Sanford doctor leads research on immune system-based cancer treatment

BY LISA GIBSON

Sanford Health’s Dr. Steven Powell is leading research on a treatment for a head and neck cancer, focusing first on the immune system. Many types of cancer possess a compound called PD-L1, which acts as a camouflage, allowing the cancer to damage the body undetected by the immune system, Powell says. Pembrolizumab, a Food and Drug Administrationapproved medication, could be the key to treating advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, in collaboration with chemotherapy and radiation.

Pembrolizumab, developed by Merck, is currently used to treat melanoma and certain types of lung cancers. “That drug blocks [PD-L1] so your immune system can recognize the cancer,” Powell says. The drug is being tested for use in treatment of many different types of cancers, he adds. Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck begins in the mouth, nose or throat, according to Sanford. It can be caused by alcohol and tobacco use or infection with some types of the human papilloma virus. When it’s caught early, it can be cured with surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

The clinical trial led by Powell will use a lower dose of chemotherapy than generally administered to squamous cell carcinoma patients, and add the immune therapy to augment it, he says. The goal is to determine if pembrolizumab is a safe and tolerable treatment, and how it affects the patients’ long-term outcomes. Eighteen months after the patients’ initial treatments, annual evaluations will be conducted to monitor their cancer statuses, including whether the cancer has returned.

This Merck Investigator Studies Program clinical trial is a product of laboratory research performed at Sanford by Powell and the head and neck cancer research team led by John Lee, M.D., and W. Chad Spanos, M.D. “The immune system is very important during chemotherapy and radiation treatment for head and neck cancer,” Powell says in a statement. “This laboratory research demonstrated the addition of immunotherapy can enhance the response during drug treatment.”

Sanford began enrolling patients in the clinical study in November. Participants must be 18 or older and have advanced stages of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx or larynx. Immunotherapy will be an important aspect of cancer treatment in the near future and Sanford’s goal is to stay ahead of that research, Powell says. “Immunotherapy is really going to change the way we treat cancer.” PB

Lisa Gibson Editor, Prairie Business 701.787.6753 lgibson@prairiebusinessmagazine.com