Retrospective Analysis of the Clinical Characteristics of Patients with Breast Cancer Treated with Telomerase Peptide Immunotherapy Combined with Cytotoxic Chemotherapy

Abstract

Purpose Telomerase activation, a critical step in cancer progression, occurs in approximately 95% of breast cancer cases. Telomerase is an attractive therapeutic target for breast cancer owing to its unique expression pattern. GV1001, a telomerase-derived peptide, is loaded onto human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II antigen-presenting cells and binds to CD4+ T cell activating immune responses. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of co-administration of GV1001 and cytotoxic chemotherapy in patients with heavily-treated metastatic breast cancer. Patients and methods We analyzed 63 patients with breast cancer who received both GV1001 and cytotoxic chemotherapy. The GV 1001 administration methods involves 0.56 mg intradermal injection three times during the first week, one time at weeks 2, 3, 4, and 6, and then once every 28 days. The primary endpoint of this study was quality of life according to EORTC QLO-C30 and EQ-5D, while the secondary endpoint was the antitumor response according to RECIST 1.1, progression-free survival, overall survival, and toxicity profile. Results In 34 patients with HR+ breast cancer evaluable for tumor response, the disease control rate (DCR) and overall response rate (ORR) were 58.8% and 26.4%, respectively. The DCR and ORR were 66.6% and 28.5% in 21 patients with HER-2+ and 50% and 25% in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), respectively. The median progression free survival was 10.4, 8.7, and 5.6 months in HR+, HER-2+, TNBC, respectively. The overall survival was 19.7, 13.2, and 9.4 months for patients with HR+, HER-2+, and TNBC, respectively. Most patients had an improved quality of life with statistically significant differences in some variables. The patients in this study experienced no additional toxicities other than the cytotoxic chemotherapy-associated side effects. Conclusion GV1001 is a relatively safe anticancer vaccine for patients with heavily-treated breast cancer and can to improve the quality of life.