Eureka Therapeutics Sees Response in Metastatic Liver Cancer, a Step Forward With CAR-T Therapy in Solid Tumors

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One patient saw a complete response, and the therapy was well tolerated, especially compared with the adverse effects sometimes seen with chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatment in blood cancers thus far.

In data presented at a meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, the biotechnology company Eureka Therapeutics has reported that 3 of 6 patients with liver cancer responded to its chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, marking one of the first times that this type of treatment has succeeded in patients with solid tumors.

The statement on the proof-of-concept study of the ET140202 T-cell therapy occurred in alpha fetoprotein (AFP)—positive patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, a common form of liver cancer. The results were presented at the CAR-TCR Summit based on work being done at Xi’An Jiaotong University in China. What’s more, the 6 patients showed no observed signs of cytokine release syndrome or drug-related neurotoxicity, and 1 patient, a 52-year-old man, had a complete response. The most common side effects were fever and fatigue.

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At the data cut-off in July 2018, results involving 6 patients with pre-existing cirrhosis who have previously failed multiple lines of therapy showed the following:

In vivo T-cell expansion, which indicates T-cell activation, was seen in all 6 patients.
Reduction of the biomarker serum AFP was seen in 4 of the 6 patients.
At the 5-month mark, the patient with the complete response saw his tumor shrink both in the liver and in the lung after multiple doses. Serum AFP returned to normal.
Two other patients showed partial tumor regression, and 2 showed stable disease.
Only 1 patient showed progressive disease.
Of the 6 patients, 3 died due to non—drug-related complications of liver disease.

“Hepatocellular carcinoma is a cancer where we have had great difficulties finding effective treatments. This study shows early but important data in the possibility of targeting solid tumors using T-cell therapy,” Yuman Fong, MD, professor of the Department of Surgery at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California, said in a statement.

The proof-of-concept study shows the potential viability of repeat dosing, combination therapy, and a higher dosing level, he said.