Research Highlight |
Featured
-
-
News & Views |
NALIRIFOX for metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma: hope or hype?
The FDA has approved nanoliposomal irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin and oxaliplatin (NALIRIFOX) for patients with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma on the basis of results from the NAPOLI 3 trial, in which this four-drug regimen improved overall survival relative to a doublet regimen. Here we discuss how, in the context of prior results from the PRODIGE 4 trial testing 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, irinotecan and oxaliplatin (modified FOLFIRINOX), NALIRIFOX does not seem to raise the bar, but rather exposes patients and health-care systems to financial toxicities.
- Christopher Nevala-Plagemann
- & Ignacio Garrido-Laguna
-
Research Highlight |
Pembrolizumab plus chemoradiotherapy effective in locally advanced cervical cancer
- Peter Sidaway
-
-
-
Review Article |
Progress in systemic therapy for advanced-stage urothelial carcinoma
Patients with advanced-stage urothelial cancer (aUC) continue to have poor long-term survival outcomes. However, developments in the past 5 years, most notably the availability of maintenance therapy with the anti-PD-1 antibody avelumab, are beginning to change this issue. In this Review, the authors provide an overview of the treatment of patients with aUC, including considerations of the various promising new therapeutic modalities and how they might improve clinical outcomes.
- Rosa Nadal
- , Begoña P. Valderrama
- & Joaquim Bellmunt
-
-
Review Article |
Early stage gastric adenocarcinoma: clinical and molecular landscapes
Long-term survival rates of patients with gastric cancer remain low, particularly in Western countries. This lack of progress, among other aspects, is likely to reflect a focus on empirical approaches that fail to account for the heterogeneity of gastric cancers. In this Review, the authors summarize the available evidence on the management of patients with early stage gastric cancers, with an emphasis on understanding the underlying biology in order to improve the outcomes in patients with these historically difficult-to-treat tumours.
- Yuki Hirata
- , Ayesha Noorani
- & Jaffer A. Ajani
-
-
-
-
-
Research Highlight |
Adding immune-checkpoint inhibitors to chemotherapy extends survival in endometrial cancer
- Diana Romero
-
Review Article |
Neoadjuvant therapy for pancreatic cancer
Advances in surgical technique and chemotherapy regimens have improved the survival outcomes of patients with pancreatic cancer, although these remain dismal relative to most other solid tumours. Attempts to further improve outcomes have led to increasing research interest in neoadjuvant therapy, which is beginning to improve the outcomes of certain subgroups of patients. In this Review, the authors provide an overview of the various neoadjuvant therapy approaches for patients with pancreatic cancer, including discussions of several promising future research directions
- Christoph Springfeld
- , Cristina R. Ferrone
- & John Neoptolemos
-
Research Highlight |
Docetaxel-based CRT improves survival in cisplatin-ineligible patients
- David Killock
-
-
Research Highlight |
Early MRD predicts disease recurrence and benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy in CRC
- David Killock
-
-
-
-
-
Correspondence |
HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer — discussion points
- Peter Goon
- & Holger Sudhoff
-
Correspondence |
Reply to ‘HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer — discussion points’
- Matt Lechner
- , Jacklyn Liu
- & Tim R. Fenton
-
Review Article |
Preparing for CAR T cell therapy: patient selection, bridging therapies and lymphodepletion
Chimeric antigen receptor T cells have revolutionized the treatment of patients with certain haematological malignancies. Nonetheless, an optimal approach to lymphodepleting chemotherapy and/or bridging therapies has yet to be defined in patients receiving these agents. In this Review, the authors describe the various lymphodepletion and/or bridging therapy strategies used, and highlight the need for prospective comparisons in order to determine the safest and most effective approach.
- Leila Amini
- , Sara K. Silbert
- & Mohamed Abou-el-Enein
-
-
-
News & Views |
The role of neoadjuvant therapy for resectable pancreatic cancer remains uncertain
Patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) usually have a dismal prognosis, and even after curative resection most patients will have disease relapse and ultimately die. Nonetheless, adjuvant chemotherapy has considerably improved the outcomes of patients who are able to undergo surgery. The PREOPANC trial provides some evidence supporting the use of neoadjuvant therapy for patients with borderline resectable PDACs but not, as claimed, for those with resectable tumours.
- Christoph Springfeld
- & John P. Neoptolemos
-
Review Article |
HPV-associated oropharyngeal cancer: epidemiology, molecular biology and clinical management
The incidence of human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) is increasing rapidly in most developed countries. In this Review, the authors provide an overview of the epidemiology, molecular biology and treatment of HPV-positive OPSCC, including discussions of the role of treatment de-escalation and emerging novel therapies.
- Matt Lechner
- , Jacklyn Liu
- & Tim R. Fenton
-
-
-
Review Article |
Cancer-related accelerated ageing and biobehavioural modifiers: a framework for research and clinical care
Patients receiving cytotoxic therapies for cancer have an increased risk of cognitive and functional decline that is usually associated with ageing. In this Review, the authors describe how cancer therapies can enhance physiological ageing processes and highlight the potential for interventions that could potentially ameliorate these long-term adverse events in patients receiving active treatment for cancer and in cancer survivors.
- Judith E. Carroll
- , Julienne E. Bower
- & Patricia A. Ganz
-
-
Consensus Statement |
International consensus recommendations on key outcome measures for organ preservation after (chemo)radiotherapy in patients with rectal cancer
Patients with early-stage rectal cancer might potentially benefit from treatment with an organ-sparing approach, which preserves quality of life owing to avoidance of the need for permanent colostomy. Trials conducted to investigate this have so far been hampered by considerable inter-trial heterogeneity in several key features. In this Consensus Statement, the authors provide guidance on the optimal end points, response assessment time points, follow-up procedures and quality of life measures in an attempt to improve the comparability of clinical research in this area.
- Emmanouil Fokas
- , Ane Appelt
- & Claus Rödel
-
Review Article |
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma: an evolving paradigm
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is an Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-associated malignancy endemic to southern China, southeast Asia and north Africa. The authors of this Review present a comprehensive overview of advances from the past three decades on the pathogenic role of EBV, and the genomic, epigenomic and immune landscape of NPC, which have led to the development of new biomarkers, therapeutic targets and improved treatment approaches for patients with NPC.
- Kenneth C. W. Wong
- , Edwin P. Hui
- & Anthony T. C. Chan
-
Review Article |
Selecting the optimal immunotherapy regimen in driver-negative metastatic NSCLC
Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are now standard-of-care therapies for patients with advanced-stage non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) without a targetable driver alteration. Various ICIs or combination regimens have been approved in this setting, relative to chemotherapy, although no prospective data are available comparing the various ICI-based approaches. Here, the authors provide guidance on selecting the optimal ICI-based therapy and highlight several future research directions that will probably further improve the outcomes of patients with advanced-stage NSCLC.
- Michael J. Grant
- , Roy S. Herbst
- & Sarah B. Goldberg
-
-
-
Review Article |
Evolution of systemic therapy for stages I–III non-metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer
The authors of this Review present the current considerations in the treatment of patients with early-stage lung cancer, discussing the critical determination of resectability by thoracic surgical oncologists and the management of both resectable and unresectable disease with a focus on systemic therapy selection. They also address innovations in drug development, trial design and efforts to identify early-stage cancers.
- Jamie E. Chaft
- , Andreas Rimner
- & Tina Cascone
-
-
-
-
-
Review Article |
Immunostimulation with chemotherapy in the era of immune checkpoint inhibitors
The efficacy of chemotherapy in patients with cancer is now known to have an immunogenic component. Nonetheless, chemotherapy alone often fails to provide durable disease remission in most patients. The development of immune checkpoint inhibitors has created an opportunity to combine immunogenic chemotherapies with these agents in order to optimize patient outcomes. In this Review, the authors describe the mechanisms of synergy between chemotherapy and immune checkpoint inhibitors, summarize the available clinical data on these effects and highlight the most promising areas for future research.
- Lorenzo Galluzzi
- , Juliette Humeau
- & Guido Kroemer
-
-
Review Article |
Integrating evolutionary dynamics into cancer therapy
Most systemic cancer therapies are administered at doses at or close to the maximum tolerated dose until disease progression. However, this approach usually leads to treatment resistance and fails to take into account several potentially relevant evolutionary principles. In this Review, the authors describe how existing approaches to cancer therapy might be optimized by incorporating an understanding of evolutionary dynamics into cancer therapy.
- Robert A. Gatenby
- & Joel S. Brown
-
-
-
News & Views |
B cells and complement at the forefront of chemotherapy
Effective anticancer therapies typically activate antitumour immunity, predominately mediated by T cells in the tumour microenvironment. Here, we discuss the roles of B cells and tertiary lymphoid structures in the context of chemotherapy-induced complement activation, which results in the induction of a B cell subset that modulates T cell function.
- Catherine Sautès-Fridman
- & Lubka T. Roumenina
-
-
Comment |
Cancer, COVID-19 and the precautionary principle: prioritizing treatment during a global pandemic
During the COVID-19 global pandemic, the cancer community faces many difficult questions. We will first discuss safety considerations for patients with cancer requiring treatment in SARS-CoV-2 endemic areas. We will then discuss a general framework for prioritizing cancer care, emphasizing the precautionary principle in decision making.
- Timothy P. Hanna
- , Gerald A. Evans
- & Christopher M. Booth
ctDNA guides omission of adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II CRC
Anaplastic glioma: benefit of temozolomide clarified
Medulloblastoma: prognostic subtypes revealed
From AACR 2020 (part 1)
COVID-19 and cancer: what we know so far