Dr. Wagner on the Potential for Immunotherapy in Angiosarcoma

Michael Wagner, MD, an assistant professor in the Clinical Research Division of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discusses the potential use of immunotherapy in patients with angiosarcoma.

Several research efforts have shed light on the molecular changes that occur in different sarcoma subtypes. Now, some early data examining immunotherapy in patients with angiosarcoma suggest potential efficacy with this approach, according to Wagner. One particular effort known as the Angiosarcoma Project, which was patient-driven and conducted at the Broad Institute, collected hundreds of samples from patients with the disease; these samples were then molecularly sequenced to identify molecular changes.

Investigators were able to identify a subset of patients with angiosarcoma who have a high tumor mutational burden similar to that of skin cancers such as melanoma, where ultraviolet light leads to changes in the cancer, says Wagner. This could play a part in why these cancers respond to immunotherapy, Wagner concludes.