Immuno-Oncology

A study published in Nature Medicine found that certain tumor mutations are more persistent and may predict immunotherapy responses more reliably than overall tumor mutational burden.

A Q-TWiST analysis of ZUMA-7 trial data suggests that axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel) in the second line is beneficial to quality-adjusted survival and is a viable option for patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after first-line chemoimmunotherapy.

New immunotherapies are changing the shape of oncology care, but there is also a need for a system that provides these high-quality therapies to the patients most likely to benefit from them. This might mean doing an assessment and a deeper dive into patient functional status, says Alonso V. Pacheco, MD, medical director and medical oncologist/hematologist, Rocky Mountain Cancer Centers.

At the 2022 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), customized cancer immunotherapy treatments now share the limelight with bispecific antibodies, which made news across disease states from large B-cell lymphoma to follicular lymphoma to multiple myeloma; as their name suggests, these treatments aim at 2 targets, increasing their potency against cancer.

The findings include the identification of a 12-gene signature that could be used to categorize patients as high or low risk.

During 2022, the FDA approved 2 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies for use in second-line treatment, offering new treatment choices but raising the question: What options remain once a patient relapses after CAR T?

Access to and outcomes of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies may differ by characteristics such as race, ethnicity, gender, and geographic location among patients with cancer.

Across several Institute for Value-Based Medicine® (IVBM) events held in 2022, the most-viewed content from these events cover a variety of topics in oncology care.

In 2022, the most-read articles published in Evidence-Based Oncology™ included the latest updates in cancer treatments, the promises and challenges of technology, and a look at the shifting landscape of care delivery.

In 2022, the most-read news about immuno-oncology included an FDA approval for liver cancer, research findings on other potential therapies for liver cancer, a Q&A with a COTA Healthcare executive about how real-world evidence has changed, new possibilities for patients with solid tumors, and more.

Among the conference highlights from the annual meeting of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) were an interview on chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies and a session on best practices for value-based contracting.

This paper follows the 10-year remission mark for the first child treated with CD19-targeted CAR (chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), adding promise to the notion that the technology can provide long-term durable remissions in patients who are highly refractory to chemotherapy.

Investigators from Fred Hutchison Cancer Research Center hoped to gain insights into what factors can predict success with axi-cel in patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

A new study has found that a drop in serum inorganic phosphate (iP) was an early predictor of severe cytokine release syndrome (CRS), suggesting that monitoring serum iP levels could help promote safer management of the most common toxicity associated with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy.

Stephen M. Schleicher, MD, MBA, chief medical officer at Tennessee Oncology, addresses the “huge problem” of financial toxicity among patients with cancer, which can be attributed in part to both the high price of targeted treatments and even from ordering only necessary testing.

While chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has offered a new option and improved outcomes for patients with advanced hematologic malignancies, the treatment approach has been associated with toxicities such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS), neurotoxicity, and hematotoxicity.

Highlighting their ability to quickly destroy malignant cells without antigen specificity, natural killer (NK) cells have been identified as an opportunity for use, particularly in cases where T cells are not effective.

A dual immunotherapy option of tremelimumab, sold as Imjudo, in combination with durvalumab, sold as Imfinzi, was approved by the FDA Monday for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer.

Data suggest that the technology may be an option for patients who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) based on certain patient characteristics, prior treatments, stem cell availability, or tumor chemosensitivity.

Despite the obstacles and risks, the review authors conclude that universal chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has the potential to play a key role and mitigate some of the limitations associated with autologous CAR T-cell therapy in cancer treatment.

The review concludes that CD20-targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is an option worth exploring, despite potential safety concerns that warrant more extensive research.

Renal outcomes and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy efficacy were unaffected by baseline renal status in a cohort of patients with diffuse large B cell lymphoma, but acute kidney injury during treatment was associated with worse clinical outcomes.

The review highlights current strategies for myeloid cell targeting and novel agents targeting myeloid cells for cancer treatment.

A significant portion of patients who receive chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy experience immune effector cell–associated neurotoxicity syndrome, and this recent study suggests neurofilament light chain protein levels may hold promise as a biomarker to identify at-risk patients.

The review of 5 phase 3 randomized controlled trials found that overall, the combination treatments improved survival outcomes while eliciting more, but manageable, side effects.

Wayne Winegarden, PhD, of the Pacific Research Institute, explains the harm that white bagging policies cause health systems and how replacing them with new measures to boost market competition could help patients.

Researchers studied data from 5 phase 1 studies that took place between 2012 and 2021, comprising 139 infusions among patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia who received chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatment.