checkpoint inhibitors – Oral Cancer News

Best practices for immunotherapy for metastatic head and neck cancer

Source: www.medpagetoday.com Author: Mark L. Fuerst , Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Immunotherapy with anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is now an essential treatment for patients with recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), and ICIs also show promise for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and other rare head and neck cancer types. A recently released ASCO Guideline on immunotherapy and biomarker testing in recurrent and metastatic HNSCCs provided evidence-based recommendations. A new related document by expert panel co-chairs Emrullah Yilmaz, MD, PhD, of the Cleveland Clinic, and Loren K. Mell, MD, of the University of San Diego, and colleagues poses questions and answers about the guideline. The following is a summary: For patients with recurrent and metastatic head and neck cancer, which biomarkers should be used in the selection of anti–PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy? We recommend programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) combined positive score (CPS) testing for recurrent and metastatic HNSCC. PD-L1 reports come via immunohistochemistry using CPS or tumor proportion score. CPS has emerged as a preferred biomarker in HNSCC and has been used in landmark head and neck clinical trials such as KEYNOTE-048. Tumor mutational burden (TMB), another emerging biomarker for predicting response to anti–PD-1 ICIs, was studied in KEYNOTE-158. TMB is not used routinely in HNSCC, but may help in cases where PD-L1 CPS is unavailable or for rare head and neck cancers. In first-line treatment of patients with PD-L1 CPS ≥ 1 recurrent and metastatic HNSCC, can pembrolizumab [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2023-08-19T06:39:22-07:00August, 2023|Oral Cancer News|

Two new studies show how to enhance effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy

Source: www.news-medical.net Author: Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc. Two new studies revealed that anti-PD-1 immunotherapy given before surgery was safe and effective for patients with oral-cavity squamous cell carcinoma (OCSCC) and identified potential molecular biomarkers in the blood and tumors of patients that would show how likely it is that someone would respond to immunotherapy. The studies, recently published in Cell Reports Medicine, were a collaborative effort between MUSC Hollings Cancer Center, UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Due to the highly invasive and resistant nature of OCSCC, researchers looked to anti-PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors to improve outcomes as this type of immunotherapy has revolutionized the way patients with advanced malignancies are treated. OCSCC, a subset of head and neck cancer, is prevalent in South Carolina due to the history of tobacco use. These cancers oftentimes require complicated surgeries that may be disfiguring, as treatment may involve removing all or a portion of the jawbone and tongue. David Neskey, M.D., a Hollings head and neck cancer specialist and co-senior author of the studies, said 50% of these patients will have a recurrence, and only 60% of patients are alive five years later. "This cancer can impact a patient's ability to talk and breathe," Neskey said. "It can impact a patient's ability to go out to a restaurant or socialize with friends and family. It's one of the reasons so many head and neck cancer doctors are seeking ways to improve outcomes for these patients." [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-10-31T07:02:29-07:00October, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Checkpoint inhibitors whiff in head and neck cancer trials

Source: www.medpagetoday.com Author: Charles Bankhead Three different checkpoint inhibitors missed the primary endpoints in separate randomized trials of head and neck cancer. In one trial, adding avelumab (Bavencio) to standard treatment did not significantly improve progression-free survival (PFS) in cisplatin-eligible or ineligible patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). In another trial, the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ipilimumab (Yervoy) did not improve overall survival (OS) as first-line treatment for recurrent/metastatic HNSCC. Both trials were reported during the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) virtual meeting. Although subgroup analyses suggested benefits for certain patients, neither study should influence clinical practice at this point, said ESMO invited discussant Amanda Psyrri, MD, of the University of Athens in Greece. In the avelumab study, known as GORTEC-REACH, results in cisplatin-eligible patients were consistent with those of the previously reported JAVELIN trial with avelumab, said Psyrri. A signal of benefit was evident in cisplatin-ineligible patients but did not achieve statistical significance. With regard to the CheckMate 651 trial of nivolumab and ipilimumab, Psyrri said, "Combined PD-1 and CTLA-4 inhibition does not appear to be an effective strategy in recurrent/metastatic HNSCC. Future research efforts may identify predictive biomarkers for response to anti-PD-1 and anti-CTLA-4 combinations in HNSCC." Additionally, a smaller trial of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) showed no significant improvement in OS versus chemotherapy for platinum-treated relapsed/metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma. GORTEC-REACH This trial evolved from evidence of potential synergy with PD-1/L1 inhibition, cetuximab (Erbitux), and radiotherapy, said Jean Bourhis, MD, of University Hospital Center [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-09-24T06:54:20-07:00September, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

On treating advanced head and neck cancer without cisplatin – an oncology grand rounds discussion

Source: www.medpagetoday.com Author: Mark L. Fuerst An oncology grand rounds discussion with Sachin Jhawar, MD. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) represents a heterogeneous set of diseases with different features and treatment recommendations. Physicians face challenges in initial treatment decision-making and response assessments, including the changing role of surgery, the incorporation of human papilloma and Epstein Barr virus status, as well as the potential for treatment de-escalation using patient-related and tumor-related factors. A recent "Oncology Grand Rounds" article in the Journal of Clinical Oncology provides an overview of treating advanced HNSCC when cisplatin is not an option, including concurrent chemotherapy, cetuximab, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. In the following interview, the paper's lead author, Sachin Jhawar, MD, of Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center in Columbus, reviews the main issues. What is the focus of the article? Jhawar: We focused on patients with locally advanced disease who would be receiving definitive non-surgical treatment when possible treatment with concurrent cisplatin, delivered either every 3 weeks or weekly, is always the preferred treatment. We specifically wanted to delve into the subset of patients who we would not recommend to receive cisplatin because of age or comorbidities. This could be concurrent chemotherapy (carboplatin/paclitaxel), concurrent cetuximab, and altered or standard fractionation radiation schedules without systemic therapy, as well as when to consider immunotherapy and palliative radiation for those with recurrent or metastatic disease. There is also a great deal of institutional preference involved. At our institution, we prefer concurrent carboplatin/paclitaxel in patients who cannot [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2021-03-19T09:09:44-07:00March, 2021|Oral Cancer News|

Cancer ‘vaccine’ shown to be effective in small trial

Source: www.upi.com Author: Dennis Thompson, HealthDay News A new method of brewing a cancer vaccine inside a patient's tumor could harness the power of the immune system to destroy the disease, researchers report. Immune stimulants are injected directly into a tumor, which teaches the immune system to recognize and destroy all similar cancer cells throughout the body, said senior researcher Dr. Joshua Brody. He is director of the Lymphoma Immunotherapy Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. "We're injecting two immune stimulants right into one single tumor," Brody said. "We inject one tumor and we see all of the other tumors just melt away." Eight out of 11 lymphoma patients in a small, early clinical trial experienced partial or complete destruction of the tumor that received the initial injection, according to the report published April 8 in the journal Nature Medicine. The vaccine also halted overall cancer progression in six patients for three to 18 months, and caused significant regression or actual remission in three patients, the investigators found. The results were solid enough that the research team is expanding its next clinical trial to include lymphoma, breast, and head and neck cancer patients, Brody said. That trial started in March. Prior efforts at unleashing the immune system to fight cancer have focused on T-cells, which Brody calls the "soldiers" of the immune army because they directly attack harmful invaders in the body. Drugs called checkpoint inhibitors help T-cells identify cancer cells as [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2019-04-11T15:45:36-07:00April, 2019|Oral Cancer News|

Head and neck cancer: Novel treatment approaches

Source: www.curetoday.com Author: staff Meryl Kaufman, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, BRS-S, and Itzhak Brook, M.D., M.Sc., board members of the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance, share insight into the role of novel treatment approaches like immunotherapy, robotic surgery and de-escalation in the management of cancers of the head and neck. Transcript: Meryl Kaufman, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, BRS-S: Dr. Brook, traditionally the treatment for head and neck cancer has been surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or some combination of those three. But there are some new and emerging treatment approaches to head and neck cancer along with many other cancers. Can you tell us a little bit about immunology? What is immunotherapy in the care of the head and neck cancer patient? Itzhak Brook, M.D., M.Sc.: Most days, we don’t get cancer because our immune system is like the police department of our body. They detect cancer early and eliminate it. Unfortunately, in the case of cancer, the cancer cells can fool the immune system, and they go undetected and cause the disease. The main advantage of immunotherapy is that we are using the body’s defenses, the immune system, to kill the cancer in a much better way than the chemotherapy. Chemotherapy destroys the cancer cells, but it also affects the body cells. Immunotherapy is more precise. It is directed only to the cancer cells, so the rest of the body stays unscathed. That’s the beauty of immunotherapy. So, immunotherapy is an evolving field in cancer. They have many, many new drugs in the pipeline, and [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2018-09-04T12:56:32-07:00September, 2018|Oral Cancer News|

Immunotherapy drug a ‘gamechanger’ for head and neck cancer

Source: www.theguardian.com Author: staff An immunotherapy drug hailed as a potential gamechanger in the treatment of cancer could soon offer new hope to patients with currently untreatable forms of the disease. Nivolumab outperformed chemotherapy significantly in keeping relapsed head and neck cancer patients alive. Photograph: Alamy Nivolumab was found to extend the lives of relapsed patients diagnosed with head and neck cancers who had run out of therapy options. After a year of treatment, 36% of trial patients treated with the drug were still alive compared with 17% of those given standard chemotherapy. Trial participants treated with nivolumab typically survived for 7.5 months, and some for longer. Middle-range survival for patients on chemotherapy was 5.1 months. The phase-three study, the last stage in the testing process before a new treatment is licensed, provided the first evidence of a drug improving survival in this group of patients. Prof Kevin Harrington, from the Institute of Cancer Research, London, who led the British arm of the international trial, said: “Nivolumab could be a real gamechanger for patients with advanced head and neck cancer. This trial found that it can greatly extend life among a group of patients who have no existing treatment options, without worsening quality of life. “Once it has relapsed or spread, head and neck cancer is extremely difficult to treat. So it’s great news that these results indicate we now have a new treatment that can significantly extend life, and I’m keen to see it enter the clinic [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-10-09T14:08:46-07:00October, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Checkpoint inhibitors seen to show potential of immunotherapy in several cancer studies

Source: immuno-oncologynews.com Author: Magdalena Kegel Several new checkpoint inhibitors — a class of immunotherapy drugs used in cancer — continue to show beneficial effects in numerous cancer types, according to data presented at the recent American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Investigated checkpoint inhibitors confirmed earlier results showing evidence of efficacy in melanoma, and also suggested that this class of immunotherapies, which trigger a person’s immune system to attack cancer, might work in patients suffering from certain head and neck cancers. One of the studies, CheckMate-141, exploring the checkpoint blocker nivolumab (Opdivo) in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, was stopped early after 36 percent of the 361 patients survived for one year — an increase of more than 100 percent compared to patients receiving other treatments. Squamous cell carcinoma is usually treated with platinum-based chemotherapy, but the effects are often temporary as the cancer tends to return. Moreover, patients who fail to fully recover after chemotherapy are generally resistant to further treatment. Maura Gillison from Ohio State University, who presented the CheckMate-141 data, said that no effective treatments have been approved for patients with this kind of cancer in over a decade. “I’ve treated head and neck cancers for more than twenty years, and this is the first time I’ve had a drug to go to for patients that have become resistant to first-line treatment,” she said in a press release. Dr. Emma King, a Cancer Research UK-funded head and neck [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2016-05-04T07:55:52-07:00May, 2016|Oral Cancer News|

Harnessing the immune system to fight cancer

Source: www.npr.org Author: staff When Barbara Marder was diagnosed with lung cancer three years ago, she had part of her right lung removed, went through a round of chemotherapy and tried to move on with her life. "I had hoped that everything was fine — that I would not create difficulty for my children, that I would get to see my grandchildren grow up," says Marder, 73, of Arnold, Md. But a routine scan a year later found bad news: The cancer was back — this time in her other lung. "I was very disappointed," says Marder. She knew her prognosis was grim. "I decided at that point that ... I should think about the fact that perhaps this was going to advance rapidly at this point. And check and make sure: Is my will in order? What should I do so that my children aren't left with a mess to clean up in my house?" But Marder didn't give up. She started exploring her options, which eventually brought her to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, where doctors are testing a new type of cancer treatment known as immunotherapy. "Immunotherapy for cancer means developing treatments to harness your immune system and using your own immune system to fight the cancer," says Dr. Julie Brahmer, an associate professor of oncology and Marder's doctor. Scientists have been trying to do this for decades. After all, our immune systems can fight off all kinds of health threats. So, why not cancer? But nothing seemed [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2015-02-11T08:10:05-07:00February, 2015|Oral Cancer News|

Researchers and drug companies are ganging up for a new push against cancer

Source: www.economist.com Author: staff “There is no treatment.” This is the conclusion of an Egyptian papyrus, written around 3000BC, that is the oldest known description of the scourge that is now called “cancer”. And so, more or less, it remained until the 20th century, for merely excising a tumour by surgery rarely eliminates it. Only when doctors worked out how to back up the surgeon’s knife with drugs and radiation did cancer begin to succumb to treatment—albeit, to start with, in a pretty crude fashion. Now, however, that crudeness is rapidly giving way to sophistication, as a new wave of cancer treatments comes to market. In 2012 more than 500 potential cancer drugs were under investigation, according to a survey by IMS Health, an American research group—over five times as many as were being developed in the next biggest category, diabetes. Three trends are helping to fill this cancer-drug cornucopia. One is the increase in demand as people live longer, and thus become more likely to develop cancer. According to the World Health Organisation, there were 14m new cases of cancer around the world in 2012. In 2030 there will be nearly 22m. The second trend is the rising price of cancer drugs, particularly in America, the biggest market. More expensive drugs increase profitability. The third is a rapid expansion of scientific knowledge about cancer, the result of both the plummeting cost of genetic sequencing (see chart) and a better understanding of how to recruit the immune system to attack [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2014-01-05T13:21:25-07:00January, 2014|Oral Cancer News|