In a recent study conducted at the René Huguenin Cancer Centre in Saint Cloud, France, clinicians found that chemoimmunotherapy is absolutely useful for patients suffering from metastatic breast carcinoma. The researchers used Immutep S.A.’s lead product, IMP321, and first-line paclitaxel for their clinical trial and demonstrated clinical benefit in 90 % of patient with metastatic breast cancer. It was an open-label, fixed-dose-escalation trial. Other cancer centers contributing in the study were Tenon Hospital and the Georges Pompidou European Hospital in Paris. The immuno-monitoring for patients was the responsibility of Immutep at its laboratories near Paris.
Chemoimmunotherapy to limit breast cancer metastasis.
The protocol of the study was to give breast cancer patients a dose of IMP321 every two weeks over 24 weeks. The repeated single doses were administered the day after chemotherapy at day two and day 16 of the 28-day cycles of paclitaxel; 30 patients received IMP321 in three cohorts (doses: 0.25, 1.25 and 6.25 mg). The overall clinical benefit was detected in 90% of patients with only three cancer progressions at 6 months. Chemoimmunotherapy also provides objective tumor response rate of 50 %, by contrast the control group showed 25 % response rate. John Hawken, Immutep CEO, declared that after these promising results of the trial, discussions are under way to perform the phase IIb/III pivotal trial leading to conditional marketing authorization in Europe and further trials in other cancers and with other chemotherapies.
