New cell therapy shows promising results in advanced tumor diseases

In a phase 1 trial involving 40 patients, the research group investigated the use of T cell receptor (TCR)-engineered T cells. Using genetic engineering techniques, the researchers incorporated a kind of target identification into the T cells to enable them to recognize tumor-specific proteins. The newly tested IMA203 therapy targets the PRAME peptide, which is produced almost exclusively by tumors and not by healthy tissue. This enables the T cells to attack tumor cells in a targeted manner without damaging normal cells. PRAME is produced by many tumors, such as melanoma, ovarian cancer, sarcomas, and lung cancer.

A good half of the people treated who had not responded to standard therapies previously responded to the therapy. The majority of them even responded over a period of eight months or several years. Compared to chemotherapy, which usually lasts three to six months, this is a significant advancement in treatment. The cell therapy was also well tolerated. Side effects such as fever or skin rash were mostly mild to moderate and only temporary.

"Based on these results, we can speak of a breakthrough," says Prof. Martin Wermke, head and first author of the trail: "For the first time, we have achieved a lasting response in truly common solid tumors. The efficacy of IMA203 goes far beyond what we can achieve with our current chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments. Not only do we have significantly more patients responding to treatment, but the effect is also lasting much longer. We now have patients who have not had a relapse of their tumor disease more than two years after receiving IMA203. Some of these patients may even have been permanently cured of their cancer."

In a next step, IMA203 could be used in a larger trial in patients with melanoma who have not responded to conventional immune and targeted therapies. The NCT/UCC Dresden is testing other cell therapies for other types of skin cancer and lung cancer.