Micro-Doses of $200,000 Cancer Drugs Help Patients for Less
A vial of Keytruda.
Source: Merck
Hi, it’s Bob in New York, along with Ashleigh in Germany. Studies are hinting that lower doses of immune therapy drugs may help patients and save money. But first ...
Immunotherapy drugs such as Merck & Co.’s Keytruda and Opdivo from Bristol Myers Squibb Co. have transformed cancer treatment in recent years, boosting survival rates for numerous types of tumors. They also cost more than $200,000 a year in the US.
Lately, researchers in Europe, India and elsewhere have been exploring using significantly less medicine. One trial in India found that ultra-low doses of immunotherapy boosted survival forhead and neck cancer patients, while a recent small study in the US hinted that reduced quantities also may work in advanced skin cancer. Trials of other dose-sparing strategies are underway in Europe.
A few days ago, additional positive data on lower doses was presented at theEuropean Society for Medical Oncology in Germany. In a 157-person trial done in India, doctors found that using less than a tenth of the approved pre-surgical dose of Keytruda could substantially boost the number of triple negative breast cancer patients that were totally free of cancer after an operation, as compared with not having Keytruda at all.
Meanwhile, a second trial at the meeting from researchers in the Netherlands looked at stopping drugs like Keytruda or Opdivo after roughly six months in melanoma patients whose tumors had shrunk substantially. They’re typically treated for at least 24 months. It found that a large majority were alive and still responding after two years, suggesting the curtailed therapy may offer benefits such as fewer treatment visits for patients wanting to try it.
The trials are small and don’t prove that shorter regimens are as good as standard doses. Nonetheless, academic researchers say the results add to a mosaic of findings that lower doses or shorter courses may still be highly potent. That’s good news for patients in places where access to the pricey drugs is limited.