TCR2 Therapeutics announced on July 26 the first positive results for a new T-cell therapy to treat cancer patients, according to the press release on July 26th.
The first five patients treated in phase I of the clinical trial showed mesothelin-expressing tumor regression within six months of treatment. All patients received the same dose of TC-210 TRuC-T cell products. Four patients received lymphodepletion as well and one received TC-210 T cell products without lymphodepletion. Lymphodepletion is when lymphocytes (the cells that fight bacterial and viral infections) are destroyed. Only one patient experienced toxicity as a result of t-cell therapy.
The median reduction range for the sum of the diameters of target lesions was 42 percent.
Garry Menzel, President and Chief Executive Officer of TCR2 Therapeutics expressed gratitude for the results but mentioned that this is just the start of getting T-cell therapy approved for cancer patients.
“We are delighted that our very first dose of TC-210 induced consistent tumor regression and clinical benefit in heavily pre-treated cancer patients,” Menzel said. “There are very few options for patients with solid tumors and those expressing mesothelin represent a significant frontier of unmet medical need. While these are early data requiring further study, we are encouraged by the potential of our TRuC-T cells as we continue to enroll and treat patients with the goal of quickly finding a recommended Phase 2 dose for TC-210.”
Phase I of most clinical trials is mainly to assess the safety and efficacy of treatment before increasing dosage in patients. Phase two will use the dosage data from one and test the efficacy in tumor control and regression in about 50 patients, according to TCR2. Phase three is the stage where a treatment seeks approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Patients in phase two will have a current diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer, malignant pleural/peritoneal mesothelioma, or cholangiocarcinoma and all dosages will reflect the specific cancer type.
While more tests need to be run, Alfonso Quintás-Cardama, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of TCR2 Therapeutics, said that this will bring some hope to cancer patients who have failed multiple lines of therapy.
“Based on my prior experience working with both TCR-T and CAR-T cells, including the FDA approval of Kymriah, observing consistent clinical benefit in patients at presumably suboptimal T cell doses is quite meaningful,” saidQuintás-Cardama. “These early TC-210 data suggest our approach may overcome the challenges faced by many T cell therapies in the hostile solid tumor microenvironment. Our enrolled patients have failed multiple lines of therapy, including standard chemotherapy, checkpoint inhibitors, and in some cases other mesothelin-directed approaches, in indications where survival has been historically shorter than six months.”
According to clinicaltrials.gov, recruiting is still happening for this trial and people can still sign up for phase one.
T-cell therapy is still an emerging treatment for cancers such as mesothelioma. Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy or CAR-T-cell therapy is the only other T-cell treatment that shows promising results. TRuC-T cells would add another form of treatment for mesothelioma, which normally has a poor prognosis.
TCR2 Therapeutics hosted a live webcast and conference call on July 27. The webcast can still be replayed on this webpage until approximately August 26.
For more information on mesothelioma treatment options, visit our webpage on treatments. If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or asbestos-related cancer, visit the contact page to talk to an advocate for compensation.
