Nivolumab combination did not improve outcomes in bladder cancer

In adults with muscle-invasive bladder cancer, 325 received nivolumab plus chemotherapy and 328 chemotherapy alone before surgery. After 54.5 months, nivolumab did not improve time before cancer-related events.

“Exploratory analysis showed circulating tumour DNA (tumour DNA found in the blood) was strongly prognostic.”

What this means. A large, final-stage trial in bladder cancer. This is the kind of result regulators use when deciding whether to approve a treatment.

Nivolumab and relatlimab improved long-term outcomes in advanced melanoma

In a five-year analysis of patients with advanced melanoma, nivolumab plus relatlimab kept cancer from growing longer and helped people live longer than nivolumab alone. Follow-up was at least 57.3 months.

“These data support the hypothesis that relatlimab can overcome LAG-3-mediated resistance to nivolumab and provides evidence for differential effectiveness patterns observed across biomarker subgroups linked to primary versus acquired resistance states.”

What this means. A large, final-stage trial in melanoma, a skin cancer. This is the kind of result regulators use when deciding whether to approve a treatment.

Camrelizumab regimen improved event-free survival in rectal cancer

In patients with locally advanced rectal cancer, short-course radiotherapy followed by camrelizumab and chemotherapy improved 3-year event-free survival versus standard care. Side effects were similar to those with long-course chemoradiotherapy followed by chemotherapy.

What this means. A large, final-stage trial in bowel cancer. This is the kind of result regulators use when deciding whether to approve a treatment.

Vaccine trial misses its main goal in pancreatic cancer

Researchers randomized patients with pancreatic cancer to camupepimut or standard care or observation. The vaccine did not significantly extend the time before disease returned: median disease-free survival was 23.8 versus 21.2 months.

What this means. A mid-stage trial in pancreatic cancer. Good results at this stage usually still need a larger trial before approval.

A shorter drug schedule matched survival in metastatic bowel cancer

In a Japan trial of 970 people with hard-to-treat metastatic bowel cancer, a 14-day schedule of trifluridine-tipiracil plus bevacizumab matched the 28-day schedule for survival: people lived a median 11·3 months versus 10·3 months. Severe neutropenia fell from 39% to 13%.

“A 14-day schedule of FTD-TPI plus bevacizumab was non-inferior to the conventional 28-day schedule for overall survival, while reducing haematological and gastrointestinal toxicity.”

What this means. A large, final-stage trial in bowel cancer. This is the kind of result regulators use when deciding whether to approve a treatment.

Cisplatin and gemcitabine did not beat capecitabine for biliary tract cancer

In 591 patients who had surgery for biliary tract cancer, cisplatin and gemcitabine added an average of 2.6 months before recurrence or death over three years, but did not significantly improve disease-free survival or how long people lived.

“CisGem did not statistically improve disease-free survival compared to capecitabine and should thus not be applied as standard of care in the adjuvant setting (given after surgery).”

What this means. A large, final-stage trial in bladder cancer. This is the kind of result regulators use when deciding whether to approve a treatment.

Adding relatlimab did not improve results in non-small cell lung cancer

In people with stage IV or recurrent non-small cell lung cancer, adding relatlimab to nivolumab and chemotherapy did not meet the trial’s main goal: 51.3% had a tumor response, versus 45.0% with nivolumab and chemotherapy.

“However, positive trends observed in the subgroup of patients with tumor PD-L1 ≥1% and nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer supports further investigation in these patients in the phase 3 (large late-stage) RELATIVITY-1093 study.”

What this means. A mid-stage trial in lung cancer. Good results at this stage usually still need a larger trial before approval.