Mesothelioma Clinical Trial Combines Immunotherapy Drugs

Dr. Tawee Tanvetyanon at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa rarely sounds this enthused about the future prospects for patients with pleural mesothelioma. Finally, he has something promising to offer. Tanvetyanon is the principal investigator of a much-anticipated phase II clinical trial involving an immunotherapy drug combination with considerable potential for extending survival. “This is exciting. We now can offer something with realistic hope,” he told Asbestos.com. “We haven’t had anything like this for mesothelioma in a long time. I really look forward to speaking with these patients now.” Moffitt recently became the first multidisciplinary specialty center to begin enrolling mesothelioma patients in a trial that will evaluate the efficacy of combining CRS-207 with pembrolizumab — two immunotherapy drugs that already showed effectiveness individually — in a second-line setting. “Of course, the hope is that we see significant tumor shrinkage. We already know, we have data, that each of these agents will work in a number of patients,” Tanvetyanon said. “There is good reason to think that combining the two will work even better, a one-plus-one-equals-three synergy.” Drug Companies Working Together Two competing pharmaceutical companies have worked together to make this latest, anti-cancer combination a reality for mesothelioma patients. Aduro Biotech, based in Berkeley, California, produces CRS-207, which uses the genetically engineered Listeria virus...
Source: Asbestos and Mesothelioma News - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Abramson Cancer Center Aduro Biotech CRS-207 Dr. Tawee Tanvetyanon FDA approval Keytruda improving mesothelioma prognosis Merck mesothelioma chemotherapy mesothelioma clinical trials mesothelioma immunotherapy moffitt cancer center m Source Type: news