Alterations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene occur in up to 40% of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), among which exon 20 insertions are the third most common type of mutation and account for up to 12% of EGFR-mutated (EGFRm) cases.1,2 Exon 20 insertions alter the conformation

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide.1-3 Surgical removal and liver transplantation are preferred, however, only 30% of patients are eligible for curative treatment at presentation.1 Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is a promising local

With a median follow-up of 99.1 months, the recent analysis of the CheckMate 214 trial serves as the longest reported follow-up for any phase 3 trial of a checkpoint inhibitor combination therapy in advanced renal cell carcinoma (aRCC), which demonstrated the remarkable and durable clinical responses of nivolumab + ipilimumab as a first-line therapy for untreated aRCC.

The ADAURA trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study that evaluated the survival benefits of adjuvant osimertinib, an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), in the treatment of patients with completely resected EGFR-mutated stage IB-IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).¹ A total of 682 adult patients with completely resected stage IB, II, IIIA NSCLC were recruited and randomized 1:1 to receive either osimertinib 80mg daily or placebo for 3 years until disease recurrence or treatment completion.¹ The primary endpoint of the ADAURA trial was disease-free survival (DFS) in stage II-IIIA patients.¹ Overall survival (OS) is one of the key secondary endpoints of the ADAURA trial.¹

The CodeBreaK 200 trial was the first randomized, phase 3 trial that compared the efficacy between sotorasib and docetaxel in patients with Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS) G12C-mutated advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).1 A cohort of 345 adults with locally a

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounts for 85%of all types of lung cancer and is the most common cancer in Hong Kong with a total of 5,575 cases in 2019.^1,2 Approximately 30% of NSCLC patients are diagnosed as early stage, and surgical resection is the preferred treatment option for possibly co

The study conducted by a group of researchers from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) has provided insight into the mechanism behind hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patient’s resistance to the programmed death 1 (PD-1) immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), contributing to the understanding of HCC therapy

Over the past decades, treatment options in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients without oncogenic drivers have been limited to cytotoxic chemotherapies with poor survival outcomes.¹ Although patients’ overall survival (OS) has been prolonged with the current standard of care (SoC) (i.e. pembrolizumab with or without chemotherapy) in recent years, the clinical outcomes are still suboptimal.^2,3 Dual immunotherapy, which brought substantial survival improvements across multiple malignancies such as advanced melanoma, sheds light on the further advance of metastatic NSCLC (without driver mutations) management.⁴ The combination of nivolumab (NIVO) and ipilimumab (IPI) with or without chemotherapy has demonstrated superior survival benefits in these patients, leading to the regulatory approval from the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA).^5,6 More recently, the efficacy of durvalumab and tremelimumab plus chemotherapy (D + T + CT) in treatment-naïve metastatic NSCLC patients has also been evaluated in the POSEIDON trial.⁷ In a webinar organized by the Hong Kong Precision Oncology Society, Dr. Melissa L. Johnson presented the encouraging data from POSEIDON and discussed the latest advances of immunotherapy in metastatic NSCLC. Dr. Au, Siu-Kie Joseph also shared his expert insights on the new POSEIDON data and discussed their impacts on the local clinical practice in an interview with Omnihealth Practice.

Among different subtypes of breast cancer, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is associated with the least overall survival (OS).¹ The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors, such as programmed death 1 (PD1) or programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), benefits TNBC patients.¹ An interim analysis of a phase 3 trial revealed that administration of pembrolizumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, along with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, resulted in a pathological complete response in a significant number of patients with high-risk early TNBC.¹