Concurrent immunotherapy and radiation in cisplatin-ineligible patients with HNSCC: a systematic review & meta-analysis.

Background: Head and squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in the locally advanced setting is challenging to treat and remains an area of significant morbidity and mortality. For patients who are cisplatin-ineligible and considered unresectable, there is no clear standard of care including the choice of radiosensitizer.

Methods: OVID Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were systematically searched.

Survivals following discontinuation of PD-1 inhibitor treatment in advanced melanoma patients.

The aim of this study was to evaluate overall survival post-treatment discontinuation survival (OS PTD ) in advanced melanoma patients started on immunotherapy. This retrospective study included all unresectable advanced or metastatic melanoma patients who had permanent treatment discontinuation after receiving at least one cycle of palliative-intent programmed death-1 ± cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein-4 inhibitor treatment from 2014 to 2019. Indications of permanent treatment discontinuation included treatment completion, toxicity or progression.

Long-Term Toxicities of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI) in Melanoma Patients.

ICI therapy has greatly improved patient outcomes in melanoma, but at the cost of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Data on the chronicity of irAEs, especially in real-world settings, are currently limited. We performed a retrospective chart review of 161 adult patients with melanoma treated with at least one cycle of ICI regimen in the adjuvant or metastatic setting: 129 patients received PD-1 inhibitor monotherapy and 32 received dual immunotherapy.

No association between BMI and immunotoxicity or clinical outcomes for immune checkpoint inhibitors.

The impact of BMI on immune checkpoint inhibitor toxicity and efficacy has not been clearly characterized. The authors conducted a retrospective single-center study of patients with advanced unresectable/metastatic cancer initiated on immune checkpoint inhibitors. Of the 409 patients included in the study, 115 (28%) had a BMI ≥30.

Complete response and survival outcomes in patients with advanced cancer on immune checkpoint inhibitors.

To evaluate overall survival in advanced cancer patients who achieved complete response (CR) with immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. This retrospective study included patients with advanced unresectable or metastatic cancer who received at least one cycle of palliative-intent ICI. Best overall response was used to define response groups.

Can Oncogenic Driver Alterations be Responsible for the Lack of Immunotherapy Efficacy in First-line Advanced Urothelial Carcinoma?

Urothelial carcinoma (UC) harbors many oncogenic alterations and the limited efficacy of first-line immunotherapy in this setting suggests that oncogenic alterations could have potential as a predictive biomarker for treatment decision-making. Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) may offer new avenues for biomarker-driven treatment in advanced UC, especially for patients with oncogenic alterations.

Improved overall survival in dual compared to single immune checkpoint inhibitors in V600-negative advanced melanoma.

Aim: To evaluate the efficacy of dual versus single immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in wild-type advanced melanoma patients.

Materials & Methods: A retrospective study of all advanced wild-type melanoma patients on palliative-intent ICI between 2015 and 2020 (n = 67).

Results: Dual ICI had better overall survival (OS) when compared with single ICI in wild-type patients (hazard ratio: 0.

Consolidative durvalumab outcomes in stage III non-small cell lung cancer in a multi-centre study.

Aim: To investigate the impact of PD-L1 expression status on consolidative durvalumab efficacy and safety in stage III NSCLC patients.

Methods: This retrospective, ethics board approved, multi-centre study included all patients with histologically and/or cytologically confirmed unresectable stage III NSCLC, EGFR/ALK wild-type patients who completed concurrent chemoradiation therapy (cCRT) from January 2018 to August 2020 at the Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario and The Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre. PD-L1 status was grouped as ≥50% vs.

Venous thromboembolism events in patients with advanced cancer on immune checkpoint inhibitors.

To evaluate the correlation between venous thromboembolism events (VTEs) and immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI)-based regimens. This is a retrospective study of 403 patients with advanced cancer on ICI-based regimens. We report 8% VTE incidence post-ICI initiation over a median of 11.

A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Dual Therapy in Patients With Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma of Favourable Risk.

Objective: To define the impact of first-line dual therapy involving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) on survival outcomes in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC) of International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium favourable-risk.

Materials And Methods: Systematic review of Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled trials were conducted to select all phase II/III randomized clinical trials involving first-line, palliative-intent dual therapy in aRCC patients of favourable-risk. Inverse-variance with random-effects model was used for meta-analysis.

Adjuvant Immune Checkpoint Inhibition in Muscle-invasive Bladder Cancer: Is It Ready for Prime Time?

We discuss results from the Checkmate-274 and IMvigor010 trials on adjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) with or without neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC), and conclude that adjuvant ICI (nivolumab but not atezolizumab) should be considered for patients with resected high-risk MIBC, especially for those who have received NAC.

Safety and Clinical Outcomes of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Patients With Cancer and Preexisting Autoimmune Diseases.

Immunotherapy has revolutionized treatment outcomes in numerous cancers. However, clinical trials have largely excluded patients with autoimmune diseases (ADs) due to the risk of AD flares or predilection for developing organ-specific inflammation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of immunotherapy in patients with cancer and preexisting ADs.

Emergency Department Utilization for Patients Receiving Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors: A Retrospective Analysis of Identification and Outcomes for Those Presenting for Immune-Related Adverse Events.

Background: Immune-related adverse events (iRAEs) are known complications of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). Early identification and management leads to improved morbidity and mortality. This study seeks to address our center's experience with iRAEs in the emergency department (ED).

A case of successful pembrolizumab rechallenge in a patient with non-small-cell lung cancer and grade 3 dermatomyositis.

We report a case of dermatomyositis in a 59-year old female with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer post one cycle of first-line pembrolizumab monotherapy. Her symptoms resolved with high-dose methyl-prednisolone and subsequent prolonged oral prednisone taper over 11 weeks. She achieved durable response over 6 months without further pembrolizumab and was successfully rechallenged without recurrent high-grade immunotoxicity.

A single institution study evaluating outcomes of PD-L1 high KRAS-mutant advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with first line immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of KRAS status on the efficacy of first-line immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: Patients with advanced incurable or metastatic NSCLC with PD-L1 ≥50% treated with palliative-intent, single-agent PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors at the Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario were included. KRAS mutation status was determined via massively parallel sequencing.

Impact of Baseline Corticosteroids on Immunotherapy Efficacy in Patients With Advanced Melanoma.

This is a 2-center, retrospective study which aimed to evaluate the effect of baseline corticosteroid use on immunotherapy efficacy in patients with advanced melanoma. We included all patients with advanced unresectable and metastatic melanoma on single-agent programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) inhibitors at the Cancer Centre of Southeastern Ontario and London Regional Cancer Program. We defined baseline corticosteroid use as prednisone-equivalent of ≥10 mg within 30 days of immunotherapy initiation.

Safety and efficacy analysis of pembrolizumab dosing patterns in patients with advanced melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of discrepancy between prescribed and recommended fixed 200 mg dose (P-F discrepancy) on immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and treatment efficacy in patients with advanced melanoma and NSCLC.

Methods: This retrospective study included 177 patients with advanced melanoma or non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received at least one cycle of single-agent pembrolizumab. We defined P-F discrepancy as the differences between prescribed pembrolizumab dose and 200 mg recommended dose, expressed in percentages.