Technologies

The anti-CTLA-4 antibody, Ipilimumab, also known as YERVOY, was FDA approved for the treatment of metastatic melanoma in 2011. Ipilimumab works by inhibiting CTLA-4, a protein on T-cells that prevents them from attacking cancer cells. Only about 10-20% of melanoma patients respond to Ipilimumab. Since Ipilimumab works by stimulating the immune system, it can cause severe, potentially fatal, side effects, such as stomach pain, bloating, constipation or diarrhea, but also fever, breathing or urinating problems. Thus, it is critical to develop a diagnostic to predict which patients will respond treatment. No such method exists to date.

In addition to melanoma, clinical trials for the treatment of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), small cell lung cancer (SCLC), bladder cancer and metastatic hormone-refractory prostate cancer with Ipilimumab are underway. Therefore, these biomarkers to predict the responsiveness of tumors to anti-CTLA-4 antibodies could benefit many cancer patients.