Combined immunotherapy is successful in carcinoma caused by papillomavirus 16

27 Setembro 2018

• Cancer
• Immunotherapy

Researchers at the MD Anderson Cancer Center have published the results of a Phase II trial in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Oncology, showing that combined treatment with nivolumabe and ISA101 (a papillomavirus 16 vaccine) has effect in patients with advanced disease.

Papillomavirus-dependent carcinoma in advanced stage has no established treatment. Trials with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumabe did not show significant efficacy in these patients. The papillomavirus 16 vaccine, ISA101, has been shown to induce a strong immune response in patients, but has no effect on advanced disease.

Researchers treated 24 patients, 22 with advanced oropharyngeal carcinoma, with nivolumabe EV 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks for 1 year and ISA101 100 micrograms SC on days 1, 22 and 50.

The evaluation showed a response in 33% of patients, median duration of response of 10.3 months and median survival of 17.5 months. Only 2 patients had grade 3-4 toxicity.

The authors concluded that treatment of advanced carcinoma with combined immunotherapy (PD-1 inhibitor and papillomavirus vaccine 16) may be successful and larger trials should be planned to test this association.

This post does not represent a suggestion for treatment. Only a specialist can judiciously decide what information disclosed can modify a treatment scheme in any way, and in what form.

The study can be read here.