Immuno-Oncology

Silvia Novello, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Thoracic Oncology Unit, University of Turin, San Luigi Hospital, Orbassano, Italy, discusses immunotherapy and targeting the MAGE-A3 protein in lung cancer.

Julie R. Brahmer, MD, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, explains the role of PD-1 and PD-L1.

A phase III trial examining the anti-CTLA-4 immune checkpoint inhibitor ipilimumab in men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer failed to meet its primary endpoint of prolongation in overall survival.

James L. Gulley, MD, PhD, Head, Clinical Trials Group, Deputy Laboratory Chief, National Cancer Institute, discusses measuring response to vaccines.

Until recently, the cornerstone of therapy for metastatic melanoma had been chemotherapy with dacarbazine (DTIC) and immunotherapy with high-dose interleukin-2 (HD IL-2) or interferon-α (IFN-α).

Jeffrey A. Sosman, MD, Professor of Medicine, Director, Melanoma and Tumor Immunotherpay Program, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, discusses how immunotherapies work in patients with melanoma or renal cancer.

High doses of interleukin-2 could be used to treat patients with melanoma whose disease has metastasized to the brain, potentially expanding options in a population facing a grim prognosis.

Andrew T. Parsa, MD, PhD, from the University of California, San Francisco, describes the administration of the prophage G-200 for patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme.

Lynn M. Schuchter, MD, from the University of Pennsylvania, describes two trials presented at the 2013 ASCO Meeting looking at nivolumab in patients with melanoma.

Nivolumab, the most advanced agent in the rapidly developing field of PD-1-targeting cancer immunotherapy, delivered durable clinical benefits across multiple solid tumor types.

Julie R. Brahmer, MD, from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the future of antibodies, including nivolumab, for the treatment of lung cancer.

Finding new ways of manipulating the body's own defenses to better combat various hematologic malignancies is yielding some interesting results and could represent a very promising new field of care for patients dealing with these disorders.

Adverse events associated with ipilimumab for the treatment of metastatic melanoma are better understood after further analysis of clinical trial data that led to the FDA's 2011 approval of the drug.

David P. Carbone, MD, PhD, from the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the exploration of immunotherapies as treatments for patients with advanced lung cancer.

Andre Goy, MD, Chairman and Director and Chief of Lymphoma at John Theurer Cancer Center, comments on the recent developments in fighting cancer with the immune system.

Any lingering skepticism about immunotherapy as an anticancer strategy appears to have been banished by research presented at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Nearly two decades after clinical trials began, the investigational immunotherapy Allovectin failed to meet key endpoints in a phase III trial in patients with stage III/IV metastatic melanoma and will no longer be developed.

While the anti-T-cell-checkpoint approach is far from perfect, the demonstrated ability for humanity to overcome evolutionary design and break tumor cell tolerance to turn the tide against cancer is nothing less than inspiring.

Yvonne M. Saenger, MD, Assistant Professor in Medicine and Dermatology, Hematology and Medical Oncology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, discusses the need for biomarkers for immunotherapies.

Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, chief of Medical Oncology at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven in Connecticut, discusses immunotherapy for patients with lung cancer.

Antoni Ribas, MD, PhD, the director of the Tumor Immunology Program Area at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the efficacy of ipilimumab for the treatment of melanoma.

Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD, PhD, from MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the use of peptide vaccines for the treatment of breast cancer.

Howard L. Kaufman, MD, Rush University Medical Center, discusses the implications of the Immunoscore for the treatment of patients with cancer.

Charles J. Link, Jr, MD, from the Cancer Center of Iowa and NewLink Genetics, discusses the phase II trial of algenpantucel-L for pancreatic cancer.

A two-step immunotherapy approach consisting of adoptive T-cell therapy and a dendritic cell vaccine has shown activity in a phase I advanced ovarian cancer clinical trial.