Researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) have announced a new clinical trial that aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a promising new mesothelioma treatment.
The study titled “An Efficacy and Safety Study of Avelumab Plus SBRT in Malignant Mesothelioma (MPM),” will evaluate whether the combination of avelumab and Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) is safe and what effect avelumab has on mesothelioma when given in combination with SBRT.
Avelumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody originally used for the treatment of non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), in combination with INLYTA (axitinib) in advanced renal cell carcinoma, was granted breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA in December 2017. This is the second breakthrough therapy designation for avelumab in hard-to-treat-cancer.
In addition to testing the combination of avelumab (trade name Bavencio) and SBRT in mesothelioma, MSK researchers say the goal of the protocol is to study the effect of radiation therapy on the immune system. “It is thought that radiation treatment may create a form of 'vaccine' against cancer inside the body and immunotherapy may improve this effect. The combination of radiation treatment and immunotherapy may be more effective against cancer than either radiation or immunotherapy alone.”
Treatment will consist of one dose of avelumab every other week along with a short course of SBRT after the first two doses of avelumab. The single-arm, two-stage study will be conducted at MSK’s main campus in New York and at regional sites, with an estimated completion date of December 2020.
If you would like to learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact principal investigator Andreas Rimmer, MD, at 212-639-6025, rimnera@mskcc.org or Marjorie Zauderer, MD at 646-888-4656.
If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, talk to your doctor about clinical trials for promising treatments such as Avelumab Plus SBRT. Investigative treatments such as this have the potential to improve the quality of a patient’s life or even save it. Talk to your doctor about clinical trials today.
Sources
Alley, Evan W., Sharyn I. Katz, Keith A. Cengel, and Charles B. Simone. "Immunotherapy and Radiation Therapy for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma." Translational Lung Cancer Research. AME Publishing Company, Apr. 2017. Web. 03 Apr. 2018.
"A Study of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy and Avelumab." MSKCC.org. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Jan. 2018. Web. 03 Apr. 2018.
Beatty, Sally. "FDA Grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Avelumab in Combination with INLYTA® in Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma." Pfizer.com. Pfizer Inc., 21 Dec. 2017. Web. 03 Apr. 2018.
Rimner, Andrea. "Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy and Avelumab Immunotherapy for Treatment of Malignant Mesothelioma." ClinicalTrials.gov. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 29 Jan. 2018. Web. 03 Apr. 2018.
