The developer of True Human™ therapeutic antibodies, XBiotech Inc. recently announced the results of a clinical trial for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in which patients were treated with the Company’s lead True Human antibody, Xilonix™. The study was conducted at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, and the results will be published in the upcoming Investigational New Drugs journal. The results reveal Xilonix anti-IL-1alpha therapy efficacy in patients with NSCLC that underwent treatment with EGFR inhibitors. NSCLC is the most common type of lung cancer, accounting for 85% to 90% of all lung cancers.
These patients with metastatic NSCLC and refractory disease were treated with Xilonix until the disease progressed. Patients were followed up for 24 months to assess changes in lean body mass, tumor response and quality of life and survival. Researchers observed radiographic evidence of anti-tumor effects in addition to advancements in quality of life and lean body mass. Patients that received treatment with anti-EGFR therapy revealed a median overall survival of 9.4 months in comparison to a 4.8-month survival rate concerning those that were not pre-treated.
Michael Stecher, who is the Company’s Medical Director, stated in a press release: “As a patient’s disease progresses, resistance of the tumor to therapy becomes more common. Some of this resistance may be due to the immunosuppressive effects of inflammation in the tumor microenvironment. The suggestion that Xilonix therapy may help overcome this resistance is highly encouraging and warrants further exploration in non-small cell lung cancer and other tumor indications.”
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In other recent lung cancer-related news, a recent study entitled “Real-world treatment patterns and costs in a US Medicare population with metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer” summarized the current state of metastatic squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), analyzing treatment patterns, healthcare use, and patients’ survival. In NSCLC, squamous cell carcinomas begin to grow in squamous cells, the cells that line the interior of lung airways. In this study, researchers identified and followed patients with metastatic squamous NSCLC for one year via the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare database. The study was published in the journal Lung Cancer.