Episode 7 - Immunotherapy: Where Is It At? Where Is It Headed?

Panelists Daniel J. George, MD, and Jeffrey Weber, MD, PhD, believe that while immunotherapy is still relatively new, this therapy option will play a promising role in the future for the treatment of cancer.

Immunotherapy is the most exciting area in cancer research right now, declares Dr George.

Dr George credits the IMPACT trial as a pivotal trial that led to the approval of Provenge, the first cellular immunotherapy approved by the FDA for the treatment of metastatic prostate cancer, and elaborates on the PSA quartile trial. He explains how the benefits of trials, in terms of overall survival and long-term disease-free survival with checkpoint inhibitors, help immunotherapy gain credibility for the treatment of cancer.

Dr Weber continues by highlighting current key trials featured during the ASCO 2013 meetings, which include trials for PD-1 antibodies, ipilimumab, and new combinations of ipilimumab with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factors (GM-CSFs).

George hopes that the results of key trials will help change the population of patients who can be treated with immunotherapy, as well as help providers treat patients in a more precise manner.