Fifty years ago, the surgeon general¡¯s first report on smoking was published. Since then, MD Anderson has been steadfast in its fight to help people kick the habit and treat those who¡¯ve developed cancer caused by smoking and secondhand smoke.
Spring 2014 : Frontline
Drugs team up to hit tumors, boost immune system attacks
One drug attacks tumor cells directly; the other treats the immune system by taking the brakes off T cell response. Together, they put half of the patients with relapsed follicular lymphoma into complete remission in a phase II clinical trial at MD Anderson.
¡°Most drugs target only the tumor. This combination is complementary, treating both the lymphoma cells directly and the T cells in a manner that activates them against cancer cells,¡± said Sattva Neelapu, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor in Lymphoma/Myeloma at MD Anderson and senior author of the paper that appeared in The Lancet Oncology.
Sattva Neelapu, M.D., Ph.D.
¡°The combination of the established antibody drug rituximab with the experimental drug pidilizumab so far also has a remarkably mild side-effect profile,¡± Neelapu said.
Of 29 study participants at a median follow-up of 15.4 months, 19 (66%) had either a complete or partial response, with 15 (52%) having a complete response.
There were no grade 3 or 4 adverse events, with all effects at the less serious grade 1 and 2 levels. Patients had no indicators of autoimmunity, which can be an issue in the class of drugs that blocks immune system checkpoints and activate T cells. Such mild effects are particularly important for follicular lymphoma patients, who, on average, are
diagnosed with the disease at age 60.
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