April 15, 2021
On March 22,
the U.S. FDA approved pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in combination with chemotherapy
for patients with advanced esophageal or gastroesophageal (GEJ) carcinoma who
are not candidates for other treatments. This is the second approval for
pembrolizumab for patients with esophageal and GEJ cancers.
This April for
Esophageal Cancer
Awareness Month, we look at new research, new treatments, and
how we are working toward a future immune to esophageal cancer.
Dorothy
Esophageal Cancer Patient
When Dorothy
learned she had stage 3 esophageal cancer, her oncologist recommended a
clinical trial combining chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy. In
six months, a biopsy revealed that she was cancer-free.
Ping-Chih Ho, Ph.D.
Cancer Researcher
Solid tumors
often have microenvironments that suppress the activity of the immune system.
This CRI Lloyd J. Old STAR aims to decipher how tumor cells create an
immunosuppressive environment via metabolic crosstalk between the tumor and
neighboring cells.
Immunotherapy for Esophageal Cancer Info Update
In addition to
March’s FDA approval above, there are several other indications for which
pembrolizumab is approved for the treatment of esophageal cancer. Nivolumab
(Opdivo) is also approved for a subset of patients with esophageal squamous
cell carcinoma. As the research and treatment landscape evolves, we keep our
information up to date.
Find an Esophageal Cancer Clinical Trial
A variety of
new and promising cancer immunotherapy treatments are only available to
patients in clinical trials. Help speed the development of potentially
lifesaving drugs. Discover trials for which you or a loved one may be eligible
with the CRI Immunotherapy Clinical Trial Finder.
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