CHICAGO – Patients with advanced urothelial cancer that has progressed following platinum-based chemotherapy and immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors have a poor prognosis and few effective therapeutic options.
But in a phase 2 trial in 125 patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer, the investigational agent enfortumab vedotin was associated with a 44% objective response rate, including a 12% complete response rate and 32% partial response rate. The responses were observed across all subgroups, irrespective of response to prior immunotherapy or the presence of liver metastases, reported Daniel Petrylak, MD, a professor of medical oncology and urology at Yale Cancer Center in New Haven, Connecticut.
In a video interview at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Dr. Petrylak described how the agent is directed toward a novel target, Nectin-4, a protein expressed in about 97% of urothelial cancers and in other solid tumor types.
The study is sponsored by Seattle Genetics and Astellas Pharma. Dr. Petrylak disclosed a consulting or advisory role with Astellas and others, funding from Seattle Genetics, and financial relationships with multiple other companies.