TG 4010 combination raises progression free survival in Non Small Cell Lung Cancer patients

Results published in The Lancet Oncology suggest that a combination of chemotherapy and an experimental vaccine called TG4010, from Transgene, results in significantly more progression free survival in patients with advanced Non Small Cell Lung Cancer compared to those on chemotherapy alone. In this the Phase II trial, led by Elisabeth Quoix from the Universit� de Strasbourg in Strasbourg, France, 148 patients with advanced NSCLC, whose tumors expressed MUC1 but who had not received prior chemotherapy (chemotherapy na�ve patients) were given TG4014 in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine or only chemotherapy. Result show that six months after therapy began, 43% of patients in the combination group were progression free vs 35% in the control group. Tumor response was also far higher in the combination group compared with those on chemotherapy. The combination therapy proved especially beneficial in patients with a normal number of triple-positive CD16+CD56+CD69+ lymphocytes, suggesting that measuring these levels in the blood prior to treatment could predict the efficacy and safety of the vaccine. The data was reported in The Lancet Oncology (Early Online Publication, 22 October 2011 doi:10.1016/S1470-2045(11)70259-5). Other vaccines are under development: Glaxo Smith Kline is running trials of its MAGE-A3 vaccine for lung cancer and Merck has began late-stage tests of its Stimuvax vaccine in lung cancer. Novartis has an option to acquire the marketing rights to TG4010.