THE EFFECT OF ADDING IMMUNE CHECKPOINT INHIBITORS ON THE RISK OF PNEUMONITIS FOR SOLID TUMOURS
Previous meta-analyses report differing increases in incidence of pneumonitis with the addition of ICIs to conventional therapy. Now, a large meta-analysis of 25 phase III randomised controlled trials concludes that the addition of ICIs to conventional treatment significantly increases the risk of both grade I-V and grade III-V pneumonitis, irrespective of the mechanisms of different ICIs and cancer types… Read more
ADDITION OF PEMBROLIZUMAB TO CHEMOTHERAPY DOES NOT IMPROVE SURVIVAL OUTCOMES IN UNTREATED, ADVANCED UROTHELIAL CARCINOMA
Despite the fact that PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors were found to be active in metastatic urothelial carcinoma, little is known on the efficacy of their use as a first-line treatment option. Therefore, the phase III Keynote-361 study assessed outcomes with first-line pembrolizumab alone or combined with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy for patients with previously untreated advanced urothelial carcinoma… Read more
NIVOLUMAB COMBINED WITH CHEMOTHERAPY PROLONGS OS AND PFS IN HER-2-NEGATIVE GASTRO-OESOPHAGEAL CANCERS
The phase III CheckMate 649 study evaluated nivolumab in combination with chemotherapy, compared to chemotherapy alone, in patients with HER-2 negative gastro-oesophageal cancers. Nivolumab was found to be the first PD-1 inhibitor to demonstrate superior overall survival, a clinically meaningful progression-free survival benefit, a maintained health-related quality of life and an acceptable safety profile, in combination with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone… Read more
IMPROVED SURVIVAL WITH OLAPARIB MAINTENANCE THERAPY IN RELAPSED OVARIAN CANCER
The phase III SOLO2 trial evaluated maintenance therapy with olaparib in patients with platinum-sensitive, relapsed ovarian cancer and a BRCA1/2 mutation. In the primary analysis, progression-free survival was significantly longer with olaparib than with placebo. Now, the final analysis of the study reports a 12.9 months improvement in overall survival. Although not statistically significant, this improvement is arguably clinically meaningful… Read more
IMPAIRED IMMUNOGENICITY OF THE PFIZER/BIONTECH (BNT162b2) COVID-19 VACCINE IN PATIETNS TREATED FOR SOLID TUMOURS
To date, there is still limited evidence on the efficacy and tolerability of the BNT162b2 (Pfizer/BioNtech) COVID-19 vaccine in patients in the active phase of treatment for solid tumours. In this light, a BNT162b2 vaccine monitoring observatory (VMO) was set up in Nice, France. Results of the first 122 assessable patients report a decreased immunogenicity with lower median anti-S antibody levels in solid tumour patients as compared to healthy volunteers… Read more
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