The results of CheckMate 214 demonstrated that combination checkpoint immunotherapy with nivolumab (Opdivo; anti-PD-1 monoclonal antibody) and ipilimumab (Yervoy; anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody), is superior to sunitinib (Sutent; multikinase inhibitor) in the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Interestingly, prior to sunitinib, another immunotherapeutic approach – interferon-alpha (IFN-α) – was the front-line treatment of choice for renal cell carcinoma, which, like melanoma, is very immune-responsive. Continue reading
Tag Archives: IFN-α
Interferon alpha gene therapy for refractory superficial bladder cancer in Phase III study
Valstar (valrubicin), the last drug approved for the treatment of superficial bladder cancer that is refractory to front-line therapy with BCG (bacillus Calmette-Guerin), entered the market in 1998. The registration study for Valstar demonstrated a twenty percent complete response rate three months following six weekly intravesical (transurethral administration into the bladder) instillations of the novel anthracycline in patients with BCG-refractory carcinoma in situ of the bladder. Continue reading
RNA Vaccines in Melanoma and Prostate Cancer
Vaccine strategies for cancer immunotherapy depend on the induction of dendritic cells (DC) in close proximity to T cells. This is best accomplished in lymphoid tissue. However, directing vaccines to lymphoid tissue has been quite challenging. Continue reading