This Week in Oncology: Immunotherapy Efficacy and Supportive Care Strategies

Recent research highlights varying outcomes in immunotherapy applications for different malignancies. In PeerJ, a meta-analysis suggested that PD-1 inhibitors combined with chemotherapy offer superior survival outcomes compared to PD-L1 inhibitors plus chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer ^[1].

Regarding treatments for large B-cell lymphoma, another meta-analysis published in PeerJ reported that axicabtagene ciloleucel showed higher early response rates than tisagenlecleucel, though it was associated with greater risks of CRS and ICANS ^[2].

Supportive care measures also saw attention this week. In the journal Supportive care in cancer: official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer, a network meta-analysis involving 10,455 adults receiving chemotherapy found that olanzapine-containing regimens consistently improved complete response, complete control, no nausea, and no vomiting outcomes ^[3].

The study noted that a 5 mg dose of olanzapine showed no significant difference from a 10 mg dose in improving these results ^[3].

Elsewhere this week, research focused on lifestyle factors and viral management. A meta-analysis published in Cancer causes & control: CCC involving over 50,144 men with prostate cancer found that higher levels of post-diagnosis physical activity—specifically 7.5 MET-hr/week—were associated with lower all-cause and cancer-specific mortality ^[4].

Additionally, a meta-analysis in Gut and liver reported that direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) achieved an 89% sustained virologic response rate in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and Hepatitis C virus infection, while also significantly reducing recurrence risks compared to non-DAA treatment ^[5].