In this podcast, over a series of four parts, the authors provide an overview of the CheckMate 9DW study (NCT04039607) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and their opinions on how it impacts the treatment landscape for first-line unresectable HCC. The first two parts provide an overview of the primary safety and efficacy data from CheckMate 9DW as well as key sub-group analyses and additional findings. The third part focuses on the early crossing phenomenon of the overall survival Kaplan-Meier (KM) curves and discussion of potential contributors. The fourth part discusses the management of adverse events, the timing of immune‑mediated adverse events, and the impact of discontinuation and steroid use on efficacy. Across all parts, implications for clinical practice will be discussed, including topics such as patient selection, sequencing of therapies, immune-mediated toxicities, monitoring recommendations, and real-world considerations.

In this patient perspective, Laurie Adami describes her experience with follicular lymphoma (FL), from diagnosis to cure. After diagnosis in 2006, Laurie underwent continuous treatments with 6 therapies over 12 years, all resulting in disease relapse and progression. Some treatments left her with lifelong side effects. In 2018, with extensive tumor burden and nearing kidney failure, Laurie enrolled in the ZUMA-5 clinical trial (NCT03105336) and received her seventh and final treatment, a chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy called axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel). Just 30 days after her axi-cel infusion, imaging revealed her cancer had vanished, and she remains cancer-free to this day, about 8 years later. Laurie did experience severe side effects to treatment. This is attributable, in part, because she received CAR T-cell therapy in its earlier days before protocols were developed to treat and also mitigate common side effects. However, all her side effects from CAR T-cell therapy resolved, and her quality of life returned to her pre-infusion state within 3-4 months. By sharing her experience, Laurie aims to raise awareness for this life-saving and likely curative treatment across multiple audiences that may be impacted by FL, including patients, clinicians, families/caregivers, and advocates.

Emerging evidence suggests that combinations of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) may be effective for advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC). These findings support the translation of this strategy into the neoadjuvant setting, offering a novel approach for patients with locally advanced or regionally metastatic disease who have limited treatment options. This single-center, prospective, single-arm, phase II trial evaluates the efficacy and safety of neoadjuvant Becotatug Vedotin plus Pucotenlimab in EGFR-expressing PSCC patients with challenging penile preservation or regional lymph node metastasis. Utilizing a Simon's two-stage design, the primary endpoint is the investigator-assessed R0 resection rate. Secondary endpoints include the downstaging rate, objective response rate (ORR), pathological complete response (pCR) rate, major pathological response (MPR) rate, tumor regression grade (TRG), event-free survival (EFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and organ‑sparing rate. The study plans to enroll 60 patients with EGFR-expressing PSCC. Clinical trial registration: www.clinicaltrials.gov identifier is NCT07518979.