On November 30, 2023, BriaCell Therapeutics Corp. (Nasdaq: BCTX, BCTXW) (TSX: BCT) (“BriaCell”) a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops novel immunotherapies to transform cancer care, was thrilled to announce a new “remarkable responder” in Phase 2 study of the Bria-IMT™ combination regimen. BriaCell’s clinical team reported a patient with extensive metastatic breast cancer who had failed all available therapies. The patient had cancer behind the eye, causing proptosis (eye-bulging) and significant pain that were both resolved with BriaCell’s treatment. Additional survival updates and clinical data sets on the entire Phase 2 study cohort will be presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on December 6th and 7th, 2023.
“Responses like this are not often seen in heavily pretreated patients and are especially rare in metastatic disease to the eye,” stated Carmen Calfa, MD, Clinical Research Lead for the Breast Site Disease group at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Co-Director of the Cancer Survivorship Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Principal Clinical Investigator of the Phase 2 Bria-IMT™ study. “We were excited to offer her the latest treatments and thrilled to share in her success and joy.”
The noted responder, a post-menopausal metastatic breast cancer patient (the “remarkable responder”), experienced a remarkable improvement of proptosis caused by breast cancer tumors behind the eye, resulting in significant pain reduction in the ocular region. Her disease is characterized as positive for hormone receptor and 3+ for HER2. The woman had extensive metastatic disease (i.e., breast cancer tumors that have migrated to other areas of the body) including the bones of the spine, pelvis, sternum, the skull, and face, which included proptosis of the right eye from which the patient was clinically blind in that eye.
The patient was heavily pre-treated (7 prior regimens) highlighting the remarkable nature of her response on BriaCell’s treatment despite her very advanced cancer stage. Her last disease progression was recorded in August 2023. The patient started on BriaCell’s Bria-IMT™ combination therapy on October 4, 2023 and has received only 3 cycles of therapy. The Bria-IMT™ combination regimen has been well tolerated and the patient remains on treatment.
BriaCell had previously reported a similar case of a remarkable response with 100% resolution of an eye-bulging orbital tumor (release here). This particular patient had received (and failed) 12 regimens with 16 agents (incl. 13 chemotherapies) prior to BriaCell’s treatment, again adding to the remarkable nature of her response.
“We are reporting remarkable clinical responses in patients who were previously thought untreatable, suggesting effectiveness in difficult-to-reach tumors such as those in the bones and the brain,” said William V. Williams, MD, BriaCell’s President and CEO. “We hypothesize that our Bria-IMT™ regimen may cross the blood brain barrier to treat these difficult-to-reach areas, such as the brain, which continues to increase our excitement for our novel cancer immunotherapy. We have seen several patients with central nervous system metastases respond to our therapy and are looking forward to further investigating this unique observation in our pivotal Phase 3 study of Bria-IMT™ combination therapy in advanced metastatic breast cancer.”
About BriaCell Therapeutics Corp.
BriaCell is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that develops novel immunotherapies to transform cancer care. More information is available at https://briacell.com/.