Immunotherapy Trial for Mesothelioma Shows Early Promise

The immunotherapy drug avelumab showed promising results in a recent phase I clinical trial for malignant mesothelioma, raising hopes as a future second-line therapy. The clinical trial included 53 patients with pleural or peritoneal mesothelioma. It was part of the JAVELIN development program for avelumab, a series of clinical studies testing the drug on about 2,200 patients with more than 15 types of cancer. Merck and Pfizer are co-developing and marketing avelumab. Medical oncologist and mesothelioma specialist Dr. Raffit Hassan of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) presented the clinical trial results earlier this month at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago. He expressed considerable optimism about the outcome. The drug reduced tumor size in nearly 10 percent of patients. Median progression-free survival — the length of time a patient lives with the disease before it begins to worsen — was 17.1 weeks. The majority of trial participants tolerated the drug well. “These data add to the growing body of evidence for avelumab, indicating efficacy and a favorable safety profile in multiple cancers, which supports ongoing development,” said Chris Boshoff, vice president and head of early development, translational and immuno oncology at Pfizer Oncology. “We are making meaningful advances for a broad range of patients with cancer.” A Need for Second-Line Mesothelioma Treatments All patients involved in th...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: clinical trial immunotherapy immunotherapy clinical trial immunotherapy for mesothelioma mesothelioma research mesothelioma treatment raffitt hassan Source Type: news