Vol. 18/No. 03

It is always a balancing act to describe the introduction of new technology in the medical field. We seek to juggle enthusiasm for the potential of an exciting new platform with the complexities of the long road ahead that adopting new technology usually bring.

John Hunter, PhD, and Maya Kotturi, PhD, answer key questions about TIGIT as a target for anticancer therapy and the current development of TIGIT-targeting drugs.

As researchers continue to identify a growing number of immune checkpoints as targets for anticancer therapy, the recently discovered TIGIT pathway is emerging as a promising new avenue for exploration.

Despite significant developments on the advanced melanoma treatment front, “many clinical scenarios remain where there is no clear-cut course of action," said Robert H.I. Andtbacka, MD, CM, during a recent OncLive Peer Exchange®.

Combination regimens that pair nab-paclitaxel with PD-L1 checkpoint blockade immunotherapy agents are emerging as a robust area of investigation in triple-negative breast cancer, bolstered by clinical trial results that establish the chemotherapeutic agent as an effective partner for other therapies.

The noninvasive testing that has long been the goal of solid tumor analysis is making its presence felt in lung cancer, and other malignancies likely will not be far behind, experts say. Although many potential uses for liquid biopsies are envisioned, much work remains to be done to establish the clinical utility of these tests.

The adoption of enhanced recovery after surgery protocols can improve not only the outcomes of patients after a procedure but can also reduce hospital costs, as has been seen in an ERAS program in colorectal cancer at the University of Virginia Health System.

"Uncertainty" is a routine dilemma when discussing a prognosis with a patient with cancer and his or her family. The prognosis is, at best, a statistical probability—assuming the available objective data are somewhat representative of the individual patient.