Volume 11 Issue 4, April 2014

For cancer therapies to succeed, induction of an anticancer immune response is required. Immuno-oncology approaches are shaping the treatment landscape for patients with advanced-stage melanoma and other solid tumours. These new approaches may enhance immune system activity to improve outcomes, including the potential to achieve long-term survival benefits in many patients.

Several clinical trials have addressed the role of adjuvant chemotherapy following neoadjuvant chemoradiation and surgery for rectal cancer. The recently published EORTC 22921 study adds further debate to the merits of adjuvant chemotherapy in this setting.

Idelalisib, the first PI3Kδ inhibitor in clinical use, has excellent activity in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and indolent B-cell lymphomas, heralding a new era of targeted therapy for these types of cancer. Idelalisib intercepts critical communications between B cells and the microenvironment, including B-cell receptor signalling and chemokine networks.

Soft-tissue sarcomas (STS) are a rare and heterogeneous group of tumours, with a wide range of differing behaviours and underlying molecular pathologies. Recent advances in molecular pathogenesis, novel targeted therapies, changes in clinical trial design and increased international collaboration have led to the development of histology-driven therapy. The authors of this Review describe the current gold standard treatment for specific STS subtypes and outline the future promising therapies in the pipeline.

Brain metastasis is an important complication associated with a number of common primary cancers, including lung and breast cancers, and melanoma, and has major effects on patient morbidity and mortality. This Review discusses the advances in our understanding of the molecular biology of brain metastases, and how this knowledge has influenced the imaging, surgical, radiological and pharmaceutical approaches involved in the management of brain metastasis.

Patients infected with HIV seem to develop certain types of cancer more frequently than uninfected people. Specifically, lymphomas represent the most frequent malignancy affecting patients with HIV. This Review focuses on the different type of lymphomas that generally occur in patients infected with HIV, as well as other cancers. The authors provide an update of epidemiological data and diagnostic issues, and discuss the most-appropriate strategies for the management of patients with both HIV and lymphomas.