Oct. 23, 2018:

Big Ten investigators presented Phase Ib results of the BTCRC-LUN15-017 study during a poster session at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer’s World Conference on Lung Cancer, Sept. 23-26 in Toronto.

The primary endpoint of the Phase Ib study of Imprime PGG and pembrolizumab in stage IV non-small cell lung cancer after progression on platinum-based therapy was to establish the highest tolerated dose of Imprime PGG for recommendation for Phase II study. Secondary objectives were to define safety and tolerability, and to correlate clinical benefit with biomarkers on immune cells, soluble PD-L1 levels, anti-β-glucan antibody and FcγRIIa polymorphism.

See study abstract.

Study authors included Ardaman Shergill, MD, University of Illinois Cancer Center; Muhammad Furqan, MD, University of Iowa; Jyoti Malhotra, MD, MPH, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey; Li Liu, PhD, University of Illinois Cancer Center; Nandita Bose, PhD, Biothera; Chandra Belani, MD, Penn State Cancer Institute; and Lawrence E. Feldman, MD (sponsor-investigator, pictured), University of Illinois Cancer Center.

The authors concluded Imprime PGG in combination with pembrolizumab is well tolerated in outpatient settings and the role of this combination in treatment of NSCLC warrants further investigation. Phase II enrollment of this trial is ongoing.

About the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium: The Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium was created in 2013 to transform the conduct of cancer research through collaborative, hypothesis-driven, highly translational oncology trials that leverage the scientific and clinical expertise of Big Ten universities. The goal of the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium is to create a unique team-research culture to drive science rapidly from ideas to new approaches to cancer treatment. Within this innovative environment, today’s research leaders collaborate with and mentor the research leaders of tomorrow with the unified goal of improving the lives of all patients with cancer.

About the Big Ten Conference: The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The broad-based programs of the 14 Big Ten institutions will provide over $200 million in direct financial support to almost 9,500 students for more than 11,000 participation opportunities on 350 teams in 42 different sports. The Big Ten sponsors 28 official conference sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, including the addition of men’s ice hockey and men’s and women’s lacrosse since 2013. For more information, visit www.bigten.org.