TISOTUMAB VEDOTIN (TV)

About: 

• Bodies involved: The Trial was Funded by biotechnology companies Genmab and Seattle Genetics and led by the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) in the UK. 
  
  
• Working: 
  • Tisotumab Vedotin (TV) uses a ‘Trojan horse’ approach to enter tumours and release a toxic substance, killing the cancerous cells from within. 
    
    
  • It consists of a toxic drug linked to the tail end of an antibody, which is engineered to identify the tissue factor receptor. 
    
    
  • This receptor is known to be present in high levels on the surface of many cancers cells and associated with worse survival. 
    
    
  
  
  
• Findings: Patients with advanced, drug-resistant cancers were observed to respond to the drug, with their tumours shrinking or stopping growing. The main side effects observed during the trial were nausea, fatigue, nose bleeds, and eye problems. 
  
  
• Present status of Trial: The drug is currently being studied in other cancer types such as pancreatic, squamous cell lung and head and neck cancers. It is also undergoing a Phase II trial as a second-line treatment for cervical cancer. 
  
  
• Comment: The treatment mechanism is completely novel, it acts like a Trojan horse to sneak into cancer cells and kill them from the inside. It has the potential to treat a large number of different types of cancer, and particularly some of those with very poor survival rates.