Results from the a Phase III trial showed a single priming dose of tremelimumab added to AstraZeneca’s Imfinzi demonstrated an improvement in overall survival for patients with the HCC form of liver cancer that have not responded well to earlier treatments.
Results from the trial that used the STRIDE regimen will be presented on January 21 at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium.
Liver cancer, of which HCC is the most common type, is the third-leading cause of cancer death and the sixth most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide. HCC shows up in chronic diseases such as hepatitis B or C or from excessive fat in liver or from heavy alcohol use.
Approximately 80,000 people in the US, Europe and Japan and 260,000 people in China present with advanced, unresectable HCC each year. About 7% of patients with advanced disease survive five years.
Ghassan Abou-Alfa, MD, attending physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and principal investigator in the Phase III trial, said: “Patients with unresectable liver cancer face a dismal prognosis, and new treatment options are critical to improving long-term survival. The three-year overall survival rate and favorable safety profile seen with the STRIDE regimen set a new benchmark in this setting and underscore the potential of this innovative treatment approach.”
Patients treated with the STRIDE regimen experienced a 22% reduction in the risk of death versus sorafenib.An estimated 31% of patients were still alive at three years versus 20% for sorafenib. Sorafenib is approved for advanced liver cancer.
An additional presentation featured during the ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium will showcase Imfinzi data from another Phase III trial, demonstrating the potential in the treatment of advanced biliary tract cancer.
AstraZeneca has headquarters, logistics and manufacturing operations in nothern Delaware that employed 1,500 at last report
