May 19, 2016
September 2014, Part 3
First Anti–PD-1 Immunotherapy, Pembrolizumab, Receives Accelerated FDA Approval for Advanced Melanoma
On September 4, 2014, the FDA has approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck), the first anti–programmed death-1 (PD-1) therapy for the treatment of patients with advanced (ie, unresectable or metastatic) melanoma and disease progression after therapy with ipilimumab, or, for a patient with a BRAF V600 mutation, after ipilimumab plus BRAF inhibitor [ Read More ]
Case Studies in Immunotherapy
Despite recent advances, non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) continues to be the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, and its cure remains elusive. New drugs targeting EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor), EML4-ALK, ROS-1, and KRAS mutations have provided considerable benefit and new therapeutic options for patients. However, overall survival for patients [ Read More ]
UncategorizedImmunotherapy in Colorectal Cancer: Present and Future
Although it affects 2 distinct anatomical sites, colorectal cancer is often regarded as a single entity, and treatment plans for colon cancer and rectal cancer are quite similar.1,2 Cases of colorectal cancer comprise more than 8% of newly diagnosed cancer cases and nearly 9% of all cancer deaths in the [ Read More ]
Colorectal CancerCytokines as Immune Adjuvants for Treating Cancer
Overview Cytokines are familiar to the oncologist as the glycoprotein messengers of the immune system and beyond. Their role in cancer treatment has been firmly established since the late 1980s, when investigators reported that interleukin (IL)-2 administration plus adoptive transfer of lymphokine-activated killer cells were effective treatment for refractory solid [ Read More ]
UncategorizedCervical Cancer: Beyond Today’s HPV Vaccine
Overview of Cervical Cancer and HPV Cervical cancer was once the leading cause of death for women, but progress has shown how successful screening for early disease can be in reducing deaths from cancer. Thanks to the studies of George Papanicolaou aided by his assistant Andromache Mavroyenous (who was also [ Read More ]
Uncategorized2014 Oncology Pipeline Looks Impressive
The cancer drug pipeline continues to boast many new therapies, reinforcing the recent trends of new and improved monoclonal antibodies and other classes of targeted therapies for different types of tumors. At ASCO 2014, researchers presented findings for many of these drugs, with immunotherapies leading the way in current drug [ Read More ]
Emerging Therapies