In 2014, many of the most encouraging studies of checkpoint blockade went public at the annual ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) meeting. This year, even more positive studies of new checkpoint inhibitors were reported, along with a few other cancer-immunotherapy contenders, most of them at either ASCO in May or the AACR (American Association for Cancer Research) annual meeting in April.
Conferences
Immune system–boosting agent CpG-B reduced early-stage melanoma recurrences
Among patients with clinically stage 1 or stage 2 melanoma, those treated with the immune system–boosting agent CpG-B were less likely to experience recurrence of their disease than those who received placebo, according to results from two randomized, placebo-controlled phase II clinical trials presented at the CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference, held Sept. 16–19.
Systemic Therapies for Melanoma Evolve, but More Research is Crucial
Chemotherapy is a terrific clinical tool and is an essential treatment for many types of cancer. But chemotherapeutic agents have historically performed poorly in melanoma. Thus, until recently, management of melanoma brain metastases have focused on surgery, stereotactic radiosurgery, or whole brain radiotherapy.
Novel Options in Melanoma and Multiple Myeloma
The much-anticipated phase 3 results from the CheckMate 067 trial were presented during the Plenary Session on the third day of the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, held at the McCormick Convention Center, Chicago, May 29-June 2, 2015. A late-breaking abstract, “Efficacy and Safety Results From a Phase III Trial of Nivolumab Alone or Combined With Ipilimumab Versus Ipilimumab Alone in Treatment-Naïve Patients With Advanced Melanoma,” was presented by Jedd D. Wolchok, MD, PhD, chief, melanoma and immunotherapeutics service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.