RE:RE:RE:RE:Press release Oncology's Best Minds Set to Meet at Upcoming 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium
Canada NewsWire
VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 22, 2025
USA News Group News Commentary
Issued on behalf of Oncolytics Biotech Inc.
VANCOUVER, BC, Jan. 22, 2025 /CNW/ -- USA News Group News Commentary -- Big developments are expected this week at the 2025 ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium, running January 23-25 in San Francisco. This year's event is particularly critical as researchers highlight the alarming rise in cancer rates among people under 50, with gastrointestinal cancers leading the increase. Colorectal and pancreatic cancers, two of the top three deadliest cancer types, remain significant concerns as pancreatic cancer mortality continues to climb. Among the innovators presenting at the symposium are Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC), Agenus Inc. (NASDAQ: AGEN), Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: GH), Xilio Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: XLO), and RenovoRx, Inc. (NASDAQ: RNXT).
The article continued: According to USD Analytics' recently introduced study, the Global Pancreatic Cancer Treatment Market is expected to soar in the upcoming years, growing at a 7.6% CAGR. Analysts at Precedence Research project that the global stomach cancer treatment market will grow at a 12.54% CAGR to US17.6 billion by 2034.
Oncolytics Biotech Inc. (NASDAQ: ONCY) (TSX: ONC), a leading clinical-stage company specializing in immunotherapy for oncology, today shared details about the data it will present at the ASCO GI symposium. The presentations will highlight pelareorep, an innovative immunotherapy that trains the immune system to target cancer by turning "cold" tumors--typically resistant to treatment--into "hot" tumors that respond better to therapy.
In relapsed anal cancer, 4 out of 12 evaluable patients achieved a partial response for a response rate of 33%, and one patient achieved a remarkable complete response, meaning their cancer became undetectable and remained so for over 15 months. To put this into perspective, similar treatments typically achieve response rates of only 10-24%. This underscores pelareorep's potential to deliver life-changing results in some of the toughest-to-treat cancers.
"In relapsed anal cancer, the efficacy signal that was initially reported continues to outperform historical control trials with the inclusion of additional patients," said Thomas Heineman, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer for Oncolytics Biotech. "Importantly, the complete response we observed previously continued beyond the 12 months initially reported. Together, these results point to a clinically meaningful synergy between pelareorep and checkpoint inhibitors like atezolizumab."
In pancreatic cancer, pelareorep has also demonstrated strong potential to improve outcomes for patients with this aggressive disease. The upcoming ASCO GI presentation will feature new safety data showing that pelareorep can be combined with modified FOLFIRINOX, another widely used chemotherapy regimen for patients with pancreatic cancer.
"Our new safety data indicate its ability to also be combined with modified FOLFIRINOX, thus expanding its potential to benefit patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer," added Dr. Heineman. "We will continue to provide updates on the safety and efficacy of pelareorep-based combination therapy from these cohorts as they become available."
This builds on prior results from the GOBLET study, where pelareorep, combined with atezolizumab, gemcitabine, and nab-paclitaxel, achieved a 62% objective response rate--more than double historical averages of 25%. These findings were pivotal in earning pelareorep FDA Fast Track designation in 2022, highlighting its promise to fill the critical unmet need for more effective pancreatic cancer therapies.
The ability to pair pelareorep with modified FOLFIRINOX represents an important step forward in expanding treatment options for metastatic pancreatic cancer. These results not only highlight pelareorep's versatility but also its potential to enhance outcomes across multiple standard-of-care therapies.
"I am quite pleased by these recent updates from the GOBLET study as they continue to provide potential new treatment options for patients in need of alternatives while maintaining a manageable safety profile," said Dirk Arnold, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Asklepios Tumorzentrum Hamburg, and primary investigator of the GOBLET trial. "I've been especially impressed with the ability of pelareorep-based therapies to work across multiple challenging cancer indications and with multiple standards of care, including chemotherapy and checkpoint inhibitors, so I look forward to additional data readouts that can help improve the treatment paradigm."
As Oncolytics Biotech advances its clinical programs and prepares for pivotal studies, the growing body of evidence continues to solidify pelareorep as a transformative therapeutic option for patients in desperate need of effective treatments.
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