Prostate cancer, a prevalent malignancy in men, particularly high-risk prostate cancer, is often aggressive and challenging to treat. A phase 2 clinical trial at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center evaluated enoblituzumab, a monoclonal antibody showing promise as a safe immunotherapy for high-risk prostate cancer. The study involved 32 men receiving six weekly infusions of enoblituzumab before surgery, with outcomes monitored for 30 months. Remarkably, 66% of participants demonstrated undetectable prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels one year post-surgery, indicating no residual disease. The study found enoblituzumab well-tolerated, with no significant surgical complications.
The therapy targets B7-H3, a protein overexpressed in prostate cancer cells, thus helping to activate the immune system to combat the disease. Researchers noted improved immune markers and increased infiltration of cytotoxic T-cells in tumors post-treatment. If the promising results are replicated in larger trials, enoblituzumab could significantly alter the treatment landscape for prostate cancer. Future studies aim to compare its effectiveness against current standard care and explore its potential in combined therapies aimed at eradicating micro-metastatic cancer. The findings were published in Nature Medicine.
