.
Evan J. Lipson, MD, associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and Bloomberg ~ Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, was co-author of the study and presented the initial findings at American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2021 ) annual meeting.
“FDA approval of this novel combination therapy is an exciting development for all of us in the melanoma community.“Dr Lipson said.
“Our collaborative study with scientists and physicians worldwide demonstrated that targeting LAG-3 effectively activates the immune system against cancer and established the LAG-3 pathway. As the third immunoassay pathway in history, after CTLA-4 and PD-1, blockade is clinically beneficial.. “
Checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy works by blocking specific proteins on the surface of cells that help cancer evade the body’s immune system. Blocking these checkpoints helps the immune system fight and eliminate the cancer.
In the RELATIVITY-047 trial, 714 patients with advanced, previously untreated melanoma were randomized to receive relatlimab plus nivolumab, or nivolumab alone.
Median progression-free survival – the time in which the cancer did not get worse – was 10.2 months in patients receiving the combination, significantly longer than 4.6 months in those receiving the combination. nivolumab-only users.
At one year, progression-free survival was 48% for patients receiving combination therapy and 37% for patients receiving nivolumab alone.
Nivolumab works on a protein called PD-1 and is approved by the FDA to treat melanoma and certain other types of cancer. Relatlimab blocks the signaling of an inhibitory protein called LAG-3 that is displayed on immune system T cells, enhancing their anti-tumor activity.
The anti-tumor effect of LAG-3 blockade was initially co-discovered by scientists at the Bloomberg ~ Kimmel Institute.
Preclinical studies of combination therapy in mice began at Johns Hopkins in 2010, with funding from the Melanoma Research Alliance for Johns Hopkins investigators Suzanne L. Topalian, MD , professor of surgery and oncology at Johns Hopkins, and Drew M. Pardoll, MD. , PhD, Director of the Bloomberg Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy ~ Kimmel and co-director of the Cancer Immunology Program at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
Source: Medindia
