Dr. Sands on the Rationale to Explore DS-1062 in Advanced NSCLC

Jacob Sands, MD, physician, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, instructor in medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses the rationale to explore DS-1062 in advanced non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

At the 2019 ASCO Annual Meeting, Sands presented the safety and preliminary antitumor activity of DS-1062 in patients with advanced NSCLC. DS-1062 is a Trop-2-targeted antibody-drug conjugate (ADC). Trop-2 is a protein that is commonly seen on the surface of cancer cells. By targeting Trop-2 with an ADC, treatment can be delivered with less toxicity and more potency, explains Sands.

As a phase I dose-escalation trial, patients were started on relatively low doses of the drug. Among the 35 evaluable patients who received DS-1062, the dose levels ranged from 0.27 mg/kg to 8.0 mg/kg every 21 days. A total of 10 partial responses have been reported so far. These patients received a median of 3.5 prior lines of therapy, including prior EGFR or ALK inhibitors and checkpoint inhibitors.

Notably, patients were escalated beyond what researchers anticipated would be the maximum-tolerated dose, with a tolerability profile that has been consistent across doses, says Sands. However, higher response rates have been seen with higher doses of the drug. These data are very encouraging in a setting of high unmet need, Sands concludes.