Dr. Wagner on the Rationale for Immunotherapy in Angiosarcoma

Michael Wagner, MD, an assistant professor in the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discusses the rationale for using immunotherapy in the treatment of patients with angiosarcoma.

A subset of patients with angiosarcomas have a higher tumor mutational burden, according to Wagner. These patients have mutations similar to those observed in melanomas, in which ultraviolet light damage has led to changes in the DNA of the disease that result in responsiveness to immunotherapy agents, Wagner says. This pattern was observed in certain subsets of patients with angiosarcoma, especially those with tumors of the skin that originated on the scalp or face, as well as those who have radiation-associated angiosarcomas, albeit to a lesser extent, Wagner explains.

Due to data indicating that this patient population may respond to immunotherapy, patients with angiosarcomas have been treated with different immunotherapeutic agents, Wagner notes. The biggest study to read out looked at 7 patients who were treated with immunotherapy and several of them responded to treatment, Wagner concludes.