Human Cancers Clinical Trial
Official title:
A Cancer Research UK Phase I Study of MOv18 IgE, a First in Class Chimeric IgE Antibody Against Folate Receptor-alpha, in Patients With Advanced Solid Tumours
This first in human study of the new therapeutic antibody MOv18 immunoglobulin (Ig) E, which targets a protein called folate receptor alpha (FRa), in patients with advanced cancer seeks to demonstrate the potential for the use of this IgE antibody as an example of the use of the IgE class of antibodies for the treatment of cancer.
Therapeutic antibodies have significantly improved the prognosis of patients with a range of cancers. Currently available therapeutic antibodies belong to the IgG class. This study is looking at a new drug called MOv18 IgE which belongs to a different class of antibody, the IgE class. IgE antibodies may trigger a more powerful immune response to tumour cells than these available IgG antibodies and so be more effective in treating certain types of cancer. This is the first time an IgE antibody therapy will be given to patients with cancer. The MOv18 IgE antibody is designed to recognise and attach to FRa. Scientists have found more of this protein on the surface of certain cancer cells than on the surface of normal cells, most commonly ovarian cancer but also cancers of the kidney, endometrium, lung, breast, bladder, colon and pancreas. Once attached, the MOv18 IgE antibody should trigger the body's own immune system to attack and kill the cancer cells. Patients will be selected based on the presence of FRa on their tumour in a previous biopsy. The study is the first study of this new antibody treatment to be given to humans and will focus primarily on the assessment of safety confirming the findings of preclinical studies that exposure to MOv18 IgE will not trigger anaphylaxis. This is in addition to extensive pharmacokinetic (PK), biodistribution of the antibody and immunological response. The study will follow a dose escalation design where small groups of patients are treated at a set dose, starting with a very low dose followed by exponential increasing doses, to find a safe dose at which the drug has a good chance of effectively treating the cancer. Patients will receive a short course of treatment. Patients treated at the higher dose levels will be asked to provide a pre and post treatment biopsy to explore the effect of the treatment on the tumour. ;