SAN DIEGO and CALGARY, AB, March 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Oncolytics Biotech® Inc. (NASDAQ:ONCY) (TSX:ONC) today announced that it will present updated clinical data from its AWARE-1 window-of-opportunity study in patients with early-stage breast cancer, as well as results from preclinical studies evaluating pelareorep-based combination therapies, in poster presentations during Week 1 of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2021, taking place virtually from April 10-15, 2021.
Details on the posters and corresponding abstracts are shown below. All posters will be made available on the conference website on April 10, 2021.
Title: A window-of-opportunity study with atezolizumab and the oncolytic virus pelareorep in early breast cancer (AWARE-1)
Session Type: E-Poster Session
Session Category: Phase II Clinical Trials
Session Title: Phase II Clinical Trials
Abstract Number: CT191 (late-breaking abstract)
Oncolytics will provide details on the results described in this abstract following publication of the abstract and corresponding poster at the AACR Annual Meeting in April, in accordance with conference embargo policies regarding late-breaking abstracts.
Title: Mechanisms of therapeutic synergy between pattern recognition response agonists and cdk4 inhibitors
Session Type: E-Poster Session
Session Category: Molecular and Cellular Biology / Genetics
Session Title: Cell Cycle
Abstract Number: 1960
New preclinical studies identify the mechanisms of therapeutic synergy between pelareorep and the CDK4/6 inhibitor palbociclib. Data show that combining pelareorep with palbociclib augmented pelareorep-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling and increased innate immune activation and effector function. These results suggest that this combination can be exploited to enhance anti-cancer efficacy with pro-immunogenic consequences and suggest that pelareorep may have the potential to broaden the therapeutic applicability of CDK4/6 inhibitors.
The full text of the corresponding abstract is available on the AACR Annual Meeting 2021 website (link).
Title: Talazoparib interacts with oncolytic reovirus to enhance death-inducing signaling complex (DISC)-mediated apoptosis and immune response
Session Type: E-Poster Session
Session Category: Molecular and Cellular Biology / Genetics
Session Title: Apoptosis
Abstract Number: 1932
New preclinical data show that combining pelareorep with talazoparib, a clinically approved poly(ADP)-ribose polymerase 1 (PARP-1) inhibitor, led to enhanced anti-tumor efficacy that correlated with an increased immune response in murine tumor models. These data provide a scientific rationale for combining pelareorep with PARP-1 inhibitors to exploit immunogenic responses in cancer treatment.
The full text of the corresponding abstract is available on the AACR Annual Meeting 2021 website (link).
About AWARE-1
AWARE-1 is an open label window-of-opportunity study in early-stage breast cancer enrolling 38 patients into five cohorts:
- Cohort 1 (n=10), HR+ / HER2- (pelareorep + letrozole)
- Cohort 2 (n=10), HR+ / HER2- (pelareorep + letrozole + atezolizumab)
- Cohort 3 (n=6), TNBC (pelareorep + atezolizumab)
- Cohort 4 (n=6), HR+ / HER2+ (pelareorep + trastuzumab + atezolizumab)
- Cohort 5 (n=6), HR- / HER2+ (pelareorep + trastuzumab + atezolizumab)
The study combines pelareorep, with or without atezolizumab, and the standard of care therapy according to breast cancer subtype. Patients are biopsied as part of their initial breast cancer evaluation, then again on day three following initial treatment, and a final tissue sample after three weeks, on the day of their mastectomy. Data generated from this study are intended to confirm that the virus is acting as a novel immunotherapy and to provide comprehensive biomarker data by breast cancer subtype. The primary endpoint of the study is overall CelTIL (a measurement of cellularity and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes). Secondary endpoints for the study include CelTIL by breast cancer subtype, safety and tumor, and blood-based biomarkers.
For more information about the AWARE-1 study, refer to https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04102618.