MEDIA LAUNCH. AstraZeneca Philippines Medical Director Cyril Tolosa (from left), Hilario Pajac of Yellow Warriors, Philippine Society of Oncologist President Dr. Herdee Luna, and Dr. Eugene Regala of The Medical City during the TOPAZ-1 Philippine media launch in Mandaluyong on Thursday (Feb. 22, 2023). AstraZeneca presented the result of the most recent clinical trial on durvalumab in improving survival in biliary tract cancer. (PNA photo)
MANILA – A new drug is expected to improve the life expectancy of patients afflicted by biliary tract cancer (BTC), one of the world’s most aggressive form of cancers characterized by its low survival rates.
In a forum on Thursday, AstraZeneca presented in the Philippines the result of the most recent clinical trial on durvalumab in improving survival in BTC.
At present, treatments for BTC includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Immunotherapy, where durvalumab falls under, is one of the newest options for patients with this subtype.
Citing the TOPAZ-1 Phase III clinical trials that ended in 2022, AstraZeneca Philippines Medical Director Cyril Tolosa said combining durvalumab with chemotherapy (gemcitabine and cisplatin) showed a reduced risk of death by 24 percent compared to chemotherapy alone.
“The breakthrough results from the TOPAZ-1 phase III trials showed that durvalumab in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapy demonstrated a clinically meaningful and durable overall survival benefit as a treatment for patients with advanced BTC,” he said.
Tolosa said AstraZeneca hopes to partner with the Philippine government and different stakeholders to make access to this Medimmune/AstraZeneca-developed drug easier for Filipino BTC patients.
“We know that there may be difficulty financially but through partnership with the government, hopefully, the government is able to procure some of this kind of medication, not necessarily AstraZeneca but whatever treatment is available for these patients,” he said.
BTC is a group of rare and aggressive gastrointestinal cancers that form in the cells of the bile ducts, gallbladder or ampulla of Vater.
When these cancer cells appear in the body, a protein disguises them from the immune system.
Durvalumab works by binding to and blocking these proteins to remove the “disguise” so that the immune system can attack the cancer cells.
In the same forum, medical oncologist at UST Hospital and The Medical City Dr. Eugenio Regala believes durvalumab plus chemotherapy can be an effective “first-line therapy, and could become a new standard of care for patients” with advanced BTC.
AstraZeneca said about 80 percent of patients with BTC will be diagnosed with advanced disease with low five-year survival rate across all major subtypes of BTC.
The TOPAZ-1 trial ended in 2022 and involved 685 patients with unresectable advanced or metastatic BTC.
It was then approved by the Food and Drug Administration in December 2023, AstraZeneca said. (PNA)
