Triple therapy for rare skin cancer shows promise in small, early-stage trial

June 2, 2017

On May 31, 2017, Hutch News released an article highlighting the promising results from an ongoing early-stage trial. The combination of T-cell therapy, avelumab (the newly FDA- approved drug), followed by an immune booster has kept cancer from progressing in three out of four patients with metastatic MCC.  Fred Hutch immunotherapy researcher Dr. Kelly Paulson states, “We’ve got the tumor and we upregulate [a certain protein using radiation or interferon] to throw some kindling on, and then we put the T cells in to light the match, and then we put the checkpoint blocker in to fan the flames.” All four patients who received the triple therapy saw a decrease in their tumor burden, as a response, and three out of four are in complete remission.

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