immune checkpoint inhibitor

  • July 22, 2024  

    How an Expert Would Manage His Own Advanced Prostate Cancer: An Update

    With: Marc B. Garnick, MD

    When facing a new cancer diagnosis, some people ask their doctors, “What would you do if you were me?” Here, our Curious Dr. George asks Marc B. Garnick, MD, how he would handle his own advanced prostate cancer. Dr. Garnick is the Gorman Brothers Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. He is also… Read more »

  • June 14, 2022  

    How an Expert Would Manage His Own Advanced Prostate Cancer

    With: Marc B. Garnick, MD

    When facing a new cancer diagnosis, some people ask their doctors, “What would you do if you were me?” Here, our Curious Dr. George asks Marc B. Garnick, MD, how he would handle his own advanced prostate cancer. Dr. Garnick is the Gorman Brothers Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA. He is also… Read more »

  • June 13, 2022  

    ‘Unprecedented’ 100% of First 14 Untreated Patients With Rectal Cancer Respond to PD-1 Blocker Dostarlimab-gxly Bookmark

    George Lundberg, MD

    In a remarkable new study, covered in this article from The ASCO Post, 100% of 14 previously untreated patients with mismatch repair-deficient rectal cancer had complete responses—that is, no more signs of their cancer—after treatment with the checkpoint-inhibitor drug dostarlimab (brand name Jemperli) in a phase 2 clinical trial.

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  • June 13, 2022  

    Latest Evidence on Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer: A 2022 Update Bookmark

    George Lundberg, MD


    This scientific research paper from Critical Reviews in Oncology/Hematology discusses current options for treatments known as immune checkpoint inhibitors for people with advanced colorectal cancer.

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  • August 16, 2021  

    The Latest in Melanoma Treatment: A Guest Perspective

    With: Ryan Sullivan, MD

    What’s new in melanoma treatment? Our chief scientist Emma Shtivelman, PhD, recently outlined the latest options. Here, our Curious Dr. George invites a response from Ryan Sullivan, MD, Associate Director of the Melanoma Program at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. Curious Dr. George: As a melanoma expert, what are your thoughts on the treatments outlined in our… Read more »

  • July 14, 2021  

    What’s New in Melanoma Treatment in 2021?

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    I last wrote about melanoma treatment more than 2 years ago, a fairly long time in the evolution of treatments for this type of cancer. Just as a refresher, the current mainstays of drugs to treat melanoma fall into two categories: Now, I highlight new developments in melanoma treatment, including overcoming resistance to ICI. Neoadjuvant (before surgery) treatments for resectable melanoma Some stage III… Read more »

  • November 24, 2020  

    For Esophageal Cancer, Immunotherapy Likely to Play Larger Role Bookmark

    George Lundberg, MD

    A blog post from the National Cancer Institute reports that two clinical trials are showing encouraging results for progression-free survival—and one for overall survival—from treatment with immunotherapy drugs in people with advanced esophageal cancer. 

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  • August 15, 2020  

    ICI for Resected Stage IV Melanoma Bookmark

    George Lundberg, MD

    Research highlight from Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology curated by Editor in Chief George Lundberg, MD, who notes: 

    In a clinical trial for metastatic melanoma patients, a combination of the drugs nivolumab and ipilimumab (both “immune checkpoint inhibitors,” or ICIs) outperformed nivolumab on its own, and nivolumab on its own outperformed a placebo.

    Go to full research highlight published by Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • January 7, 2019  

    Immune Cells Track Hard-To-Target Brain Tumours Bookmark

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    “Instructing the immune system to recognize and kill tumours, an approach termed cancer immunotherapy, has transformed the clinical treatment of certain types of malignancy. Prominent among these therapies are immune-checkpoint inhibitors, which block the action of proteins that dampen immune-cell responses against tumours. For example, antibodies can be used to interfere with the inhibitory protein PD-1, which is present on T cells, a type of immune cell that attacks tumours. Immune-checkpoint inhibitors have been most successfully used to treat cancers, such as melanomas, that are well infiltrated by T cells and have a large number of genetic mutations. A subset of these mutations might generate neoantigens — altered protein sequences that are uniquely produced in cancer cells and are recognized as foreign by the immune system.”

    Go to full article published by Nature on Dec 19, 2018.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.

  • October 22, 2018  

    Immunotherapy Effective Against Hereditary Melanoma Bookmark

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Excerpt:

    “Individuals with an inherited form of skin cancer often have a poor prognosis. The type of immunotherapy that was awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is, however, particularly effective in this patient group, research from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows. The study is published in the Journal of Medical Genetics.

    “Congenital mutations of the CDKN2A gene are the strongest known risk factors for inherited . Individuals with  who carry mutations in this gene also have , according to previous research.”

    Go to full article published by Medical Xpress on Oct 8, 2018.

    If you’re wondering whether this story applies to your own cancer case or a loved one’s, we invite you to get support from Cancer Commons.