Articles related to IMMUNOTHERAPY

Immunotherapy combinations with activity in patients with microsatellite stable (MSS) metastatic colorectal cancer are needed, and the recommended phase 2 dose of RIN had a manageable safety profile and an overall response rate of 27.6%, a median progression-free survival of 4 months, and a median overall survival of 20 months in this nonrandomized clinical trial of 39 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. Patients with no liver metastases received responses (overall response rate, 36.4%; median overall survival not reached).

The findings of this retrospective dual-center cohort study of diffuse malignant peritoneal mesothelioma (DMPM) patients suggest that pembrolizumab had clinical activity regardless of PD-L1 status or histology, though patients with nonepithelioid histology may have benefited more. The partial response rate of 21.0% and median OS of 20.9 months in this cohort with 75.0% epithelioid histology call for additional research to identify those most likely to respond to immunotherapy.

Data on patients with mismatch repair deficiency (MMRD) CRC, the majority of whom could not undergo surgery due to various health conditions unrelated to cancer, were presented at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium (ASCO GI). Instead of radiation therapy or chemotherapy, the patients received immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors. It should be noted that the patients were treated outside of clinical trials. The overall response rate in this patient group was 74%, with 57% of those who responded experiencing complete tumor regression. Some of the patients have been in complete remission for a year or more after their diagnoses. The data indicate that immunotherapy is an effective treatment for patients who are unable to undergo surgery for a variety of reasons, including advanced age or a variety of health issues.

An earlier analysis of this phase 3 trial of neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy showed that the addition of pembrolizumab to neoadjuvant chemotherapy resulted in a significantly higher percentage of patients with early triple-negative breast cancer having a pathological complete response (defined as no invasive cancer in the breast and negative nodes) at definitive surgery. The trial’s main findings on event-free survival have not been published.

Patients with triple-class-exposed relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma have a dismal prognosis. B-cell maturation antigen-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy with idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel) has previously produced profound, long-lasting responses in individuals with multiple myeloma that has relapsed or become resistant to treatment.

The approval is based on the findings of the DESTINY-Breast04 Phase III trial and follows the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use’s favorable recommendation. In the trial, Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) significantly decreased the risk of disease progression or death in patients with HER2-low metastatic breast cancer with hormone receptor (HR)-positive or HR-negative disease by 50% compared to the physician’s choice of chemotherapy. According to a blinded independent central evaluation, Enhertu had a median progression-free survival (PFS) of 9.9 months compared to chemotherapy patients’ PFS of 5.1 months (BICR). When compared to chemotherapy, Enhertu showed a 36% reduction in the risk of death, with a median overall survival (OS) of 23.4 months as opposed to 16.8 months.