A targeted liposomal formulation of the chemotherapy treatment cisplatin, called LiPlaCis, induced clinical benefit in 70 percent of breast cancer patients included in a Phase 1/2 trial.
The clinical response, however, was 100 percent among patients identified as most susceptible to treatment, using the Medical Prognosis Institute‘s DRP companion diagnostic tool. The diagnostic was developed to identify patients who benefit and who do not benefit from a specific cancer treatment.
“It is very encouraging that in this prospective study the DRP with statistical significance can identify responding and non-responding patients,” Steen Knudsen, CSO and founder of Medical Prognosis Institute (MPI), said in a press release.
Cisplatin, one of the most active chemotherapy drugs available, is used to treat a number of cancers, including breast cancer. But its current formulation, marketed as Platinol, is only effective in 10 percent of patients and shows significant toxicity.
To reduce the toxicity of cisplatin, Oncology Venture, a spinoff of Denmark’s MPI, developed LiPlaCis — an encapsulated cisplatin formulation designed to deliver the therapy specifically to cancer tissues.
In a prior announcement, when only eight patients had been enrolled, the company revealed that 60 percent of patients saw their disease stabilize or achieved a partial response after receiving LiPlaCis.
To date, the Phase 2 part of the trial (NCT01861496) has enrolled 17 participants. Three more patients are expected to enroll by March 2018.
Among the 10 patients able to be evaluated for the treatment’s efficacy, two achieved a partial remission and five had their disease stabilize. This 70 percent clinical benefit largely contrasts with the 10 percent seen with conventional cisplatin treatment in metastatic breast cancer.
To determine if a patient is likely to respond to LiPlaCis, the investigators are using MPI’s proprietary multigene DRP technology. This tool examines the genetic signature of each cancer, and selects patients most likely to respond.
Among the five patients included in the top third DRP level, all were heavily pretreated — with a mean of seven prior treatments — and had a positive clinical response lasting a mean of 25 weeks. This was a significant improvement compared with the mean duration of 14 weeks in their latest treatment.
“To choose the right anticancer treatment and to opt out a treatment that will not benefit the patient is what all oncologists want to offer patients. Therefore there is a huge need for a technology like Oncology Ventures DRP which looks promising in identifying the right patient for the right anticancer drug,” said Bent Ejlertsen, DMSc, PhD, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet.
“I look forward to the final data and to participate in the subsequent randomized trial,” added Ejlertsen, chairman of the scientific committee for medical therapy at the Danish Breast Cancer Cooperative Group.