Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) recently announced it will begin a Phase Ib/II clinical trial using a novel immunotherapy for the treatment of patients with advanced kidney, pancreatic, colorectal carcinoma and non-small cell lung cancer.
The “NivoPlus” study combines nivolumab (an immunotherapy drug) with the FDA-approved irinotecan, temsirolimus, and a combination of capecitabine and irinotecan (all chemotherapy drugs).
The combination of chemotherapeutic agents with nivolumab intends to stimulate the patient’s immune system to improve the results that would not be achieved using chemotherapy alone. This is the first time that this combination of immunotherapy and chemotherapy is being investigated and is the third combination study launched since last year by CTCA at the Western Regional Medical Center (Western) in Goodyear, Arizona
The company aims to enroll 49 patients on the multi-arm NivoPlus clinical trial, and has already announced the first patient already received treatment.
“Some of these drug combinations are not available elsewhere, giving CTCA patients additional treatment options,” said in a recent news release Dr. Glen Weiss, Director of Clinical Research and Medical Oncologist, CTCA at Western. “Our ultimate goal is to evaluate if these combinations yield improved results for our patients.”
Nivolumab inhibits the PD-1 protein, which otherwise blocks the body’s immune system from attacking tumor cells.
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