FDA expands use of Bristol Myers’ cancer drug Yervoy

Yervoy blocks a molecule known as CTLA-4, which may play a role in slowing down or turning off the immune system, and affects its ability to fight off cancerous cells.

T-VEC has been approved for use on melanoma lesions in the skin and lymph nodes that can not be removed surgically.

Although the exact mechanism of action is unknown, this is how it works: Imlygic is a genetically modified herpes simplex virus type 1 that is created to replicate within tumors and produce the immunostimulatory protein granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Patients with this stage of melanoma typically have surgery to remove melanoma skin tumors and nearby lymph nodes, according to an FDA news release. While 49% of patients on ipilimumab saw a recurrence by an average of 26 months post-treatment, 62% of those on placebo had their cancer return within 17 months. Studies testing such combination therapies are now underway.

The investigators found that common side effects of the drug were rash, diarrhea, fatigue, itching, headache, weight loss and nausea. Viral infection can thus ravage a tumour while leaving abutting healthy cells untouched, says Brad Thompson, president of the pharmaceutical-development firm Oncolytics Biotech in Calgary, Canada. The strain has the mouthful of a name-talimogene laherparepvec (T-VEC)-but the virus’s debut into the realm of medical science has been long awaited.

T-VEC represents a novel treatment option for patients with injectable metastatic melanoma. In a clinical trial involving 19 patients, about half demonstrated a positive response to a treatment with both Imlygic and a checkpoint inhibitor called Yervoy. HCI manages the Utah Population Database – the largest genetic database in the world, with more than 16 million records linked to genealogies, health records, and vital statistics. Using this data, HCI researchers have identified cancer-causing genes, including the genes responsible for melanoma, colon and breast cancer, and paraganglioma. HCI treats patients with all forms of cancer and operates several high-risk clinics that focus on melanoma and breast, colon, and pancreas cancers. The HCI Cancer Learning Center for patient and public education contains one of the nation’s largest collections of cancer-related publications.