REO-001: A phase i trial of percutaneous intralesional administration of reovirus type 3 dearing (Reolysin®) in patients with advanced solid tumors

Abstract

Purpose This open-labeled, phase I clinical trial was designed to determine the safety and tolerability of percutaneous intralesional administration of wild-type oncolytic revovirus type 3 Dearing (Reolysin®) in cancer patients with accessible and evaluable disease, who had otherwise failed to improve on standard cancer interventions. Experimental Design An escalating dose of Reolysin® starting from up to 1010 plague forming units (PFU) was administered to each cohort of three patients per dose level. Viral shedding, reovirus neutralizing antibody response, toxicity and clinical response were assessed. Results Nineteen patients with various advanced solid tumors were treated. The most common toxicities related to treatment were grade 2 (or less) local erythema and transient flu like symptoms. Viral shedding was not seen in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF), urine and stool samples in all patients. Rising viral antibody titres were seen in all patients. In addition, we observed some evidence of local target tumor response activity in 7/19 patients (37 %) at the end of six or more weeks follow-up, with one patient exhibiting a complete response (CR), two a partial response (PR), and four stable disease (SD) to the local injected lesion. Conclusions Reolysin® is well tolerated given intralesionaly, with DLT/MTD not reached at a dose of 1010 PFU. The favorable toxicity profile, lack of viral shedding and possible therapeutic activity has made this unattenuated oncolytic reovirus an attractive cancer therapeutic agent for ongoing clinical studies, including in the setting of locally advanced accessible disease for palliation of symptoms. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.