GW Cancer Center: Site of Clinical Trial of Cemiplimab in High-Risk Skin Cancer
Posted: Tuesday, February 18, 2020
The Cutaneous Oncology Program at the George Washington University (GW) Cancer Center will serve as the first global host of a clinical trial to study the outcomes of patients with advanced squamous cell carcinoma undergoing treatment with the immunotherapy cemiplimab.
“Clinical investigations like this one are critical to expanding the treatment options available to patients,” noted Mitchell Smith, MD, PhD, of the GW Cancer Center, in an institutional press release. “By examining neoadjuvant applications of immunotherapy drugs like cemiplimab, the hope is that patients will be able to be treated with less invasive surgeries or avoid surgery altogether.”
The phase II trial will evaluate the efficacy and safety of the administration of cemiplimab treatment prior to primary surgery and radiotherapy. The study will primarily determine the effect of cemiplimab on tumor size and the likelihood of disease progression or recurrence. An estimated 75 patients will be included. A similar trial performed at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center had promising preliminary results, particularly in responses to checkpoint inhibitors prior to surgery in patients with advanced cutaneous head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.
