Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (Oncolytics), a biotech company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses as potential cancer therapeutics, has announced a poster presentation containing updated efficacy data from a phase 2 study examining the use of Reolysin in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel in patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with Kras or EGFR-activated tumours (REO 016). The presentation was made at International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). The conference is being held from October 27th to 30th, 2013 in Sydney, Australia.
The poster presentation included new efficacy data that correlated a number of molecular abnormalities with best response, progression free survival (PFS) and one-year survival. Current data in these patients demonstrates that 20 of 36 evaluable patients (56%) survived a year or more. There were 13 patients with only EGFR mutations or amplifications, of whom nine (69.2%) survived a year or longer. Four of four (100%) patients with BRAF and EGFR amplification survived a year or longer.
"This is the first time we have reported data correlating the presence of specific biomarkers with efficacy, which covers both best response and survival in patient tumours with a Ras-activated pathway," said Dr. Brad Thompson, president and CEO of Oncolytics. "Although the study examined a relatively small number of patients, this data is encouraging, especially in light of a growing focus among healthcare professionals on personalizing cancer treatment based on tumour type. We are taking a closer look at the specific role biomarkers play in a number of our ongoing studies and, based on this data, intend to conduct a randomized trial in this indication."
Patients received Reolysin (3 x 1010 TCID50) intravenously daily on days one to five, in combination with paclitaxel at initial doses of paclitaxel 175 mg/m2 and carboplatin AUC 5, on day one of each 21-day cycle. Overall, 37 patients received 209 cycles (per patient median four, range one to 18). The study treatment was found to be well tolerated.
The Company's collaborators also presented a poster on results from the Company's U.S. Phase 2 single arm clinical trial in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung (SCCLC) using intravenous administration of Reolysin in combination with carboplatin and paclitaxel (REO 021). This is the same poster that was previously presented on October 22, 2013 at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics conference held in Boston, MA.
The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2013, approximately 228,190 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed. Between 85% and 90% of all lung cancers are classified as non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); squamous cell carcinomas account for 25-30% of all lung cancers. Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women. There will be an estimated 159,480 deaths from lung cancer in the United States in 2013, accounting for around 27% of all cancer deaths. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death, with more people dying each year of lung cancer than from colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined.