BJMO - volume 10, issue 3, october 2016
Tom Feys MBA, MSc
The past years brought early reports suggesting that immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD-1 and PD-L1 are effective across a range of different cancer types, beyond melanoma and lung cancer. A particularly encouraging finding was that immunotherapy was effective against many tumors that were resistant to traditional treatments.
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B. Neyns MD, PhD
The initial use of immune checkpoint blockade was mainly limited to a fraction of physicians involved in the treatment of malignant melanoma. With the proof of principle and efficacy established in this disease process, these agents were being extensively investigated in other malignancies including lung cancer, renal cell carcinoma, gastric cancer, bladder cancer, ovarian cancer, and hematologic malignancies. Early results from some of these investigations are extremely encouraging and will likely lead to more indications in addition to the approved indications for the treatment of malignant melanoma, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and renal cell carcinoma. It is therefore essential that the oncology community is aware of immune-related adverse events (irAEs), to recognize them in a timely fashion and be well-versed with their management. To discuss the specific toxicity profile associated with these agents, we consulted Prof. Dr. Bart Neyns, melanoma specialist at the UZ Brussel, with a vast experience in the use of immune-checkpoint inhibitors.
Read moreBJMO - volume 10, issue 3, october 2016
P. Specenier MD, PhD
Cancer immunology is living its Golden Age.1,2 The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) inhibitor ipilimumab (Yervoy®) has been approved for the treatment of advanced melanoma by FDA and EMA, and, at a dose of 10 mg/kg, for the adjuvant treatment of stage III melanoma by FDA.3,4 The inhibitors of the programmed cell-death protein 1 (PD-1) nivolumab and/or pembrolizumab have been approved by FDA and/or EMA, or have received a positive CHMP opinion for the treatment of advanced melanoma, advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and metastatic renal cell carcinoma.3,4 The anti-PDL1 inhibitor atezolizumab is under accelerated FDA review for advanced urothelial carcinoma which had disease progression after platinum-based chemotherapy, and prolongs survival in second line NSCLC patients.5,6 Nivolumab prolongs survival as second line treatment in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck (SCCHN).7 Over 450 trials with atezolizumab, pembrolizumab, or nivolumab are registered at clinicaltrials.gov.8 More than 40 randomized phase III trial are planned or recruiting patients with NSCLC, advanced small cell lung cancer, multiple myeloma, Hodgkin lymphoma, SCCHN, gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, esophageal carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, urothelial cancer, triple negative breast cancer, colorectal cancer, glioblastoma, and renal cell carcinoma. All these phase III trials are planned to be completed by the end of 2020.8
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