Blood Test Shows Potential to Predict Treatment Response
1 April 2011 - ICR scientists have led a Phase I trial of an experimental drug known as a c-MET inhibitor in 51 patients with a range of solid tumours including prostate cancer, melanoma, gastrointestinal cancers and breast cancer.
Tivantinib (formerly ARQ 197), developed by pharmaceutical companies ArQule and Daiichi Sankyo, was well tolerated and showed some anti-tumour effects.
The researchers observed that 14 patients’ cancer stabilised for at least four months, while tumours shrank for two patients, one with metastatic gastric cancer and the other with Merkel cell carcinoma.
The trial at The Royal Marsden Hospital incorporated proof of mechanism pharmacodynamic studies, and showed evidence that a blood test could in future be used to quickly identify patients responding to the treatment.
The ICR scientists led by Professor Johann de Bono measured a drop in CTCs in around six of ten patients with initially detectable levels, suggesting a potential benefit for these patients.
CECs fell in around half of the patients with initially detectable levels, providing preliminary evidence of an effect on tumour blood vessel formation in these people.
