Welcome to The Five Under 5, your go-to roundup of the top 5 videos of the week.
These short videos are designed for busy oncologists to view on the go, and feature expert insights on breaking news, regulatory updates, practice-changing data shared at medical meetings, and other key topics in the realm of oncology.
Here’s what you may have missed:
Neo-Epitope-Based Vaccine With or Without Pembrolizumab in Platinum-Sensitive Recurrent Ovarian Cancer: Alexandra Leary, MD, PhD
Alexandra Leary, MD, PhD, of Gustave Roussy, outlines progression-free survival (PFS) and safety data from the phase 2 TEDOVA/GINECO-OV244b/ENGOT-ov58 trial (NCT04713514) examining the neoepitope vaccine Tedopi (OSE2101) alone or with pembrolizumab (Keytruda) as maintenance therapy in 185 HLA-A2–positive patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer previously treated with a PARP inhibitor and bevacizumab (Avastin). The primary end point of PFS was met: the vaccine plus pembrolizumab reduced the risk of progression or death by 47% vs best supportive care (HR, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.36-0.78; P < .001), with a median PFS of 4.11 months (95% CI, 2.99-5.45) vs 2.76 months (95% CI, 2.3-2.86), respectively, in patients randomly assigned 1:1:2 to best supportive care (n = 45), the vaccine alone (n = 45), or the combination (n = 90). Although not powered for pairwise testing, the vaccine alone demonstrated a nonsignificant PFS benefit vs best supportive care (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.46-1.08; P = .099). In terms of safety, cytokine release syndrome (CRS) was predominantly grade 1/2 and occurred in 9% of patients on Tedopi alone vs 28% of those on the combination. Leary called TEDOVA the first proof-of-concept for a vaccine strategy in ovarian cancer and the first positive randomized trial in the platinum-sensitive setting in some time, with translational analyses ongoing.
SERENA-6 and Weighing an Early Switch to Camizestrant in Breast Cancer: Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, FACP
Sara A. Hurvitz, MD, FACP, of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and the University of Washington School of Medicine, examines the phase 3 SERENA-6 trial (NCT04964934), which assessed a circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA)–guided switch to camizestrant plus a CDK4/6 inhibitor in patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative advanced breast cancer and an emergent ESR1 mutation detected without radiographic progression. In SERENA-6, patients on first-line aromatase inhibitor plus CDK4/6 inhibitor therapy who developed an ESR1 mutation were randomly assigned to switch to camizestrant or continue their aromatase inhibitor; the early switch improved chemotherapy- and antibody-drug conjugate–free survival as well as PFS, although overall survival (OS) was not significantly different between arms; Hurvitz noted the trial was not powered to assess OS. ctDNA dynamics also favored the camizestrant arm, with greater ctDNA reduction and better survival in those who achieved total ctDNA clearance, although Hurvitz cautioned that ctDNA clearance is a prognostic indicator and the study did not prove camizestrant was required to achieve it. She concluded that quality of life (QOL) advantages with camizestrant represented the most compelling argument for an early, ctDNA-guided switch in patients without radiographic progression, and called SERENA-6 a rich source of emerging data as longer-term follow-up continues.
Safety Profile of Proton Therapy in Head and Neck Cancer: Madhur Garg, MD, MBA, FACR
Madhur Garg, MD, MBA, FACR, of Montefiore Medical Center, reviews the safety profile of proton therapy in head and neck cancer. He noted that the region’s concentration of radiosensitive structures, including the parotid glands and swallowing musculature, makes limiting unnecessary radiation exposure especially important. Radiation therapy remains highly effective for many head and neck cancers and can offer disease control while potentially avoiding extensive surgery; however, treatment-related toxicities like xerostomia have historically limited its impact on patient QOL, Garg noted. Proton therapy may help address these challenges by reducing radiation exposure to surrounding healthy structures, and emerging evidence has showed improved QOL in patients treated with proton therapy, Garg explained. He concluded that QOL improvements with proton therapy have been linked with an OS benefit, suggesting that the advantages of this modality may extend beyond reducing treatment-related toxicity.
Design of Autogene Cevumeran in PDAC: Paul E. Oberstein, MD
Paul E. Oberstein, MD, of Perlmutter Cancer Center of New York University Langone Health, addresses the mechanism and early clinical data for autogene cevumeran, an individualized mRNA vaccine for patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) that encodes patient-specific tumor neoantigens to prime the immune system against cancer cells. Results from a phase 1 trial (NCT04161755) indicated that at a median follow-up of 3.2 years (range, 2.3-4.0), vaccine responders (n = 8) who received autogene cevumeran plus mFOLFIRINOX and atezolizumab (Tecentriq) experienced a median recurrence-free survival that was not reached, vs 13.4 months in nonresponders (n = 8; HR, 0.14; 95% CI, 0.03-0.59; P = .007). Oberstein highlighted that distinguishing tumor cells from healthy tissue is a central challenge in cancer vaccine development, and that identifying tumor-specific neoantigens for immune recognition represents an important step toward overcoming it. He concluded that durable disease control in responders built a strong case for continued development of individualized neoantigen vaccine approaches in PDAC.
Efficacy Data for Golcadomide in R/R Follicular Lymphoma: Daniel Morillo, MD
Daniel Morillo, MD, of Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, highlights efficacy findings from the phase 1/2 CC-99282-NHL-001 trial (NCT03930953) examining golcadomide plus rituximab (Rituxan) in patients with relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma, presented at the 2026 European Hematology Association Congress. In the efficacy-evaluable population, golcadomide given at the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of 0.4 mg plus rituximab (n = 36) elicited an objective response rate (ORR) of 97% and a complete response (CR) rate of 75% in heavily pretreated patients (median 3 prior lines). The median duration of response was 14.16 months (range, 0.0-24.7), with 81% of responders maintaining response beyond 12 months. By comparison, the 0.2-mg cohort (n = 22) achieved an ORR of 77% and a CR rate of 41%. Morillo noted these data support the design of the ongoing phase 3 GOLSEEK-4 study (NCT06911502) assessing golcadomide plus rituximab as a fixed-duration, chemotherapy-free outpatient option for patients with second- or later-line follicular lymphoma. He concluded that the depth and durability of responses at the RP2D support continued investigation of golcadomide plus rituximab as a fixed-duration, chemotherapy-free option in relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma.
