Augmenting antibody response to EGF-depleting immunotherapy: Findings from a phase I trial of CIMAvax-EGF in combination with nivolumab in advanced stage NSCLC.

Background: CIMAvax-EGF is an epidermal growth factor (EGF)-depleting immunotherapy which has shown survival benefit as a switch maintenance treatment after platinum-based chemotherapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The primary objective of this trial is to establish the safety and recommended phase II dose (RP2D) of CIMAvax-EGF in combination with nivolumab as second-line therapy for NSCLC.
Methods: Patients with immune checkpoint inhibitor-naive metastatic NSCLC were enrolled using a "3+3" dose-escalation design. Toxicities were graded according to CTCAE V4.03. Thirteen patients (one unevaluable), the majority with PD-L1 0%, were enrolled into two dose levels of CIMAvax-EGF.
Findings: The combination was determined to be safe and tolerable. The recommended phase 2 dose of CIMAvax-EGF was 2.4 mg. Humoral response to CIMAvax-EGF was achieved earlier and in a greater number of patients with the combination compared to historical control. Four out of 12 evaluable patients had an objective response.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
(Copyright © 2022 Evans, Lee, Wallace, Reid, Muhitch, Dozier, Mesa, Luaces, Santos-Morales, Groman, Cedeno, Cinquino, Fisher, Puzanov, Opyrchal, Fountzilas, Dai, Ernstoff, Attwood, Hutson, Johnson, Mazorra, Saavedra, Leon, Lage, Crombet and Dy.)