Lynne Lederman, PhD

Results of a phase I trial demonstrate that the combination of niraparib and bevacizumab can be safely administered to patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer.

In a phase Ib study, combining talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC), an oncolytic virus, with pembrolizumab at full doses had an acceptable safety profile, with evidence of clinical benefit in patients with advanced melanoma.

It is feasible to administer the PARP inhibitor niraparib in combination with bevacizumab to patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed ovarian cancer with manageable toxicities. The results of a phase I study (NCT02354131) in 12 patients were presented during a poster session at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Napabucasin (BBI-608, BB608) is a first-in-class cancer "stemness" inhibitor that targets the STAT3 pathway, has acceptable toxicity, and shows some antitumor activity in combination with paclitaxel in platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Results of an early phase trial were presented at a poster session at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Avelumab (MSB0010718C), a fully human anti-PD-L1 (programmed death-1 receptor ligand) IgG1 antibody, showed activity in patients with heavily pretreated recurrent or refractory ovarian cancer with acceptable toxicity in the phase Ib JAVELIN Solid Tumor trial.

Baseline LDH levels, ECOG performance status, and presence/absence of liver metastasis are clinical characteristics associated with favorable progression-free survival (PFS) in BRAF V600-mutated melanoma patients receiving vemurafenib (Zelboraf) monotherapy or combination cobimetinib (Cotellic) plus vemurafenib, according to an analysis presented at the ASCO 2016 Annual Meeting.

Updated results of the prevalence of germline cancer susceptibility gene mutations in a clinic-based series of patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) were given in an oral presentation at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting.