A Win and A Loss for Adjuvant ICIs in Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma
SAN FRANCISCO — The use of adjuvant pembrolizumab (Keytruda) boosted overall survival (OS) in post-surgical patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) at risk for recurrence, according to KEYNOTE-564 findings. Patients treated with the immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) had a 38% reduced risk of death compared to patients on placebo, reported Tony Choueiri, MD, […]
Adjuvant Everolimus Falls Short in High-Risk Renal Cancer
Adjuvant everolimus (Afinitor) failed to significantly improve recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who were at high risk for recurrence after nephrectomy, according to results from a randomized phase III trial. The so-called EVEREST study showed that among 1,545 patients with histologically confirmed RCC who had undergone a full surgical resection, […]
CDK4/6 Extends Reach Into Early-Stage Breast Cancer
CHICAGO — Adding ribociclib (Kisqali) to adjuvant endocrine therapy significantly improved invasive disease-free survival (iDFS) in patients with early-stage, high-risk breast cancer and hormone receptor (HR)-positive/HER2-negative disease, an interim analysis of a large phase III study found. In the NATALEE trial, which included patients with node-negative disease, the CKD4/6 inhibitor plus endocrine therapy combination resulted […]
Optimizing Treatment for Older Patients With HR+ Low-Risk Breast Cancer
The time has come to revisit the practice of omitting adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) for older patients with early hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer and instead consider a more individualized approach to RT and hormonal therapy, authors of a review article argued. Modern technology and treatment protocols have reduced the toxicity and improved the tolerability of […]
Extra Hep B Vaccine Dose Exceeds Expectations for People With HIV
WASHINGTON — Three doses of hepatitis B vaccine with a cytosine phosphoguanine adjuvant (HepB-CpG; Heplisav-B) notched a perfect mark when it came to seroprotection for people with HIV who had never before been vaccinated against the hepatitis B virus (HBV), early results of a phase III trial showed. At 28 weeks, the three doses yielded […]
Three Adjuvant Immunotherapy Trials Flop in Renal Cell Carcinoma
PARIS — While pembrolizumab (Keytruda) has been approved as an adjuvant treatment for patients with high-risk renal cell carcinoma (RCC), three phase III studies presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) annual congress here failed to support the immune checkpoint inhibitor in this setting. In Part A of the CheckMate-914 trial, the median […]
Adjuvant Chemo Disappoints in Low-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer
PHOENIX — Adjuvant chemotherapy was not associated with better overall survival (OS) for patients with advanced stage low-grade serous ovarian carcinoma undergoing primary cytoreductive surgery, according to an observational study presented here. There was no difference in OS between patients who did and did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy, with 4-year OS rates of 77.5% and […]
FDA OKs PD-1 Inhibitor for Adjuvant Treatment of Kidney Cancer
The FDA approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for the adjuvant treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) for patients who have an intermediate-high or high risk of recurrence following nephrectomy, or following nephrectomy and resection of metastatic lesions, the agency announced. Approval was based on results from the KEYNOTE-564 trial, which demonstrated that adjuvant pembrolizumab following nephrectomy significantly […]
Meta-Analysis Reaffirms Role of ADT With Radiotherapy in Prostate Cancer
CHICAGO — The use of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) in conjunction with radiotherapy, as well as its prolonged use in the adjuvant setting, improved metastasis-free survival (MFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with localized prostate cancer, a meta-analysis found. Adding ADT to radiotherapy significantly improved 12-year rates of MFS, the primary endpoint (HR 0.83, […]
Adjuvant Pembrolizumab Boosts Recurrence-Free Survival in High-Risk Melanoma
Adjuvant pembrolizumab (Keytruda) for resected stage II melanoma significantly prolonged recurrence-free survival (RFS) compared with placebo, according to results from the KEYNOTE-716 trial. At a median follow-up of 14.4 months, pembrolizumab for resected stage IIB and IIC melanoma decreased the risk of disease recurrence or death by 35% compared with placebo (hazard ratio 0.65, 95% […]