The American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting
The annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research was held from April 1 to 5 in Washington, D.C., and attracted approximately 18,000 participants from around the world, including scientists, cancer survivors, clinicians, allied health professionals, and industry professionals. The conference highlighted recent advances in the treatment, management, and prevention of cancer.
In one study, Yousef N. Zakharia, M.D., of the University of Iowa in Iowa City, and colleagues found that the combination of indoximod and pembrolizumab increased the response rate of advanced melanoma patients who responded to treatment compared with prior reported response rates for pembrolizumab monotherapy.
“Indoximod inhibits the IDO [indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase] pathway, a key immuno-oncology target. The objective response rate (ORR) for the entire study cohort (60 patients) was 52 percent using indoximod in combination with pembrolizumab for patients with advanced melanoma,” Zakharia said. “The combination of indoximod plus pembrolizumab demonstrated an ORR of 59 percent and a disease control rate of 80 percent in patients with non-ocular melanoma.”
The investigators noted that the combination of indoximod plus pembrolizumab was generally well tolerated and comparable to reported data for pembrolizumab alone.
“We continue to see advancement in immunotherapy. The IDO pathway inhibitors are a new class of immunotherapeutic agents. Targeting the IDO pathway will play a significant role in enhancing the outcomes for patients with cancer through combination therapy with both currently approved and future treatment,” Zakharia said. “Currently, indoximod is still under investigation and we are encouraged that the robust interim Phase 2 data support the initiation of a larger Phase 3 study. Also, indoximod is being evaluated in combination studies across multiple cancers.”
The study was funded by NewLink Genetics, the manufacturer of indoximod.
In another study, Amy K. Erbe, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, and colleagues found that individual genotypes, which are specific to influencing the activity of natural killer (NK) cells, may be predictive of the clinical outcome from immunotherapy among high-risk neuroblastoma patients.
“Based on certain genotype patterns that influence NK cell activity, individual responses to immunotherapy differ. For patients with a certain killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) and KIR-ligand genotype pattern, significant improvement in clinical outcome was found if they were treated with immunotherapy, whereas we were not able to detect a difference in outcome based on treatment of the converse to that genotype. This suggests that NK cells play a major role in the response to the immunotherapeutic regimen of dinutuximab with interleukin-2, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor, and isotretinoin,” Erbe said. “We hope that, if validated, this kind of genotyping might allow us to personalize treatment for high-risk neuroblastoma patients based on their KIR and KIR-ligand genotype.”
In the phase II SUMMIT clinical trial, David Hyman, M.D., from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and colleagues found that the likelihood of response to neratinib was impacted by tumor type and by the individual human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) mutation present in patients with cancer.
“HER2 has been targeted successfully in clinic in breast and gastric cancers, but these patients have overexpression or amplification of wild-type HER2. We now know that a subset of cancer patients activates HER2 through mutations of protein rather than amplification or over expression,” Hyman said. “We believe these HER2 mutations are another means of generating HER2-positive cancer. Biologically, we think a lot of the approved HER2-targeted therapies are not likely to be effective against these mutations. In the laboratory, we see activity with an investigational agent called neratinib.”
The investigators found that some tumor types appeared more sensitive, as did some HER2 mutations when compared to others.
“Breast cancer was the most sensitive, with biliary and cervical cancers showing some sensitivity requiring further study. However, other cancer types did not show significant activity,” Hyman said. “Even in the most sensitive tumor types, the future of neratinib is probably in combination with either other HER2-targeted therapy, chemotherapy, or hormonal therapy. This parallels the experience with all currently approved HER2-targeted therapies in breast and gastric cancer.”
The study was funded by Puma Biotechnology, the manufacturer of neratinib.
AACR: Cancer Burden Changing for Americans With HIV
WEDNESDAY, April 5, 2017 (HealthDay News) — As HIV becomes a lifetime disease instead of a fatal disease, patients will likely start to mirror other Americans when it comes to the kinds of cancers they develop, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, held from April 1 to 5 in Washington, D.C.
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AACR: Genetic Mutations Seen in Many Childhood Cancer Survivors
TUESDAY, April 4, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Many survivors of childhood cancer have mutations in cancer-associated genes, possibly increasing their risk for cancers later in life, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, held from April 1 to 5 in Washington, D.C.
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AACR: Shorter Sleep Duration Linked to Prostate CA Mortality
TUESDAY, April 4, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Circadian rhythms might play a role in prostate cancer development and outcomes, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, held from April 1 to 5 in Washington, D.C.
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AACR: Atezolizumab Aids Some With Triple-Negative Breast CA
MONDAY, April 3, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Women with advanced, triple-negative breast cancers who responded to the immunotherapy atezolizumab (Tecentriq) gained a significant survival benefit, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, held from April 1 to 5 in Washington, D.C.
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AACR: Regular Aspirin Use Linked to Lower Cancer Mortality
MONDAY, April 3, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Regular aspirin use is associated with reduced mortality, mainly due to a lower risk of dying from any cancer, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, held from April 1 to 5 in Washington, D.C.
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AACR: Five-Year Survival 16 Percent With Nivolumab in NSCLC
MONDAY, April 3, 2017 (HealthDay News) — For patients with pretreated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), nivolumab is associated with a five-year overall survival rate of 16 percent, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, held from April 1 to 5 in Washington, D.C.
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AACR: TTFields + Temozolomide Ups Survival in Glioblastoma
MONDAY, April 3, 2017 (HealthDay News) — Adding tumor-treating fields (TTFields) to temozolomide (TMZ) is associated with improved progression-free and overall survival in glioblastoma (GBM), according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research, held from April 1 to 5 in Washington, D.C.
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