Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) successfully tested an anti-cancer drug that activates the immune system to fight tumors in two different ways: 34% of patients with resistant tumors responded to the treatment. The research was published in the journal Nature Medicine.
One of the duties of the immune system is to fight cancer cells that regularly appear in the body. However, tumors have multiple strategies to evade the immune system. In recent years, immunotherapy, which aims to eliminate these tactics and activate the immune system, has become a groundbreaking development in cancer treatment. For this, drugs that block PD-1 and LAG-3 proteins are mainly used. In the new study, researchers tested tebotelimab, a monoclonal antibody that blocks both of these molecules.
The trial, sponsored by tebotelimab developer MacroGenics, involved 269 cancer patients who had not responded to other treatments. Tumors included ovarian, breast, head and neck, cervical, and lymphoma. After treatment with the new drug, tumor size decreased in 34% of participants.
The researchers then enrolled 84 more patients with advanced HER2-positive cancer into the study. They received tebotelimab along with margetuximab, a drug approved for the treatment of HER2-positive cancer. Treatment response rates were 19%; This is impressive, considering these patients previously had a response rate of close to 0%, the authors said.
The authors noted that the new drug may be better at blocking PD-1 and LAG-3 proteins than two separate drugs. When two drugs are used, they can bind to different immune cells, causing them to block only PD-1 in some and only LAG-3 in others. Tebotelimab immediately blocks both proteins.
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