A Phase I study of a novel therapy has yielded an encouraging anti-tumor effect and extended survival for patients with late state malignant pleural mesothelioma. Patients who had received and progressed with, or were refractory to, frontline pemetrexed-based therapy were dosed with a combination of SELLAS Life Sciences’ galinpepimut-S (GPS) and the checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab. The results were an increased survival benefit despite the fact that almost all of the participants enrolled in the study had either Grade III or Grade IV disease.
Late Stage Mesothelioma Patients Receive Benefit in Test of GPS
A total of eight mesothelioma patients participated in the Phase I study of GPS. All of the enrolled patients were either refractory to or had relapsed after at least one line of the standard of care treatment with Alimta, and notably four patients had entered Stage IV and 75% of the group had entered the study as Stage III or Stage IV patients.
Despite the advanced stage of their mesothelioma, median overall survival of the patients who received the combination therapy was 45.7 weeks after the cessation of their most recent previous therapy compared to 40.9 for the patient who did not receive the combination. Median progression-free survival was 11.9 weeks with the combination compared to 11.1 weeks without. The combination treatment had a safety profile similar to that of nivolumab alone, with only mild local reactions at the injection site.
Novel Therapy Targets Protein in Mesothelioma Tumors
The mesothelioma patients who received the combination therapy were administered at least three doses of GPS, the last of which was given in combination with nivolumab. According to information provided by SELLAS, GPS is licensed from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and targets the WT1 protein.
According to Dr. Angelos Sterigou, M.D., Sc.D. h.c., President and CEO of SELLAS, “This updated data is very encouraging, as it not only confirms our data reported in June 2021, but now reflects an increased survival benefit even though almost all additionally enrolled patients had Grade III and IV malignant mesothelioma. This increase in survival appears to be consistent with long term immunity-mediated antitumor effect with this immunotherapy combination.”
Every day, researchers are working towards finding more effective treatments for malignant mesothelioma. For more information, contact the Patient Advocates at Mesothelioma.net today at 1-800-692-8608.
