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VIDEO: Research into immunotherapy combinations makes ‘great strides’ at ESMO
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Omid Hamid, MD, chief of translational research and immunotherapy and director of melanoma therapeutics at The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, as well as a HemOnc Today Editorial Board member, discusses four trials that evaluated the combination of immuno-oncology agents for the treatment of various solid tumors at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress.
First, Hamid offered background on the combination use of MEDI0680 (AMP-514, AstraZeneca) plus durvalumab (MEDI4736, AstraZeneca) in multiple solid tumors — which conferred an 18% overall response rate in heavily pretreated tumors. The combination also appeared tolerable.
A randomized phase 2 trial — designed to evaluate the addition of talimogene laherparepvec (Imlygic, Amgen) to ipilimumab (Yervoy, Bristol-Myers Squibb) in patients with unresectable melanoma — demonstrated an almost doubled response rate with the combination, with a low toxicity rate, Hamid said.
In addition, a phase 1a trial of vemurafenib (Zelboraf, Genentech) and cobimetinib (Cotellic, Genentech) with otelixizumab (TRX4, Roche/Genentech) — showed almost a 100% clinical benefit with promising tolerability for patients with BRAF–mutated melanoma.
Lastly, Hamid discussed a phase 1 trial — which included patients with metastatic melanoma, non–small cell lung cancer, transitional cell carcinoma, endometrial adenocarcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma — that combined epacadostat (INCB024360, InCyte) plus pembrolizumab (Keytruda, Merck). Among the melanoma cohort, patients demonstrated a 74% disease control rate and a 58% ORR.
“Leaving ESMO, I look back and see great strides in understanding the benefits of combination therapy, in taking the responses and the benefits seen and transitioning them into phase 3 trials that will give us an answer,” Hamid added. “What we have yet to see is the preclinical data and the predictive markers, and most of these trials had biopsies on therapy or on therapy and at progression. So, I eagerly await that data to be presented and look forward to ESMO 2017 in Madrid.”