thymalfasin and Skin-Neoplasms

DTIC and interleukin-2 (IL-2), as single agents, have a limited anti-tumor activity in patients with metastatic melanoma. Experimentally, thymosin alpha 1 (TA1) may modulate the action of IL-2. We investigated the clinical and immunological effects of a combination with these three agents.. Forty-six patients with measurable metastatic melanoma were treated with DTIC 850 mg IV on day 1, TA1 2 mg s.c. on days 4 to 7, and IL-2 18 MU/m2/d by continuous intravenous infusion on days 8 to 12. Cycles were repeated every 3 weeks.. Objective responses were obtained in 15 (36%) of 42 evaluable patients (CI at 95%: 22%-50%). Two patients experienced complete responses, and stable disease was observed in five. The median time to progression was 5.5 months and median survival was 11 months. Side effects were predominantly caused by IL-2. Treatment was tolerated reasonably well, and there was no overlapping toxicity or interference between chemotherapy and biotherapy. Baseline sCD4 levels seem to correlate to tumor burden. Patients benefiting from treatment had lower sCD4 and higher sCD8 than did progressing patients.. The combination of DTIC + TA1 + IL-2 is active in the treatment of advanced melanoma, with acceptable toxicity. However, even more active regimens are needed, and the interactions between thymic hormones and cytokines should be further explored.

Topics: Adult; Aged; CD4 Antigens; CD8 Antigens; Combined Modality Therapy; Dacarbazine; Female; Humans; Interleukin-2; Male; Melanoma; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Metastasis; Remission Induction; Skin Neoplasms; Thymalfasin; Thymosin

Immune checkpoint blockade antibodies (imAbs), such as the anti Cytotoxic T Lymphocyte Antigen-4 (CTLA-4) ipilimumab (IPI) raised overall survival (OS) in metastatic melanoma (MM). Further, long-term OS is a crucial endpoint in MM. Thymosin alpha-1 (Tα1) with dacarbazine (DTIC) showed activity in a phase II trial and a compassionate use program (EAP). We report on long-term follow-up of patients treated with Tα1 to investigate the preconditioning role of Tα1 in imAbs-treated patients.. Records of patients with melanoma treated with Tα1 within a phase II trial and EAP program were reviewed comparing median OS among patients that sequentially received anti-CTLA-4 imAb and Tα1. Further, the effect of Tα1 on IPI long-term survivor patients was investigated.. Among patients treated with Tα1, 21/61 patients received sequentially even anti CTLA-4 imAbs. Median OS at the data cut-off was 57.8 and 7.4 months in patients treated sequentially with anti-CTLA-4 imAbs or not, respectively. Moreover, pretreatment with Tα1 in all (95) IPI-evaluable patients confirmed a significant increase in long-term OS.. This is the first report on long-term follow-up of Tα1-treated patients. Moreover, an advantage in OS in patients sequentially treated with Tα1 and IPI was seen that suggests a synergistic effect.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antineoplastic Agents, Immunological; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Cell Cycle Checkpoints; Clinical Trials, Phase II as Topic; CTLA-4 Antigen; Dacarbazine; Drug Synergism; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Ipilimumab; Male; Melanoma; Middle Aged; Neoplasm Metastasis; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Skin Neoplasms; Survival Analysis; Thymalfasin; Time Factors; Young Adult

Recent understanding of the complex pathophysiology of melanoma and severe sepsis suggests that immune-modulating compounds such as thymosin alpha 1 (INN: thymalfasin; abbreviated Ta1) could be useful in the treatment of these two unrelated immune-suppressing indications.. Three nonclinical murine models were utilized, including: i) a lung metastasis B16 model; ii) a B16-based tumor growth model; and iii) a cecal-ligation and puncture (CLP) sepsis model.. In the lung metastasis model, Ta1 treatment alone led to a 32% decrease in metastases (p < 0.05). Additionally, combinations of Ta1 and an anti-PD-1 antibody led to significantly fewer metastases than vehicle. In the tumor growth model, significant decreases in tumor growth were seen: 34% (p = 0.015) to 46% (p = 0.001) depending on the Ta1 dose. In the CLP sepsis model, Ta1 treatment showed a positive trend towards increased survival and decreased bacterial load. In this CLP model, Ta1 also appeared to have an effect on the levels of some biomarkers.. All three models demonstrated a benefit after treatment with Ta1, with no evidence of toxicity. These initial pilot studies support the hypothesis that immune-suppressive indications, including sepsis and melanoma, may be treated with Ta1 alone or by Ta1 in combination with other immunotherapies.

Topics: Adjuvants, Immunologic; Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Evaluation, Preclinical; Female; Immunosuppressive Agents; Lung Neoplasms; Melanoma, Experimental; Mice; Sepsis; Skin Neoplasms; Thymalfasin; Thymosin

In the present study, the immunomodulatory and synergistic anti-tumor activity of thymosin α1-thymopentin fusion peptide (Tα1-TP5) was investigated in vivo. In addition, the potential receptor of Tα1-TP5 was investigated by surface plasmon resonance (SPR) binding studies. It was found that Tα1-TP5 (305 μg/kg) alleviated immunosuppression induced by hydrocortisone (HC). Tα1-TP5 (305 μg/kg) combined with cyclophosphamide (CY) had a better tumor growth inhibitory effect than CY alone. Furthermore, Tα1-TP5 had a higher affinity (KD=6.84 μmol/L) to toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) than Tα1 (K(D)=35.4 μmol/L), but its affinity was not significantly different from that of TP5. The results of our present work indicate that Tα1-TP5 can possibly be developed as a new immunomodulatory agent.

Topics: Animals; Antineoplastic Agents; Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Atrophy; B7-2 Antigen; Cyclophosphamide; Drug Synergism; Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; Hydrocortisone; Immunologic Factors; Immunosuppressive Agents; Interferon-gamma; Male; Melanoma, Experimental; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Protein Binding; Skin Neoplasms; Surface Plasmon Resonance; Thymalfasin; Thymocytes; Thymopentin; Thymosin; Thymus Gland; Time Factors; Toll-Like Receptor 2; Tumor Burden