Andrew Hendifar, MD, medical director of the Cedars-Sinai Cancer Clinical Trials Office and professor of Medicine, is available to discuss late-breaking, embargoed results of a trial of a new therapy for advanced pancreatic cancer, as well as Phase II results from a trial of a combination therapy that targets specific genetic mutations in pancreatic cancer cells.

Additional Cedars-Sinai Experts

Leslie Ballas, MD, professor of Radiation Oncology, will participate in a panel discussion and can discuss evidence related to use of biomarkers or circulating tumor DNA in treatment decisions for patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

Fahima Dossa, MD, PhD, a surgical oncologist, will present research on which patients with high-risk localized soft tissue sarcoma are most likely to benefit from chemotherapy.

Stephen Freedland, MD, director of the Center for Integrated Research in Cancer and Lifestyle, will present a post hoc analysis of the EMBARK trial in advanced prostate cancer, detailing testosterone recovery following treatment suspension. Freedland can also discuss research from his lab on use of olaparib, an enzyme blocker, in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, and statin use in prostate cancer patients receiving hormone treatment after prostate-removal surgery.

Lawrence Liu, MD, a hematology oncologist, will present research on recent advances in CAR T-cell therapies for patients with relapsed multiple myeloma. The work involves mezigdomide, part of a new drug class in myeloma, following infusion with idecabtagene vicleucel, a genetically modified CAR T therapy derived from the patient’s own cells.

Arsen Osipov, MD, associate professor of Medicine and medical director of Pancreatic Cancer, can discuss research from his lab on the comprehensive molecular profiles associated with variants of the KRAS gene and patient survival in pancreatic cancer. KRAS mutations are found in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases.

Karen Reckamp, MD, professor of Medicine and director of the Division of Medical Oncology, can discuss the treatment landscape for non-small cell and small cell lung cancer. She can explain research from her lab on a machine learning approach for predicting immune-related pneumonitis, a noninfectious lung inflammation that can occur following treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors. She can also speak about new data from Lung MAP, a clinical trial designed to efficiently test treatments for advanced non-small cell lung cancers. And she will make a presentation on support of academic nonclinical efforts for cancer investigator faculty at the Association of American Cancer Institutes.

Kamya Sankar, MD, assistant professor of Medicine and co-director of the Thoracic Disease Research Group, will present an analysis of factors associated with early cachexia—also known as cancer wasting disease—in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. She can also speak about treatment of both non-small cell and small cell lung cancer.

From The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute

Mark Faries, MD, surgical oncologist and professor of Surgery, can discuss a five-year update from the KEYNOTE-942 study in resected melanoma and a new study of lymph node resection versus therapeutic dissection in advanced melanoma, as well as recurrence in advanced melanoma across time.

Erwin Grussie, MD, a hematology oncologist, can discuss results from the Targeted Agent and Profiling Utilization Registry (TAPUR) study testing targeted therapies in patients with solid tumors.

Omid Hamid, MD, professor of Medicine and chief of Translational Research and Immuno-Oncology, will present results from a study of a medication that blocks the action of cortisol in patients with advanced solid tumors, as well as a study of causes of limited immunotherapy response in melanoma. He can also discuss new results from three trials of therapies in advanced melanoma.

Inderjit Mehmi, MD, a hematology oncologist, can discuss the association of prior immunotherapy treatment with limited response to subsequent immunotherapy in melanoma.

Media Contact

To schedule an interview, contact Christina Elston at christina.elston@cshs.org or 626-298-0702.

In this study, the investigators explored combining standard immune checkpoint inhibitors with a new class of immunotherapies called ImmTACs (immune-mobilizing monoclonal T-cell receptors against cancer).

While immune checkpoint inhibitors prevent tumors from deactivating cancer-killing immune cells called T-cells, ImmTACs draw T-cells directly to tumor cells via receptors for T-cells on one side and tumor cells on the other.

“The results of this study point toward new combination treatments that can help patients whose melanoma has progressed despite first-line therapy,” said Omid Hamid, MD, chief of Translational Research and Immuno-Oncology at Cedars-Sinai Cancer at The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, medical director of the Cutaneous Malignancies Disease Research Group at Cedars-Sinai Cancer, and lead author of the study. “Once these treatments receive regulatory approval, they represent the next set of options for these skin cancer patients.”

The study enrolled 85 patients whose malignant melanomas had progressed despite previous treatment with standard immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. All were treated with a combination of an ImmTAC and immune checkpoint inhibitors. The combination produced one-year overall survival rates above 76%, with no unexpected side effects.

The ImmTAC used in the study, tebentafusp, is the first drug to be approved by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating ocular melanoma, the most common type of eye cancer.

While cutaneous melanoma—cancer that forms in the skin’s pigment-producing cells—isn’t the most common form of skin cancer, it is the most lethal, Hamid said. It causes about 10,000 deaths in the U.S. each year by spreading deeper into the skin or to other parts of the body.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have dramatically improved survival rates for patients whose skin cancer has spread. Many of these drugs—including pembrolizumab, nivolumab, avelumab, ipilimumab, durvalumab and atezolizumab—have been studied by Hamid and his team in first-in-human clinical trials to treat melanoma. Later, the therapies also were approved by the FDA to treat basal and squamous skin cancers, as well as lung, gastroesophageal, endometrial and breast cancers.

“A decade or so ago, median survival for metastatic melanoma was six months,” Hamid said. “But thanks to our ability to harness the power of the immune system, the median survival is now six years and greater. Unfortunately, these immune checkpoint inhibitors don’t work for everyone.”

Previous studies have shown that immune checkpoint inhibitors like nivolumab and pembrolizumab benefit only 30%-40% of patients.

“Adding an ImmTAC to these immune checkpoint inhibitors produced an amazing one-year survival rate,” Hamid said. “This was also the first trial to show that we can safely combine ImmTACs and immune checkpoint inhibitors in patients whose cancer progressed despite treatment with standard immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy.”

This data has now been translated to other clinical trials with ImmTACs that offer options for patients with a wide variety of tumors, including melanomas, sarcomas, and endometrial, ovarian, and non-small cell lung cancers, Hamid said.

Investigators are moving forward with a Phase III trial of the tebentafusp and immune checkpoint inhibitor combination for patients with newly diagnosed cutaneous melanoma.

“The incidence of cutaneous melanoma is increasing dramatically,” said Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD, director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer and the PHASE ONE Foundation Distinguished Chair. “Metastatic disease is difficult to treat, but through innovations and trials, we have made major strides in extending survival for these patients. We are continually exploring cutting-edge therapies to provide new opportunities for these patients.”

Funding: The study was funded by pharmaceutical developer Immunocore Ltd.

Read More on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Don’t delay getting a skin exam. Here’s what to expect