Among patients with metastatic melanoma treated with the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda), those whose cancer responded to the treatment had a higher frequency of immune cells called T cells that were positive for the proteins CD8, PD-1, and Bim (CD8+PD-1+Bim+ T cells) in blood samples taken immediately before starting pembrolizumab than those who had disease progression, according to data presented at the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference, held Sept. 16–19.
MRV Research
Penn Team Pinpoints Immune Changes in Blood of Melanoma Patients on PD-1 Drugs That Put Potential Biomarker within Reach
A simple blood test can detect early markers of “reinvigorated” T cells and track immune responses in metastatic melanoma patients after initial treatment with the anti-PD-1 drug pembrolizumab, researchers from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania report in new research being presented at the inaugural CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference. The new findings give more insight into how the anti-PD-1 therapy, approved last year by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat metastatic melanoma, goes to work inside patients’ bodies, and potentially form the basis of a biomarker to predict which patients are most apt to respond to the immunotherapy.
Immune Irregularities May Increase Melanoma Risk Among Certain Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Survivors
A collaborative team of interdisciplinary researchers led by Clara J.K. Lam, MPH, a predoctoral fellow in the Radiation Epidemiology Branch of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and PhD student in cancer epidemiology at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, recently revealed study findings suggesting that immune irregularities may contribute to the high rates of melanoma observed in patients with non-hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL). The findings from the study entitled, “Risk Factors for Melanoma Among Survivors of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma,” were published in the latest edition of the Journal of Clinical Oncology the official journal of the American Society for Clinical Oncology.
Adding Aspirin to Cancer Immunotherapy Slows Tumor Growth in Mice
A multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Francis Crick Institute, with funding from Cancer Research UK, have recently released results that could advance immunotherapy treatment options for certain cancers, such as melanoma. The study, entitled, “Cyclooxygenase-Dependent Tumor Growth through Evasion of Immunity,” was published in the latest on-line edition of Cell, and the findings show that aspirin significantly increases the effects of immunotherapy treatments in an animal model.