Although chemotherapy remains the standard treatment for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in first- and second-line settings, notable progress in immunotherapies have recently taken place, begging the question of how these agents will be optimized in this tumor type.
FDA Approved Therapies
Two single-arm basket trials, KEYNOTE-028 and KEYNOTE-158, showed promising clinical response rates. These nonrandomized trials tested the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) in patients with SCLC who progressed on or after platinum-based chemotherapy and at least 1 other prior therapy. In an analysis of both trials, the objective response rate (ORR) for 83 eligible patients was 19.3%.4 For the 16 responding patients, rates lasted 6 months or longer in 94%, 12 months or longer in 63%, and 18 months or longer in 56%. Based on these compelling results, the FDA approved pembrolizumab for treating metastatic SCLC in the second-and-third-line settings in June 2019.
Avacta Group Plc (LON:AVCT) offers reagents and therapeutics based on Affimer technology for diagnostic and research applications in the United Kingdom. The company’s custom Affimer products are also used in drugs and biomarkers discovery in biotech research and development.
