Immunotherapy has proven to be a new effective treatment for sarcoma (osteosarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma). Immunotherapy drugs affect the immune system, causing it to destroy the tumor with the least side effects for a patient.
HOW DOES SARCOMA FORM?
Unlike carcinomas arising from epithelial cells, sarcomas form in connective tissues, such as bones, muscles, adipose tissue, and blood vessels. Sarcoma occurs in about 15% of cancers in children. In addition, sarcoma is dangerous, and 25-50% of patients who have received traditional treatment methods (surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy) develop sarcoma metastases that are resistant to these approaches.
IMMUNOTHERAPY SHOWS RESULTS
Fortunately, immunotherapy has been shown to be highly effective against sarcoma for a long time. In fact, the first tumors that underwent immunotherapy were osteosarcoma (bone sarcoma).
To date, the FDA has approved the immunotherapy drug Atezolizumab for the treatment of unresectable or metastatic alveolar soft tissue sarcoma.
Biological therapy drugs have also been approved for the treatment of osteosarcoma:
♦ Denosumab (Xgeva)
♦ Pazopanib
♦ Olaratumab for soft tissue sarcoma.
♦ Tazemetostat has been approved by FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) for the treatment of epithelioid sarcoma as a first-line drug. ⇒ More details
In addition, several other immunotherapy drugs have been shown to be effective and may be approved for patients in the near future. These include checkpoint inhibitors, individual cell-based therapies, vaccines, antibodies, cytokines, and immunomodulators.
Dr. Dror Levin – Head of the Pediatric Hematologic Oncology Department at the Sourasky Hospital (Ichilov). Leading Israeli specialist in the treatment of all types sarcomas and other malignant diseases in children. Dr. Levin uses bio-and immunotherapy for sarcoma in Israel.
PERSONALIZED TREATMENT OF SARCOMA – PERSONAL APPROACH
Immunotherapy drugs are also used by our doctors in Israel to compile a personalized treatment regimen (outside the scope of the standard regimen) for each patient.
Personalized treatment can be prescribed based on the results of new molecular genetic tests, during which the genomic profile of the tumor is compiled. These tests give a high prognosis of the likelihood of treatment with drugs that are suitable for a particular patient.
