scholarly journals Combination Therapies for the Treatment of Advanced Melanoma: A Review of Current Evidence

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Voskoboynik ◽  
Hendrik-Tobias Arkenau

The treatment of advanced melanoma has been revolutionised in recent years with the advent of a range of new therapies. BRAF inhibitors, such as vemurafenib, have demonstrated improvements in the overall survival of patients with advanced melanoma that harbour a BRAF V600 mutation. Alongside these targeted therapies, novel immune-checkpoint inhibitors, such as ipilimumab, have also been developed and have produced similarly improved outcomes for patients. For the first time in the history of melanoma, monotherapy with each of these drugs has produced improvements in the overall survival of patients with advanced disease. Building on this initial success, there has been intense interest in developing combination therapies predominantly with either dual blockade of the MAPK oncogenic pathway or dual immune-checkpoint blockade. The current evidence for the use of these combination therapies will be presented here.

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-9
Author(s):  
Junji Kato ◽  
Hisashi Uhara

Abstract Treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors provides long-term survival for patients with advanced melanoma. Improvements in the overall survival of advanced melanoma patients have been achieved with anti-PD-1 monotherapy and anti-PD-1+ CTLA4 combination therapy, but there are still many issues to resolve. Acral, mucosal and uveal melanoma have been less responsive to immune checkpoint inhibitors than cutaneous melanoma. For patients who have achieved a good response, it is still not known how long the anti-PD-1 therapy should be administered. Moreover, there is limited treatment for patients who relapse during or after adjuvant anti-PD-1 therapy. Here, we review the current evidence regarding the clinical effects of immunotherapy for advanced melanoma. Moreover, we review previous studies of acral, mucosal and uveal melanoma, and we discuss the recent findings regarding durable response after the cessation of anti-PD-1 therapy, and treatment options for recurrence after adjuvant therapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 175883592090909
Author(s):  
Christine E. Simmons ◽  
Christine Brezden-Masley ◽  
Joy McCarthy ◽  
Deanna McLeod ◽  
Anil Abraham Joy

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents an aggressive breast cancer subtype with historically poor overall outcomes, due primarily to a lack of effective targeted agents. Chemotherapy has been the primary treatment approach, although immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are currently being investigated to improve patient outcomes. This review examines the clinical implications of current evidence on the use of ICIs for the treatment of metastatic TNBC. Methods: Our systematic search identified two phase III and five phase I/II trials reporting on the efficacy of ICIs used as monotherapy or combined with chemotherapy for the treatment of metastatic TNBC. Results: The phase III IMpassion 130 trial showed a significant improvement in median progression-free survival in the intent-to-treat (net 1.7 months, p = 0.002) and PD-L1-positive populations (net 2.5 months, p < 0.001) for the addition of first-line atezolizumab versus placebo to nab-paclitaxel in metastatic TNBC. Although median overall survival was not significantly improved in patients receiving atezolizumab overall [net 2.3 months, hazard ratio (HR) 0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.72–1.02, p = 0.078], numerical improvements in the PD-L1-positive population were compelling (net 7.0 months, HR 0.71; 95% CI 0.54–0.93). Toxicity profiles were as expected, and no new safety signals were observed. Pembrolizumab monotherapy did not significantly improve overall survival in similar patients that had received prior treatment in KEYNOTE-119. Conclusions: Atezolizumab plus nab-paclitaxel represents a potential new first-line standard of care for patients with metastatic PD-L1-positive TNBC. Other ICIs used as monotherapy, or combined with chemotherapy for advanced TNBC, as well as their use for earlier stage disease, are areas of ongoing investigation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e22045-e22045
Author(s):  
Marcos Rezende Teixeira ◽  
Milton Jos De Barros E Silva ◽  
Natasha Carvalho Pandolfi ◽  
Vinicius Fernando Calsavara ◽  
Thiago Bueno Oliveira ◽  
...  

e22045 Background: Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) has changed the natural history advanced melanoma (AM) with response rates about 40% and overall survival in 5 years of more than 30%. Interestingly, the site of metastasis may have impact on immune response due to the quantity and quality of immune infiltrate as we have seen in patients (pts) with liver metastasis treated with ICB. We have hypothesized that bone metastasis(BM) represents an immune less responsive site of disease Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational analysis of patients with AM treated with ICB at A.C. Camargo Cancer Center (AC) in São Paulo, Brazil. We analyze the impact of BM on progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) using Kaplan Meier method, log-rank test and time-dependent COX regression model. Results: We analyzed 170 pts with AM treated with anti-PD1 (79%) or anti-PD1 + anti-CTLA4 (21%) between September 2013 and December 2019. Fifty-five percent in first-line, 22.4% second-line and the remaining in third or more lines of therapy. Ninety- four were male (55.3%), median age of 60.5 years (24.8 to 88.3) and 61 (35.9%) pts had BRAF mutation. Among stage IV patients (94%), 52 (32.4%) were M1c, 36 (22.4%) M1d and 46 (27%) had elevated LDH. Forty-two (26%) pts had BM. The overall response rate was 30.9% for pts with BM compared to 57.7% for pts without BM (p:0.004). In a median follow-up of 23.6 months (95% CI: 18.0-29.1), the median PFS and OS for pts with and without BM were 3.8 x 18.8 months (p 0.005) and 19.4months x not achieved (p 0.001), respectively. The 24-month analysis shows an overall survival rate of 38% for patients with BM compared to 62% for the rest of the cohort population. In a multivariate analysis for overall survival, acral melanoma, elevated LDH, ECOG performance status of 1 or 2 and BM were independent adverse prognostic factors (bone metastasis - HR: 2.3; 95%CI: 1.18-4.1; p:0.013). Conclusions: In this analysis, the presence of bone disease seems to be a worse independent prognostic factor for survival. A hypothesis would be the unfavorable bone microenvironment for the action of the immunotherapy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. ii115-ii116
Author(s):  
Carlen Yuen ◽  
Kourosh Rezania ◽  
Deric Park ◽  
Anthony Reder

Abstract Neurological immune-related adverse events (irAEs) are rare toxicities that occur following immune checkpoint blockade. It is imperative to distinguish between irAEs and their mimics for successful treatment. We present the first case of CLIPPERS-like lesions in a patient with thymic cancer, thymoma, and a family history of neuromyelitis optica, following treatment with pembrolizumab. The brainstem lesion was in the anatomic location of the respiratory and cardiac centers. We also present a second case of aseptic meningitis irAE in a patient with prior graft-versus-host-disease following a single dose of nivolumab. These cases add to the growing evidence of CNS complications from immune checkpoint inhibitors. Risk factors for irAEs are not well established, and we explore potential risk factors and a possible mechanism from dysfunctional regulatory T cells.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Castello ◽  
Egesta Lopci

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have achieved astonishing results and improved overall survival (OS) in several types of malignancies, including advanced melanoma. However, due to a peculiar type of anti-cancer activity provided by these drugs, the response patterns during ICI treatment are completely different from that with “old” chemotherapeutic agents. Objective: To provide an overview of the available literature and potentials of 18F-FDG PET/CT in advanced melanoma during the course of therapy with ICI in the context of treatment response evaluation. Methods: Morphologic criteria, expressed by Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST), immune-related response criteria (irRC), irRECIST, and, more recently, immune-RECIST (iRECIST), along with response criteria based on the metabolic parameters with 18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose (18FFDG), have been explored. Results: To overcome the limits of traditional response criteria, new metabolic response criteria have been introduced on time and are being continuously updated, such as the PET/CT Criteria for the early prediction of Response to Immune checkpoint inhibitor Therapy (PECRIT), the PET Response Evaluation Criteria for Immunotherapy (PERCIMT), and “immunotherapy-modified” PET Response Criteria in Solid Tumors (imPERCIST). The introduction of new PET radiotracers, based on monoclonal antibodies combined with radioactive elements (“immune-PET”), are of great interest. Conclusion: Although the role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in malignant melanoma has been widely validated for detecting distant metastases and recurrences, evidences in course of ICI are still scarce and larger multicenter clinical trials are needed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. e236357
Author(s):  
Mary Sessums ◽  
Siva Yarrarapu ◽  
Pramod K Guru ◽  
Devang K Sanghavi

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have revolutionised cancer therapy in the past decade. Although they have been indicated to treat a diverse range of malignant neoplasms, they are also associated with various immune-related adverse effects. We report the case of a 74-year-old man with a history of urothelial carcinoma who had atezolizumab-induced myocarditis and myositis resulting in acute hypercapnic respiratory failure, despite the discontinuation of atezolizumab and aggressive treatment with corticosteroids. This case highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach for early diagnosis and treatment of immune-related adverse events. Physicians must be aware of the risks associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors and have a basic knowledge regarding their management.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Johannet ◽  
Amelia Sawyers ◽  
Nicholas Gulati ◽  
Douglas Donnelly ◽  
Samuel Kozloff ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Recent preclinical data suggest that there may be therapeutic synergy between immune checkpoint blockade and inhibition of the coagulation cascade. Here, we investigate whether patients who received immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) and were on concomitant anticoagulation (AC) experienced better treatment outcomes than individuals not on AC.Affiliation: Kindly confirm if corresponding authors affiliation is identified correctly.The corresponding author's affiliation is correct. Methods We studied a cohort of 728 advanced cancer patients who received 948 lines of ICI at NYU (2010–2020). Patients were classified based on whether they did (n = 120) or did not (n = 828) receive therapeutic AC at any point during their treatment with ICI. We investigated the relationship between AC status and multiple clinical endpoints including best overall response (BOR), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), progression free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and the incidence of bleeding complications.Affiliations: Journal instruction requires a country for affiliations; however, this is missing in affiliations 1 to 5. Please verify if the provided country is correct and amend if necessary.The country is correct for all affiliations (1 - 5). Results Treatment with AC was not associated with significantly different BOR (P = 0.80), ORR (P =0.60), DCR (P =0.77), PFS (P = 0.59), or OS (P =0.64). Patients who received AC were significantly more likely to suffer a major or clinically relevant minor bleed (P = 0.05). Conclusion AC does not appear to impact the activity or efficacy of ICI in advanced cancer patients. On the basis of our findings, we caution that there is insufficient evidence to support prospectively evaluating the combination of AC and immunotherapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie Tietze ◽  
Susanne Michen ◽  
Gabriele Schackert ◽  
Achim Temme

Abstract Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most prevalent primary brain tumor endowed with a dismal prognosis. Nowadays, immunotherapy in a particular immune checkpoint blockade and therapeutic vaccines are being extensively pursued. Yet, several characteristics of GBM may impact such immunotherapeutic approaches. This includes tumor heterogeneity, the relatively low mutational load of primary GBM, insufficient delivery of antibodies to tumor parenchyma and the unique immunosuppressive microenvironment of GBM. Moreover, standard treatment of GBM, comprising temozolomide chemotherapy, radiotherapy and in most instances the application of glucocorticoids for management of brain edema, results in a further increased immunosuppression. This review will provide a brief introduction to the principles of vaccine-based immunotherapy and give an overview of the current clinical studies, which employed immune checkpoint inhibitors, oncolytic viruses-based vaccination, cell-based and peptide-based vaccines. Recent experiences as well as the latest developments are reviewed. Overcoming obstacles, which limit the induction and long-term immune response against GBM when using vaccination approaches, are necessary for the implementation of effective immunotherapy of GBM.


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