Doing Better on Behalf of Bladder Cancer Patients

On Monday, April 18^th, Dr. Scott Tagawa presented promising bladder cancer clinical trial results at the 2016 AACR Annual Meeting.

This phase II study of the antibody-drug conjugate (IMMU-132), demonstrated positive results in a group of adults with metastatic urothelial cancer who did not respond to standard chemotherapies or relapsed after receiving several rounds of the standard chemotherapy treatment regimens.

A form of immunotherapy, antibody drug conjugates are a targeted therapy that leverages the capability of monoclonal antibodies to attach to specific targets on cancer cells. By attaching a drug to the monoclonal antibodies, treatments are able to “hitch a ride” into the cancer cells.

“In this study, eighty-four percent of patients were alive at the nearly one-year mark, compared with an average overall survival of 4-9 months in similar patients who received chemotherapy regimens,” says Dr. Tagawa.

Some side effects were reported, including neutropenia, a low count of a type of white blood cells (neutrophils) in the blood and some diarrhea, but less than would be expected with the free form of the parent drug irinotecan. Irinotecan is a chemotherapy drug mostly used for the treatment of colon cancer. In the body, it is metabolized and breaks down into SN38, which is a more potent molecule. Because of its potency, it would be too toxic to deliver SN38 into the body in general.

IMMU-132 is a drug in which SN38 is linked to an antibody which recognizes Trop2. Trop2 is a protein in the surface of several different types of cells and is over-expressed on many common cancer types, including urothelial cancer. Since the drug shuttles SN38 preferentially into tumors, patients benefit from the potent drug without as many side effects as general chemotherapy.

This drug is also known as Sacituzumab Govitecan, and has already received FDA-breakthrough designation for the treatment of patients with triple negative breast cancer.

The Weill Cornell Medicine clinical trial continues to enroll patients with advanced urothelial cancers (tumors arising from the bladder, renal pelvis, and ureters). For more information about eligibility and enrollment, click here.