A new clinical trial suggests that immunotherapy given before other treatments for oral cavity cancers can elicit an immune response that shrinks tumors, which could provide long-term benefit for patients. In the randomized trial, two neoadjuvant doses of nivolumab given with or without ipilimumab led to complete or partial tumor shrinkage in most cases and did not delay any patients from continuing on to standard treatment. Findings will be presented at the 2020 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium.
Tag: Immunotherapy
Radiation/immunotherapy combo shows promise for recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancers
A new phase II trial finds that a combination of radiation therapy and immunotherapy led to encouraging survival outcomes and acceptable toxicity for patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The combination of radiation and pembrolizumab may offer a new treatment option for patients who are ineligible for cisplatin chemotherapy, part of standard treatment for the disease. Findings will be presented at the 2020 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancers Symposium.
Nanosize Device ‘Uncloaks’ Cancer Cells in Mice And Reveals Them to The Immune System
Scientists at Johns Hopkins report they have designed and successfully tested an experimental, super small package able to deliver molecular signals that tag implanted human cancer cells in mice and make them visible for destruction by the animals’ immune systems. The new method was developed, say the researchers, to deliver an immune system “uncloaking” device directly to cancer cells.
Osteosarcoma profiling reveals why immunotherapy remains ineffective
Comprehensive profiling of tumor samples taken from patients with osteosarcoma shows that multiple factors contribute to the traditionally poor responses observed from treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Addition of Immunotherapy to Standard Treatment for Advanced Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer is Safe and Tolerable as First-Line Therapy
Research from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey shows administering the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab together with chemotherapy given at the same time as radiation treatment (chemoradiation) is safe and tolerable as a first-line therapy for patients with stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Cancer Immunotherapy Target Helps Fight Solid Tumors
Yvonne Chen engineers immune cells to target their most evasive enemy: cancer. New cancer immunotherapies generate immune cells that are effective killers of blood cancers, but they have a hard time with solid tumors.
Mayo researchers discover way to prime cancer tumors for immunotherapy
A cancer tumor’s ability to mutate allows it to escape from chemotherapy and other attempts to kill it. So, encouraging mutations would not be a logical path for cancer researchers. Yet a Mayo Clinic team and their collaborators took that counterintuitive approach and discovered that while it created resistance to chemotherapy, it also made tumors sensitive to immunotherapy. They also found that this approach worked successfully across tumor types and individual patient genomes. Their findings involving mouse models and human cells appear in Nature Communications.
CD19 CAR NK-cell therapy achieves 73% response rate in patients with leukemia and lymphoma
According to results from a Phase I/IIa trial at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, treatment with cord blood-derived chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) natural killer (NK)-cell therapy targeting CD19 resulted in clinical responses in a majority of patients with relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), with no major toxicities observed.
Cold plasma patch could make immunotherapy more effective for treating melanoma, study finds
An interdisciplinary team of researchers at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has developed a medicated patch that can deliver immune checkpoint inhibitors and cold plasma directly to tumors to help boost the immune response and kill cancer cells.
Researchers identify possible new combination treatment for advanced melanoma
Using an immunotherapy drug in combination with an infusion of anti-tumor immune cells may produce a stronger immune response that could help fight advanced melanoma.
Discovery would allow researchers to fine-tune CAR-T activity
In a study published in Cancer Cell, researchers reported new findings about the regulation of co-stimulatory molecules that could be used to activate cancer-killing immune cells – chimeric antigen receptor T-cells, or CAR-T – or decrease their activity.
Cheap nanoparticles stimulate immune response to cancer in the lab
University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have developed nanoparticles that, in the lab, can activate immune responses to cancer cells. If they are shown to work as well in the body as they do in the lab, the nanoparticles might provide an effective and more affordable way to fight cancer.
Multimodal Genomic Analyses Predict Response to Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer Patients
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, the Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have developed an integrated genomic approach that potentially could help physicians predict which patients with nonsmall cell lung cancer will respond to therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Heterogeneity of Liver Cancer Cells Helps Explain Tumor Progression in Patients, Mount Sinai Research Found
Many liver cancer tumors contain a highly diverse set of cells, a phenomenon known as intra-tumor heterogeneity that can significantly affect the rate at which the cancer grows, Mount Sinai researchers report. The immune system’s contribution to this heterogeneity can have major clinical implications.
NUS researchers discover breakthrough in cancer diagnosis using big data analytics
A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore has developed a personalised assessment tool which can detect the incidence of cancer, predict patient survivability and determine patient suitability for immunotherapy cancer treatment.
Study shows protein inhibitor as potential treatment approach for common mutations found in non-Hodgkin lymphomas
Study shows protein inhibitor as potential treatment approach for common mutations found in non-Hodgkin lymphomas. Findings may create immunotherapy options for lymphomas caused by CREBBP mutations.
Study reveals a new approach to enhancing response to immunotherapy in melanoma
Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys have identified a new way to boost the immune system’s ability to fight cancer. The study used a mouse model to identify the importance of the Siah2 protein in the control of immune cells called T regulatory cells (Tregs), which limit the effectiveness of currently used immunotherapies. The research, which offers a new avenue to pursue immunotherapy in cases where the treatment fails, was published today in Nature Communications.
Researchers identify immune-suppressing target in glioblastoma
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified a tenacious subset of immune macrophages that thwart treatment of glioblastoma with anti-PD-1 checkpoint blockade, elevating a new potential target for treating the almost uniformly lethal brain tumor.
Researchers Identify Potential Formula for Blood Cancer Vaccine
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a way to move precision immunotherapy forward by using genomics to inform immunotherapy for multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, according to a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, in December.
BCMA-Targeted Immunotherapy Can Lead to Durable Responses in Multiple Myeloma
An experimental, off-the-shelf immunotherapy that combines a targeted antibody and chemotherapy can lead to potentially durable responses in multiple myeloma patients whose disease has relapsed or is resistant to other standard therapies
UCLA study shows inhibition of gene helps overcome resistance to immunotherapy
A new study from scientists at UCLA helps explain why some people with advanced cancer may not respond to one of the leading immunotherapies, PD-1 blockade, and how a new combination approach may help overcome resistance to the immunotherapy drug.
Researchers find protein promotes cancer, suppresses anti-tumor immunity
Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have found that a protein involved in immune response to microbes, TBK1, also can fuel cancer development and suppress immune response to the disease.
Allergy Shots May be an Effective Treatment for Pediatric Pollen Food Allergy Syndrome
A new study shows that allergy shots (subcutaneous immunotherapy) can be effective in reducing PFAS symptoms for pediatric patients.
Human Immune Monitoring Center at Mount Sinai to analyze the effectiveness of a novel cancer therapy drug
The Human Immune Monitoring Center (HIMC) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai will apply cutting-edge high-throughput technologies to evaluate the therapeutic effects of Libtayo® (cemiplimab-rwlc), a PD-1 antibody blockade developed by biotechnology company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc and Sanofi.
Updated Report on Trends in Global PD-1/PD-L1 Immunotherapy Clinical Development from the Cancer Research Institute Published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
Latest analysis of the global PD-1/PD-L1 immunotherapy clinical development pipeline reveals dramatic growth over past two years in number of trials, drug combinations, and drug targets, but lower patient recruitment rates in the U.S. compared to China.
Moffitt Researchers Identify a Mechanism Controlling Tumor Cell Recognition by Immune Cells
Immunotherapy has become a standard treatment approach for several types of cancer, including melanoma. However, tumors can escape immune cell detection even with the use of immunotherapies. In a new study published in Cancer Immunology Research, Moffitt Cancer Center researchers, in collaboration with the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, describe a cellular mechanism that controls tumor cell recognition by immune cells.
Yale Cancer Center study shows checkpoint inhibitor prolongs survival in patients with certain head and neck cancers
The checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) offers patients with advanced head and neck cancers longer survival time, according to a new global study led by Yale Cancer Center (YCC).
Atlantic Health System Cancer Care Enrolling Patients in Innovative Pancreatic Cancer Clinical Trials
November is national Pancreatic Cancer Awareness month. This year alone, more than 56,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic tumors are particularly aggressive and hard to treat “due to a mutational profile that makes it resistant to therapies that work better for other tumor types,” explains Angela Alistar, MD, medical director of GI oncology at Morristown Medical Center. Dr. Alistar, an internationally known expert on pancreatic cancer, is now enrolling patients in five clinical trials aimed at pancreatic cancer.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute launches new national advertising campaign
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is launching a new campaign themed, What We Do Here Changes Lives Everywhere”.
Ziopharm Oncology and MD Anderson Cancer Center Announce New R&D Agreement to Expand TCR-T Program
Ziopharm and MD Anderson have announced a new research and development agreement to develop novel T-cell therapies using engineered T-cell receptors for solid tumors.
CAR T Cell Clinical Trial for Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Begins at Atlantic Health System
Atlantic Health System is treating patients in a new Phase 2 clinical trial of CAR T-cell therapy at Morristown Medical Center. A select number of sites across the U.S. are involved in this study, which is done on an outpatient basis. The study is sponsored by Juno Therapeutics, Inc. The study’s principal investigator, Mohamad Cherry, MD, medical director of hematology for Atlantic Health System Cancer Care, is a nationally known expert at treating and researching blood-related cancers such as lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma. Dr. Cherry is triple board-certified in internal medicine, hematology and medical oncology
Stephan Grupp, MD, PhD, Elected to the National Academy of Medicine
Stephan Grupp, MD, PhD, Chief of the Cell Therapy and Transplant Section in the Division of Oncology and Director of the Cancer Immunotherapy Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, has been elected into the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), effective Oct. 1, 2019.
New Precision Immunotherapy Clinic Matches Patients to Latest Cancer Therapies
New Precision Immunotherapy Therapy clinic at Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health matches patients using genetic profiling to personalized cancer treatment plans.
Seattle Children’s Building Cure Opens in Downtown Seattle to Accelerate Pediatric Research
Seattle Children’s today announced the opening of Building Cure™, a new 540,000 square-foot pediatric research facility located at Stewart Street and Terry Avenue in downtown Seattle’s biotech corridor. Building Cure is the latest step in Seattle Children’s quest to revolutionize pediatric medicine and improve the lives of children worldwide.
Latest Global Immuno-Oncology Landscape Report from the Cancer Research Institute Published in Nature Reviews Drug Discovery
Cancer Research Institute analysis of the global immuno-oncology landscape shows dramatic two-year growth in therapeutic targets and I-O drugs in clinical development
Oncologists Respond Swiftly to FDA Safety Alerts, Penn Study Finds
Within six months of the FDA’s move to restrict the label of two immunotherapies, usage of those therapies among oncologists dropped by about 50 percent, according to a new study from researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
Yale Cancer Center researchers show adding radiation after immunotherapy improves survival time for patients with advanced lung cancer
The results of a phase II clinical trial by Yale Cancer Center (YCC) researchers show adding high-dose radiation after immunotherapy stops working increases survival time for patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Yale Cancer Center researchers show adding radiation after immunotherapy improves survival time for patients with advanced lung cancer
The results of a phase II clinical trial by Yale Cancer Center (YCC) researchers show adding high-dose radiation after immunotherapy stops working increases survival time for patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Leaves are Falling. Autumn is Calling. So are Fall Allergies
While symptoms for each allergy season may be similar, the treatment can look very different, particularly if immunotherapy is an option.
$1.5M Awarded from ORIEN New Oncologic Visionary Awards Program Supports Research by Rutgers Cancer Institute Investigators
A pair of Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey physician-scientists are collaborating on national research projects that received $1.5 million in combined funding from the Oncology Research Information Exchange Network® (ORIEN) New Oncologic Visionary Awards (NOVA) program.
Cancer Research Institute Names New Stars of Cancer Immunotherapy Research
Five U.S. scientists have been awarded $1.25 million each to carry out high-risk, high-reward cancer immunology research with potential to transform cancer treatment • STARs will explore ways to improve outcomes for cancer patients treated with immunotherapy by uncovering and…