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Study opens up new strategy to make immunotherapy more effective for different cancer types

By combining local radiation therapy and anti-cancer vaccines with checkpoint inhibitors, researchers from the University of Chicago, working with mice, were able to increase the response rate for these new immunotherapy agents.

14 Jun 2016

Novel drug atezolizumab harnesses immune system to shrink tumors in advanced bladder cancer

A new drug that harnesses the immune system to attack tumors is highly effective against advanced bladder cancer, according to the results of an international clinical trial to be presented June 5 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology.

6 Jun 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

Combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy may be effective against ovarian cancer

Inside each ovarian tumor, there are good cells and bad cells: The bad cells are fibroblasts. They work to block chemotherapy, which is why nearly every woman with ovarian cancer becomes resistant to treatment.

23 May 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

Tecentriq drug gets FDA approval to treat urothelial carcinoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Tecentriq (atezolizumab) to treat the most common type of bladder cancer, called urothelial carcinoma. This is the first product in its class (PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors) approved to treat this type of cancer.

19 May 2016

Study provides vital information regarding four diagnostic PD-L1 assays

A pre-competitive consortia of pharmaceutical companies, diagnostic companies, and academic associations, including the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, announced phase I results of the "BLUEPRINT PD-L1 IHC ASSAY COMPARISON PROJECT" at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research on April 19.

6 May 2016

Bim protein may hold clue for immunotherapy response in metastatic melanoma patients

A protein called Bim may hold the clue to which patients may be successful on immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma, according to the results of a study by Mayo Clinic researchers led by senior author Haidong Dong, M.D., Ph.D., and published online in the May 5 edition of JCI Insight.

6 May 2016

Immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab shrinks tumors in patients with Merkel cell carcinoma

In a clinical trial of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab, half of 25 patients with a rare type of virus-linked skin cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma experienced substantial tumor shrinkage lasting nearly three times as long, on average, than with conventional chemotherapy.

20 Apr 2016

First-ever nivolumab drug trial for rare, malignant SCCA shows positive results

A rare malignancy known as squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA) is on the increase, and now researchers have reported results of the first-ever phase II clinical trial results for treatment with the immunotherapy drug nivolumab.

18 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

AstraZeneca, MedImmune to present new clinical trial and scientific data on lung cancer treatments at ELCC 2016

AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune, will report new clinical trial and scientific data from their industry-leading lung cancer franchise of marketed and pipeline medicines at the European Lung Cancer Conference in Geneva, Switzerland, 13 -16 April 2016.

11 Apr 2016

Ludwig, CRI launch Phase 1/2 trial of combination immunotherapy for advanced ovarian cancer

Ludwig Cancer Research and the Cancer Research Institute have launched a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of combination immunotherapy for advanced ovarian cancer. The international, multicenter trial is led by George Coukos, director of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Lausanne and Brad Monk, director of Gynecologic Oncology at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center.

7 Apr 2016

HDAC inhibitors could improve activity of immunotherapeutic antibodies in lung cancer patients

Several new immunotherapeutic antibodies that inhibit checkpoint receptors on T cells to restimulate the immune system to target tumors have been approved to treat advanced stage lung cancer and melanoma; however, only 20 percent of lung cancer patients show a response to these agents.

2 Apr 2016

Value of PD-L1 testing in NSCLC debated

Two viewpoint articles published in JAMA Oncology provide opposing opinions on the benefit of testing for programmed death-ligand 1 expression in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer treated with checkpoint inhibitors.

18 Mar 2016

Experimental drug improves survival rate of majority of lung cancer patients compared to standard chemotherapy

In global clinical trials, patients with advanced metastatic lung cancer who were treated with a targeted immunotherapy drug lived significantly longer and with fewer side effects than those who received standard second-line chemotherapy, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study published today in the journal The Lancet.

15 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

Quest Diagnostics to offer in vitro diagnostic test for use in detection of PD-L1 expression for melanoma

Quest Diagnostics, the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services, today announced it will offer clinical laboratory testing using the PD-L1 IHC 28-8 pharmDx qualitative test from Dako, an Agilent Technologies company.

From Quest Diagnostics 27 Jan 2016

PD-L1 inhibition well-tolerated, active in metastatic RCC

The programmed death-ligand 1 inhibitor atezolizumab has a favourable toxicity profile and shows anti-tumour activity in previously treated patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, according to phase Ia trial findings.

19 Jan 2016

Study shows more patients with advanced NSCLC may benefit from pembrolizumab

More patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) could benefit from pembrolizumab, says Professor Roy Herbst, Chief of Medical Oncology, Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven, presenting promising results from the pivotal phase 2/3 KEYNOTE-010 trial at the first ESMO Asia Congress in Singapore), in conjunction with a publication in The Lancet.

22 Dec 2015