May 2019, Vol 9, No 5

Ovarian cancers with BRCA mutations are less immunogenic than other DNA repair–deficient tumors. Targeting the DNA damage response using PARP inhibitors may help to improve the modest responses of ovarian cancer seen with single-agent immune checkpoint inhibitors, said ­Panagiotis A. Konstantinopoulos, MD, PhD, Director of Translational Research, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, at the 2019 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium. Read Article ›

Tumor expression of PD-L1 has consistently predicted ­response and survival outcomes in non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), whereas the role of PD-L1 in immune cells is unclear, said ­Edward B. Garon, MD, Director, Thoracic Oncology Program, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, at the 2019 ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium. Read Article ›

On April 12, 2019, the FDA accelerated the approval of erdafiti­nib (Balversa; Janssen), a fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) kinase inhibitor, for the treatment of adults with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma and FGFR3 or FGFR2 genetic alterations, as detected by an FDA-approved test, whose disease progressed during or after ≥1 lines of platinum-containing chemotherapy, making it the first targeted drug to receive approval for this patient population. Read Article ›

On April 19, 2019, the FDA accelerated the approval of pembro­lizumab (Keytruda; Merck) plus axitinib (Inlyta; Pfizer) for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced renal-cell carcinoma (RCC). Keytruda has received previous FDA approval as a single agent or in combination with other agents for the treatment of many types of cancers. Read Article ›