Pathologist Erica Hisson (left) and oncologist Pashtun Kashi (right) are two of the scientists involved in a new study demonstrating the effectiveness of a new immunotherapy for colorectal cancer.
Weill Cornell Medicine
When given before surgery, a combination immunotherapy developed by biotechnology company Agenus destroyed more than 80% of the tumor before it could be removed.
COral and rectal cancer is one of the most diagnosed cancers in the United States. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 150,000 new cases will be diagnosed this year and more than 52,000 Americans will die from the disease. Although it is treatable if caught early, it is much more likely to be fatal if the cancer progresses, especially if it spreads to other parts of the body.
Advances in cancer treatment in recent years have come from a class of drugs called immunotherapies, which help fight cancer by harnessing the body’s own immune system. One of the challenges in treating colorectal cancer is that immunotherapy has proven to be largely ineffective for the majority of patients.However, new reports It was published in the magazine cancer gene Thursday said a small study found that in patients treated with an experimental immunotherapy before their tumor was surgically removed, about 80% to 90% of their cancer cells were killed and their cancer was more likely to return. We found that it was suggested that the
“Within a few weeks, it was like nothing was gone,” said Pashtun Kashi, director of colon cancer research at Weill Cornell Medicine and lead author of the study. Forbes.
In the study, 12 patients with advanced colon and rectal cancer that had not yet spread to other parts of the body were treated with two immune systems discovered and under development by Massachusetts-based biotechnology company Agenus. therapy, was treated with a combination of botencilimab and balstilimab. These drugs target the various ways tumors “hide” from the immune system, allowing the body to attack these tumors. This treatment was given several weeks before surgical removal of the cancer. Only half the normal dose was given because this type of treatment can cause an inflammatory response and increase the risk of infection from surgery, Kasi said.
After surgery, study author Erica Hisson, a pathologist at Weill Cornell Medicine, examined the tumor. The paper has so far presented only two of the patient results, both of which showed similar results. It is an “inside-out” reaction in which tumor cells are invaded by disease-targeted inflammatory immune cells.
In fact, most tumors that are surgically removed and examined are “not actually containing viable tumor cells, but rather an inflammatory and tissue reaction as the tumor is being cleared by the immune system.” It consisted of a gender change,” Heesung said. forbes on mail.
She also said her findings suggest that the tumor is being “pushed” through the patient’s intestinal wall, in contrast to other types of cancer treatments that may attack the tumor from its surface rather than its tissue of origin. He pointed out that this shows that. This suggests that if the surgery is successful, the cancer is unlikely to come back.
Diagram showing the effects of combination immunotherapy.
Weill Cornell Medicine
What’s notable about these results is that, like about 85% of patients with colorectal cancer, these patients have so-called “mismatch repair-proficient” cancers, which are highly mutated cancers that typically do not respond to immunotherapy. It’s about generating tumor cells. Additionally, Kasi added, the results could reduce or even eliminate the need for postoperative chemotherapy, which would normally be given in these types of cases.
Admittedly, this paper has some limitations. First, she only reports on two of her 12 patients treated at the beginning of the study. Also, comparisons with other types of treatments in this type of patient and setting have not been shown. That said, Kasi said full results for all 12 patients should be available in the coming months, and his team is also planning future trials with more comprehensive analyses. Stated. However, he noted that these results were published because of how effective the drug appeared to be in these preliminary results. “It wasn’t just the killing, it was how we analyzed the mechanism of action of the killing,” he says.
This is not the only study to show results for this immunotherapy combination against colorectal cancer. In January, Phase 1 results Clinical trials found that for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer, this treatment nearly tripled one-year survival rates. In June, Agenus reported that the patient was alive. several months long It provides a more durable response than traditional standard treatments.
In April, the FDA Fast track designation This will help speed up the approval process in medical areas where there is significant unmet need. Large-scale clinical studies of the treatment are also underway. In August, Announced by Agenas The company announced that it is putting the remainder of its clinical pipeline on hold to pursue commercialization of the combination of botencilimab and balstilimab.
“The clinical benefits observed in solid tumors highlight the transformative potential of this program,” Agenus CEO Garo Armen said in a statement. “And our rapid progress toward our first filing in 2024 highlights the need to prioritize all aspects of our business.”