An emerging treatment for mesothelioma is showing significant progress for reducing tumors. Immunotherapy company TCR2 Therapeutics announced the positive results in a press release on July 26.
The company says the first five patients in the clinical trial showed tumor regression within the first six months. According to the study, tumors shrank by an average of 42%.
First phase of clinical trial brings hope
TCR2 Therapeutics says all patients received the same dose of TC-210 TRuC-T cell products, and only one patient experienced difficulties with the therapy. The company’s CEO says the early results are encouraging but adds the trial is still in the early stages. The process consists of three phases:
- Phase I: Determine the efficacy and safety of the treatment before increasing dosages in cancer patients.
- Phase II: The trial will expand to 50 patients using the dosage data from the first phase and monitor how effective the treatment is for tumor control and regression.
- Phase III: The company will seek approval from the Food and Drug Administration after establishing a treatment plan.
Patients in Phase II will have a diagnosis of malignant pleural/peritoneal mesothelioma, non-small lung cancer, ovarian cancer or cholangiocarcinoma and their doses will be managed accordingly.
Treatment offers hope for late-stage cancer patients
While the data is incomplete, TCR2 Therapeutics Chief Medical Officer Alfonso Quintas-Cardama says the therapy brings hope, especially for patients who have not achieved results from other forms of treatment.
The company is still recruiting patients for the trial, and people can sign up for the first phase. TRuC-T cells would add another treatment along with chimeric antigen receptor therapy for mesothelioma, which typically has a poor prognosis.