At ESMO 2014, Prof Tom Powles (Barts Cancer Institute, UK) discusses strategies in the management of kidney cancer. Recent clinical trials have increased interest in immunotherapy for kidney cancer. Results from a phase II study investigating the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, cediranib, in VEGF-resistant metastatic kidney cancer suggests a need for improved biomarkers, but developing clinically relevant biomarkers is challenging. Knowledge in the treatment of common kidney cancer subtypes have been applied in the rare papillary renal cell carcinoma subtype.
Author: Editor
At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr David Avigan (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA) discusses recent investigational advances in the management of multiple myeloma. Novel biological therapies, including proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs, have improved patient outcomes, but disease progression remains an issue. An integration of existing approaches, including autologous stem cell transplantation, with newer approaches is recommended. Highlight presentations include topics in anti-CS1 humanized monoclonal antibody, elotuzumab, anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, daratumumab, PD1-pathway inhibition, tumour vaccines and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell immunotherapy.
Prof Claire Harrison (Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK) discusses highlights on myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) from the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. A molecular-based approach in MPN studies, which has improved understanding of driver mutations, has rapidly increased recent advances in clinical management. Combinational therapies are in preliminary stages and focus is on the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor, ruxolitinib, in combinations that enhance overall patient response. Long-term studies, such as the Evaluation of Xagrid Efficacy and Long-term Safety (EXELS) study, are providing insight in high-risk patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET). Quality of life in…
At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Denis-Claude Roy (University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada) discusses a phase II trial that evaluated selective photodepletion of recipient-alloreactive T-cells (ATIR) for haploidentical haematopoietic stem cell transplant in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). ATIR does not cause any grade III/IV graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) and demonstrates promising treatment-related mortality and overall survival rates.
At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof Keith Stewart (Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ) discusses recent advances in the treatment of multiple myeloma. The phase III ASPIRE study showed that adding the proteasome inhibitor, carfilzomib, to the standard doublet therapy of lenalidomide and dexamethasone resulted in a higher progression-free survival for relapsed multiple myeloma patients. CD38 represents a promising target for monoclonal antibody-based immunotherapy. Novel anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies, daratumumab and SAR650984, are undergoing clinical investigation.
Stromal tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes(S-TILs): In the alliance N9831 trial S-TILs are associated with chemotherapy benefit but not associated with trastuzumab benefit
SABCS 2014: ECOG 1199 Trial Commentary by Dr. Sunil Verma: Ten year update of E1199: Phase III study of doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide followed by paclitaxel or docetaxel given every 3 weeks or weekly in patients with axillary node-positive or high-risk node-negative breast cancer
SABCS 2014: TNT Trial Commentary by Dr. Sunil Verma: A randomized phase III trial of carboplatin (C) compared with docetaxel (D) for patients with metastatic or recurrent locally advanced triple negative or BRCA1/2 breast cancer (CRUK/07/012)
SABCS 2014: SOFT Trial Commentary by Dr. Sunil Verma: Randomized comparison of adjuvant tamoxifen (T) plus ovarian function suppression (OFS) versus tamoxifen in premenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) early breast cancer (BC): Analysis of the SOFT trial
The FERGI phase II study of the PI3K inhibitor pictilisib (GDC-0941) plus fulvestrant vs fulvestrant plus placebo in patients with ER+, aromatase inhibitor (AI)-resistant advanced or metastatic breast cancer Part I results, presented by Dr. Verma
A randomized phase III trial comparing neoadjuvant chemotherapy with weekly nanoparticle-based paclitaxel with solventbased paclitaxel followed by anthracyline/ cyclophosphamide for patients with early breast cancer presented by Dr. Sunil Verma
At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Catherine Bollard (Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC), Dr Philippe Armand (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA), Dr Craig Moskowitz (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY), Dr Nicola Gökbuget (University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany) and Dr Stephan Grupp (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA) answer questions from the press.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Stephan Grupp (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA) presents the results of a study that suggests chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting CD19 (CTL019) can elicit durable remissions in paediatric relapsed or refractory acute lymphocytic leukaemia.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Joseph Alvarnas (City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA) presents data from the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN 0803)/AIDS Malignancy Consortium (AMC-071) trial, which prospectively evaluated overall survival after autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in patients with chemotherapy-sensitive, relapsed or refractory HIV-associated lymphoma, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, plasmablastic lymphoma, Burkitt/Burkitt-like lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Craig Moskowitz (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY) presents results from the phase III AETHERA trial, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of brentuximab vedotin in preventing post-autologous stem cell transplant disease recurrence in Hodgkin lymphoma patients.
At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr David Steensma (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA), Dr Brent Wood (University of Washington, Seattle, WA), Prof Wendy Stock (University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL), Dr Christoph Röllig (Universitätsklinikum Dresden, Dresden, Germany), Dr Oliver Ottmann (Goethe-University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany), Dr Eytan Stein (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY) and Prof Farhad Ravandi (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX) answer questions from the press.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof Farhad Ravandi (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX) discusses the phase III double-blind randomized controlled multinational VALOR study, which evaluated vosaroxin plus cytarabine versus placebo plus cytarabine in patients with first-relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukaemia.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Eytan Stein (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY) discusses a phase I study of AG-221, an oral, selective, first-in-class, potent inhibitor of the IDH2 mutant metabolic enzyme, in IDH2-mutant acute myeloid leukaemia or pre-leukeamia (including myelodysplastic syndromes, chronic myelomonocytic leukeamia, and myeloproliferative neoplasms).
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Oliver Ottmann (Goethe-University Hospital, Frankfurt, Germany) discusses a Trial of the European Working Group for Adult ALL (EWALL-PH-02), which evaluated nilotinib and chemotherapy for first-line treatment in elderly patients with de novo Philadelphia chromosome/BCR-ABL1-positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Christoph Röllig (Universitätsklinikum Dresden, Dresden, Germany) discusses the phase II Study Alliance Leukemia (SAL)-Soraml trial, which evaluated sorafenib versus placebo in addition to standard therapy in younger patients (1860 years old) with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukaemia.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof Wendy Stock (University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL) discusses the intergroup trial C10403, which showed that adolescent and young adult patients (1639 years old) with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) had better overall and event-free survival with paediatric regimens compared to historical controls.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Brent Wood (University of Washington, Seattle, WA) discusses the phase III Children’s Oncology Group (COG) study AALL0434, which evaluated a standard 4-drug induction followed by response-based risk stratification, as determined by measured levels of minimal residual disease (MRD), in patients with T-lymphocytic leukaemia. Intermediate and high-risk patients were randomised to receive or not receive additional nelarabine chemotherapy and all patients except those who were low-risk received additional radiation therapy.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Nicola Gökbuget (University Hospital Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany) presents the results of the single-arm phase II study that evaluated the Bispecific T-Cell Engager (BiTE) antibody construct (anti-CD19) blinatumomab in patients with minimal residual disease B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Craig Moskowitz (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY) discusses the preliminary results of a phase Ib study evaluating the PD-1 inhibitor, pembrolizumab, in patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma after brentuximab vedotin failure.
At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Brad Kahl (University of Wisconsin School of Medicine, Madison, WI), Dr Craig Moskowitz (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY), Dr Joseph Alvarnas (City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA), Prof Keith Stewart (Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ), Dr MarÃa-Victoria Mateos (Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain) and Prof Thomas Martin (University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA) answer questions from the press.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Philippe Armand (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA) discusses the results of a phase I study evaluating the preliminary efficacy and safety of programmed cell death 1 (PD-1) inhibitor, nivolumab, in patients with relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof Thomas Martin (University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA) discusses a phase Ib dose escalation trial of SAR650984 (anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody) in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr MarÃa-Victoria Mateos (Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain) discusses the open-label, multicentre, phase 1b study of daratumumab in combination with standard regimens in patients with multiple myeloma. Standard regimens included bortezomib-dexamethasone, bortezomib-thalidomide-dexamethasone, bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone and pomalidomide-dexamethasone.
At a press conference during the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof Keith Stewart (Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ) discusses the randomised, open-label, multicentre phase III ASPIRE study. The results of this study suggest carfilzomib combined with standard multiple myeloma therapy (combination of lenalidomide and dexamethasone) improves treatment responses in patients with relapsed or treatment-resistant multiple myeloma.
Dr Hans Hammers (Johns Hopkins, MD) discusses highlights from the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium. Immunotherapies have received significant interest: immune checkpoint inhibitors have the potential to durably control disease. Although significant progress has been made in the clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) subtype, research in therapies for non-clear cell RCC (nccRCC) has been relatively neglected.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr James Brugarolas (University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, TX) discusses the clinical significance of biologically classifying kidney cancer. Advances in genome sequencing methods allowed the identification of a range of mutations in kidney cancer and accordingly, mutation-defined subtypes. Some mutation-defined subtypes are associated with distinct clinical outcomes and therefore support the use of a molecular classification for treatment decisions. This molecular information may also improve clinical trial design through identification of patients who are more likely to benefit from investigational agents.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr James Hsieh (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY) discusses the progress in cancer understanding that has improved clinical management. Advances in technologies, including next-generation sequencing methods, have revolutionised research and clinical approaches.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr James Hsieh (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY) discusses the need for clinical trials in non-clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and new research in papillary RCC (pRCC). Emerging trials in the non-clear cell RCC subtype, pRCC, are hoped to improve the availability of therapies specifically approved for this disease.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr JianJun Gao (The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, TX) discusses papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) and prospective immunotherapy. pRCC is a relatively uncommon subtype of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) that is distinct from the more common clear cell RCC subtype. It is possible that progress in immunotherapeutic research in clear cell RCC that target common components of the immune system may be clinically applicable for patients with pRCC.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr Abraham Ari Hakimi (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY) discusses recent developments in the research of kidney cancer management. Identification of cancer subtypes through molecular profiling may guide future trial design and management options. Combination therapies have the potential to improve efficacy. There are a variety of online resources for patients interested in participating in clinical trials.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr Laurence Albiges (Gustave Roussy, France) provides an overview of papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) and management options for these patients. pRCC comprises 1015% of renal cell carcinoma and specific therapies are not available. There are two clinically distinct types of pRCC. The more common Type 1 pRCC is associated with a mutation in the MET gene.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr Toni Choueiri (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, MA) discusses the new AstraZeneca-sponsored Phase 2 clinical trial on the c-Met inhibitor, volitinib, in patients with papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC). pRCC is the second most common subtype of renal cell carcinoma and is associated with poor clinical outcomes. Dr Choueiri describes how molecular approaches help direct current research in this field and how inappropriate c-Met activation in cancer cells may be important in pRCC progression. Volitinib is a novel c-Met inhibitor; this Phase 2 trial is an open-label, global and multicentre…
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Prof David Kwiatkowski (Brigham and Women’s Hospital, MA) discusses targeting the mTOR pathway in kidney cancer treatment. It may be clinically necessary to target different proteins, mTOR, TSC1 and TSC2, of the mTOR pathway. Mutations in genes encoding for these proteins correlate with therapeutic response, and this may influence clinical trial design and provide the basis for personalised medicine in kidney cancer.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr James Hsieh (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY) discusses chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (RCC), which comprises 5% of RCC. Chromophobe RCC variants are important determinants in current treatment options. The incidence of incurable, metastatic disease in chromophobe RCC is 5%. Recent studies have improved the molecular understanding of chromophobe RCC and are hoped to direct therapeutic development.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr JianJun Gao (University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, TX) provides an overview of renal medullary carcinoma (RMC). RMC is a rare and aggressive renal cell carcinoma subtype that primarily occurs in African-American patients with sickle cell trait. Although research in RMC has remained in the preclinical stage, it is hoped that significant progress in more common kidney cancer subtypes will provide applicable data that will improve the management of patients with RMC.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr Hans Hammers (Johns Hopkins, MD) encourages kidney cancer patients to take an active role in health care. Currently, a strategic and patient-tailored approach is recommended in kidney cancer management. Dr Hammers discusses how clinical trials represent opportunities for patients to access new medicines and further therapy development.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr Hans Hammers (Johns Hopkins, MD) discusses the Phase 1 clinical trial that studied the immune checkpoint inhibitors, nivolumab and ipilimumab, in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC). The primary endpoint was to access safety and tolerability, and the secondary endpoint was to access efficacy. Overall, side effects were manageable and objective response was greater than previously reported with nivolumab monotherapy. These findings directed a subsequent Phase 3 trial.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr Elizabeth Plimack (Fox Chase Cancer Center, PA) discusses highlights from the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium. This meeting provides a forum for a varied audience with an interest in renal cell carcionoma (RCC) to exchange information that will help direct future research. The new immunotherapies that target the immune basis of cancer may have clinical applicability in both clear cell and non-clear cell RCC. It is also important to target the unique components of the RCC subtypes. Patients are encouraged to learn about clinical trials and participate if appropriate.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr Elizabeth Plimack (Fox Chase Cancer Center, PA) discusses prospective immunotherapy in kidney cancer management. Newer immunotherapeutic agents have demonstrated efficacy and are expected to be approved for kidney cancer soon. Collaborations between different drug manufactures have facilitated progress in combination therapies.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr Sumanta Pal (City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, CA) discusses his research on stool microbiome. Although in preliminary stages, research in kidney cancer patients suggests that protective bacterial species of the stool microbiome may protect against cancer therapy-induced diarrhoea.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr Toni Choueiri (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School, MA) provides an overview on current strategies in kidney cancer management. Focus in this field is moving away from VEGF and mTOR inhibitors. Current topics of interest include novel targets, acquired mechanisms of therapy resistance and immune checkpoint inhibitors. In lieu of biomarker availability for predicting therapy response, genetic sequencing methods are used to guide research in new combination therapies.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr Abraham Ari Hakimi (Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, NY) discusses the current understanding of sarcomatoid renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Sarcomatoid RCC is an aggressive subtype of RCC and presents significant clinical challenges. Modern technologies, including whole-genome sequencing, are hoped to improve the understanding of this disease biology, which ultimately guides treatment and improves disease management.
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Carolyn Konosky (Kidney Cancer Association, IL) encourages kidney cancer patients to have an active role in health care. The Kidney Cancer Association website offers a variety of resources for patients. Â Â Â Â thirteenth international kidney cancer symposium, international kidney cancer symposium, kidney cancer patients to have an active role,
At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Carolyn Konosky (Kidney Cancer Association, IL) provides an overview of the Kidney Cancer Association, which aims to progress and disseminate understanding of kidney cancer. These meetings provide a forum for different audiences with an interest in kidney cancer to exchange information that contributes to future research.
Latest Lung Cancer Updates from ESMO 2014 – Chemotherapy Advances by Dr. Sunil Verma