(TheConservativeTimes.org) – The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved a new immunotherapy drug for adult patients with endometrial cancer.
The drug Jemperli was made by British pharmaceutical company GSK, and it’s intended to be taken by people with primary advanced or recurrent forms of endometrial cancer. The drug is an immunotherapy drug which means that it helps to leverage the body’s immune system to attack the cancer cells.
Clinical trials of the drug showed progression-free survival and overall survival for all patients involved. Dr. Brian Slomovitz, Director of Gynecologic Oncology and co-chair of the Cancer Research Committee at Mount Sinai Medical Center, said, “This class of drugs has been used in the second-line setting. Moving them to first-line status here will yield better outcomes.”
This is the third FDA approval for an immunotherapy drug in endometrial cancer, according to Slomovitz. “This is great news for our patients,” he stated. In June, the FDA approved Merck’s Keytruda to be used with chemotherapy for adult patients with recurrent endometrial cancer as well.
According to Slomovitz, Endometrial cancer is the leading cause of death when looking at any gynecological cancers. Before immunotherapy options, the only option for treatment was chemotherapy.
“These results are game-changing — it is unprecedented to have three approvals in such a short period of time,” the doctor said.
The trials showed that immunotherapy in combination with chemotherapy reduced the risk of disease by seventy percent in patients.
Shannon N. Westin, medical director of the Gynecologic Oncology Center at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, said she is “thrilled” to have other options for patients with advanced and recurrent endometrial cancer.
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