Tremelimumab

Tremelimumab is an immunotherapy drug that blocks CTLA-4, a brake on the immune system's T cells, in the same way as ipilimumab. It was tested in mesothelioma, alone and with durvalumab, but a large trial did not show longer survival when it was used alone, and it is not approved for mesothelioma.

Origin

Tremelimumab was first developed by Pfizer and later by AstraZeneca. In mesothelioma, Italian NIBIT-MESO trials studied it, and the international DETERMINE trial compared it with placebo in previously treated patients; DETERMINE, reported in 2017, found no overall survival benefit. It was later approved in the United States under the name Imjudo, with durvalumab, for liver cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.

Significance in Asbestos Context

Tremelimumab matters in mesothelioma mainly as part of the history of immunotherapy. DETERMINE's negative result dampened hopes for CTLA-4 drugs used alone, but combining CTLA-4 and PD-1 blockade later succeeded: the CheckMate 743 trial of nivolumab plus ipilimumab led to U.S. approval in 2020 as a first treatment for unresectable pleural mesothelioma. For patients, the lesson is that drug names in news reports and older articles may refer to approaches that did not work, or that work only in combination, so it helps to ask the oncologist how a drug compares with currently approved options. People with asbestos-related lung cancer may receive tremelimumab with durvalumab and chemotherapy. Its side effects include immune-related inflammation, especially of the bowel (colitis) and skin, which can be serious and sometimes appears weeks or months after a dose.

Example Sentence

A 2015 article described tremelimumab as a promising mesothelioma drug, but the oncologist explained that the later DETERMINE trial found no survival benefit when it was used alone.

Related Terms

CTLA-4, Ipilimumab (Yervoy), Durvalumab (Imfinzi), Dual Checkpoint Inhibitor Therapy, CheckMate 743, Immunotherapy, Clinical Trial, Immune-Related Adverse Events

Notes

• Check the date of any article about a mesothelioma drug; trial results may have changed the picture since.
• Ask your oncologist which immunotherapy options are approved for your cancer and which are only available in trials.
• Report diarrhea, belly pain or rash promptly while on CTLA-4 drugs.