Optimising clinical trials for greater inclusiveness
Oncologists are aiming to capitalise on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and design more inclusive clinical trials, optimise trial endpoints and make better use of real-world evidence.
Anti-cancer medicines are typically approved in the USA eight months before Europe
Discrepancies in anti-cancer drug approvals around the globe are even bigger in low- and middle-income countries, raising some questions about how they impact on patients’ access to quality cancer care.
A new immunotherapy-based combination is promising in nasopharyngeal cancer
Tislelizumab in combination with gemcitabine and cisplatin prolonged PFS compared with chemotherapy alone in the RATIONALE 309 study
Can ctDNA changes after neoadjuvant therapy inform management of early NSCLC?
A study associates reductions in ctDNA with major pathologic response following neoadjuvant atezolizumab in resectable stage IB–IIIB NSCLC, but clinical application is still some way off
Can we further define patient groups who benefit from immunotherapy in advanced NSCLC?
Sub-group analyses of CheckMate 227 part 1 provide reassurance but no definite guidance regarding standard treatment for different patient sub-groups
Refining patient selection for atezolizumab in resected NSCLC
Results from an exploratory analysis of the IMpower010 trial confirm that there is a correlation between tumour-cell PD-L1 expression and disease-free survival
Tumour mutational burden as a number – is it predictive enough?
Data suggest that assessing the quality as well as the quantity of tumour mutations may enhance prediction of outcomes in patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors
Developing immunotherapies for mesothelioma
Along with treatments with immune checkpoint inhibitors and cellular therapies, other immunotherapies are currently under investigation
Survival benefits of pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy are confirmed in East-Asian patients with advanced NSCLC
Immunotherapy plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment choice for advanced disease without oncogene mutations, irrespective of ethnicity and PD-L1 status
Immunotherapy: from initial scepticism to the heart of cancer treatment
The ESMO Award for Immuno-Oncology 2021 is given to Prof. Wolf H. Fridman, whose research has made significant contributions to unveiling the prognostic and predictive role of the tumour microenvironment