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Sep 30
Education

EDU 47 - Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer, Sarcoma and Cutaneous Malignancies

02:30pm - 03:45pm PT
Head and Neck Cancer
Immunotherapy
Sarcoma and Cutaneous Tumors

MODERATOR(S)

Vinita Takiar, MD, PhD - University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

session DESCRIPTION

Recent landmark studies in melanoma, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), head and neck cancer (HNC) and sarcoma have established neoadjuvant immune therapy as a potential standard of care for patients with locally advanced cancers. Radiation oncologists need to be aware of this new paradigm, in part because it has important implications for radiation therapy. In melanoma, neoadjuvant immune therapy was found to be superior to adjuvant immune therapy in recent randomized studies. In cSCC, pathologic response following neoadjuvant immune therapy can potentially help inform whether adjuvant treatment is needed. In mucosal HNC, the KEYNOTE-689 study will likely establish neoadjuvant immune therapy as a new standard of care approach. According to this study, patients who receive preoperative immune therapy may also benefit from further immune therapy administered during adjuvant radiation. Preoperative radiation combined with immune therapy could potentially improve pathologic response and enhance outcomes; this strategy has been tested in HNC and recently found to be beneficial in soft tissue sarcoma. The goal of our session will be to inform the radiation oncology community of these recent, and in many cases, practice changing, data to help inform practice and future research. In addition to reviewing current data and standards of care, we will also address relevant topics of interest such as: the immunologic rationale for neoadjuvant immune therapy; relevant biomarkers to predict response; the use of pathologic response as a surrogate endpoint; and how neoadjuvant immune therapy may impact the landscape of adjuvant treatment including radiation therapy.

learning objectives

  1. Explain the data supporting neoadjuvant immune therapy and discuss the rationale for this approach.
  2. Describe the potential implication neoadjuvant immunotherapy or immunotherapy/radiation combinations has on adjuvant treatment recommendations.
  3. Identify ongoing and future research exploring neoadjuvant immunotherapy such as neoadjuvant immunotherapy/radiotherapy combinations.

Credits

AMA PRA Category 1 Credits: 1.25

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