Researchers from the Clínica Universidad de Navarra and the CIMA have completed a pilot clinical trial of immunotherapy essay that confirms its feasibility and immunological effects in patients with advanced tumors of different organs. The results have been recently published in Annals of Oncologythe journal of the European Society of Clinical Oncology.

area The essay, directed by Dr. Ignacio Melero, co-director of the Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy, and Dr. José Luis Pérez-Gracia, coordinator of the Clinic's Oncology Clinical Trials Department, consisted of the intratumoral injection of hiltonol, an agent that locally mimics a viral infection, in combination with vaccines against the antigens present in the tumor itself. Also, in a subgroup of patients, localized external radiotherapy has been associated with hiltonol-injected tumor.  

"This combination has been very safe and the results of laboratory indicate that the treatment has produced the expected immunobiological effects, according to the mechanism of action of the treatment: in most cases control of disease progression has been achieved. Furthermore, in some patients, the combination with radiotherapy has led to a reduction in tumor size outside the field of irradiation, which is called the "abscopal effect" (or distant effect) of radioimmunotherapy", explains Dr. María Rodríguez-Ruiz, first author of work.

According to Dr. Melero, "although this is a pilot clinical essay , these findings demonstrate the usefulness of immunotherapy agents administered intratumorally. We are currently participating in a clinical essay which also involves the intratumoral administration of a drug with similar, although possibly more potent, effects, developed by the Spanish company Bioncotech".

The researchers emphasize that "the potential of combinations of immunotherapy and radiotherapy is enormous, and we will possibly succeed in making radiotherapy a systemic cancer treatment, effective beyond its known local effects".