John Charlson, MD, Medical College of Wisconsin, discusses synovial sarcomas and the SPEARHEAD-1 clinical trial testing the safety and efficacy of afami-cel in this rare disease.
Synovial sarcoma is a cancer that can originate from different types of soft tissue, such as muscle or ligaments. It is often found in the arm, leg, or foot, and near joints such as the wrist or ankle. The disease can also form in soft tissues in the lung or abdomen. It may also be called malignant synovioma. It can appear at any age but one-third of patients with synovial sarcoma will be diagnosed under the age of 30 years.
Current management of localized synovial sarcomas include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Metastatic varieties primarily utilize chemotherapy as treatment.
SPEARHEAD-1 is a Phase 2, open-label trial for advanced synovial sarcoma patients, evaluating the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of afami-cel. 90 patients with metastatic synovial carcinoma who had received prior lines of therapy were enrolled in this study. Patients received a single dose of afami-cel between 1-10 × 10^9 transduced T-cells after receiving lymphodepleting chemotherapy. Afami-cel drives tumor infiltration of activated and proliferative cytotoxic T-cells.
The overall response rate with afami-cel was about 39% with a response duration of around 12 months. Median overall survival was about 17 months, showing significant improvement when compared to past therapies. Additionally, 70% of patients with advanced synovial sarcoma with response to afami-cel are alive two years post-treatment. Researchers also observed acceptable safety outcomes.
For more information on this and other rare cancers, visit https://checkrare.com/diseases/cancers/