Clinical Roundup

Clinical Roundup

Nivolumab + epigenetic drug induce immune response in some resistant pancreatic cancers

In a phase II clinical trial, a research team led by Nilofer Azad, professor of oncology and co-leader of the Kimmel Cancer Center’s Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics Program, and Marina Baretti, the Jiasheng Chair in Hepato-Biliary Cancer at the Kimmel Cancer Center, tested the safety and efficacy of the combination of two drugs: an immunotherapy, nivolumab, and an epigenetic drug, entinostat—a histone deacetylase inhibitor. 
Clinical Roundup

Model created by Cedars-Sinai investigators could speed patient selection for clinical trials

A group of investigators led by Cedars-Sinai have developed and successfully tested a new artificial intelligence method to make launching cancer clinical trials easier and faster. The method uses patients’ pathology reports to automate the classification of patients by the severity of their cancers, potentially shortening the process of selecting candidates for clinical trials.