Dr. Tap on Olaratumab in Patients With Soft Tissue Sarcoma

William D. Tap, MD, chief, Sarcoma Medical Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the mechanism of action of olaratumab as a treatment for patients with soft tissue sarcoma.

Olaratumab is unique because it is a monoclonal antibody that specifically targets the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR). Although it was thought that this therapy would require a cellular signaling process, researchers initially believed that the entire PDGFR cellular signaling had to be repressed.

However, olaratumab is highly specific to PDGFR-α. Because olaratumab is associated with a significant improvement in overall survival, researchers are beginning to rethink how it affects immune cells, stem cells, and the tumor microenvironment. Tap hopes that olaratumab will help researchers understand more of the biology of sarcoma.