An experimental therapy based on immune-system antibodies is helping
some people with advanced stomach cancer live longer, a new study finds.
The phase 2 clinical trial, involving 161 patients, focused on an antibody called IMAB362.
The median survival of people using the treatment plus standard
chemotherapy was more than 13 months, compared with 8.4 months for those
who received chemotherapy alone, the researchers reported. One specialist in gastric (stomach) cancer care believes therapeutic advances are sorely needed.
“Metastatic gastric cancer carries a poor prognosis and the treatment
effectiveness of current chemotherapeutic agents leave a lot to be
desired,” said Dr. David Bernstein, chief of hepatology at Northwell
Health in Manhasset, N.Y.
The IMAB362 antibody employed in this new treatment targets a protein on
cancer cells called claudin 18.2. German researchers found that study
patients who had the highest levels of this protein in tumors prior to
receiving the new treatment had an even longer median overall survival,
at almost 17 months. IMAB362 is the first antibody to target claudin 18.2, which is also
found in a number of other cancers, including pancreatic, lung,
esophageal and ovarian tumors. Because of this, the same research team
said it plans a phase 2 study of IMAB362 in patients with pancreatic
cancers.
According to the researchers, a larger, phase 3 study in stomach cancer patients is scheduled to begin in early 2017.
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