Dr. Maki on the Potential Utility of Immunotherapy in Sarcoma

Robert G. Maki, MD, PhD, FACP, FASCO, clinical director, Sarcoma Program, Abramson Cancer Center, Penn Medicine, discusses the potential utility of immunotherapy in sarcoma.

Immunotherapy, namely checkpoint inhibitors, are a novel and potentially effective therapy in the sarcoma space, Maki says.

A number of sarcoma subtypes, including undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma and angiosarcoma, appear to respond to checkpoint inhibitors, says Maki.

However, checkpoint inhibitors do not appear to induce significant responses in more common subtypes, such as leiomyosarcoma and liposarcoma. Ultimately, additional research is needed to identify the optimal role of immunotherapy in sarcoma, Maki concludes.