Immunotherapy

When I began my medical oncology career more than 30 years ago, I was determined to be among the first generation of researchers to cure cancer.

Treatment side effects are typically manageable for patients with metastatic kidney cancer, but patients must have open communication with their health care team about them.

A recent meta-analysis has found no noticeable difference in immunotherapy’s efficacy based on patient sex.

Next-generation sequencing and personalized approaches will continue to improve cancer outcomes. But there’s still much work to be done.

An expert discusses the current landscape – as well as future prospects – for immunotherapy in lung cancer.

Immunotherapy has become a buzzword in the cancer community, but to Sean Parker it’s much more. The 39-year-old billionaire is intensely focused on the promise of immunotherapy, and has become a major force in helping to drive its potential to cure cancers.

A retrospective study found that clinical trials may have fewer reported side effects than the real world.

While the treatment landscape continues to grow in bladder cancer, researchers should continue to follow the evidence, but accrual of patients in clinical trials is also key, according to Petros Grivas, M.D., Ph.D.

Although immunotherapies show promise for patients, there are still challenges ahead.

Promising results from a recent trial are laying the groundwork for the first change in frontline small cell lung cancer in two decades.

The immunotherapy agent Keytruda is showing promise for treating non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, according to a recent study.

Immunotherapy pioneers James P. Allison and Dr. Tasuku Honjo have won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their research that eventually led to the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors to treat cancer.

After chemotherapy, immunotherapy has become the standard treatment for bladder cancer. Will it ever play a bigger role?

While there is currently no definitive way to predict who will respond and who will not, researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School in the United Kingdom are working on a blood test that could identify about half of those who may not.

In recent years, immunotherapy has been falling flat in the brain cancer field, but recent research may change that.

Patients who receive anti-PD-1 therapies may experience delayed cutaneous side effects like lesions, eczema or psoriasis, even after treatment has ended.

Take a look at the top five CURE stories of July 2018 in this video.

Because little is known about the effect of patients' sex on the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors as cancer treatments, the researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the heterogeneity of immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy between men and women.

What are the different types of immunotherapy and, importantly, what are fellow patients saying about them?

Checkpoint inhibitors — immunotherapy drugs that are improving the treatment landscape for many patients across the spectrum of cancers — are relatively new. The science involved in finding and treating the patients most likely to respond to these drugs — without overlooking any or treating those who won’t benefit — is even newer.

We've known for over a century about rare patients who experience spontaneous regressions of cancer. We don’t have absolute proof, but, presumably, this occurs because their immune systems are able to rally and fight the disease.

Stand Up To Cancer’s “interception” trials tackle lung and pancreatic disease early, with the goal of preventing progression to advanced stages.

A new book delves into the stories of 25 immunotherapy pioneers and the history of the field they helped to develop.

Immunotherapy’s effectiveness may depend on the bacteria living in patients’ gastrointestinal tracts, studies show.

Novel immunotherapies either release the immune system’s parking brake or hit its gas pedal.

Immunotherapy revolutionized the way we treat cancer. And now, researchers are using drugs to help jumpstart the immune system alongside chemotherapy to keep treatment moving forward.

Sometimes patients may not report side effects to their health care team, in fear of their oncologist taking them off a drug that could prolong their survival.

After a recent FDA approval for an additional dosing schedule option for Opdivo, patients must be educated on the potential side effects that may occur between prolonged visits.

Immunotherapy use continues to expand in the cancer treatment space. So, it is important that patients and caregivers understand its potential side effects.

Recently, the Cancer Support Community (CSC) conducted a survey to better grasp the challenges that patients, caregivers and clinical staff members face regarding immunotherapy. The goal is to ultimately use that information to craft an empowerment program that will improve the patient experience.