Jane de Lartigue, PhD

Early Data Make B7-H3 a Checkpoint Contender in Prostate Cancer and Beyond

June 10th 2022

B7-H3, a member of the same protein family as PD-L1, has garnered attention as one of a slew of alternative targets riding the wave of success of immune checkpoint inhibitors in cancer immunotherapy.

Microbiota Modulation Offers Hope of Expanding the Benefits of Immunotherapy

April 28th 2022

Novel strategies to modulate the microbiota are now an area of robust investigation

ESR1 Data Fuel Novel Breast Cancer Strategies

March 15th 2022

Mutations on the ESR1 gene, which encodes the estrogen receptor, have emerged as an important driver of resistance to endocrine therapies, which form the backbone of treatment for patients with ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer.

Next-Generation Antibody-Drug Conjugates Make Their Mark in Breast Cancer

March 2nd 2022

Distinct Genomic Profile of Lung Cancer in Never Smokers Comes Into Focus

February 10th 2022

A growing recognition of the distinct clinical, pathological, and biological features of lung cancers that arise in nonsmokers is fostering greater interest in examining the molecular underpinnings of lung cancer in this patient subset.

Making Progress Against the Blood-Brain Barrier

January 31st 2022

Primary and metastatic brain tumors present a significant therapeutic challenge, in large part because they are protected by the blood-brain barrier, a highly restrictive interface between the bloodstream and the brain that prevents most drugs from accessing the brain parenchyma.

Nectin-4 Emerges as a Therapeutic Target in Urothelial Carcinoma and Beyond

January 2nd 2022

Most ongoing clinical trials exploring nectin-4 as a target involve studies of enfortumab vedotin and its potential synergy with immune checkpoint inhibitors in bladder cancer, while several other early-phase studies are testing novel agents in solid tumors.

Uncommon EGFR Mutations Come Into Focus With Novel NSCLC Therapies

October 1st 2021

The understanding of EGFR signaling in non–small cell lung cancer continues to evolve, helping to spark the development of novel therapies for new patient populations with uncommon alterations.

Persistent Development of WEE1 Pathway Inhibitors Begins to Pay Off

July 16th 2021

The lead novel candidate, the WEE1 inhibitor adavosertib, has been tested in more than 50 completed or ongoing clinical studies but has yet to proceed to a phase 3 trial despite showing promising safety and efficacy as monotherapy and in combination with a range of other cancer therapies.

Emerging Immune Checkpoint Research Focuses on CD137

July 8th 2021

During the past decade, a growing number of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors gained FDA approval to treat a wide range of cancer types. Their stimulatory counterparts also emerged as sought-after anticancer targets but have proved much more challenging to manipulate therapeutically.

MET Inhibitors Find Their Niche in NSCLC

June 23rd 2021

Three-quarters of all cases of lung adenocarcinoma, the most common type of non–small cell lung cancer, are defined by oncogenic driver events involving receptor tyrosine kinase–orchestrated cellular signaling pathways.

CD20-Targeting Antibodies Are Shaping a New Landscape for B-Cell Cancers

June 16th 2021

Among the pioneering targets for antibody therapy was CD20, the pursuit of which ultimately led to the first FDA-approved mAb for cancer therapy, rituximab, and defined a new era in the management of B-cell malignancies.

Strategies for Targeting PI3K Proliferate

May 10th 2021

Frequently dysregulated in cancer cells, the PI3K pathway has long been a high-priority therapeutic target in oncology. However, initial efforts with pan–class I PI3K inhibitors were hampered by disappointing efficacy and substantial toxicity.

New Approaches Seek to Meet the Challenge of Graft-Vs-Host Disease

April 28th 2021

The curative potential of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for many hematologic malignancies is hindered by the frequent development of graft-vs-host disease, a potentially fatal complication resulting from a complex interaction between donor immune cells in the graft and the host’s immune system.

NK Cell–Targeting Strategies Come Into Their Own

April 16th 2021

Although anticancer therapies that leverage T cells have commanded the most attention in the immuno-oncology era of the past decade, strategies based on natural killer cells have recently emerged as attractive approaches.

A New Crop of ER-Targeting Agents Takes Root

April 2nd 2021

Although endocrine therapies have revolutionized the treatment of breast cancers driven by the estrogen receptor, the development of resistance remains a major challenge that limits long-term remission with currently available drugs.

Ki-67 Is Poised to Advance as a Biomarker in Early-Stage Breast Cancer

March 24th 2021

Although Ki-67 is a commonly used measure of cellular proliferation in breast cancer tissue, its utility as a biomarker for helping to guide therapy decisions has been clouded by technical and clinical questions.

Bad Company: Concurrent Mutations Define Unique Subsets of NSCLC

February 18th 2021

The identification of oncogenic driver mutations in non–small cell lung cancer to inform targeted therapy selection is the bedrock of clinical practice in this disease, with current estimates suggesting that more than half of patients harbor an actionable mutation.

RET Joins the Ranks of Actionable Targets in Precision Oncology

February 1st 2021

Over the past 2 decades, a growing number of targetable tumor-specific molecular alterations have been identified, ushering in the era of precision oncology. Now, alterations in the RET gene can be added to the list of druggable targets.

Novel Strategy Gains Traction Against HRAS-Mutant Cancers

January 14th 2021

Despite decades of research and drug development, however, the therapeutic utility of targeting RAS is limited to ruling out treatment with certain drugs in patients without RAS mutations.