Immunotherapy against lung cancer

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

Phase II study – Non-small cell lung cancer (LUNGVAC) The cancer vaccine UV1 will be investigated in a randomized, multi-center phase II trial in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The trial, named LUNGVAC, investigates UV1 in combination with the checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab as first-line treatment in NSCLC. Drammen Hospital is the sponsor of the study and Professor Odd Terje Brustugun will be the National Principal Investigator. A total of 138 patients will be included in the study. Half of the patients will be treated with the combination of UV1 and pembrolizumab, whereas the other half will receive pembrolizumab only. The study is planned to be conducted at 8-10 hospitals in Norway. The primary endpoint of the trial is progression-free survival (PFS). The necessary approvals from the Norwegian Medicinal Agency and the Ethics Committee in Norway are in place to initiate the trial. Lung cancer is currently one of the most common cancers globally, and by far the biggest cause of cancer deaths in both men and women. NSCLC accounts for approximately 85% of all lung cancers. An estimated 850,000 new patients (in the US, EU5, Japan, China) are diagnosed with NSCLC each year. Most of these patients are metastatic, for which the 5-year survival rate is around 7%. The LUNGVAC trial will indicate whether the combination of UV1 with pembrolizumab can further improve the prospects for patients.