ICU admission for solid cancer patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) have revolutionized the management of cancer. They can induce immune-related adverse events (irAE) leading to intensive care unit (ICU) admission. We aimed to describe irAEs for ICU admissions in solid cancer patients treated with ICIs.

Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Rechallenge Efficacy in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Patients.

Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICPi) rechallenge could represent an attractive option in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), yet no sufficient data supporting this strategy are available. This retrospective observational multicenter national study explored the efficacy of anti-programmed cell death 1 (PD-1)/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) rechallenge in advanced NSCLC patients, looking for potential clinical features associated with greater outcomes.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively collected data from 144 advanced NSCLC patients whose disease was rechallenged with ICPis after ≥ 12 weeks of discontinuation.

Management of pulmonary toxicity associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Immunotherapy has become a standard of care in oncology, following the recent approvals of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein-4 and programmed cell death-1 inhibitors in lung cancer, melanoma, renal cell carcinoma, Hodgkin's lymphoma, bladder, head and neck cancers. Besides their efficacy, these agents also generate specific immune-related adverse events. Due to the increasing prescription of immune-checkpoint inhibitors, the incidence of immune toxicity will continue to rise.

Targeted sequencing of plasma cell-free DNA to predict response to PD1 inhibitors in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Objectives: Tumor mutational burden is an emerging biomarker of response to immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), whose clinical adoption is challenging. We hypothesized that targeting limited but relevant genetic alterations in plasma cell-free DNA along with early monitoring may non-invasively predict response to ICI in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Material And Methods: Plasma samples from patients with progressive NSCLC collected before ICI initiation and at 1 month were profiled from responders (R: PFS > 6 months) and non-responders (NR: progressive disease at first evaluation) using amplicon sequencing of hotspots and coding regions from 36 genes.

Early Circulating Tumour DNA Variations Predict Tumour Response in Melanoma Patients Treated with Immunotherapy.

Antibodies targeting immune checkpoints were recently approved for metastatic melanoma. However, not all patients will respond to the treatment and some will experience grade III-IV immune-related adverse events. Therefore, early identification of non-responder patients would greatly aid clinical practice.

PD-L1 expression in circulating tumor cells of advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with nivolumab.

Background: Inhibitors of the PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint have become a standard of care in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patient selection, currently based on PD-L1 expression on tumor tissue, is limited by its temporal and spatial heterogeneity. We hypothesized that liquid biopsy with PD-L1 analysis on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) might overcome this limitation.

Monitoring of KRAS-mutated ctDNA to discriminate pseudo-progression from true progression during anti-PD-1 treatment of lung adenocarcinoma.

Objectives: Pseudo-progression is a rare but worrying situation for both clinicians and patients during immunotherapy. Dedicated ir-RECIST criteria have been established to improve this situation. However, this can be sometimes considered inadequate and patients experiencing true progression may then receive inefficient treatments.

Targeting the immune system to treat lung cancer: rationale and clinical experience.

The use of immunotherapy that harnesses and enhances the innate powers of the immune system to fight cancer cells represents the most promising new cancer treatment approach since the development of the first chemotherapies and, more recently, targeted therapies. Unexpectedly, lung cancer has recently emerged as an exciting new target for immune-based therapies. Several approaches to immunotherapy for lung cancer have shown promise in early clinical trials and in late-phase development.