DURHAM, N.C., June 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Argos
Therapeutics announced today that its Arcelis™
immunotherapy for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC),
AGS-003, in combination with sunitinib demonstrated a strong
immunologic response that correlated to improved clinical outcomes.
The Phase 2 combination study in newly diagnosed, metastatic RCC
patients with unfavorable prognosis demonstrated decreases in T
regulatory cells, along with a concurrent expansion of CD28+memory
cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Results will be presented by Dr.
Robert Figlin, director of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at
the Cedars-Sinai Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, in a
poster and a discussion session at 8 a.m. CDT, and noon CDT,
respectively, Saturday, June 4, 2011, at the 2011 Annual Meeting of
the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Chicago.
The study is the first to demonstrate the combined immunologic
and clinical effects of AGS-003, or any active immunotherapy, with
sunitinib. Most patients experienced reversal of baseline
tumor-induced immunosuppression and showed improved
progression-free survival (PFS) compared to the expected PFS with
sunitinib alone in an unfavorable risk, metastatic RCC patient
population. Assessment of immunodynamicsusing multiparametric flow
cytometry was performed on peripheral blood mononuclear cells
isolated from blood draws collected prior to treatment and after
treatment with AGS-003 during combination administration with
sunitinib. Nine of 11 patients with PFS of >10 months
demonstrated CTL population increases whereas two of four patients
with PFS <10 months showed increases in this specific CTL
population. Updates on the correlation between prolonged PFS and
CTL expansion will be presented during ASCO.
“The study provides initial evidence that AGS-003
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