Dr. Thierry Jahan on CRS-207 With Chemotherapy in Mesothelioma

Thierry Jahan, MD, professor of medicine at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center in San Francisco, discusses CRS-20, a live, attenuated Listeria monocytogenes bacterium which is being investigated with chemotherapy in malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM).

Thierry Jahan, MD, professor of medicine at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the combination of the immunotherapy CRS-207 with chemotherapy as a treatment for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). CRS-207 is a strain of Listeria that contains 2 gene deletions to diminish its pathogenicity. The bacterium has also been engineered to express mesothelin, which is expressed on mesothelioma cells.

Mesothelioma is a very difficult disease to treat, says Jahan. Chemotherapy, which is the standard of care, yields between a 20% and 40% response rate, with a median survival of about 1 year.

In a phase Ib study, the combination of CRS-207 with chemotherapy demonstrated a 94% disease control rate and a 59% response rate in patients with MPM, said Jahan. Median progression-free survival was 8.5 months. The combination was well-tolerated, with temperature spikes and rigors as the primary adverse events.

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