A new immunotherapy treatment could “revolutionise” cancer treatment after a trial with patients with pancreatic cancer delivered dramatic results, researchers say after reporting the results of a new trial.
Patients who received IMM-101 with chemotherapy had better survival outcomes compared to those who had chemotherapy alone, because it helps to “wakes up” the immune system, say the researchers.
Professor Angus Dalgleish, of St George’s, University of London, UK, who worked with independent UK-based biopharma Immodulon, owner of IMM-101, hailed the results of the trial as “hugely beneficial”.
“In my experience of using IMM-101 to treat cancer patients, we see that using IMM-101 ‘wakes up’ the immune system without any added toxicity,” he said.
“In my melanoma patients, in particular, patients have shown greatly increased survival rates and enjoy a much better quality of life. In some patients I’ve actually seen the cancer disappearing altogether.”
Gemcitabine, the standard chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer, can be combined with other chemotherapy drugs but it often results high toxicity and the side-effects are often debilitating.
In this trial, which was supported by the Institute for Cancer Vaccines and Immunotherapy, one group of patients received gemcitabine chemotherapy through a drip and a course of IMM-101 injections. The other group received gemcitabine chemotherapy alone.
The results, published in the British Journal of Cancer, found that some patients who received both treatments lived significantly more years than expected, while the overall median survival increased by 59% (2.6 months).
Professor Dalgleish says this is notable because metastatic pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, with median survival about 6 to 11 months following diagnosis.
He said: “I have seen first-hand that this is a hugely beneficial treatment for patients and I’d like to see it translated to every hospital in the country. I believe IMM-101 could revolutionise the way this cancer is treated globally.”
IMM-101 is a naturally occurring mycobacterium called M. Obuense, which works by harnessing the immune system to recognise, respond to and control cancer in a way that is different from conventional immunotherapy treatments.
Charles Akle, chairman of Immodulon, said: “The results from this study are remarkable and represent a significant breakthrough in the development of immunotherapy for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. The next phase of testing is imminent, after which, we hope to be able to bring IMM-101 to market for patients.”
Virginia Bates, from The Ralph Bates Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, which also supported the trial, added: “This is a significant milestone and an exciting development after so many years of dedicated research.”
Dalgleish A, Stebbing J, Adamson D et al. Randomised, open-label, phase II study of gemcitabine with and without IMM-101 for advanced pancreatic cancer. British Journal of Cancer 6 September, 2016; doi: 10.1038/bjc.2016.271 [abstract]
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