pembrolizumab

  • 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: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), antibody drugs that bind to proteins found on the immune system’s T cells—namely, PD-1 (which is targeted by the… Read more »

  • April 28, 2021  

    How Can Detection of Tumor DNA in the Blood Aid Advanced Cancer Treatment?

    With: Alexey Aleshin, MD, MBAPaul Billings, MD, PhD

    As a tumor grows, it may shed fragments of its DNA into the patient’s bloodstream. After treatment, if part of the tumor remains or it begins to grow again, more of this circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) may enter the blood. That raises the possibility that detecting ctDNA could help clinicians monitor molecular or minimal residual disease—cancer that remains after treatment and cannot be detected… Read more »

  • April 12, 2021  

    Lenvatinib/Pembrolizumab Improves Survival in Advanced Endometrial Cancer Bookmark

    George Lundberg, MD

    The ASCO Post reports on new results from a clinical trial testing a combination of the drugs lenvatinib and pembrolizumab in people with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer. The results show that, compared to standard chemotherapy, this drug combo improves both overall and progression-free survival—according to both statistical and clinical analysis.

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  • 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  

    Pembrolizumab Provides Long-Term Benefit in Melanoma, Regardless of BRAF+ Status or Prior Targeted Therapy Bookmark

    George Lundberg, MD

    Article from OncLive curated by Editor in Chief George Lundberg, MD, who notes: 

    A new study shows that the drug pembrolizomab significantly prolongs survival in patients with metastatic melanoma, regardless of whether their tumors have mutations in the BRAF gene or if they’ve had prior treatment with targeted therapy.

    Go to full article published by OncLive.

    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.

  • August 7, 2020  

    FDA Approves Merck’s Keytruda, Foundation Medicine CDx for TMB-High Solid Tumors Bookmark

    George Lundberg, MD

    Article from GenomeWeb curated by Editor in Chief George Lundberg, MD, who notes: 

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the drug pembrolizumab (brand name Keytruda) for solid tumors based solely on whether they have a high tumor mutational burden—a high number of changes in the DNA of the cancer cells.

    Go to full article published by GenomeWeb.

    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.

  • May 25, 2020  

    What’s New in Immunotherapy for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer?

    Emma Shtivelman, PhD

    Chemotherapy was once the only treatment option for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). But five years ago, immunotherapy—treatment that boosts a patient’s own immune system to fight cancer—came on the scene. In 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug nivolumab (brand name Opdivo) as next-line treatment for NSCLC after chemotherapy. Today, new immunotherapy options continue to alter the NSCLC… Read more »

  • December 26, 2019  

    Pembrolizumab Approved for Some Patients with Advanced Esophageal Cancer Bookmark

    George Lundberg, MD

    Article from the National Cancer Institute curated by Editor in Chief George Lundberg, MD, who notes: 

    In 2019, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved pembrolizumab for certain advanced esophageal cancers, depending on testing results. The National Cancer Institute explains here.

    Go to full article published by the National Cancer Institute.

    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.

  • December 13, 2019  

    New Standard of Care for Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Bookmark

    George Lundberg, MD

    Article from Medscape curated by Editor in Chief George Lundberg, MD, who notes: 

    This piece describes huge improvements in the standard of care and outcomes from combo therapy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

    Go to full article published by Medscape.

    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.

  • December 2, 2019  

    Pembrolizumab Plus Lenvatinib Approved for Endometrial Cancer Bookmark

    George Lundberg, MD

    Article from Cancer Network curated by Editor in Chief George Lundberg, MD, who notes: 

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new combination therapy for certain advanced endometrial cancers.

    Go to full article published by Cancer Network.

    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.