A groundbreaking new drug has demonstrated the ability to shrink tumors by at least 30 percent across six different cancer types, offering renewed hope to patients who have exhausted conventional treatment options. The oral medication, known as GRWD5769, was tested on patients at the Christie cancer research centre in Manchester, as well as other facilities, targeting cancers including cervical, liver, bladder, non-small cell lung cancer, squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, and a specific form of bowel cancer.
Trial Results and Impact
In a trial involving 83 patients across 28 cancer centres in four countries, tumors shrank in 26 participants, with 15 experiencing a reduction of at least 30 percent. The findings, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting in Chicago, have been hailed as a source of genuine optimism in oncology.
The drug is administered in cycles of three weeks on, three weeks off, alongside an intravenous infusion of the immunotherapy drug cemiplimab every three weeks. Immunotherapy, which harnesses the body's immune system to fight cancer, is ineffective in about two-thirds of patients because an enzyme on the tumor's surface renders it invisible to immune cells.
Mechanism of Action
GRWD5769, developed by scientists at the University of Oxford, binds to the ERAP1 enzyme, making the tumor visible to the immune system and enabling immunotherapy to effectively target and destroy cancer cells. This approach has shown particular promise in bowel cancer, where 51 percent of patients saw their cancer stop progressing for six months. Similar results were observed in non-small cell lung cancer (55 percent) and head and neck cancer (38 percent).
Expert Commentary
Professor Stefan Symeonides, consultant medical oncologist at the Edinburgh Cancer Centre and chief UK investigator, remarked: "This exciting new type of immunotherapy reveals hidden aspects of the cancer to the immune system to renew the immune response and then keep it refreshed and active. It is fantastic to have been able to bring this promising new immunotherapy approach through to clinical trials and to see our patients benefiting."
Dr Samuel Godfrey of Cancer Research UK added: "Immunotherapy has transformed treatment for some cancers, but it doesn't yet work for everyone. This trial seems to show how this new drug could make immunotherapy more effective, including in some cases where immunotherapy had previously failed. It is unusual to see such outcomes in patients whose cancers have already stopped responding to treatment, particularly across several hard-to-treat cancer types, so these results are encouraging. However, this is still an early-stage study, and larger trials will be needed to determine whether this approach can deliver lasting benefits for patients."
