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Combination of drugs amplifies kill rates of brain cancer tumours in mice

A promising combination of immunotherapies delivers a one-two punch to brain cancer tumours with high cure rates in mice, scientific evidence published in Nature Communications today says.

15 Feb 2017

Northwestern Medicine investigators to lead clinical trial for people with rare cancers

A novel national trial for people with no established alternative to treat their rare cancers is being co-led by Northwestern Medicine investigators, who helped conceive of and develop the project.

19 Jan 2017

Immune checkpoint cancer therapies may cause rare cardiac side effects linked to unexpected immune response

Combination therapy utilizing two approved immunotherapy drugs for cancer treatment may cause rare and sometimes fatal cardiac side effects linked to an unexpected immune response.

4 Nov 2016

Immune checkpoint inhibitor as adjuvant therapy improves overall survival in patients with stage III melanoma

Ipilimumab as adjuvant therapy significantly improves overall survival in patients with high risk stage III melanoma, according to the EORTC 18071 phase III trial results presented for the first time today at the ESMO 2016 Congress in Copenhagen.

8 Oct 2016

Approval of PD-1 inhibitor scratches surface of potential immunotherapies in recurrent HNSCC

The recent approval of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in recurrent or metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) following progression on a platinum-based chemotherapy was a significant advancement for the disease.

26 Sep 2016

Immune and targeted therapies may be beneficial in patients with melanoma brain metastases

Brain metastases are one of the most common complications of advanced melanoma, requiring multidisciplinary management.

21 Sep 2016

Three like-minded nonprofits collaborate to launch immunotherapy clinical trial for pediatric brain tumors

A Kids' Brain Tumor Cure Foundation, Solving Kids' Cancer and the Ty Louis Campbell Foundation announce their joint financial support of a Phase 1 clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of combination checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of children with brain tumors.

25 Aug 2016

Analysis of biopsies during early treatment predicts patient’s response to melanoma immunotherapy

Immune response measured in tumor biopsies during the course of early treatment predicts which melanoma patients will benefit from specific immune checkpoint blockade drugs, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the journal Cancer Discovery.

11 Aug 2016

Nivolumab drug shows better response rate in metastatic bladder cancer patients

The immune checkpoint blockade drug nivolumab reduced tumor burden in 24.4 percent of patients with metastatic bladder cancer, regardless of whether their tumors had a biomarker related to the drug's target, according to clinical trial results from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

6 Jun 2016

Nivolumab and ipilimumab combination could lead to effective treatment options for SCLC patients

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) represents approximately 14 percent of all types of lung cancer. Many patients with SCLC respond to initial chemotherapy; however, they eventually relapse and develop progressive disease that has no effective treatment options.

2 Jun 2016

AstraZeneca, MedImmune to provide update on extensive oncology pipeline at ASCO 2016

AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune, will provide an update on their extensive oncology pipeline at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, USA, on 3-7 June 2016.

20 May 2016

Simultaneous DNA, RNA and protein analysis to enhance cancer immunology studies: an interview with Dr Joseph Beechem

Cancer immunology is all about how your immune cells are going to fight and kill your tumor cells. If you look at the pure genetic code of a T-cell that's going to kill your tumor compared to the same cell that has been “put-to-sleep” (by the tumor), the pure genetic DNA content of those two cells are identical.

From NanoString Technologies 11 May 2016

KEYNOTE-001 findings add support to pembrolizumab for advanced melanoma

A third of patients with advanced or metastatic melanoma will achieve an objective response to treatment with the programmed cell death protein inhibitor pembrolizumab, suggest KEYNOTE-001 findings, regardless of whether they have previously been treated with ipilimumab.

21 Apr 2016

Scientists identify human protein that weakens immune response to HIV, other viruses

Scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute have identified a human (host) protein that weakens the immune response to HIV and other viruses. The findings, published today in Cell Host & Microbe, have important implications for improving HIV antiviral therapies, creating effective viral vaccines, and advance a new approach to treat cancer.

16 Apr 2016

Microneedle-embedded patch delivers cancer immunotherapy directly to melanoma

Biomedical engineering researchers at North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed a technique that uses a patch embedded with microneedles to deliver cancer immunotherapy treatment directly to the site of melanoma skin cancer. In animal studies, the technique more effectively targeted melanoma than other immunotherapy treatments.

25 Mar 2016

Neutralizing acidic tumor environment increases efficacy of immune-targeting cancer therapies

Cancer cells have the ability to grow in an acidic tumor environment that is detrimental to other cells, including immune cells. In a Cancer Research cover article published this week, Moffitt Cancer Center reported that neutralizing the acidic tumor environment increases the efficacy of several immune-targeting cancer therapies.

19 Mar 2016

New drug combination shows promise for patients with non-small cell lung cancer

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in the United States resulting in more than 158,000 deaths each year. With a 5-year survival rate at only 18 percent, the development of new and improved treatment options is needed.

18 Feb 2016

BioAtla, Pfizer sign license and option agreement for new class of antibody therapeutics

BioAtla LLC, a biotechnology company focused on the development of Conditionally Active Biologic (CAB) antibody therapeutics, today announced that it has entered into a license and option agreement with Pfizer Inc. to advance the development and commercialization of a new class of antibody therapeutics based on BioAtla's CAB platform and utilizing Pfizer's proprietary antibody drug conjugate (ADC) payloads.

8 Dec 2015

Researchers identify new target for novel immune-oncology treatments

By studying a type of immune cells, a team of researchers at the IRCM led by André Veillette, MD, identified the mechanism of action for a new target for novel immune-oncology treatments. Their discovery is published today in the print edition of the scientific journal the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

17 Nov 2015

Specific gut bacteria can improve cancer immunotherapy, show studies

By introducing a particular strain of bacteria into the digestive tracts of mice with melanoma, researchers at the University of Chicago were able to boost the ability of the animal's immune systems to attack tumor cells. T

6 Nov 2015