Long-term follow up of metastatic melanoma patients treated with Thymosin alpha-1: investigating immune checkpoints synergy.
Danielli. Riccardo R; Cisternino. Filomena F; Giannarelli. Diana D; Calabrò. Luana L; Camerini. Roberto R; Savelli. Vinno V; Bova. Giovanni G; Dragonetti. Rosella R; Di Giacomo. Anna Maria AM; Altomonte. Maresa M; Maio. Michele M
Key Findings
- Thymosin‑alpha‑1 before ipilimumab was linked to a median overall survival of about 58 months versus 7 months without the combo
- The data suggest a possible synergistic effect between thymosin‑alpha‑1 and anti‑CTLA‑4 therapy
- This is the first long‑term follow‑up showing survival benefit in this setting
Practical Outcomes
- The results are interesting for cancer treatment protocols but aren’t directly usable for everyday health optimization. Biohackers should not try this regimen without clinical supervision, as the safety and dosing in healthy people are unknown.
Summary
A study looked at people with advanced skin cancer who got a peptide called thymosin‑alpha‑1 before receiving an immune‑boosting drug (ipilimumab). Those who got the peptide first lived much longer than those who didn’t, hinting the two might work better together. However, this was done in sick cancer patients under medical care, not healthy individuals.
Abstract
Immune checkpoint blockade antibodies (imAbs), such as the anti Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Antigen-4 (CTLA-4) ipilimumab (IPI) raised overall survival (OS) in metastatic melanoma (MM). Further, long-term OS is a crucial endpoint in MM. Thymosin alpha-1 (Tα1) with dacarbazine (DTIC) showed activity in a phase II trial and a compassionate use program (EAP). We report on long-term follow-up of patients treated with Tα1 to investigate the preconditioning role of Tα1 in imAbs-treated patients. Records of patients with melanoma treated with Tα1 within a phase II trial and EAP program were reviewed comparing median OS among patients that sequentially received anti-CTLA-4 imAb and Tα1. Further, the effect of Tα1 on IPI long-term survivor patients was investigated. Among patients treated with Tα1, 21/61 patients received sequentially even anti CTLA-4 imAbs. Median OS at the data cut-off was 57.8 and 7.4 months in patients treated sequentially with anti-CTLA-4 imAbs or not, respectively. Moreover, pretreatment with Tα1 in all (95) IPI-evaluable patients confirmed a significant increase in long-term OS. This is the first report on long-term follow-up of Tα1-treated patients. Moreover, an advantage in OS in patients sequentially treated with Tα1 and IPI was seen that suggests a synergistic effect.
Study Information
pubmed
2018
2018-05-31T00:00:00.000Z
10.1080/14712598.2018.1494717
19
27