The latest results from immunotherapy studies involving IEO were at the center of our participation in the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago from the 3rd to the 7th of June. ASCO is the most renowned international annual cancer congress bringing together over 30,000 oncology professionals from around the world. New therapies, ongoing controversies in the field and cutting edge research are discussed every year.
One of the hottest topics in cancer research at the moment is Immunotherapy: a type of treatment designed to activate the body's immune system to fight cancer. Various immunotherapy studies, both clinical and translational, are ongoing in IEO and at this year’s ASCO meeting the results of two important international studies, in which Dr. Pier Francesco Ferrucci, Director of the IEO Melanoma Medical Treatment Unit was a collaborator, were presented. The first study demonstrated that the combination of the immunotherapeutic agents Nivolumab and Ipilimumab could lead to more effective treatment options for patients with melanoma, although further research on toxicity is ongoing. The second study focused on the combination of Dabrafenib and Trametinib with the addition of Pembrolizumab in patients with metastatic melanoma who have the BRAF mutation. Early data indicate that Pembrolizumab could be an important component of combination therapy for metastatic melanoma.
Further Dr. Filippo De Marinis, Director of IEO Thoracic Oncology Program, is a key collaborator in an important ‘all Italian’ immunotherapy study investigating the use of Nivolumab in patients already treated for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. With its 371 patients the study it’s the most extensive ever carried out with this new drug and it is showing encouraging results.
Further important studies were presented by Dr. Nicoletta Colombo, Director of IEO Gynecologic Program; Dr. Giuseppe Curigliano, Director of New Drugs And Early Drug Development For Innovative Therapies Program and Dr. Nicola Fazio, Director of the IEO Gastrointestinal And Neuroendocrine Cancer Medical Treatment Unit.
Studies such these ones presented at ASCO are the stepping stones towards a more comprehensive understanding of cancer. Continuous research into new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer at IEO means that our patients will have the best state of the art care available