Ryan McDonald

The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) recent approval of Opdivo (nivolumab) in combination with Yervoy (ipilimumab) 

 with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma was desperately needed, according to Dr. Marjorie G. Zauderer.

“I was really excited when I heard the news,” said Zauderer, a thoracic medical oncologist and co-director of the Mesothelioma Program at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, in an interview with 

®. “There hasn't been a new regimen approved for mesothelioma in over 15 years. And it's always great to have more options to consider for patients.”

The approval was based on results of the multi-center, open-label phase 3 CheckMate-743 trial, which showed that the Opdivo-Yervoy combination induced a superior overall survival (OS) in patients compared with platinum-based standard-of-care chemotherapy.

After a median follow-up of 22.1 months, participants who received the combination (303 patients) achieved a median OS of 18.1 months compared to 14.1 months in those who received the standard-of-care chemotherapy (302 patients).

Of note, 41% of patients treated with Opdivo and Yervoy were alive at two years compared to 27% treated with the chemotherapy regimen.

“This was really desperately needed. So many patients go through regular treatment, and it works for a while or it doesn't work, and they need other options,” said Zauderer. “And to have another option, particularly up front when people are at their healthiest and best able to tolerate treatment is great. We've seen immunotherapy really come into primetime for lots of other malignancies and it's nice to see it come forward for a less common disease like mesothelioma.”

Typically, Zauderer noted, oncologists spend a significant amount of time reviewing surgery as part of a patient’s treatment plan, which is important for those who have early-stage disease, but not everyone is a candidate for surgery. In fact, most patients diagnosed with mesothelioma can’t receive a resection mostly because of the distribution of the disease in the chest.

“Their initial treatment is systemic therapy,” she said. “And that really becomes the backbone of whatever treatment plan you develop.”

Zauderer said that the “devil is in the details” when it comes to assessing how the combination of Opdivo and Yervoy compares to other traditional therapies that have been used to treat this disease.

She noted that the data that led to the approval of the combination indicated that it fared better than the combination of the chemotherapies cisplatin and Alimta (pemetrexed) in two subtypes of mesothelioma – sarcomatoid and biphasic.

However, Zauderer said, the difference between the Opdivo-Yervoy combination and chemotherapy was much smaller in patients with epithelioid mesothelioma, which is the most common subtype of the disease.

“So, I think that in terms of how we implement this option into our practice, there’s still some questions,” she said.

Of note, according to Zauderer, patients with epithelioid disease often will receive three chemotherapy agents as treatment, but the trial that led to the approval only included two chemotherapies.

“When you factor in that the difference is smaller and it’s only compared to two drugs, well, is three chemo drugs better than ipilimumab and nivolumab,” she questioned. “But certainly, it’s a highly effective way of treating patients. And, it spares them the toxicities of chemotherapy.”

And although patients would be spared from the toxicities associated with chemotherapy, Zauderer stressed that patients who receive immunotherapy still can face side effects as well.

When reviewing the data, Zauderer said, it’s clear that some people derived an overall survival benefit from the Opdivo and Yervoy combination. However, the results of the trial didn’t show that progression free survival early on was any better in those who received the combination immunotherapy versus the combination chemotherapy.

“As an oncologist, when I think about the individuals that I'm treating, I always worry about a person having that sort of rapid progression,” she concluded. “And what we really need as a community are better biomarkers to tell us this is a person who's really likely to respond. This is a person who might respond but it might take a while versus someone who isn't and then that will really help us parse out who should get which treatment and help us really personalize those decisions.”

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to 

Articles

The FDA’s approval or Opdivo (nivolumab) and Yervoy (ipilimumab) for the frontline treatment of patients with unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma was desperately needed, says a thoracic oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer center. However, some questions remain. 

FDA’s Approval of Opdivo-Yervoy for Unresectable Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma was ‘Desperately Needed’, But Questions Remain

Each week on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, 

® asks its readers to share their thoughts with the #CureConnect discussion question.

This past week, we asked: “How has cancer affected your career?”

“I ended up retiring at 63. I didn’t plan for that, but things have worked out just fine. It was the best thing for my health. I just had to trust that a ‘higher power’ was moving me in the right direction and would take care of me.” – K.K.H

“It ended my career 11 years ago. Haven’t worked since. I retired at 46 on (supplemental security income).” – A.D.

“It ended my career. Been disabled since January 2011 at the age of 46 due to all of the side effects of my cancer treatment.” – L.B.

“Ultimately my career ended as my prognosis was short and I decided to retire early to travel while I still felt good.” – T.K.L.

“I had to give up my job. I was too fatigued and weak to work through treatment.” – L.M.

“I was criticized at a former employer (large national insurance company) for leaving 15 minutes early for my radiation treatments.” – C.H.

“Being sexually harassed at work was stressful. Then I got cancer. After my surgery I returned to work and the harassment continued. So, I quit. I now work seasonal part time jobs doing what I love. Traveling and enjoying life! No money, just happiness!” – D.J.M.

“I worked for the county government; when my six-month leave was up, I wasn’t healthy enough to go back to work so they terminated me.” – W.M.

To see more comments from our readers, or be a part of the conversation, 

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to 

On social media, CURE® recently asked its readers to share how cancer has affected their careers.

How Has Cancer Affected Your Career?

Child receiving treatment for leukemia gets dinner delivered by firefighters.

Firefighters from Duluth, Minnesota, recently delivered dinner to a first grader who is receiving treatment for leukemia and his family.

Roman Laakso was recently diagnosed with the cancer and one of his teachers helped the family create a GoFundMe page, as well as organize a meal train for the family.

The teacher, who is married to a captain with the Quint 8 engine, helped organize this special delivery.

“It feels great to be able to help this way and not just be called when somebody’s having a terrible day,” said Capt. Pete Johnson 

“It means a lot for us it’s really helped us to get a handle on it to get a better grip on it and it gives us a lot of strength we really appreciate it,” said Roman’s dad Steven Laakso.

A Houston-area dad receiving treatment for leukemia surprises his daughter on her wedding day.

Marty Torres was hospitalized with leukemia 30 days prior to his daughter’s wedding.

Marty was planning on walking his daughter, Lindsay, down the aisle to marry Robert Smith, 

 at Houston Methodist recommended he stay in the hospital.

His family and staff members at the hospital helped him get dressed up and he was able to attend the ceremony via a FaceTime call.

After surviving two cancer diagnoses as a child, an Alabama teenager becomes her high school’s homecoming queen.

In 2009, Emily Knerr was diagnosed with small cell carcinoma of the ovary. After moving from Miami to Birmingham, Alabama, Knerr was admitted to Children’s of Alabama and received a myriad of treatments.

At the time, Knerr underwent three major surgeries, six rounds of chemotherapy, radiation for 30 days, 60 days of Avastin (bevacizumab) therapy and a stem cell transplant. In 2011, there were no signs of disease and she was declared cured.

However, just before her 13th birthday in 2015, Knerr’s cancer returned.

She has been off treatment and cancer-free for three years and her most recent scans came back negative the day before her high school’s homecoming game. During the homecoming game between Hoover High School and Oak Mountain High School, Emily was named Hoover’s senior class homecoming queen.

“It was definitely a surprise,” said Emily 

. “I wasn’t expecting it. It was exciting for sure. All the other girls were so excited for me. They ran over and gave me the biggest hugs.”

“It meant the world to her that her peers would vote for her to be homecoming queen at such a large school,” said Emily’s mother, Amanda Knerr. “She has overcome so much.”

“Glad You Came” singer Tom Parker announces inoperable brain tumor diagnosis.

British singer Tom Parker recently announced that he has inoperable grade 4 glioblastoma and is currently undergoing treatment.

Parker, 32, is known for his time with the boy band The Wanted.

"We don't want your sadness; we just want love and positivity and together we will raise awareness of this terrible disease and look for all available treatment options,” 

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to

From “The Wanted” singer Tom Parker announcing he has been diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma and is undergoing treatment, to a Houston-area father receiving treatment for leukemia surprising his daughter on her wedding day, here’s what’s happening in the cancer landscape this week.

Friday Frontline: A Father Receiving Treatment for Leukemia Surprises His Daughter on Her Wedding Day; ‘The Wanted’ Singer Tom Parker Diagnosed with Inoperable Brain Tumor; and More

Accomplishments that occur in the lung cancer space deserve to be celebrated because those developments are impacting lives, former NFL player Christ Draft said during 

®’s inaugural Lung Cancer Heroes Program on Thursday night.

“The idea of celebrating the victories is not just that we are moving forward but recognizing that to be able to move forward there's a lot of people that put in work,” said Draft during his keynote speech. 

“There are people that made choices, like my wife, that stood up and fought for those changes to happen so that when we celebrate this community, we have to be willing to celebrate the people that have taken an extra step. And they've got out in front to make things happen. And then also, at the same time, recognize that without them doing that, and without other people following, that, it's not going to change. So, it's not about just hoping it will change, but recognizing that there are people that we have to support, that we have to encourage, that are willing to go to work every day. And that's why we made the changes. That's why we have the progress, (it's) because of the people.”

Draft, who created the Team Draft initiative with his late wife Keasha during her year-long journey with stage 4 lung cancer to raise lung cancer awareness and increase research funding by debunking the misconception that lung cancer is just a disease of smokers, thanked all the recipients for their dedication.

“Thank you for your commitment,” he said to the heroes. “Team Draft was started with my wife's commitment, my wife's commitment to standing up. We know that's how things change, so thank you for being a part of the change. I know that we're moving forward. It's important with this celebration that we continue to let people know that we're not building off of something that is not moving, but something that is already accelerating. Hopefully, after this hero celebration that everyone feels a little bit better. They feel a little bit more excitement. But not just excitement, but because of all of you guys, they understand what is actually happening.”

During the inaugural virtual event, four individuals — two physicians, a nurse and a patient turned advocate — were awarded for their contributions to the lung cancer community. The program also recognized one Lifetime Achievement award winner.

A special Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to 16-year lung cancer survivor Bonnie J. Addario, who cofounded and serves as board chair of GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer, which is dedicated to saving, extending and improving the lives of those vulnerable, at risk and diagnosed with lung cancer. In 2004, Addario received a stage 3b lung cancer diagnosis and realized that education and support for people with the disease was needed. She and her family founded the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation in 2006 but merged with the Lung Cancer Alliance in 2019 to create GO2.Throughout her advocacy work, Addario has connected dozens of patients with the right connections to get them the best treatment possible and has served as a lifeline of support herself.

Addario acts as an adviser to industry leaders, clinicians and policy makers, and is a member of the Personalized Medicine Coalition board. In 2008, she founded the Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute which powers collaborative initiatives in genetic (molecular) testing, therapeutic discoveries, targeted treatments and early detection of lung cancer.

“As I considered speaking to you all today, I wondered, how can I put 17 years of living and working in this realm of lung cancer into a 10-minute speech,” said Addario as she accepted her award. “It didn't take long for my answer to come to mind - it's about the patients. My mission and my greatest achievement have always been and always will be about bringing the patient voice to the table where they now firmly are, and permanently sit as it should be.”

Carolyn Baggett, a registered nurse and a lung cancer screening program coordinator at Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center in Jacksonville, Florida, was nominated by Bethany Webb who titled her essay “An Incredible Hero — With No Cape.” The two are connected through the American Lung Association, for which Baggett serves as a Cabinet member and Webb as North Florida development manager.

“In the words of one of Carolyn’s former patients, she’s the voice after the doctor leaves to make sure I fully understand everything,” explained Webb in her essay.

Baggett began her work as an oncology nurse navigator at Baptist Medical Center in 2014 working with patients who had stage 4 lung cancer but became motivated to develop a screening program in 2013 following a recommendation by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. “The lung cancer screening effort was really initiated and driven forward by Carolyn – practically single-handedly,” Baptist MD Anderson Medical Director, Dr. Bill Putnam, said in the nomination essay.

Initially created, in 2015 and since July 2020, the cancer center has completed almost 10,000 screenings at 10 locations. Nearly 130 lung cancers were found — almost 70% were early stage.

Tremendous Impact on Patients with Lung Cancer

Compassionate, empathetic and dedicated — those are the words Paige Humble used to describe her nominee, Dr. Jennifer Garst, a thoracic medical oncologist and professor of medicine at Duke Cancer Center Raleigh in North Carolina. The two have worked together at the Lung Cancer Initiative (LCI) of North Carolina, which Garst helped found with a small grassroots group in 2008. Her work with LCI has been to ensure that the organization’s research program funds younger research fellows and investigators. She also supports programs such as one that provides gas cards to make sure patients can have access to care and treatment.

Having a keen interest in gender differences in lung cancer, Garst was also a founding member of the Women Against Lung Cancer, now known as the Lung Cancer Research Foundation.

“The impact of Dr. Jennifer Garst is known and felt across the lung cancer community in North Carolina and nationally,” Humble wrote. “Most importantly, however, is the way that she has individually impacted each of her patients through her thoughtful and steadfast pursuit of bringing the very best care and treatment options to them.”

Humble included a quote in her essay from Angela Nicholson, the wife of one of Garst’s patients. “My husband was diagnosed with stage 4 non-small cell adenocarcinoma lung cancer in June 2014. We were completely blind-sided by this news, and the next steps unfolded quickly,” Nicholson said. “… While we have not been successful in confirming the cause of his cancer, we have never felt that the treatment plan was not well thought out and intentional. The results speak for themselves: after four surgeries and two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy, we are blessed to report that my husband shows no evidence of disease. We could not be more thankful for the care and expertise that Dr. Garst provided.”

Instrumental in Furthering Lung Cancer Developments

Dr. Fred R. Hirsch, executive director of the Center for Thoracic Oncology in The Tisch Cancer Institute at Mount Sinai and the Richard Stein, Joe Lowe and Louis Price Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, was recognized for his landmark scientific and organizational developments in lung cancer.

For more than 40 years, he has been instrumental in developing global collaborations, education and scientific exchanges through the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, a global nonprofit organization. He has made contributions to therapy for small cell lung cancer — the more aggressive and fast-growing type of the disease — and in developing biomarkers for new targeted therapies in lung cancer, particularly EGFR.

Hirsch has contributed efforts to the National Cancer Institute, the Translational Medicine Committee in the SWOG Lung Cancer Group and the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

In addition, his nominator and colleague at the Icahn School of Medicine, Dr. Ramon Parsons, wrote in his nomination essay that, “… his care for patients has always been in the center and, as a cancer survivor himself, he will always have the patient care in the center. At Mount Sinai, Dr. Hirsch also plans to develop a lung cancer survivorship program in conjunction with the other cancer survivorship programs within TCI and is also leading development of survivorship programs for industry partners.”

Tireless Efforts to Help Lung Cancer Survivors

Seven years ago, Deborah Pickworth’s life was forever changed. She learned she had stage 4 lung cancer at 43 years old — a disease that had taken both her mother and grandmother’s lives.

Pickworth has been tireless in her efforts to help other lung cancer survivors, raising money and trying to erase the stigma associated with the disease. She runs a lung cancer support group, is an Imerman Angels mentor and continues to advocate for herself and others in the lung cancer community. She is also a member of International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and the American Lung Association’s Patient Advisory Group. “Team Pickworth” has raised more than $17,300 over the past six years as part of the annual Lung Force Walk in Detroit. She resides in Garden City, Michigan.

“On her arm, you’ll find a tattoo with a special message that reads, ‘I was given this life because I'm strong enough to handle it.’ Debbie’s true strength can be seen in the support and impact she makes for those diagnosed with lung cancer,” wrote her nominator Maureen Rovas.

Erik Lohrmann, Vice President of Oncology at 

 Media Group, thanked everyone who attended the inaugural virtual event.

“MJH Life Sciences and CURE magazine, with support from Takeda, are honored to recognize five individuals who have dedicated their lives and careers to improving care for lung cancer patients,” said Lohrmann during the event. “To Takeda, on behalf of MJH Life Sciences, CURE, and our heroes, thank you for making (this event) possible. Lastly, our heroes. You’ve each gone above and beyond in your own unique way and are truly the embodiment of what the heroes award represents.”

Congratulations to Ross Miller and Clara Bailey on winning the visa gift card raffle after the event!

Two physicians, a nurse and a patient advocate were honored during CURE®’s first ever Lung Cancer Heroes program.

Author | Ryan McDonald

FDA’s Approval of Opdivo-Yervoy for Unresectable Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma was ‘Desperately Needed’, But Questions Remain

How Has Cancer Affected Your Career?

Friday Frontline: A Father Receiving Treatment for Leukemia Surprises His Daughter on Her Wedding Day; ‘The Wanted’ Singer Tom Parker Diagnosed with Inoperable Brain Tumor; and More

CURE®’s Inaugural Lung Cancer Heroes Program Honors Several Individuals Who Have Dedicated Their Lives and Careers to Improving Care for Patients