2017: 4 Developments That Revolutionized Cancer Treatment

In 2017, we witnessed the rise of genetics- and immune system-based drugs (immunotherapies) in cancer treatment. FDA approved 45 new drugs for use in cancer treatment this year alone. In particular, drugs matched to the genetic characteristics of cancer and personalized CAR-T cell therapies began to be used in clinical practice. Let us look at these developments together:

1) 23 May 2017: For the first time in history, the FDA approved a cancer drug based on the tumor’s genetic characteristics, independently of its organ of origin. Immunotherapy with the drug pembrolizumab (brand name Keytruda) was approved according to the tumor’s microsatellite instability (level of genomic instability), regardless of the organ from which it originated. This immunotherapy drug, to be used in tumors with high microsatellite instability (MSI), enables the immune system to recognize cancer cells as enemies. Microsatellite instability and DNA repair defects can occur at varying rates in colorectal (large bowel), breast, gastrointestinal and prostate cancers.

• For the first time, a drug received FDA approval based on a tumor biomarker

2) 30 August 2017: The first CAR-T cell therapy, called Kymriah, was approved by the FDA. This CAR-T cell therapy will be used in patients aged 25 and younger with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In brief, CAR-T treatment involves collecting the patient’s fighter T cells, modifying them using genetic techniques to find cancer cells, and returning them to the patient.

• Major advance in cancer: living drug CAR T cell therapy received FDA approval!

3) 18 October 2017: The FDA approved Yescarta , the second CAR-T cell therapy, for treating adult patients with large B-cell lymphoma . Yescarta and Kymriah made history as the first living drugs in cancer. 4) 30 November 2017: Again for the first time in history, the FDA approved Foundation One CDx, a genetic test designed using modern genetic technology, for use in cancer diagnosis and treatment planning. Foundation One CDx can detect, in 324 cancer-related genes, mutations . These mutations are frequently seen in lung, colon, breast, ovarian and skin cancers. This FDA approval marked an important turning point in precision medicine.

• Is it not time for more precise medicine? Cancer and precision medicine