Camrelizumab has been approved as a first-line treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and it can significantly prolong survival!
The sixth indication of the domestically produced PD-1 inhibitor carrilizumab (trade name Erica) developed by Hengrui Pharmaceutical has recently been approved by the State Drug Administration for use in combination with cisplatin and gemcitabine for the first-line treatment of patients with locally relapsed or metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer.
Previously approved indications for camrelizumab
1. Treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin's lymphoma who have undergone at least second-line systemic chemotherapy；
2. Treatment of patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma who have received solafenib treatment and/or oxaliplatin-containing systemic chemotherapy in the past；
3. Combined with Pemetrexel and carboplatin, it is suitable for the first-line treatment of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation-negative and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-negative, inoperable resection of locally advanced or metastatic non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)；
4. Treatment of patients with locally advanced or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who have previously received first-line chemotherapy after the disease has progressed or cannot be tolerated；
5. Patients with advanced nasopharyngeal cancer who have previously received second-line and above chemotherapy have progressed or become intolerable in the past.
How effective is camrelizumab in treating nasopharyngeal carcinoma?
It is reported that carrilizumab can significantly prolong the non-progressive survival of patients with advanced nasopharyngeal cancer.
The treatment of nasopharyngeal cancer has always been based on radiation therapy, especially early-stage nasopharyngeal cancer, but about 20-37% of patients will experience local recurrence or distant metastasis. The treatment methods for recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer are very limited and the prognosis is poor. Platinum-containing dual-drug chemotherapy is currently the recommended first-line standard treatment, but the survival period without progress is only about 7 months.
The approval of Carrilizumab for indications for nasopharyngeal cancer is based on the CAPTAIN-1ST study led by Professor Tensiong of the Cancer Prevention and Treatment Center of Sun Yat-sen University.
Interim analysis results showed that camrelizumab combined with GP significantly prolonged progression-free survival and reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 46%. These findings were presented orally at the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting, and the full text has been accepted by The Lancet Oncology and will be published soon.
Carrilizumab, combined with cisplatin and gemcitabine, is used as a first-line treatment for patients with locally recurrent or metastatic nasopharyngeal cancer. It is expected to become a new standard treatment for locally advanced recurrent/metastatic advanced nasopharyngeal cancer, which will benefit more patients with advanced nasopharyngeal cancer.
