A study published May 2 in the journal Cancer suggests how both existing and emerging immunotherapy treatments could be successful for sarcomas. Two sarcoma subtypes — leiomyosarcoma and pleomorphic — showed biological characteristics suggesting they are susceptible to an existing immunotherapy approach known as checkpoint inhibitors. This treatment works by blocking a protein that keeps immune cells from attacking cancerous cells.
Addition of the immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to standard of care for patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma of the limb significantly improved disease-free survival, according to the results of the SU2C-SARC032 clinical trial led by researchers from the University of Pittsburgh, UPMC, Duke University, and Princess Margaret Cancer Centre.
