According to a story from EurekAlert!, a new type of cancer drug that is being described as a “Trojan horse” that infiltrates cancer tumors is showing potential in several types of rare cancer. The drug, called tisotumab vedotin, is being used in patients with advanced disease whose cancer has developed resistance to other drugs and often have no other treatment options.
A New Approach For Advanced Rare Cancer
The drug has been tested on six different types of cancer. In patients with advanced cervical and bladder cancer, the tisotumab vedotin has achieved a response rate of 25 percent. In lung and ovarian cancer, the response rate has been around 15 percent. These numbers may not seem impressive at a glance, but it is important to remember that the therapy is being tested in patients whose cancer has reached an advanced stage and is no longer responding to other approaches. The duration of response was around 5.7 months on average with the max achieved duration being 9.5 months.
The treatment will soon be tested in a Phase II clinical trial against advanced cervical cancer but there are plans in the works to test tisotumab vedotin in a number of solid tumor cancers.
Side effects that have been recorded with the drug so far include nosebleeds, eye problems, nausea, and fatigue.
About Tisotumab Vedotin
Tisotumab vedotin is a two part drug that is comprised of an antibody and a substance that is toxic to cancer cells. The antibody binds to a tissue factor receptor which often is present on the tumor surface and has been associated with poor outcomes. The drug will soon be tested in a number of different cancer types, such as squamous cell carcinoma, pancreatic cancer, and bowel cancer.
Since it is clear from data so far that only a certain percentage of patients appear to be responding to the drug, a number of biopsies are being conducted in order to develop a method that can determine which patients will benefit from using tisotumab vedotin. This new drug definitely has the potential to prolong the lives of some patients whose disease is no longer responding to other therapies.
