Dr. Andrew Pecora to Present Groundbreaking Immunotherapy Research at 2019 Connective Tissue Oncology Society Annual Meeting in Japan

Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center today announced that Andrew L. Pecora, M.D., FACP, CPE, a nationally recognized hematologist/oncologist, will be presenting two abstracts at the prestigious Connective Tissue Oncology Society (CTOS) 2019 Annual Meeting at the Hilton Tokyo Hotel in Tokyo, Japan from November 13-16.

“It is an honor to present our cutting-edge work to the world’s leading sarcoma specialists,” said Andrew L. Pecora, MD, FACP, CPE, chief executive officer, Outcomes Matter Innovations, co-chief of the John Theurer Cancer Center Skin and Sarcoma Division, professor of Medicine and Oncology at Georgetown University, associate dean of Technology and Innovation at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University. “We believe our findings, if confirmed in large trials, could lead to a transformation in clinical practice. The John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center is among the first to demonstrate that immunotherapy can result in durable remissions and potentially prolong life for patients with sarcoma who are resistant to all standard therapy.”

Two abstracts were accepted for presentation at the annual meeting. The first abstract, “Rapid and durable responses to combination anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 therapy among patients with chemotherapy/tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistant soft tissue and bone sarcomas,” details the John Theurer Cancer Center’s experience in treating refractory soft tissue and bone sarcoma with immunotherapy. During the course of their work, the John Theurer Cancer Center team saw major responses, including complete remissions. Specifically, the combination anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 therapy led to meaningful and durable responses in one-third of patients. A median overall survival of 12 months was achieved for the entire cohort. Among the nine patients who achieved stable disease or better on Immuno-oncology agents, eight remain without progression with a median follow-up exceeding 19.5 months. These encouraging results warrant further studies on patients with refractory sarcoma, potentially to receive regulatory approval.

In the second abstract, “Rapid and complete remissions of chemotherapy/tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistant relapsed spontaneous and radiation induced angiosarcoma following treatment with combined anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 therapy,” team members saw a complete response in patients with refractory disease. Two patients who had previously failed conventional therapies both achieved complete clinical remissions within three cycles of combination Anti-CTLA-4 (Ipilimumab) 1mg/kg and Anti-PD-1 (Nivolumab) 240mg with no serious adverse immunologic events experienced to date.

Authors of both abstracts include: Dr. Andrew Pecora, Melinda Weber, DNP, RN, APN, AOCN, C.; Danielle Blair, RN, BSN, OCN; Eileen Beysel, RN, MSN, APN; Themba Nyirenda, Ph.D.; Elli Gourna Paleoudis MS, Ph.D. with the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack Meridian Health.

CTOS is a non-profit professional medical organization whose members are a multidisciplinary group of specialized physicians, medical professionals, and scientists from around the world to connect, collaborate, and share their knowledge, experiences, and research for the advancement of treatment of sarcomas. For more information about the 2019 CTOS Annual Meeting, visit: https://www.ctos.org/Meeting/2019AnnualMeeting.aspx.

Dr. Andrew Pecora presented two abstracts at CTOS. On the left: “Rapid and durable responses to combination anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 therapy among patients with chemotherapy/tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistant soft tissue and bone sarcomas”. On the right: “Rapid and complete remissions of chemotherapy/tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistant relapsed spontaneous and radiation induced angiosarcoma following treatment with combined anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 therapy”.