Poster from Rational Therapeutics Lung Cancer ASCO Presentation

As I mentioned in a previous post, I recently presented “Phase II Trial of Personalized Chemotherapy In Stage IV NSCLC: Clinical Application of Functional Profiling in First-Line Therapy” (Abstract No. 7617; Citation: J. Clin Oncol 28:7s, 2010) at the 2010 ASCO Annual Meeting.

Following are shots of the poster that was presented. I encourage you to leave any comments and/or questions here as I would be pleased to respond to your inquiries.

The Future – EVA-PCD® Platform and Targeted Agents

As I mentioned in my last post, in our presentation at the 2010 ASCO Annual Meeting, we showed clinical response rates were doubled by using the Ex-Vivo Analysis of Programmed Cell Death (EVA-PCD®) platform with standard FDA approved chemotherapeutic agents in NSCLC patients.

If we can achieve these types of results by simply reconfiguring existing drugs, it suggests that the EVA-PCD platform could provide even better results as we introduce larger numbers of active, targeted agents.

One such agent, PF-1066 provided an overall response rate of 64 percent when patients were selected for the EML4-ALK fusion oncogene. This type of approach, the selection of candidates for therapy predicated upon the biology of the patient, is precisely the premise underlying all of our work. While the PF-1066 data was strongly positive, it represented a very select population of lung cancer patients who carry a specific gene profile. Of all NSCLC patients, only 3-4 percent carry this gene. While recognizing targets like EGFR and ALK continue to improve responses, the EVA-PCD platform is capable of identifying patients for response even when the specific underlying genetic mechanism may be less well characterized. The capacity of the EVA-PCD platform to measure global cellular response enables us to select candidates for whom no known genetic predisposition exists.

Lung Cancer Response Rates Double – ASCO Presentation

On Sunday, June 6, 2010, I presented “Phase II Trial of Personalized Chemotherapy In Stage IV NSCLC: Clinical Application of Functional Profiling in First-Line Therapy” (Abstract No. 7617; Citation: J. Clin Oncol 28:7s, 2010) at the 2010 ASCO Annual Meeting. Colleagues received the presentation very well, with hundreds of attendees examining the findings.

The data are very exciting. This trial of 29 patients with metastatic (Stage IV) NSCLC achieved a response that was twofold higher than the national average (62 vs. 31 percent: p=0.0003). More striking was the 50 percent improvement of median time to progression (9.5 months vs. 6 months). And most exciting of all, the very excellent survival data with a median overall survival of 22.3 months compared with the national average of 12 months.

The most interesting aspect of this study is the fact that we utilized the very same chemotherapy drugs that are available to all medical oncologists in the United States. The trial was limited to FDA approved, compendium listed agents with specific indications for NSCLC. As such, we did not apply new classes of drugs, yet doubled the response rate and median overall survival.

The implications of this are staggering, particularly when we consider the impact that targeted agents are having on cancer care. I will explore these implications in the next entry when I discuss such agents.