XBiotech Inc., a company working on the development of next-generation True Human therapeutic antibodies, recently announced the results from a study in a subset of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received the company’s True Human antibody Xilonix. The study, which was published online and will soon be published in the journal Investigational New Drugs, was conducted at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.
According to a recent news release, the results emphasize the benefit of using Xilonix anti-IL-1alpha therapy to treat patients with NSCLC that were previously under treatment with EGFR inhibitors. As reported in the article, patients with NSCLC who had metastasis and refractory cancer at baseline were subject to treatment until disease progression with XBiotech’s Xilonix monotherapy.
The research team examined the evidence of radiographic tumor response, changes in patients’ lean body mass and quality of life. In order to assess the survival rates, all patients were followed-up for a period of 24 months. Radiographic assessment revealed an anti-tumor effect, and also improvements in quality of life and in the patients’ lean body mass. Results from stratification by previous treatments showed an average overall survival rate of 9.4 months for patients treated with an anti-EGFR therapy, compared to only 4.8 months for those who were not pre-treated.
Dr. Michael Stecher, the Company’s Medical Director mentioned in a news 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.”
