Articles related to IMMUNOTHERAPY

A phase 3, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of epicutaneous immunotherapy with a peanut patch in children aged 1 to 3 years with peanut allergy. No approved treatment for peanut allergy exists for children under 4 years old. Participants with confirmed peanut allergy were assigned to either receive the peanut patch or a placebo daily for 12 months. The primary endpoint was the treatment response measured by the eliciting dose of peanut protein at 12 months. The trial showed that 67.0% of children in the intervention group demonstrated a treatment response compared to 33.5% in the placebo group. Adverse events occurred in both groups, with serious adverse events and anaphylaxis observed more frequently in the intervention group. However, serious treatment-related adverse events were rare. In conclusion, this trial demonstrated that epicutaneous immunotherapy with a peanut patch for 12 months was more effective than placebo in desensitizing children aged 1 to 3 years with peanut allergy and increasing their tolerance to peanut protein. Although adverse events were observed in both groups, serious treatment-related adverse events were uncommon. These findings suggest that epicutaneous immunotherapy may be a potential treatment option for young children with […]

In a recent study presented at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) Annual Meeting, researchers reported that more than 75% of patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) were still alive and event-free at 1 year. The treatment was also well-tolerated, with a manageable rate of side effects. The 1-year event-free survival rate was 78.3%, and the 1-year overall survival rate was 88.0%. The postoperative complication rate was 35.6%, and the rate of grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events was 18.1%. The most common side effects were leukopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia, and hyperglycemia. Overall, the results of this study suggest that neoadjuvant chemotherapy combined with an ICI is a safe and effective treatment option for patients with resectable esophageal cancer. The treatment was associated with a high rate of pCR and R0 resection, and the side effects were generally manageable.

Cabozantinib plus nivolumab and ipilimumab (C-N-I) is a new combination therapy for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). In a phase 3 clinical trial, C-N-I was shown to be superior to sunitinib in terms of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). The trial enrolled 823 patients with advanced RCC who had not received prior systemic therapy. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either C-N-I (n=412) or sunitinib (n=411). The primary endpoint of the trial was PFS, and the secondary endpoint was OS. At a median follow-up of 24 months, patients who received C-N-I had a significantly longer PFS than patients who received sunitinib. The median OS for patients who received C-N-I was not reached, while the median OS for patients who received sunitinib was 22.8 months.

This study compared the efficacy and safety of four different treatment regimens for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): chemoimmunotherapy, venetoclax-rituximab, venetoclax-obinutuzumab, and venetoclax-obinutuzumab-ibrutinib. The results showed that the venetoclax-obinutuzumab-ibrutinib regimen was the most effective, with significantly higher rates of undetectable minimal residual disease (MRD) and progression-free survival (PFS) at 15 months and 3 years, respectively, compared to the other regimens. The venetoclax-obinutuzumab regimen was also effective, with significantly higher rates of undetectable MRD at 15 months compared to chemoimmunotherapy. However, there was no significant difference in PFS at 3 years between the venetoclax-obinutuzumab and chemoimmunotherapy regimens. The venetoclax-rituximab regimen was the least effective, with no significant difference in undetectable MRD or PFS at 15 months or 3 years compared to chemoimmunotherapy. The most common adverse events were infections, which were more common with chemoimmunotherapy and venetoclax-obinutuzumab-ibrutinib than with the other regimens.

The 2023 AACR meeting has seen a large number of clinical abstracts presented, demonstrating that science from the lab is moving to the clinic. Examples include an RNA vaccine from Moderna in combination with pembrolizumab in a neoadjuvant setting in patients with melanoma, and the AEGEAN trial, which looks at perioperative therapy in patients with lung cancer. The conference is also seeing a focus on more diverse speakers, including junior investigators. The field of mRNA cancer vaccines is evolving, with personalised vaccines being used to activate the immune system in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, resulting in positive results in some cancers. The conference is an opportunity to learn about new science, make new connections and collaborations, and gain a better understanding of how to push the field forward.

Bispecific antibodies are molecules that are designed to engage or bind to two distinct targets, bringing two distinct cells together. The majority of those that have received regulatory approval are T-cell-engaging bispecific antibodies. Blinatumomab (Blincyto) for ALL, teclistamab (Tecvayli) for multiple myeloma, and mosunetuzumab-axgb (Lunsumio) for follicular lymphoma are some examples of FDA-approved treatments. Glofitamab, another bispecific antibody, is currently under FDA Priority Review for the treatment of R/R DLBCL. Another type of immunotherapy is chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, but bispecific antibodies provide the same spectrum of side effects with much less toxicity and are showing promise in solid tumors as well.