A targeted antibody therapy combined with standard chemotherapy has shown early signs of tumour shrinkage and disease control in patients with advanced bowel cancer. 

This is according to new Phase I clinical trial results from The Institute of Cancer Research, London and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. 

The INBRX-109 clinical trial is a first-in-human early-phase study involving 50 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer whose disease had progressed after two or three previous treatments and were not eligible for surgery. 

The trial, involving patients across the UK and internationally, is evaluating ozekibart, an investigational antibody therapy designed to trigger cancer cell death by activating a protein called death receptor 5 on the cell surface, in combination with FOLFIRI chemotherapy. 

Among 45 evaluable patients in the study, who had a measurable data response, one in five (20%) experienced tumour shrinkage following treatment with ozekibart plus FOLFIRI. One patient experienced complete response, meaning there was no visible tumour on their scan. 

Disease control was achieved in 39 out of 45 patients (87%), including those whose tumours shrank and those whose disease remained stable. 

Dr Hazel Lote, Consultant Medical Oncologist at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and Honorary Researcher at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Gastrointestinal Unit Sub Investigator of the study, said: “These early results are promising for patients with advanced colorectal cancer who have very few treatment options left. The combination of ozekibart plus FOLFIR not only shrank tumours in some patients, but stopped the cancer from worsening in many others, suggesting this treatment combination could offer a promising new treatment option.  

“While this is still an early-stage trial, the findings are really encouraging for this patient group where there are very few treatment options and supports further research into this treatment.”