Eye cancer: the promise of immunotherapy

Eye cancer patients see hope in a new treatment. Specifically, those with uveal melanoma. According to a new study, published on September 23 in the New England Journal of Medicineresearchers from the Institut Curie have shown encouraging results for tebentafusp, an immunotherapy treatment.

Results “very exciting”

Each year, between 500 and 600 new patients develop uveal melanoma. Among them, about a third see this cancer spread in the form of metastases, most often in the liver. No treatment exists to effectively treat these metastases, as the Institut Curie reminds us in a communicated. The causes of uveal melanoma remain unknown. The disease appears mainly between the ages of 50 and 70. People with blue, green or gray eyes are two to three times more likely to develop one.

This phase 3 study is the first to demonstrate the efficacy of an immunotherapy molecule, tebentafusp. Conducted with 378 patients, it states that the 1-year survival is 73% for patients who received the molecule against 59% for other patients. In addition, 31% of patients treated with tebentafusp had not relapsed at 6 months, compared to only 19% of patients who received other treatments. “These results are very exciting”, rejoiced Sophie Piperno-Neumann, medical oncologist at the Institut Curie and lead author of the study.

Treatment available in the coming months

Tebentafusp works by stimulating a targeted immune response. The molecule can be used on nearly half of patients (45%) who have the serotype necessary to trigger this anti-melanoma immunity. The treatment should be available to the general public in the following months.