As we continue to pioneer new medical applications for focused ultrasound, our Lynn Dengel, MD, has launched a clinical trial to test the technology's potential to increase the effectiveness of immunotherapy for melanoma.
“Immunotherapy has dramatically improved our success in treating patients with advanced melanoma, but still 20% to 40% of patients do not respond,” explained Dr. Dengel, a surgical oncologist at UVA Cancer Center. “We know that combining immune therapies improves response rates in our patients, and we seek novel therapies, such as focused ultrasound, as a mechanism of altering the immune response within the tumor.”
Dr. Dengel and her collaborators are enrolling 11 study participants who are taking a cancer immunotherapy drug called PD-1 antibody blockade. The participants will receive focused ultrasound with Theraclion’s ultrasound-guided EchoPulse device. Then another immunotherapy drug, Hiltinol, will be injected into their tumor before the participants undergo surgery to remove their tumor.
The researchers will then evaluate the effects of the combination approach, including changes to the tumor microenvironment.
That information, Dr. Dengel tells me, will be "vital to exploring the potential of focused ultrasound in advanced melanoma and other solid tumors.”