ASCO Explores The Next Frontiers in Immuno-Oncology

By Joe O’Connell, MD, VP and Global Therapeutic Lead for Hematology/ Oncology, INC Research/inVentiv Health

It has only been short time – five years or so -- since immunotherapy first broke into the headlines following the approval of ipilimumab and later of nivolumab as monotherapy for melanoma and squamous lung cancer, respectively. Since then, as immunotherapies continue to show promise for other cancers, attempts to evaluate optimal tissue biomarkers to identify patients likely to benefit have also been an active area of research. In this relatively short time frame, the potential of immuno-oncology to reshape cancer treatment has grown and new agents – checkpoint inhibitors, oncolytic viruses, CAR T-cell therapy and new approaches to vaccines – appear almost every month.