Objective responses were reported for two patients, and stable disease was observed in 22 patients. The trail was the first reported human study of an antibody to trail receptor 2 in combination with chemotherapy.
Preclinical data demonstrated that HGS-ETR1 (mapatumumab) and HGS-ETR2 (lexatumumab) in combination with chemotherapy synergistically enhanced anti-tumor activity in cholangiocarcinoma (cancer of the bile ducts). In a xenograft model of cholangiocarcinoma, the results demonstrated that HGS- ETR1 and either co-treatment or pre-treatment with cisplatin and gemcitabine were more effective than chemotherapy or HGS-ETR1 alone.
Gilles Gallant, vice president of clinical research, oncology at Human Genome Sciences, said: “The clinical and preclinical results add to a growing body of data showing that our agonistic antibodies to trail receptors 1 and 2 offer a targeted mechanism of cancer-cell death that can be administered safely in combination with a variety of proven chemotherapies. The data suggests that both pre-treatment and co-treatment with chemotherapy may be effective approaches to the use of trail receptor antibodies for the treatment of cancer.”