Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death world-wide. This is in part due patients presenting late with disseminated disease and despite recent advances, a limited therapeutic landscape... Despite these advances there remains a significant unmet clinical need with much research needed to elucidate the optimal treatment paradigm to improve response rates, mortality and quality of life for patients with advanced NSCLC. READ ARTICLE

Encyclopedia of Respiratory Medicine (Second Edition) DOI:10.1016/B978-0-08-102723-3.00265-1

Authors: Alice Davies, Martin Forster

$Complete Response of Primary Refractory ALK-Positive Large B-Cell Lymphoma Treated With Single-Agent Nivolumab$

Complete Response of Primary Refractory ALK-Positive Large B-Cell Lymphoma Treated With Single-Agent Nivolumab

... Here we report a case of relapsed/refractory (R/R) ALK-positive LBCL with a prolonged complete response to single-agent nivolumab... Case Report: Here we report a case of relapsed/refractory (R/R) ALK-positive LBCL with a prolonged complete response to single-agent nivolumab... Conclusion: This is to our knowledge the first report of a complete response in a patient with primary refractory ALK-positive LBCL after treatment with nivolumab. Although recent reports showing low single-agent activity of checkpoint inhibitors in R/R DLBCL have been disappointing, patients with disease exhibiting exceptional response to immunotherapy are still seen and need to be further characterized. New cellular therapies may prove to be effective in these uncommon and aggressive lymphomas... READ ARTICLE

Clinical Lymphoma Myeloma and Leukemia DOI:10.1016/j.clml.2019.08.015

Authors: Jose D. Sandoval-Sus, Amanda Brahim, Alina Khan, Yehuda Deutsch, Barbara Raphael, Ali Ansari-Lari, Hugo F. Fernandez, Luis E. Raez

Case StudyKirk SmithMarch 1, 2020ALK-Positive, Large B-Cell Lymphoma, Nivolumab

Ceritinib plus Nivolumab in Patients with Advanced ALK-Rearranged Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results of an Open-Label, Multicenter, Phase 1B Study

Induction of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression due to constitutive oncogenic signaling has been reported in NSCLC models harboring echinoderm microtubule associated protein like 4 gene (EML4)–ALK receptor tyrosine kinase gene (ALK) rearrangements. We assessed the safety and activity of ceritinib plus nivolumab in these patients.In this open-label, phase 1B, multicenter, dose escalation and expansion study, previously treated (with ALK receptor tyrosine kinase [ALK] inhibitor [ALKI]/chemotherapy) or treatment-naive patients with stage IIIB or IV ALK-rearranged NSCLC received nivolumab, 3 mg/kg intravenously every 2 weeks, plus ceritinib, 450 mg/300 mg daily, with a low-fat meal. Ceritinib plus nivolumab has activity; ORR appears to correlate with PD-L1 at baseline. Toxicity, especially rash, is more common than with either single agent. READ ARTICLE

Journal of Thoracic Oncology DOI:10.1016/j.jtho.2019.10.006

Authors: Enriqueta Felip, Filippo G. de Braud, Michela Maur, Herbert H. Loong, Alice Tsang Shaw, Johan F. Vansteenkiste, Thomas John, PGeoffrey Liu, Martijn P. Lolkema, Giovanni Selvaggi, Vanessa Giannone, Pilar Cazorla, Jason Baum, O. Alejandro Balbin, Luojun (Victor) Wang, Yvonne Y. Lau, Jeffrey W. Scott, Daniel Shao-Weng Tan