Andrew D. Smith

Tumor-treating field therapy, which uses low-intensity electrical fields to disrupt cancer cell division and promote cell death, has gained a frontline approval in glioblastoma. Several pivotal clinical trials have been launched to determine whether the technology can help patients with other solid tumors.

Axitinib was a promising newcomer in the renal cell carcinoma field when it was introduced as a second-line therapy 5 years ago. Now it is being displaced by newer therapies, a development that may serve as a harbinger for the evolution of treatment patterns in other tumor types with a bounty of novel agents.

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies have already produced clinical trial results that, even by the lofty standards set by emerging immunotherapies, have been stunning.