scholarly journals Clinical Application of Oncolytic Viruses: A Systematic Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (20) ◽  
pp. 7505
Author(s):  
Mary Cook ◽  
Aman Chauhan

Leveraging the immune system to thwart cancer is not a novel strategy and has been explored via cancer vaccines and use of immunomodulators like interferons. However, it was not until the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors that we realized the true potential of immunotherapy in combating cancer. Oncolytic viruses are one such immunotherapeutic tool that is currently being explored in cancer therapeutics. We present the most comprehensive systematic review of all oncolytic viruses in Phase 1, 2, and 3 clinical trials published to date. We performed a systematic review of all published clinical trials indexed in PubMed that utilized oncolytic viruses. Trials were reviewed for type of oncolytic virus used, method of administration, study design, disease type, primary outcome, and relevant adverse effects. A total of 120 trials were found; 86 trials were available for our review. Included were 60 phase I trials, five phase I/II combination trials, 19 phase II trials, and two phase III clinical trials. Oncolytic viruses are feverously being evaluated in oncology with over 30 different types of oncolytic viruses being explored either as a single agent or in combination with other antitumor agents. To date, only one oncolytic virus therapy has received an FDA approval but advances in bioengineering techniques and our understanding of immunomodulation to heighten oncolytic virus replication and improve tumor kill raises optimism for its future drug development.

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Vickers ◽  
Joyce Kuo ◽  
Barrie R. Cassileth

Purpose A substantial number of cancer patients turn to treatments other than those recommended by mainstream oncologists in an effort to sustain tumor remission or halt the spread of cancer. These unconventional approaches include botanicals, high-dose nutritional supplementation, off-label pharmaceuticals, and animal products. The objective of this study was to review systematically the methodologies applied in clinical trials of unconventional treatments specifically for cancer. Methods MEDLINE 1966 to 2005 was searched using approximately 200 different medical subject heading terms (eg, alternative medicine) and free text words (eg, laetrile). We sought prospective clinical trials of unconventional treatments in cancer patients, excluding studies with only symptom control or nonclinical (eg, immune) end points. Trial data were extracted by two reviewers using a standardized protocol. Results We identified 14,735 articles, of which 214, describing 198 different clinical trials, were included. Twenty trials were phase I, three were phase I and II, 70 were phase II, and 105 were phase III. Approximately half of the trials investigated fungal products, 20% investigated other botanicals, 10% investigated vitamins and supplements, and 10% investigated off-label pharmaceuticals. Only eight of the phase I trials were dose-finding trials, and a mere 20% of phase II trials reported a statistical design. Of the 27 different agents tested in phase III, only one agent had a prior dose-finding trial, and only for three agents was the definitive study initiated after the publication of phase II data. Conclusion Unconventional cancer treatments have not been subject to appropriate early-phase trial development. Future research on unconventional therapies should involve dose-finding and phase II studies to determine the suitability of definitive trials.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e21622-e21622
Author(s):  
Chintan Shah ◽  
Harini Bejjanki ◽  
Rohit Bishnoi ◽  
Ankur Jain ◽  
Subhankar Samal ◽  
...  

e21622 Background: Carfilzomib (Carf) is a novel proteasome inhibitor that is approved for patients with relapsed multiple myeloma (RMM) who have failed ≥ 1 prior lines of therapy. The incidence and seriousness of Carf associated reno-vascular toxicities (RVT) is not well known. We performed systematic review of Carf literature with meta-analysis to determine its incidence and overall risk. Methods: Initial search of literature led to a total of 175 Carf related articles. However, we used a total of 29 publications; phase I/II, phase II and phase III clinical trials (n = 3) which used Carf as monotherapy or in combination. We excluded phase I studies. Incidence rates and odds ratios (OR) were calculated with either fixed effect or random effect model based on the heterogeneity of included studies. Toxicity such as hypertension (HTN), renal failure (RF) and venous thromboembolism (VTE) were reported according to CTCAE v4.0. Results: A total of 4560 patients with various hematological and solid malignancies were included. Incidences of toxicities were: 15.9% and 4.7 % for HTN, 11.2% and 3.44% for RF, 6.47% and 2.22% for VTE, respectively for all grades and high grades in each category. When compared to control group taken from phase III clinical trials, the risk of HTN and RF due to Carf was significantly higher [OR = 2.91 and 3.32 in HTN (P < 0.001)], [OR = 1.71 and 1.79 (P < 0.05) for RF], respectively for all grade and high grade in each category. Moreover, incidence of HTN with higher than standard dose of carf (27 mg/m2 twice weekly) was significantly higher (P < 0.001). RF and VTE did not have the dose effect. Concomitant use of immunomodulator (IMiD) significantly increased, as expected, the incidence of VTE (P < 0.001). There was no variation in the incidence of RVT among newly diagnosed versus RMM (P = 0.4). Conclusions: Overall incidence and risk of hypertension and renal toxicities seems to be high when using Carf. Higher doses of Carf seem to lead to higher incidence of HTN, while the risk of VTE is higher with concomitant IMiD use. The pathophysiology for these complications is poorly understood, however it could be secondary to endothelial effect of carf. Physician should be vigilant about these effects as it can lead to poor overall outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jincai Guo ◽  
Hui Xie ◽  
Hao Wu

Abstract Background: The purpose of this study is to analyze the registered clinical trials of COVID-19, and to provide a reference for the clinical treatment of COVID-19. Methods: Chinese ClinicalTrial Registry (ChiCTR) and Clinicaltrials.gov databases were searched for clinical trials of COVID-19, which were registered from inception to February 29, 2020, to screen out the clinical trials on the treatment of COVID-19, and the research units and regions, sample size, study types, study stages, and intervention measures were analyzed. Results: There were 226 clinical trials on COVID-19 in the 2 databases, and all of them were registered by research units in China. The top five registered areas were Hubei, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, and Zhejiang. The study type was as follows: interventional study (207, 91.6%) and observational study (18, 8.0%). Clinical trial staging was as follows: exploratory studies/preliminary trials (91, 40.3%), phase I trials (4, 1.8%), phase II trials (12, 5.3%), phase III trials (12, 5.3%), phase IV trials (47, 20.8%), phase I/II trials (2, 0.9%), phase II/III trials (5, 2.2%), and other trials (57, 25.2%). Intervention measures were as follows: there were 143 (63.3%) trials of western medicine treatment, 50 (22.1%) trials of Chinese medicine treatment, and 21 (9.3%) trials of integrated Chinese medicine treatment and western medicine treatment. Conclusion: Researchers have registered a large number of clinical trials in a short time. The number of existing patients of COVID-19 is not enough to support hundreds of clinical trials. There is a lack of multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials.


Author(s):  
Antonino Grassadonia ◽  
Isabella Sperduti ◽  
Patrizia Vici ◽  
Laura Iezzi ◽  
Davide Brocco ◽  
...  

Evidence has recently emerged on the influence of gender on the immune system. In this systematic review and meta-analysis of phase III randomized clinical trials (RCTs), we explored the impact of gender on survival in patients with advanced cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). We performed a comprehensive search of the literature updated to April 2018, including the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, and EMBASE. We extracted data on study characteristics and risk of bias in duplicate. Of 423 unique citations, 21 RCTs were included, inherently to 12,635 patients. Both males and females showed reduced risk of death associated with ICIs use (HR 0.73, p&lt;0.001 and HR 0.77, p&lt;0.001, respectively). Subgroup analyses by specific ICI showed similar OS in both genders for anti-PD-1/PDL-1. Anti-CTLA-4 use was associated with longer OS in men only (HR 0.77, p&lt;0.012), with the exception of melanoma (in women, HR 0.80, p=0.006). PFS was longer in men than in women (HR 0.67, p&lt;0.001 and HR 0.77, p=0.100, respectively). Conclusively, ICIs use was associated with more favorable outcomes in men, particularly for anti-CTLA-4 agents. In melanoma, not gender-related factors may influence the anti-tumor immune response evoked by ICIs.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 3144
Author(s):  
Anita Brouns ◽  
Safiye Dursun ◽  
Gerben Bootsma ◽  
Anne-Marie C. Dingemans ◽  
Lizza Hendriks

Bone metastases, occurring in 30–60% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), are associated with decreased survival, cancer-induced bone pain, and skeletal-related events (SREs). Those with an activating epidermal growth factor mutation (EGFR+) seem to be more prone to develop bone metastases. To gain more insight into bone metastases-related outcomes in EGFR+ NSCLC, we performed a systematic review on Pubmed (2006–2021). Main inclusion criteria: prospective, phase II/III trials evaluating EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors, ≥10 EGFR+ patients included, data on bone metastases and/or bone-related outcomes available. Out of 663 articles, 21 (3176 EGFR+ patients) met the eligibility criteria; 4 phase III (one double blind), 17 phase II trials (three randomized) were included. In seven trials dedicated bone imaging was performed at baseline. Mean incidence of bone metastases at diagnosis was 42%; 3–33% had progression in the bone upon progression. Except for one trial, it was not specified whether the use of bone target agents was permitted, and in none of the trials, occurrence of SREs was reported. Despite the high incidence of bone metastases in EGFR+ adenocarcinoma, there is a lack of screening for, and reporting on bone metastases in clinical trials, as well as permitted bone-targeted agents and SREs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 476
Author(s):  
Alberto Bongiovanni ◽  
Brigida Anna Maiorano ◽  
Irene Azzali ◽  
Chiara Liverani ◽  
Martine Bocchini ◽  
...  

Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have widened the therapeutic scenario of different cancer types. Phase I/II trials have been designed to evaluate the role of ICIs both as single agents and in combination in neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs), but as yet no randomized controlled phase III trials have been carried out. A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies published could help to reduce the biases of single-phase II trials. Efficacy data were obtained on 636 patients. Pooled percentages of the overall response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were 10% (95% CI: 6–15%, I2 = 67%, p < 0.1) and 42% (95% CI: 28–56%, I2 = 93%, p < 0.1), respectively. Median progression-free survival (mPFS) was 4.1 months (95% CI 2.6–5.4; I2 = 96%, p < 0.1) and median overall survival (mOS) was 11 months (95% CI 4.8–21.1; I2 = 98%, p < 0.1). Among the ICIs used as single agents, the anti-PD1 toripalimab achieved the highest ORR. Combination regimens were superior to monotherapy, e.g., the ICI combination nivolumab + ipilimumab, and the ICI + anti-angiogenetic combination atezolizumab + bevacizumab, both of which warrant further investigation. Promising efficacy and a good safety profile of ICIs represent a valid opportunity for expanding the therapeutic landscape of NENs. Predictive biomarkers are needed to identify the most suitable candidates for these regimens.


2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 8040-8040
Author(s):  
Adam Falconi ◽  
Gilberto Lopes ◽  
Jayson L. Parker

8040 Background: We analyzed the risk of clinical trial failure duringnon-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) drug development between 1998 and 2012. Methods: NSCLC drug development was investigated using trial disclosures from publically available resources. Compounds were excluded from the analysis if they began phase I clinical testing before 1998 and if they did not use treatment relevant endpoints. Analysis was conducted in regards to treatment indication, compound classification and mechanism of action. Costs of clinical drug development for advanced NSCLC were calculated using industry data and assumptions, a 9% yearly discount rate and assuming a clinical trial length of 2.5 years for phase I trials, 4 years for phase II trials, 5 years for phase III trials and an average of 5 phase I trials, 7 phase II trials, and 4 phase III trials per approved drug. All funding costs are in US dollars (USD). Results: 2,407 clinical trials met search criteria. 676 trials and 199 unique compounds met our inclusion criteria. The likelihood, or cumulative clinical trial success rate, that a new drug would pass all phases of clinical testing and be approved was found to be 11%, which is less than the expected industry aggregate rates (16.5%). The success of phase III trials was found to be the biggest obstacle for drug approval with a success rate of only 28%. Biomarker-guided targeted therapies (with a success rate of 62%) and receptor targeted therapies (with a success rate of 31%) were found to have the highest likelihood of success in clinical trials. The risk-adjusted cost for NSCLC clinical drug development was calculated to be 1.89 billion US dollars. Use of biomarkers decreased drug development cost by 26% to 1.4 billion US dollars. Potential savings may be even higher if fewer clinical trials are required for successful development. Conclusions: Physicians that enroll patients in NSCLC trials should prioritize their participation in clinical trial programs that involve either a biomarker or receptor targeted therapy, which appear to carry the best chances for a successful treatment response. Given the high adjusted cost of clinical testing alone in NSCLC, efforts to mitigate the risk of trial failure need to explore these factors more fully.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e21674-e21674
Author(s):  
Chintan Shah ◽  
Rohit Bishnoi ◽  
Harini Bejjanki ◽  
Ankur Jain ◽  
Subhankar Samal ◽  
...  

e21674 Background: Carfilzomib (Carf)is a novel proteasome inhibitor (PI) that is approved for patients with relapsed multiple myeloma (RMM) who have failed ≥ 1 prior lines of therapy. The incidence and seriousness of Carf associated cardiotoxicity (CT) is not well defined. We hypothesize that CT is more frequent than that seen with other PIs. We performed systematic review of Carf literature with meta-analysis to determine its incidence and overall risk. Methods: Initial search of literature led to a total of 175 Carf related articles. However, we used 29 publicatons; phase I/II, phase II and phase III (n = 3) clinical trials in which Carf was used as monotherapy or in combination with other chemo agents. We excluded phase I studies and studies without CT data. Incidence rates and odds ratios (OR) were calculated with either fixed effect or random effect model based on the heterogeneity of included studies. Toxicity was reported according to CTCAE v4.0. Results: A total of 4560 patients with various hematological and solid malignancies were included. Incidence of all grades and high grades (≥ 3) CT (including arrhythmias, CHF with LVEF drop, and coronary syndrome) were 7.8% and 4.72%, respectively. When compared to control group taken from phase III clinical trials, the risk of developing CT due to Carf was significantly higher with OR of 1.90 and 2.03 (P < 0.01) for all grades and high grades, respectively. Moreover, incidence of CT was significantly higher in Carf combination therapy (9.85%) compared to Carf monotherapy (5.40%) (P = 0.01). Furthermore, incidence of high grade CT was 7.5% and 5% with and without concomitant immunomodulatory agent (IMiD), respectively (P = 0.004). There was no variation in the incidence of CT among newly diagnosed versus RMM (P = 0.6), and no Carf dose effect. Mortality rate associated with cardiotoxicity was 1.5%. Conclusions: Overall incidence of Carf related CT seems to be higher than that reported with other PIs. Although, the pathophysiology is poorly understood, this trend could potentially be secondary to irreversible nature of proteasome inhibition by Carf. There seems to be a significant increase in CT with combination of Carf and an IMiD. Prior therapies and higher Carf doses have no effect on CT incidence.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (12) ◽  
pp. 542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonino Grassadonia ◽  
Isabella Sperduti ◽  
Patrizia Vici ◽  
Laura Iezzi ◽  
Davide Brocco ◽  
...  

Evidence has recently emerged on the influence of gender on the immune system. In this systematic review and meta-analysis of phase III randomized clinical trials (RCTs), we explored the impact of gender on survival in patients with advanced cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs). We performed a comprehensive search of the literature updated to April 2018, including the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PubMed, and EMBASE. We extracted data on study characteristics and risk of bias in duplicate. Of 423 unique citations, 21 RCTs were included, inherently to 12,635 patients. Both males and females showed reduced risk of death associated with ICIs use (HR 0.73, p < 0.001 and HR 0.77, p < 0.001, respectively). Subgroup analyses by specific ICI showed similar OS in both genders for anti-PD-1/PDL-1. Anti-CTLA-4 use was associated with longer OS in men only (HR 0.77, p < 0.012), with the exception of melanoma (in women, HR 0.80, p = 0.006). PFS was longer in men than in women (HR 0.67, p < 0.001 and HR 0.77, p = 0.100, respectively). Conclusively, ICIs use was associated with more favorable outcomes in men, particularly for anti-CTLA-4 agents. In melanoma, not gender-related factors may influence the anti-tumor immune response evoked by ICIs.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document