Patient Dosed With Novel Combo Immunotherapy in Glioblastoma Trial

A patient with glioblastoma, a type of brain cancer, has been dosed with a novel immunotherapy combination in a phase 2b clinical trial assessing the specific treatment.

In particular, IGV-001 is a combination immunotherapy developed by Imvax and is currently being assessed in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma, according to a press release from Henry Ford Health, one of the trial sites. This novel immunotherapy combination aims to stimulate the patient’s immune system to both recognize and destroy cancer cells.

Researchers conducting this trial aim to enroll 93 patients who have been recently diagnosed with glioblastoma and have not yet received any kind of treatment or surgery, according to the release from Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan.

Patients enrolled in this study will be assigned either IGV-001 or placebo, according to its ClinicalTrials.gov listing. Both groups of patients will receive individualized biodiffusion chambers which will contain a combination of the patient’s tumor cells and the assigned therapy implanted into the patient’s abdomen for 48 hours.

“It’s a state-of-the-art, immune-mediated vaccine from your own body, and it’s personalized medicine at its best,” explained Dr. Soma Sengupta, site principal investigator and a physician-researcher at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center, said in a previous press release from her institution.

Researchers will focus on several outcomes throughout the study including progression-free survival (defined as the time from treatment assignment to first disease progression or death), overall survival (defined as the time from treatment assignment to all-cause death) and side effects patients may experience as a result of treatment.

According to the National Brain Tumor Society, glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive type of primary brain cancer, with a five-year survival rate of 6.8%. The release also noted that survival rates and mortality statistics have remained unchanged for decades.

“Glioblastoma is a devastating disease that has continued to elude effective treatment for years,” Dr. Ian Lee, neurosurgeon at Henry Ford Health, said in the release. “We believe IGV-001 has the potential to improve outcomes for patients battling this aggressive form of brain cancer.”

This particular trial will be conducted at 24 different locations across the United States, according to the ClinicalTrials.gov listing, and is estimated to be completed by July 2027.

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