April 17–22, 2026 · San Diego · 2418 items
← MRD / ctDNA / DTP: from detection to treatment decisions
51 people · 51 posts · 4 abstracts
Heat now 4·Peak in the comparable set 4 (Oct 23 03:00)·Change over 24h in the comparable set –·Participants now 5
Participants counted above, heat below. The trend compares only the participants observed in full throughout, so its set can be smaller than the heat figure itself. Move the pointer or click the chart for an hour's reading; the left and right arrow keys work too.
Nivolumab, pembrolizumab and durvalumab sit in this direction not as new drugs, but because perioperative IO trials wrote ctDNA into the stratification.
Timothy A. Yap, Andrae Vandross, Jenny Amaya-Amaya, Chris N. Barnes, Shuguang Ma, Martin Decaris, Keithryn Nicolas, Alexander Spira, Jacqueline Brown, Patricia LoRusso, Manish R. Sharma
Read the abstract →Karen L. Reckamp, Mary W. Redman, Konstantin H. Dragnev, Maya Khalil, Brian S. Henick, James Moon, Pasarlai Ahmadzai, Michael LeBlanc, Daniel R. Carrizosa, Paul J. Hesketh, Ellen V. Sigal, Jeff Allen, Andreas N. Saltos, Bryan A. Faller, Roy S. Herbst, Charles D. Blanke, Jhanelle E. Gray
Read the abstract →Salah-Eddine Bentebibel, Daniel J McGrail, Veena Kochat, Emre Arslan, Reham Abdel-Wahab, Sung-Nam Cho, Xiaodong Yang, Daniel H Johnson, Rodabe N Amaria, Isabella C Glitza, Patrick Hwu, Hussein A Tawbi, Jared K Burks, Michael A Davies, Kunal Rai, Suhendan Ekmekcioglu, Adi Diab
Read the abstract →Barbara Burtness, Ravindra Uppaluri, Michael J. Dennis, Annette M. Lim, Richard A. Scolyer, Erin Alesi, Ayako Wakatsuki Pedersen, Amy Wesa, Ravi K. Adapala, Ulla Kring Hansen, Marcos Iglesias, Bushi Wang, Cecilie Abildgaard, Qasim Ahmad, Francois Ringeisen, Georgina V. Long, Robert I. Haddad
Read the abstract →China's NMPA has approved Merck's pembrolizumab injection for subcutaneous use (MK-3475A), making it the first subcutaneous PD-1 monoclonal antibody approved in the country. The formulation combines pembrolizumab with berahyaluronidase alfa (ALT-B4), a recombinant human hyaluronidase variant developed and manufactured by South Korea's Alteogen. The approval appeared on the NMPA website on September 28.
AXL and PD1 inhibition with bemcentinib plus pembrolizumab met its primary endpoint in the phase IIA MIST3 trial in ICB naïve-relapsed mesothelioma, with a 12-week disease control rate of 46.2% (90% CI 29.2-63.8%); grade 3 or greater adverse events occurred in 53.9% of patients. Multiomic analyses linked response to NF2 loss, immune response signalling, epithelial mesenchymal transition, and neutrophil-related transcriptional programmes including SPI1, ETS2 and FLI1 activation. Gut microbiota composition differed between responders and non-responders and correlated with neutrophil-associated transcription programmes, IRF3 and TLR2.
Why it matters: Phase IIA evidence that neutrophil and gut microbiota features track response to AXL-PD1 inhibition in mesothelioma.
Ivonescimab (AK112) significantly improved overall survival versus pembrolizumab monotherapy in the phase 3 HARMONi-2 trial, raising median OS to 30.75 months from 22.57 months and reducing the risk of death by 27% in first-line advanced wild-type NSCLC with TPS at least 1%. The OS result, presented at WCLC, follows the previously reported PFS benefit, with median PFS of 11.1 months versus 5.8 months (HR=0.51). AK112 is the first domestic Chinese innovative drug to beat pembrolizumab head-to-head in a phase 3 lung cancer trial.
Why it matters: First OS win over pembrolizumab in a phase 3 lung cancer trial for a Chinese-developed drug.
In a randomized, double-blind, active-controlled phase III trial in high-risk melanoma, Moderna's personalized neoantigen vaccine mRNA-4157 combined with pembrolizumab significantly improved both recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival over pembrolizumab alone. The article calls it the first personalized neoantigen cancer vaccine to succeed in a large randomized phase III trial. Tumor sequencing selects up to 34 patient-specific neoantigens; the mRNA vaccine is delivered by LNP into dendritic cells, activating endogenous T cells and inducing epitope spreading.
Why it matters: The article links the phase III randomized results to the vaccine's technical route of up to 34 neoantigens, LNP delivery, and epitope spreading.
Merck and Moderna jointly announced that the Phase III INTerpath-001 trial of intismeran autogene (V940/mRNA-4157) combined with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) as adjuvant therapy for completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma met both its primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and key secondary endpoint of distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). The companies plan to present detailed data at an upcoming international medical conference.
Why it matters: INTerpath-001 met both RFS and DMFS in adjuvant melanoma, informing head-to-head comparison of individualized neoantigen mRNA therapy with PD-1 monotherapy adjuvant.
Merck and Moderna's individualized mRNA neoantigen therapy intismeran autogene, combined with KEYTRUDA as adjuvant therapy for patients with fully resected stage IIB-IV melanoma, met the primary endpoint of recurrence-free survival (RFS) and the key secondary endpoint of distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) in a Phase III trial.
Why it matters: The source reports adjuvant RFS and DMFS results that can serve as a benchmark for mRNA neoantigen therapy in solid-tumor adjuvant settings.
Moderna and Merck jointly announced that the Phase III INTerpath-001 trial of the personalized mRNA neoantigen therapy intismeran (V940/mRNA-4157) combined with pembrolizumab as adjuvant therapy for melanoma met positive topline results. Each intismeran course encodes up to 34 neoantigens, tailored to each patient's tumor mutation profile; Moderna shares surged 177% on the news.
Why it matters: Reports the positive INTerpath-001 topline readout and Moderna's 177% share surge as a market reference for personalized mRNA neoantigen therapy in melanoma adjuvant treatment.
An interim analysis of the Phase III INTerpath-001 trial, run by Moderna and Merck, met its primary endpoint. Adjuvant treatment with intismeran autogene plus Keytruda improved recurrence-free survival (RFS) in patients with completely resected stage IIB-IV melanoma and met the key secondary endpoint of distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). The results provide key Phase III evidence for personalized neoantigen vaccines in melanoma adjuvant therapy.
Why it matters: The positive Phase III data validate personalized neoantigen vaccines in melanoma adjuvant therapy and inform extending the mRNA platform to oncology.
AstraZeneca announced it will terminate the late-stage eVOLVE-Lung02 trial, which evaluated volrustomig plus chemotherapy versus pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer with PD-L1 expression below 50%. The safety profile was consistent with the known profiles of each agent alone, with no new safety signals identified. The company did not specify the reason for termination.
Why it matters: The head-to-head failure against first-line pembrolizumab rules out volrustomig replacing or adding to standard therapy in this population.
AstraZeneca has discontinued the Phase III eVOLVE-Lung02 trial of the PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody volrustomig, following a recommendation from an independent data monitoring committee after a planned review of trial data. The randomized, open-label, multicenter global Phase III trial enrolled 895 patients with metastatic NSCLC and PD-L1 expression below 50% across 25 countries, randomized 1:1 to volrustomig plus chemotherapy or pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy.
Why it matters: The brief gives trial design, enrollment size and randomization; the bispecific's failure here can be compared with readouts from similar bispecifics.
On August 17, 2026, AstraZeneca announced termination of the phase 3 eVOLVE-Lung02 study. The trial evaluated the PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecific antibody volrustomig (MEDI572) plus chemotherapy versus pembrolizumab as first-line lung cancer treatment, and was stopped early because the PFS and OS primary endpoints were not expected to be met.
Why it matters: Head-to-head miss for volrustomig versus pembrolizumab gives a direct negative control for PD-1/CTLA-4 bispecifics in first-line lung cancer.
AbbVie has registered a Phase III trial (NCT07756645) on ClinicalTrials.gov comparing ABBV-1480 plus chemotherapy against pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy as first-line treatment in 940 patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. ABBV-1480 (RC148) is a PD-1/VEGF bispecific antibody from RemeGen that AbbVie licensed in January for ex-Greater China rights with $650 million upfront and a $5.5 billion total deal value. The trial is expected to start in September 2026 and finish in December 2029, with PFS and OS as primary endpoints.
Why it matters: Head-to-head Phase III data against pembrolizumab will test a $5.5 billion licensing bet.
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