New combination therapy for thymic epithelial tumours
Mené en Italie sur 32 patients atteints d'un carcinome thymique ou d'un thymome de type B3 de stade métastatique, cet essai de phase II évalue l'efficacité, du point de vue du taux de réponse globale, et la toxicité d'un traitement combinant avélumab et axitinib
Optimal treatment for patients with recurrent or progressive thymic epithelial tumours remains uncertain due to the limited understanding of this rare disease. Although surgery is generally the treatment of choice and the only curative option when the disease is localised, platinum-based chemotherapy is routinely used for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic thymic epithelial tumours, with treatment options for relapse or refractory disease cases limited.Targeted therapies, such as epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine-kinase inhibitors, angiogenesis inhibitors, and c-KIT pathway inhibitors, have been evaluated for patients with relapse or a refractory condition, although only modest responses have been reported. Thymic epithelial tumours have the lowest tumour mutation burden, which limits the identification of possible new drugs. Thus, novel approaches must be considered to overcome the challenges associated with drug development for patients with relapsed or refractory thymic epithelial tumours.
The Lancet Oncology , commentaire, 2021