with BRAF plus MEK inhibitors is advancing rapidly following early promising phase results for patients with BRAF-mutant advanced melanoma.

Novel Combinations Mark Next Step for Melanoma

Immunotherapy has led a transformation for melanoma care but combinations of anti–PD-1 and CTLA-4 agents are toxic and biomarkers are not available to help personalized treatment, calling for further research into less toxic and more effective options.

Dr. Postow on BRAF and MEK Inhibitor Combination Studies in Melanoma

Michael A. Postow, MD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses BRAF and MEK inhibitor combinations studies in melanoma.

Dr. Atkinson Discusses the COLUMBUS Trial for Melanoma

Victoria Atkinson, MD, medical oncologist, Princess Alexandra Hospital, University of Queensland, discusses the Columbus trial for patients with melanoma.

Dr. Weber on Nivolumab in the Adjuvant Setting for Melanoma

Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, deputy director and co-director of the Melanoma Program at the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses the use of nivolumab (Opdivo) in the adjuvant setting for the treatment of patients with melanoma.

Early Study Shows Promise for Genetically Modified TILs in Advanced Melanoma

Treatment with genetically engineered tumor infiltrating lymphocytes showed some signs of activity and very little added toxicity for patients with metastatic melanoma.

Immunotherapy Infuses New Hope Into Merkel Cell Carcinoma Care

While chemotherapy has historically been used to treat patients with Merkel cell carcinoma, immunotherapy advances have infused new hope into the treatment landscape.

Dr. Luke Discusses PD-1 Plus IDO Inhibitors in Melanoma

Jason Luke, MD, assistant professor of medicine, University of Chicago Medicine, discusses the combination approach of a PD-1 antibody plus an IDO inhibitor for patients with melanoma.

Expert Discusses Mutations in Melanoma

Alan Shain, PhD, postdoctoral scholar, UCSF School of Medicine, discusses the role of genetics in melanoma.

Dr. Daud on Challenges Facing the Treatment Landscape for Melanoma

Adil Daud, MD, clinical professor, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses challenges facing the treatment landscape of melanoma.

Dr. Garassino Discusses Recent Pivotal Immunotherapy Findings in NSCLC

Marina Chiara Garassino, MD, medical consultant, Medical Oncology Division, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Nazionale dei Tumori, discusses some of the recent exciting results regarding immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Frontline Pembrolizumab More Than Doubles OS in PD-L1+ NSCLC

Two-year results showed that frontline pembrolizumab (Keytruda) more than doubled median overall survival compared with standard chemotherapy in patients with high PD-L1 expressing non–small cell lung cancer

Ado-Trastuzumab Emtansine Shows Activity in HER2-Mutated, Amplified Lung Cancer

Ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla) is active and well tolerated in patients with advanced HER2-mutant or amplified lung cancers as identified by next generation sequencing.

Dr. Doebele on Significant Findings of Entrectinib in Patients With ROS1+ NSCLC

Robert C. Doebele, MD, PhD, associate professor, Division of Medical Oncology, University of Colorado, discusses the significance of the results of a trial exploring entrectinib in patients with ROS1-positive non

Entrectinib Impresses for ROS1-Positive NSCLC

Treatment with entrectinib induced an objective response rate of 68.8% by blinded independent central review, which included 2 complete responses (6.3%), for patients with ROS1 fusion-positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer.

Intralesional Combinations Pave the Way for Melanoma Treatment

The use of intralesional therapies in combination with checkpoint inhibitors has shown to be an improvement to monotherapy and combinations with immunotherapy in melanoma.

Ensartinib Effective, Well-Tolerated in Patients With ALK+, TKI-Naive NSCLC

The potent small molecule TKI ensartinib has shown promise and meaningful intercranial activity in ALK-positive, TKI-naïve patients with non–small cell lung cancer.

Frontline Lorlatinib Induces 90% Response in ALK+ NSCLC

Lorlatinib induced an objective response rate of 90% in treatment-naïve patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer.

Durvalumab Delivers on QoL Post Chemo RT in PACIFIC Trial

Patient reported outcomes from the PACIFIC trial of durvalumab versus placebo after chemoradiation in locally advanced unresectable NSCLC show that durvalumab had no serious impact on quality of life.

ctDNA EGFR Testing Identifies Proper Patients for Frontline Osimertinib

There was a high concordance between central tissue and plasma circulating tumor DNA testing for EGFR mutations in patients enrolled in the phase III FLAURA study of frontline osimertinib (Tagrisso) in NSCLC.

Dr. Oxnard on Detecting Resistance Mechanisms After Treatment With Osimertinib

Geoffrey R. Oxnard, MD, physician, assistant professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses resistance mechanisms that occur in patients with EGFR-positive T790M non

MET/EGFR Combo Effective for Advanced NSCLC

The combination of osimertinib and the MET inhibitor savolitinib showed signs of efficacy for pretreated patients with MET-positive, EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer.

Dr. Drilon on Entrectinib in Patients With ROS1-Positive NSCLC

Alexander Drilon, MD, medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses a study exploring entrectinib in patients with ROS1-positive, advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) during an interview at the IASLC 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Yokohama, Japan.

Dacomitinib Stands Out in EGFR-Mutated Subtype Response

Second-generation EGFR inhibitor dacomitinib showed clear superiority over first-generation TKI gefitinib (Iressa) in a comparison of performance in EGFR mutation subtypes exon 19 deletion and L858R in advanced NSCLC.

Ramucirumab Associated With OS Benefit in Aggressive NSCLC

Ramucirumab (Cyramza) plus docetaxel demonstrated an overall survival benefit versus placebo plus docetaxel in patients with advanced NSCLC whose disease rapidly progressed on first-line therapy,

Dr. Gandara Discusses Clinical Implications of the FLAURA Study in NSCLC

David R. Gandara, MD, director, Thoracic Oncology Program, professor, senior advisor to director, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the significance of the phase III FLAURA trial of first-line osimertinib (Tagrisso) in EGFR-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Dr. Camidge on the ALTA Study of Brigatinib in NSCLC

D. Ross Camidge, MD, PhD, a professor of medical oncology at the University of Colorado, discusses the results of the ALTA trial, which is exploring brigatinib (Alunbrig) in patients with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer.

Lower Dose Ceritinib With Food as Effective But Better Tolerated for ALK+ NSCLC

A lower dose of ceritinib taken with a low-fat meal showed similar efficacy with fewer dose reductions and less severe gastrointestinal adverse events versus a 750-mg dose taken without food for patients with untreated ALK-positive metastatic non­–small cell lung cancer.

Nivolumab/Ipilimumab Combo Active in SCLC With High Tumor Burden

The combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) induced an objective response rate of 46% in patients with recurrent small cell lung cancer with high tumor mutation burden, according to an exploratory analysis from the phase I/II CheckMate-032 study.

FISHing for a Better Assay in ALK-Positive Lung Cancer

In addition to proving the superiority of alectinib versus crizotinib, the phase III ALEX trial provided clear guidance on which of 2 assays evaluated could provide stronger guidance on which patients would respond to ALK-specific therapy.