Introduction: Immunotherapy Research Milestones

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Moderator Louis M. Weiner, MD, introduces a panel discussion focused on monoclonal antibody-based immunotherapy for patients with various types of cancer. The expert panel includes Robert Dreicer, MD, Omid Hamid, MD, Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, and Mark A. Socinski, MD, with additional commentary from Brian I. Rini, MD, and Nicholas J. Vogelzang, MD.

The historical evolution of cancer research has included many breakthrough discoveries, notes Weiner. In recent years, immune-based therapies for cancer have shown the potential for long-term durable remissions, and even the possibility of cures in select cancer indications.

Immunotherapy research milestones:

1976: Interleukin-2 (IL-2) discovered
1985: IL-2 demonstrated to be an effective cancer immunotherapy
1992: High-dose IL-2 approved for metastatic kidney cancer
1997: First monoclonal antibody, rituximab, approved as a treatment for B-cell malignancies
1998: IL-2 approved for the treatment of metastatic melanoma
2010: Sipuleucel-T, the first dendritic cell vaccine, approved for the treatment of metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer
2011: Ipilimumab was approved for the treatment of melanoma

These milestones opened the door for PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibiting agents, which have generated excitement in recent years. These therapies are the focus of significant clinical development, with several ongoing clinical trials for multiple cancer indications, notes Weiner.

PD-1 inhibitors in development: