Dr Hamid on the Use of Lifileucel in Advanced Melanoma
Source: OncLive, April 2024
Omid Hamid, MD, director, Melanoma Program, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, chief, Translational Research and Immunotherapy, director, Melanoma Therapeutics, Phase I Immuno-Oncology Program, The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute, discusses the use of lifileucel (Amtagvi) in the treatment of patients with advanced melanoma.
On February 16, 2024, the FDA granted accelerated approval to lifileucel for the treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma previously treated with a PD-1 antibody, and if BRAF V600 positive, a BRAF inhibitor with or without a MEK inhibitor. The regulatory decision was supported by data from the phase 2 C-144-01 trial (NCT02360579), which demonstrated that patients treated with the recommended dose (n = 73) experienced an objective response rate of 31.5% (95% CI, 21.1%-43.4%), including a complete response rate of 4.1% and a partial response rate of 27.4%.
Lifileucel is an adoptive T cell therapy that is engineered using extracted T cells that reside in tumors, which are inherently equipped to recognize multiple antigens within the tumor microenvironment, Hamid explains. The extracted T cells then go through a rapid expansion protocol, creating a sizable population primed for tumor recognition, he continues. Prior to reinfusion, patients with advanced melanoma undergo lymphodepleting chemotherapy to remove other T cells from the tumor microenvironment, Hamid explains, noting that the engineered T cells are then reinfused into patients.